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.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 178 Tether ancho rs: atta chment hook loc atio ns
behin d the rea r se a tb acks
The tethe r anchors for the rear seating posi
tions are located on the backside of the rear
seatbacks
q fig. 178.
A tether is a straight or V-sha ped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in o rder to he lp red uce the risk of head
i nj ury tha t could be ca used by striki ng the ve
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, a re required by U .S.
federal regulations to comply with new c hild
head movement performance requirements.
Thes e new performance requirements mak e a
tethe r necessary on most new chi ld safety
s eats.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in a crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) ca n lead to i n
jury in a collision. The ancho rs are de
signed to wit hstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower ancho r po int . Child S
afety 185
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether ancho rage .
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether a ncho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds o f occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors .
- If you must insta ll a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rea r-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rea r seating position and
have the airbag system i nspected by your
Aud i dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 179 Tet her stra p: prop er r ou ting and moun ting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap o n the
child restraint according to the child re
s t raint manufa cture r's instructions.
... Guide the upper te ther s trap unde r or side
ways of the rear head restra int
Q fig . 179
(depending on the child restraint) .
... Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the te ther s trap hook so tha t the
spr ing catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing t he
child restraint manufacturer's instructions . .,.
186 Child Saf ety
Re le asin g th e tethe r str ap
.. Loosen the tension following the child re
stra int manufacturer's instructions .
.. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage .
([) Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for several
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in
stalled . The upholstery wou ld a lso be per
manently stretched around the tethe r
strap. Th is applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint sys
tems come with a tether. P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the fron t airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag wi ll hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER 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 posit ion and
have t he a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re a re a number o f sources of add itiona l
information about child rest raint selection, in
sta llation and use:
N HT SA advises that the best ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in you r
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently .
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S Nationa l Highw ay Traffic Safet y Admin
i s tration
T el.: 1-888-3 27-4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-91S3)
www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campa ign
T el.: (202) 662-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Saf ety Belt Saf e U.S .A
Tel.: (800) 745-SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat .org
Transport Canad a In formation C entre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or call
1-613-998-86 16 if you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsafety/
men u.h tm
Audi Cu stom er R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
188 Audi pre sense
- Certain Audi pre sense functions a re not
available when ASR is sw itched off (sport
mode) or when driving in reverse.
- The Audi pre sense functions may not be
available if there is a malfunction in the
ESC system or the airbag control mod
u le.
- The Audi pre sense front/plus f unctions
are not available if there is a ma lfunction
i n the adapt ive cru ise control* system
Q page 88.
-The Audi pre sense rear/plus functions
are not available if there is a ma lfunction
i n the Aud i side assist* system
Qpage88.
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 189
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
JjJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by usin g the driver 's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti- lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys -
tem, anti-slip regu lation (ASR), electronic
Ill>
•
•
224 Check ing and filling
Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than 5 years .
W ith certa in types o f airbag deployment, the
battery is disconnected from the vehicle elec
trica l system for safety reasons¢
& in Re
pair, core and disposal of the airbags on
page 158.
Disconn ecting the battery terminal s
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
e lectrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for l ong period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capab il ity over a longer period
¢
page 195. Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, s uch as the inte rior
lights or power seat adjus tment. The conven
ience f unctions will be available again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en gine.
Winter operation
D uring the winter months, ba tte ry capaci ty
tends to decrease as tempe rat ures d rop . This
is because more powe r is also consumed while
starting , and the headlights, rear window de
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticular ly in c ity traffic or when t raveling on ly
short distances. Let you r authorized Audi
dea ler check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before winter sets in
¢ page 226. A we ll
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold , but w ill
also last longer .
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery sho uld be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze . This will
prevent it from be ing damaged and having
to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor. Before you check any
t hi ng in the luggage compartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ ,& .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lec
trical system to prevent inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery :
Al ways heed the follo wing WARNING SYM -
BOLS and safety precautions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye prote cti on.
&
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid.
Always wear glove s and eye protec-
tion.
@
No
- spa rks
- flames
- smoking.
£
When a battery i s charged, it produ-
ce s hydrogen gas which is e xplosi ve
and could cau se personal injury.
@
Alwa ys k eep the battery well out of
rea ch of children .
_&. WARNING ~
Whenever working on t he battery o r on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
i njury, accident and even fire . Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
-