2015 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET warning

M N
" > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder 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 child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­ less of how big the child is . Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
Jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial­
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
Child Safety 1 79
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per 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 that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­ ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 138.
- 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 63. 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.
- 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 .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
II>-
•
•
•

180 Child Safety
-Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi­
tion in any way during an accident 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 ­
tional 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 checks described¢
page 158, 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave­
hicle is being used¢ page 138, Safety
belts,¢ page 146, Airbag system
and
¢page 169, 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 locking retractors
for the rear seats safe ty belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place. Always
remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er , should always ride in the back seat proper ­
ly restrained for their age and si ze.
A WARNING
=
Improperly installed child safety seats in -
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision .
- 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 collision.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
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 carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously 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.
- 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
¢ page 169. Special ..,.

Child Safet y 181
precautions apply when installing a chi ld -Always make sure the forward-facing
safety seat on t he front passenger seat seat has been designed and certified by
Q page 148, Child restraints on the front its manufacturer for use on a front seat
seat- some important things to know . with a passenger front and side a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re-
_&. WARNING straint up, against or very near the in-
-strument panel.
Always take special precautions if you •
•
must install a forward or rearwa rd-facing -
Always move the passenger seat into its
child rest raint on the front passenger's rearmost position in t
he seat's fore and
sea t in except iona l situat ions: aft adjustment range, as fa
r away from
- Whenever a fo rward or rearward-facing the airbag as possible before installing
child restraint is installed on the front the forward-fa
cing ch ild restra int. The
passenge r seat, the
PASSENGER AIR b ackrest mu st be ad ju sted to an upright
BAG OFF light must come on and s tay on position
.
whenever the ignition is switched on . -
Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light OFF light comes on and stays on all the
does no t come on and s tay on, per form time wheneve
r the ignit ion is switched
the checks described
Q page 158, Moni -on.
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
_&. WARNING - T ake the child restrain t off the front pas-~
senger seat and install it properly at one Rearward-facing child rest raints:
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASS EN-- A child in a re arward-facing chi ld safety
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on
seat installed on the front passenger
whenever the ignition is switched on. seat will be seriously in jured and can be
- Improper installation of child restraints killed i
f the front airbag inflates -even
can reduce the ir effectiveness or even with an Advanced Airbag System.
prevent them from prov iding any protec-
-The inflating air bag will hit the ch ild
t ion .
safety seat or infant carrier with great
- An improperly installed child restraint force and will smash the child safety seat
can interfe re with the airbag as it de- and child against the backrest , center
ploys and serio usly injure or even kill the armrest, door or roof.
child .
-Always be especially careful if you must
- Always carefully follow the manufactur- install a rearward facing child safety seat
er's instructions provided with the child on the front passenger seat i n exception-
safety seat or carrier . al circumstances .
- After checking to make sure that the - Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
child restrain t is properly installed, make OFF light comes on and stays on all the
certain that the child restraint is correct- time whenever the ig nit ion is switch ed
Ly recog nized by the capacitive pa ssenge r on.
de te ct ion sys tem in t he front p assenger
-If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
sea t and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG does not come on and stay on, immed i-
OFF light signals the correct front pas-
ately insta ll the rear-fa cing child s afety
senger fronta l airbag status.
seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and h ave
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
M
_&. WARNING • N dea le r. ,....
> co Forward-facing child restra ints: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,

182 Child Safety
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 w ith 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 .
•Pullon the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
.&_ 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
¢page 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 148, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
'
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
T he convertible locking retractor for child re­
strain ts will be deactiva ted automatically
when the bel t is wound all the way back in to
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 bel t retract completely
into its stowed position . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea­
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated , the safety belt will gradually be-
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear.
11>-

M N
" > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
A WARNING 1= •
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision .
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing retractor for
child restraints while the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be rest rained and
c ou ld be ser iously injured in an ac cident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
~page 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety sea t on the front passenger seat
~ page 148, 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 mor e pract icable way
to attach the ch ild restraint on the vehicle
seat, Fede ral regu lations requi re speci al lower
a ncho rages in veh icles and dev ices on new
chi ld res traints 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 rain ts manuf actured
a ft er Sep tembe r 1, 1999, are require d by U .S .
federal regulations to comply with new child
h ead movement performance requirements .
T hese new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new chi ld seats.
Instal ling a child restraint that req uir es a top
tether witho ut one can serio usly impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its ab il­
ity to protect the ch ild in a co llision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
Child Sa fet y 183
without the top tether may be a violat ion o f
state law.
Child rest rain t manufacture rs offer LA TCH
lower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook -on or push -on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In add it ion to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these ch ild restraint systems usually requi re
the use o f tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
restraint firm ly in place.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury and death in
a crash.
-Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your vehi­
cle .
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly 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 LATC H
lowe r ancho rage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATC H lowe r anchorage
points are designe d to withstand o nly
those loads impose d by correctly fitted
child restraints .
- Never mo unt two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any lugg age or
o ther item to the LAT CH lower anchorag ­
es.
(D Tips
- I n Canada, the terms "top tether" w ith
" lower universal anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In o ther coun tries, the term " ISO FIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages .
-
•
•
•

