130 Child Safety
Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c::> page 102, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fully developed . In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully devel
oped, they require restraint systems especial
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure . Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re
straint systems for infants and small children.
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate child restraint properly used can reduce the risk of serious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your child's size
c::> page 133, Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re
straints are on the front passenger seat. Be
cause of the large amount of important infor- mation, we cannot repeat it all here. We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-
All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly whenev
er riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child could be in
jured by striking the interior or by being
ejected from the vehicle during a sudden maneuver or impact. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child is also at great
er risk of injury or death through contact
with an inflating airbag.
_& WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front 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, door or roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on, have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
.
A WARNING
-=
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk " re
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
Child Safety 131
has been certified to comply with the "sup
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list
ed in the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, a child should al
ways ride in the seat properly restrained for
its age and size . The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dan
gerous place for a child to ride. The front seat
is not the safest place for a child in a forward
facing child safety seat .
It can be a very dan
gerous place for an infant or a larger child in a
rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced Air
bag System. When a child restraint is being
used on the front passenger seat with a
ll-
•
•
132 Child Saf ety
typical 1 year -old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag
Syst em compares the weight meas ured by the
weight sensing mat with the in format ion stor
ed in the electron ic contro l unit.
The electron ic contro l unit a lso registers the
tension on the front passenge r safety belt.
The tens ion on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be d ifferent for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com pared to the tension on t he be lt whe n it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat .
The senso r below the latch fo r the safety be lt
fo r the front seat passenger measu res the
tension on the be lt. T he inp ut from this sen
sor is then used with the we igh t to "decide",
whether there is a chi ld restraint with a typica l
1 year-o ld child o n the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure tha t it has been ce rtified to meet
Un ited States Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety
S tanda rds a nd has been cer tified by its manu
facture r fo r u se wit h an air bag. If i n excep
tional circumstances yo u m ust use it on the
front passenge r seat, caref ully read all of the
info rmation on c hild safety an d Advanced Air
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN
INGS. Make certai n that t he child restraint is
correctly recogni zed by the weig ht-sensing
mat i nside the front passenger seat, that the
fro nt passenge r airbag is tur ned off and that
the airbag status is a lways correctly signaled
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Many types and models of child restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod
e ls ar e introduced regularly incorporat ing new
a nd improved designs a nd older models are
taken out of p ro du ction. Child res traints are
not stan dardized . Ch ild restra ints o f the same
type typically have different weights and s izes
a nd d ifferent 'footprints,' the s ize and s hape
of the bottom o f the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a veh i
cle seat. These differences make it virtually impossible to certify compliance wi
th t he re
quirements for a dvanced airbags with eac h
and every ch ild restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or wi ll be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For t his reason, the United States National
Hig hway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, ma kes and
m odels of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w ith the su ppr ession
r equirem ents of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints a re :
Subpart A -Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
A ngel Guard A ngel September 25, 2007
Ri de AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ce ntury Smart Fit December 1, 1999
454 3
Cosco Ar riva September 2S, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
E venflo Discove ry Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212
E ven flo First Ch oic e De ce m be r 1, 1999
2 04
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
G raco Sn ug ride September 25
, 2007
Peg Perego Pr imo Vi -September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMU NOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
B rit a x Round about S
eptember 2 5, 2007
E 9 L02xx
Cosco To uriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Model Manufactured on or
after
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 200 7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Sa fety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat o r infant car
rie r wi th great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof . Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
@ Tips
The ch ild seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Child Sa fet y 133
Important safety instructions for us ing
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsible for the safe
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il
dren:
.. Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
r=;, page 135.
.. Always carefully fo llow the child safe ty seat
manufact urer's inst ruct ions on how to ro ute
the sa fe ty belt properly through the c hild
safety seat .
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
¢ page 138.
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move fo rward o r
sideways more th an one inch
(2.5 cm).
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advan ced Airbag system, a
ch ild should always ride in the sea t properly
restrained for its age and s ize .
_& WARNING ,-= ~
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding i n a vehicle.
- An unrest rained or imp roper ly restrain
ed ch ild ca n be injured or killed by be
i ng th rown against the ins ide of the ve
hicle or by being e jected from it during
a sudden maneuve r or impact.
- An unrest rained or improper ly res train
ed ch ild is at much greater risk of inj ury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
•
•
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS
S EN GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
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.
I
Fig. 120 Rea rward-faci ng infant seat. properly instal·
led on the passe nger seat
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 138.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so tha t the seat cannot move forwa rd or
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
I nfants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant carriers
and chi ld safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in special re
straints in which the child faces the back of
the vehicle . These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash
¢ fig. 120.
Child S afety 13 5
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using th e
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 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 ildren
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- Never install a rearward faci ng child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
un less the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PA S
SENGER AIR BA G OF F
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating a irbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car·
rier w ith great force and w ill smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have t he airbag
sys tem inspected immedi ately by your
Aud i dea le r.
