2014 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK warning

17 4 Child Safety
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 169 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in child safety seats.@-outer rear
safety belt
If a ch ild safety seat is used on the rear bench,
espec ially w ith LATCH unive rsal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
mu st be se­
cured so that the ch ild in the child restra in t
cannot reach them
r::;, ,&. .
-Gui de the safety belt webbing @behind the
head restraint of the seat where the child re­
stra in t is ins talled
r::;, fig. 169 . When do ing
so, do not engage the switchable locking re­
t ractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when winding up the safety be lt.
- Let the belt re tracto r wind up the safety be lt
webbing .
~ WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled . This could cause the child se rious
personal in jury and even deat h.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of ch ildren in ch ild
seats such as by prope rly routing them
around the head res traint of the seat
where the child res traint is installed.
- N ever activate the sw itchab le lo cking re­
tr actor when ro uting the safety belts
around the head rest raints.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs . or
9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
Fig . 1 70 Schem atic overview: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed on th e rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to p revent the child safety seat
from mov ing
c:;,page 179 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachmen ts .
.,.. Push the chi ld safety seat down with yo ur
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:;,page 174.
Infants up to about one yea r (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in spec ial infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts be lieve that infants and
small ch ild ren shou ld ride on ly in sp ecial re­
stra ints in wh ich the child faces the back of
t h e ve hicle. These infa nt sea ts sup port the ba­
by 's back, ne ck and head in a c rash
r::;, fig. 1 70 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fron t seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
c hi ld to ride. The fron t se at i s not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child sea t.
It is a very dange rous place fo r an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat .
llll>-

_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­ stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rea r-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child wilt be seriously in­
jured and can be ki lled when the inflat ­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the ch ild safety seat and child aga inst
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof ¢
page 144, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know .
- Always install rear -facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction . Such re ­
straints are designed for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small childre n
and cannot p rotect them properly if the
sea t is forward-fac ing .
-If you mus t install a rea rward faci ng
child safety seat on the fron t passenger
seat beca use of excep tional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games dev ice, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the devi ce is connected to
the 12 -v o lt socket or the cigarette light­
er soc ket .
- If a seat heater has been re trofi tted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
sea t, never ins ta ll any child rest raint sys­
tem on this seat .
Child Safety 175
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towe l) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion .
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, e lectronic games de­
vice, powe r inverter or seat heater for
child seats) . These may influence the
e lectrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenge r detection system
a nd can also f ly around in an acc ident
and cause serious persona l injury.
- Always re ad and heed alt WAR NINGS
wheneve r using a child res trained in ave­
hicle is being used ¢
page 133 , Safety
belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 168 , Important things to know .
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used conv ertibl e child saf ety s eats
can help protect toddlers and children ov er
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs . (9
and 18 kg) in o crash .
Fig. 1 71 Sc hemat ic ove rv iew : instal lat ion of t he a t·
t ac hment s applicab le to a LA T CH seat
F ig . 1 72 Sc hem at ic ove rview : in sta llati oh of t he sea t
us ing the ve hicle 's s afety be lt syste m
.. When using the vehicle safe ty belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate ..,

176 Child Safety
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving ¢
page 179 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
.,. Push the child safe ty seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢ page 179.
.,. If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 185.
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 174.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
¢fig. 171 and ¢fig. 172.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat. It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System . -
The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or remove the rear seat head restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place
¢ page 57. In­
stall the head restraint again immediate­
ly once the child seat is removed. Driving
without head restraints or with head re­ straints that are not properly adjusted increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 133, Safety
belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 168, Important things to know.
A WARNING ~ -
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­ ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag .

178 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::!;> page 174 .
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex­
perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itab le child restraint .
It is us ually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition bot h the lap and sho ulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the chi ld 's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whethe r
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (S7 in­
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder be lts .
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety be lt alone to restrain any child, rega rd­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic st ructure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab ­
solutely requires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possib le around the pelvis . Never let the lap
be lt po rtion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderab le force . In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so t hat it will be there to p rotect the occupant
as the occupa nt moves forw ard into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
i n flat ing a irb ag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she w ill be str uck violen tly and will
receive se rious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In orde r fo r the ai rb ag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mpor tan t t hat a ll vehicle occup ants, espe cial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances , be
proper ly restrained and as fa r away from the
airbag as possible . By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com ­
pletely and prov ide supplemental protection
in ce rtain frontal coll isions .
.8. WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos ­
ter seat imp roperly, in co rrectly installing a
b oos ter seat or using the vehicle sa fe ty
belt imp roperly increases the risk of seri ­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
d uce the risk of serio us personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per body . It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck . The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r acr oss t he
s tomach o r abdomen.
M ake sure t hat the
be lt lies flat and snug. P ull on the bel t to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afe ty belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident o r other emergency
situation
¢ page 133 .
-The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For ad justab le head restraints: adjust or
remove the rea r seat head restra int if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place
c:> page 57. In­
stall the head restraint again immed iate­
ly once the child seat is removed . Dr iv ing
without head restraints o r with head re-
.
straints that are not p roperly adjus ted Ii),

increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
yo ur vehicle.
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will re­
sult in se rious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whe never the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described¢
page 154, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off the fron t pas­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 133, Safety
belts,¢ page 142, Airbag system
and
¢page 168, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
Child Sa fet y 1 79
front passenger's seat safety be lt have a con ­
vertib le locking retractor for child restraints .
The safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webb ing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from looseni ng up
dur ing normal dr iv ing . A child safety seat can
on ly be properly insta lled when the safety belt
is locked so that the chi ld and child safety
seat w il l stay in place .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
ly restrained for the ir age and size.
A WARNING r----------
1 mp rope rly installed chi ld safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the safety belt re ­
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- If the rea r set backrest is not secure ly
latched, the child and the child restra int
w ill be thrown forwa rd togethe r with the
backrest and will str ike parts of t he vehi ­
cle interior. The ch ild can be ser iously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child s afety
seats or in fant carrie rs on the front pas­
senger seat . A child will be serio usly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof . •
•

180 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­ ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::;, page 168 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::;, page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
c::;, page 154, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier. -
After checking to make sure that the
child restraint is properly installed, make
certain that the child restraint is correct­ ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal airbag status.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
A WARNING "---
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.

-Make sure that the PA SSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear -facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint .
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
e r's instructions when install ing a ch ild re­
straint in you r vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
.,. Place the child rest raint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.,. Slow ly pull the be lt
a ll th e wa y out .
.,. Route it around or through the chi ld re­
straint be lt path ¢.&_ .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Gu ide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
.,. You should hear a "clicking " noise as the
belt w inds bac k into the ine rtia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt . You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor . The con­
vertib le locking retractor is now activated.
.,. Make sure that the red re lease button is fac­
ing away from the chi ld restraint so that it
can be unbuckled qu ickly .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is p roperly t ight and fastened so t hat the
seat cannot move fo rward or sideways mo re
than one inch (2.5 cm).
Child Sa fet y 181
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious pe rsonal injury or death in a c rash .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A loose child safe ty seat can fly around
during a s udden stop or in a crash .
- Always ma ke sure the seat backrest to
which the child res traint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident o r other emer­
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave ­
hicle is being used ¢
page 168. Special
precautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
-
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The conv ertibl e locking retractor for child r e­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
.,. Press the red b utton on the safety belt buck ­
le . Th e belt tong ue will pop out of t he b uck­
le .
.,. Guide the s afety belt all the way back into
i t s s towed position .
A lways let the safety be lt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt w ith­
out the convertible locking retractor fo r child
restraints.
•
•

182 Child Saf ety
If the convertible locking retracto r shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea­
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be ­
come tighter a nd uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
Improperly insta lled child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lo ck ing ret ractor for
child rest rain ts while the veh icle is mov ­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave ­
hicle is being used
¢page 168. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s imp ler and more prac ticable way
to attach the chi ld restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federa l reg ulations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children."
F orward-facing child rest raints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U .S .
federal regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requirements. T
hese new performance req uirements make a
tethe r necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a c hild restra int tha t requires a top
tether wi thou t one can seriously impa ir the
performance of the chi ld restra int and its abil ­
ity to protect the child in a collision . Insta lling
a chi ld restraint that req uires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LA TCH
lower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these chi ld restraint systems usua lly require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING ,.__ -
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacture r of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your ve hi­
cle.
- Never install a chi ld restrai nt without a
p roperly attached top tether strap if the
child res tra int m anufa cture r's instruc­
tions require the top tether st rap to be
used .
- I mp roper use of child restraint LA TC H
lowe r ancho rage poin ts can lead to injury
in a co llision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mo unt two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag­
es.