All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remembe r that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages. Child
restraints that are not equipped with the low
er anchorage attachments can still be instal
led in compliance with the child restra int
manufacturer's inst ruct ions on us ing vehicle
safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serio us personal injury i n an ac
cident.
- Alway s ca refully fo llow the child re
straints manufac turer's instru ct ions for
proper installation of the child restra int
and proper use of the lowe r anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to t he
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion about child restra ints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 204,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
App lies to vehicles: with third row seating
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and ore availa
ble from your authorized Audi dealer.
Fig. 223 Th ird row of seats: installi ng the gu idance fix
tures
Child S afety 219
'
0
Fig. 224 Close-up: fitt ing the guidance fixture over the
l ower anchorage bracket
The lower anchorage attachment points are
located on the third row of seats between the
seatback and the seat cushion. Special guid
ance fixtures increase the convenience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat
mater ial from possible damage when instal
ling ch ild restraints .
Installing the guidance fi xtur es
... Push down on the seat cu shion so that the
lower anchorages are visible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
direction of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢fig. 224.
.,. Make sure that each of the two guidance fix
t ures per seat snaps into place.
Removing the gu idance fixtures
... Remove the child restraint according the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower an cho rages are visible.
.,. Pull off t he gui dance fixtures from the lower
anchorages.
... Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe place when not in use .
You may find it easier to install child re
straints equipped with hooks attached to
straps without the guidance fixtures in place.
If this is the case, remove the guidance fix
tures by pulling them off the anchorages.
However, the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages. .,..
220 Child Safe ty
& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause serious personal
injury in a crash.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild re
straint manufacturer's instructions for proper installation and use of child re
st raint systems .
- Never use the
LATCH or tethe r anchorag
es to attach safety belts or other kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments and
lower attachments are only des igned to
se cu re a child res traint that has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- T ether anchorages and lower an chorages
are designed to withstand only those loads imposed by correct ly fitted ch ild
res traints . Under no circumstances can
they be used safe ly for adu lt or chi ld
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one chi ld re
st raint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attac hing two chi ld re
straints to a sing le anchorage poi nt can
cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious personal injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance f ixtures before
fo ld ing the rear seatback to prevent
damaging the seat cushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery on the seat cush
i o n and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled. The up
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guid ance fixt ures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
F ig . 225 Lower a ncho rages: proper mount ing
Mo unting
.,. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in the upright position and securely
latched in place.
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place ~
fig. 225 .
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to ma ke
sure they are properly attac hed to the LATC H
lower ancho rage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child res traint
manufacturer's instruct ions.
Releasing
.,. Loose n the tension on the straps fo llowing
t he child restra int manufac turer's inst ruc
tions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from t he lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c h ild restraint firmly in place .
A WARNING
'-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal in jury
and death in an accident.
-These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats us ing the "LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or other objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latching the seat in place. If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
could fly forward and h it the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi
cle.
A WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry in an acc i
dent .
- Always follow the child restraint system
man ufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle.
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
straint systems
¢ page 204, Child Safe
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fi g. 226 Tether ancho rs for se co nd row of sea ts: at
tac hment hook locatio ns
-
Child S afety 221
Fig. 227 Tet her anc hors for thi rd row of seats : attach ·
men t hook loca tions
The tether anchors for the three rear seating
positions in the second row of seats are locat
ed underneath the seats in the back
¢ fig. 226. For veh icles with third row seat
ing*, the tether anchors for the two seating
pos itions in the third row of seats are stored
underneath a p lastic cover cap in the floor
¢ fig. 227 .
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a ch ild restraint to
special anchorage po ints in the vehicle .
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head injury that cou ld be caused by strik ing the ve
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S .
federa l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance requ irements .
T hese new perfo rmance req uirements ma ke a
t ether necessary on most new child safety
seats .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash .
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re-
-
straint you intend to install in your Audi. .,.
222 Child Safe ty
- Improper use o f child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a collision. The anchors are de signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages o r to the tether anchors .
