182 Child Safet y
as possible before insta lling the child
restra int.
- Always make sure t hat nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position .
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat ca n fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 145, Safety
belts,
c::> page 153, Airbag system and
c::> page 177, Child Safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whe never a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas
senge r seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he front pas
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
Fig . 175 Sche matic ove rview: keep un use d safety be lts
away from c hildre n in chil d safe ty seats. @· oute r rear
sa fety be lt, @ · ce nter rear sa fet y b elt
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal low er ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c::> & .
-Guide the safety belt webbing behind the
head restra int of the adjacent seat
c::> fig. 175 . When doing so, do not engage
the switchable locking retractor! You should not hear a "click ing" sound when wind ing up
the safety belt .
- Let the bel t re tractor wind up the safe ty belt
webbing.
A WARNING ,-
A child in a chi ld safety sea t in stalled with
the LA TCH lower a nchorages or with the
standa rd safety be lt or a child in a boos ter
se at on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un
used rear seat safety belts and become en
tang led . This co uld cause the chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat sa fety
be lts out of reac h of children in c hild
seats such as by proper ly routing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re
tractor whe n routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint .
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 . 176 Sche matic overv iew: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 187 or install the seat
using the LA T CH attachments.
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly 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
¢page 182.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infan t carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 176.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a po tentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
l arger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
Child Safety 183
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A ch ild will be ser iously in
jured and ca n be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof ¢
page 155, Child restraints on the
front seat- some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
and cannot prote ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward fac ing
child sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 145 , Safety
belts, ¢ page 153, Airbag system
and
¢ page 177, Important things to know.
184 Child Safet y
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 177 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the at
t a chments appl icable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 178 Schematic overview: in stalla tion of t he sea t
using the vehicle's safety be lt system
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::> page 187 or insta ll the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c::>page 187.
.. If the child safety seat is eq uipped w ith a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 194.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 182.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restra int if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) . T
oddlers 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
c::> fig. 177 and c::> fig . 178 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly 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 a n in
fant or a larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
No t using a child safety seat, us ing t he
wrong child safety seat o r imprope rly in
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situat ion .
- Chi ld ren on the front seat of any ca r,
-
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri
ously injured or even killed when an air
bag inflates . A ch ild in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in
f lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the back rest, center
a rm rest, door or roo f.
- Always ins tall rear-fa cing ch ild safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd fa cing
child safe ty seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le ..,.
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just the rear seat head restraint if it is
difficult to install the child seat with the
head restraint in place
c::> page 139. Driv
ing with head restraints 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
c::> page 145, Safety
belts,
c::> page 153, Airbag system and
c::> page 177, Important things to know.
_& 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi ble before installing the child restraint.
-A lways make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in 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.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
c::> page 164, Monitoring the Ad
vanced 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
PASS EN-
Child Safety 185
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) toll.
l!! N 0 ± i,l;
Fig. 179 Rear seat: c hild properly restrained in a boos
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body.
It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>poge 182. ...
-Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitting sideways 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 serious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the che cks described
¢ page 164, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child rest rain t off the fron t pas
senger seat and ins tall it proper ly a t one
of the rear seat posi tions 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 145, Safety
belts,¢ page 153, Airbag system
and
¢ page 177, 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
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con
vertible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints .
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbi ng cannot unreel. The retracto r can be
activ ated to lock t he safety be lt and p revent
t he safe ty belt webbing from loosening up
d uring normal driving . A child sa fety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
Child Sa fet y 187
is loc ked so that the chi ld and child sa fety
seat wi ll stay in place.
A lw ays remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young
er, sho uld always ride in the back seat prope r
l y restrained for the ir age and size.
A WARNING
Imp roperly installed chi ld safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re
tracto r is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
trac to r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child saf ety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild i s not si tt ing in it.
A lo ose child safe ty seat can fly aroun d
du ring a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when
eve r the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int .
- I f the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward togethe r with the bac k
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in
jured or killed .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rrie rs on the front pas
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ge r airbag inflates.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with gr eat
for ce an d
will smas h the child safety se a t
a nd child ag ainst the ba ckr est, cen ter
armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
se ats or in fa nt c arrie rs on the rear se at. •
•
though an adult were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER 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 airbag 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
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path¢&_ .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
.,. Guide 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 winds back into the inertia 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
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
.,. Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
Child Safety 189
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
-Always make sure that the safety belt re- tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint 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 or other emer
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
q page 177. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
q page 155, Child restraints on the front
seat- some important things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt buck
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck
le .
.,. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position.
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can ..,.
•
•
190 Child Saf ety
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertible locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
I f the convert ible locking re tracto r shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt m ust
be unfastened and guided completely back in
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints 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 WARNI NGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 177. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 155, 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 simp ler and more practicable way
to attach the ch ild restraint on the veh icle
seat, Federa l regu lations 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
LA TCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for C hildren."
F orward- facing child rest raints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. federa
l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance req uirements.
These new performance req uirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the chi ld restra int and its abil
ity to protect the child in a coll is ion. Insta lling
a chi ld restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps .
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
r est raint firmly in place.
A WARNING ,__
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r is k of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacture r of the child re
s t raint you intend to install in your ve hi
cle.
- Never install a chi ld restraint withou t a
p roperly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacture r's instruc
tions require the top tether st rap to be
used.
- Improper use of child rest raint LATCH
lowe r anchorage points can lead to injury
in a co llision. The LATCH lowe r anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child res traints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag-
-
es . ~
-Never mount more than one child re
straint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attaching two child re
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious persona l injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fo lding the rear seatback to prevent
damag ing the seat cushion .
- To attach the child restraint secure ly, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear pos ition, the seat height set to the low
est posit ion and the head restraint must
be adjusted to the vertical position
¢page 61.
-If you leave the guidance fixtu res instal
l ed for seve ral days, they could leave a
mark on the upholstery on the seat cush
i on and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled . The up
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guidance fixtures.
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.
Fig . 18 5 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
.,. Make su re the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and sec urely
latched in place.
Child S afety 193
.,. 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. 185.
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are proper ly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child restraint
manufac ture r's instruct ions .
Releasing
.,. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restra int manufacturer's inst ruc
tions.
.,. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower ancho rag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c hi ld restra int firmly in place.
.&, WARNING
I mproper use of the LATCH system can i n
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a n accide nt.
- These an chors were deve loped on ly for
child safety seats using the " LA T CH" sys
tem .
- Never at tach o ther ch ild safety sea ts,
be lts or o ther objects to these anchors.
- Always ma ke s ure that you hear a click
when latch ing the sea t in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not sec ure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be e jected from the vehi
cle.
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper
installation of the ch ild restra int system
and p roper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your veh icle.
~