184 Child Safet y
location
Fig. 153 Schematic overview: LATCH ancho rage point
locations
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low­
er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
F ig. 15 4 Lower anchorages, covers marked
F ig. 155 Rear seats: lowe r anchorage bra cket locat io n s
Lowe r ancho rages
The c ircular markings on the rear seat help
you to identify the location of lower anchorag ­
es for the two outboard seating posit ions
~ fig. 154. The LATC H lower universal anchor­
age attachment points are between the rear
seatback and rear seat cus hion. Remove the
covers~
fig. 154 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
T he lower ancho rage attachmen t po ints are
visible
~ fig. 155.
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts. Ancho rages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachmen t and minimize the possib ili­
ty of imp roper child restraint installation .
All child rest raints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, m ust have lower anchorage
attachmen ts for the
LATCH system.
Please remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and
attachment of child rest raints spec ifically cer­
t ified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages.
Child rest raints that are not equipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in­
sta lled in compliance with the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts.
A WARNING
-Improper use of LATCH lower ancho rages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac­
cident .
-Always carefully follow the child re­ straints manufacturer's instructions for p roper installation of the child restraint
an d proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
o ther items to the
LATCH lower an cho­
rages .
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child res train ts in this
chapter and WARN INGS
~ page 169,
Child Safety .

....,
N
r--. > co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Applies to vehicles: with Top Tether
Whenev er you install a child res traint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
F ig . 156 Lowe r anch ora ges: proper mount ing
Mount ing
.. Make sure th e seatback of the rear seat
bench is in th e upright posit ion and s ecur ely
latched in place .
.. Attach bo th hook-on connectors wi th the
spring c atch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATC H lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place~
fig. 156.
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
su re they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child restra int
manufacturer's instruct ions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tens ion on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instr uc­
t ions .
.. Depress the spring catches to re lease the
anchorage hooks from the lowe r anchorag­
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
ch ild restraint firmly in p lace.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATC H system can in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in an acc ident.
Child S afety 185
-These anchors were deve loped only for
child safety seats using the "LATCH" sys­
tem.
- Never attach other chi ld safety seats,
be lts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latch ing the seat in p lace. If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be e jected from the veh i­
cle .
A WARNING
Imp roper installat ion of ch ild rest ra ints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci­
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufac turer's inst ruct io ns for prope r
installation of the c hild restra int system
and p roper use of te ther s traps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the im portant in­
formation and WARNINGS about chi ld
safety and the insta llation of ch ild re­
straint systems ~
page 169, Child Safe­
ty .
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig . 1 57 Tether an ch or s: re cess f lap s behi nd the re ar
seatbac ks
T he tether anchors for the rear seating posi­
t ions are located in recesses in the rear win ­
dow shelf ~
fig. 157
A tether is a s tra ight or V- shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a ch ild restraint to
special anchorage po ints in the vehicle .
-

186 Child Safet y
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a
crash, in order to help reduce the r isk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve­
h icle interior.
F orward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requ irements make a
tether necessary on most new ch ild safety
seats .
A WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restrai nts
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re ­
st raint you in tend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of c hild restr aint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de ­
signed to withstand on ly those loads im ­
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two ch ild restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor po int.
- Never a ttach two child rest ra int sys tems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attac h a tether st rap to a tie -down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use c hild restra int te ther ancho­
rages to secure sa fety belts o r othe r
k inds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lowe r ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 158 Tet her strap: proper ro u ting and mountin g
Installing the tether st rap
" Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
s tr aint manufacturer's instructions.
" Guide the upper t ether strap
und er the rear
head restra int~
fig. 158 (ra ise the head re­
s traint if ne cess ary) .
" Ti lt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket .
" Attach the tether strap anchorage hoo k into
the opening of the tether anchorage.
" Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
" Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child r estraint manufacturer 's ins tructions.
Relea sing the tether strap
" Loosen the tension fo llow ing the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions.
" Depress the spri ng catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the c hild restra int wit h the
tethe r strap firm ly installed for seve ral
days, this could leave a ma rk on the up­
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
i n the area w here the tethe r strap was in­
s talled. The upholstery would also be per­
manent ly st retche d around the tether
strap. T his applies espec ia lly to leather
seats.