-If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measu re more weight than is ac
t u ally on the seat .
- The heav ier weight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
t hough an ad ult were on the seat and de
ploy the Advance d Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 228 T et her st rap: prope r rou ting and mou ntin g
Fi g. 229 Tet her st rap fo r seco nd row seats: prope r
rou ting a nd moun ting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether st rap on the
child res traint a ccording to the child re
straint manufacture r's instruc tions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int and into the rear cargo area
(raise the head restra int if necessary).
.,. For the second row o f seats: Pull the floor
ing back, in order to reach the anchor brack
et
r=:> fig. 229.
.,. Fo r the third row of seats:* Remove the
plastic cover cap w ith a screw driver, in orde r
to reac h the anchor bracket ¢
page 221,
fig. 227.
.,. Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket .
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. For the s econd row of seat s: Push the floor-
ing forwa rd into place again . .,._
Relea sin g the teth er str ap
"' Loosen the tens ion following the child re
stra int manufac turer's instructions .
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
"' For the second row of se ats: Push the floor
ing forward into place aga in.
"' For the third row of seats:* Replace the
plast ic cover cap .
([) Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days, th is cou ld leave a mark on the up
holstery on the seat cushion and bac krest
in the area whe re the tether strap was in
s talled. The upho lstery wo uld a lso be per
manently stretched around the tethe r
strap . This applies especially to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear-facing child restraint sys
tems come w ith a tether . P lease read and
h eed the child restraint system manufactur
e r's instruc tions caref ully to determine how to
p roperly insta ll the tethe r.
A WARNING ,~
A child in a rearward -facing child sa fety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag wi ll hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat i n the
s ea t and regis ter a heavier we igh t in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ier
Child Sa fet y 223
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fatal injury to the ch ild.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety sea t in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system i nspected by your
Audi dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re a re a number of sour ces of add itiona l
information about child rest raint se lection, in
stallation and use:
N HT SA advises t hat the bes t chi ld safety seat
is the one that fi ts you r ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffi c Safety Admin
i s tration
T el.: 1-888-3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
http://www .nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www .safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 745 -SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
http://www .ca rseat.org
Transport Canada Information C entre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or call
1-613-998-86 16 if you a re in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
•
•
230 Intellig ent technol ogy
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electr ical energy is re
qu ired, but only a little is generated. It is also
cr itical if the e ngine is not running and elect ri
cal components a re turned on. In th is in
stance energy is being consumed but none is being generated .
I t is in precisely these situations that you w ill
notice energy management actively regulat
ing the distrib ution of energy.
Vehicle stand s for an ext ende d period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo
nents are gradually cut back o r switched off .
This reduces energy cons umption and main
tains starting capab ility
over a longer period.
Take into consideration that when you un lock
your ve hicle, some convenience functions,
such as the interior ligh ts or the power seat
ad justmen t, may not be available. The con
venience functions will be available again
when you turn on the ignition and start the
engine.
With the engine turned off
I f you listen to the radio, for example, with
the eng ine turned off or use other MM I func
tions, the battery is being discharged .
I f sta rting capability is jeopa rdized due to en
e rgy consumpt ion, the follow ing warning ap
pears in the MMI disp lay:
Ple ase s tart engin e, otherwi se system will
s wit ch off in 3 minute s.
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 m inutes .
If
you wish to cont inue us ing the functions, you
have to start the engine.
With the eng in e runnin g
Although e lectrical energy is gene rated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be
come discharged. This happens mostly when
little energy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state of
charge is not optimal.
To bring the energy balance back into equili brium, consumers which req uire especially
large amounts of energy are temporar ily cut
back or sw itched off. Heat ing systems in par
t icular require a great deal of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they
have been tempora rily cut back or switched
off . These systems w ill be available again as
soon as t he energy balance has been restored.
You w ill also notice that engine id le speed has
been increased slightly . T h is is normal and not
a cause for con cern. By inc reas ing engine id le
speed the additional energy required is gener
ated and the battery is charged.