- Always read and heed al l WARNI NGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 101, Safety
belts, ¢ page 109, Airbag system
and
¢ page 130, Important things to know .
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. 12 1 Sc hematic overv iew: instal lation of the seat
using the vehicle's safety belt system
136 Child Saf ety
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving¢
page 138.
• Push the child safety seat dow n 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)
¢page 138.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restraint if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than
20 lbs. (9 k g).
Toddlers and child ren who are older than one
yea r up to about
4 yea rs old and weigh more
tha n
20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be prope rly restrained in a ch ild safety
seat certified for the ir s ize and we ight
¢ fig . 121.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong chi ld safety seat or improper ly in
stal ling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
co llision or other eme rgency s ituation .
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir
bag inflates . A child in a rearward-facing
c hild safety seat installed on the front
passenge r seat w il l be seriously injured
and can be killed if the fron t air bag in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
S ystem .
-
-The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
com e on a nd stay on have the airbag sys- tern inspected immediate
ly by you r Audi
dea le r.
- Always rea d and heed all WAR NINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 101, Safety
belts ,¢ page 109, Airbag system
and
¢ page 130, Important things to know.
.&_ WARNING
-If exceptional circ umstances require the
use of a fo rward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat, the child's safe
ty and we ll-being require that the follow
i ng spec ial prec autions be ta ken:
- Make sure t he forward- facing seat has
been designed and cert ified by its m anu
facturer fo r use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manuf acturer 's in
structions p rov ided with the ch ild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ier .
- Always move the fron t passenger se at in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
an d as far away from the airbag as possi
b le before installing the ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost pos ition in its
fore and aft ad justment range .
-Always make sure the bac krest is in an
upright pos ition.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on .
-If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 119, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on have the
airbag system inspec ted immediately by
your Aud i dea le r.
-
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a col lision
- The inflating a irbag w ill 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, door or
roof.
- Forward -fac ing ch ild safety seats or in
fant ca rr iers installed on the front pas
senger 's seat may inte rfe re with the de
ployment of the airbag and cause se rious
injury to the ch ild.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever u sing a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used~
page 130 . Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
~ page 110, 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 except ional situat ions :
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenge r 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
~page 119, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and s tay on whenever
the ignition is switched on the inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or in
fant carr ier with great force and wi ll
smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, door or roof. Have
the a irbag system inspected immediately
by your Audi dealer .
Child Safet y 139
-Improper installation of chi ld restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion .
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de ploys and seriously injure or even k ill the
child.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur
er 's instructions prov ided with the child
safety seat or carrier .
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight reg is
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can cause injury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacture r for use on a front seat
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re
s traint up, against o r ve ry nea r the in
strument panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft adj ustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restraint . The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
Rearward -facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger
seat will be seriously in ju red and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced A irbag System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smas h the child safety seat .,. •
•
140 Child Saf ety
and child against the backrest, door or
ro of.
- Always be especially careful if you mu st
ins tall a rearward facing c hild safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstanc es.
- Make sure that the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on h ave the airbag sys
tem inspec ted immediately by your Aud i
dealer .
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
A lways heed the child sa fety seat man ufactur
er's instructions when ins talling a chi ld re
straint in your vehicle . To activate the conver
tib le locking retractor:
., Place the child restrain t on a seat .
., Slow ly pull the be lt
all the wa y out.
., Route it around or through the chi ld re
stra int be lt path
c:> ,&. .
., Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight.
., In sert the be lt tongue into the buckle fo r
t h at seating posi tion.
., Gu ide the safety be lt back into the retracto r
u nt il the belt lies flat a nd snug on the chi ld
sa fe ty seat.
., You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds bac k into the ine rtia reel. Test the
conve rtible locking retractor by pull ing on
the be lt . You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con
vertib le lock ing retractor is now act ivated. .,
Ma ke s ure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child rest raint so that it
can be unbuckled q uick ly .
., Pull on the belt to make sure the safety be lt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat ca nnot move forward or sideways more
t han one inch (2.5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong child res traint o r an i m
pr operly ins talled chi ld restraint can cause
se rious pe rsonal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re-
trac to r i s lo cked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locked safety bel t 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 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 crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright pos ition. Otherw ise, the seat
back with the ch ild safety seat attached
to it could fly forward in the event of an
accident o r othe r emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
wheneve r using a child res trained in ave
h icle is being used
c:> page 130. Special
p re ca utions apply when insta lling a child
safe ty se at on the fron t passenger seat
<=> page 110, 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 b utton on the safety belt buck
le . The belt tong ue will pop out of the b uck
le .
., Guide the safety be lt all the way back into
its stowed position .