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If battery power drops into the range where it
can limit the ability of the engine to start, this
is shown in the instrument cluster display
with the fo llow ing driver message:
(•) low batte ry charge: bat tery w ill be
ch arg ed whil e dri ving
This notificat ion reminds you that the starting
capability of the engine may be lim ited. As
soon as you start dr iv ing again, the battery
will be recharged and the not ificat io n will go
out .
Driver notific ation app ear s a nd goe s out
again
If this driver notification appears after the ig
nition is turned on or wh ile driving and it goes
out again after a while, the battery has been
adequately recharged. .,.
274 T ire s and wheel s
-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden t ire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam
age.
(D Note
Please note that summer and winter tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic tra nsmission, power steer ing,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that th ese
items are availab le as factory -installed equip
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio of the he ight to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re
sponse and better overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire . typ
ica l in those seasons . Audi recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
decrease the e lasticity of summer tires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer tires are used in very co ld tem
peratures, cracks ca n form on the tread
bars, res ulting in permanent tire damage
that can cause loud driving no ise and un
balan ced t ires. Audi is not responsible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire p ressu re recommended by t he
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire of a des igna ted
s iz e that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
t h e three hour period before the tire pressure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicl e w ith
standard equipment including the max imum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
me ans a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
responding standard tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l" , "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the lo ad -c a rry ing c apac ity of a s ingle
axle system , measured a t the tire-ground in
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicl e. .,.
-If the ti re is not flat and y ou do not have
to change a wheel immed iate ly, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta
t ion to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps can cause
damage to the t ire va lves. To prevent this,
always make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are secu re ly
mounted on the va lve.
@) For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires will a lso increase the
fue l consumption.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or
weight t hat any veh icle and any t ire ca n car ry.
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overload ing
can not on ly lead to loss of vehicle contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the ve hicle to crash.
Your safety and that of yo ur passenge rs a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle. These
load limits a re tech nica lly referred to as the
ve hicle's
Gross Veh icle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the we ight of the basic
ve hicle, all factory installed accessories, a full
tank of f uel, oil, coo lant and othe r fluids plus
max imum load. The maximum load includes
the number o f passenger s that the ve hicl e is
intended to carry ("se ating capacity") w it h an
assumed weig ht o f 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating position
and the tota l weight of any luggage in the ve
h icle. If you tow a trailer, the weight of the
trailer hitch and the tong ue weight of the
Tire s an d wheel s 281
loaded tra ile r must be included as part of the
vehicle load .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating (" GAWR") is
the max imum load th at can be applied at each
of the vehicle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and t he
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are l iste d on the
s af ety comp liance s tic ke r la bel lo cated on the
driver's side 8 -pillar . Your Audi has 5 seating
positions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear fo r
total seating capacity of 5. On vehicles with
s ix seats*, your vehicle has two front seats,
two seats in the second row seat ing and two
seats in the th ird row seati ng. On veh icles
with seven seats*, your vehicle has two front
seats, t hree seats in the second row s eating
and two seats in t he third row seating. Ea ch
seat ing pos itio n has a se at belt
~page 174,
Safety be lts .
The fact that ther e is a n upper limit to you r
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weigh t Rati ng means
that the to tal weig ht of whatever is bei ng car
ried in the vehicle ( in cl ud ing the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the l oa ded trai le r) is limite d. The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mean that less we ight can be carried as lug
gage.
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the max imum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
t h e ve hicle can carry. Fo r the locat ion of the
label
~page 277, fig . 249.
A WARNING
Overloading a veh icl e can cause loss of ve
h icl e cont ro l, a crash or o ther accide nt, se
rio us pe rson al inj ury, a nd eve n death .
- Ca rrying more we ight tha n your ve hicle
was des igned to carry w ill prevent the
veh icle from h andling proper ly and in
crease the risk of the loss o f vehicle con
trol.
•
•