Child safety
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always
be properly restrained in a child safety seat certi
fied for their size and weight¢
fig. 144 and
¢ fig. 145.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -facing child safety seat .
It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced 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 install rearward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
158
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 121, Safety belts,
¢page 129, Airbag system
and
¢ page 151, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the front
passenger's seat, the child's safety and well
being require that the following special pre
cautions be taken :
- 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 instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before
installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right 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 ¢
page 139, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR ~
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BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4 ft .
9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 1 46 Rea r seat : child p roper ly rest ra ined in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least4
ft. 9 in . (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can he lp protect them in a crash.
.,.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restra in
a ch ild on a booster seat .
.,.. The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen
ter of the child's collar bone as poss ible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body .
It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
l ap belt must lie across the pe lvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary.
.,.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=> page 156.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best pro
tected in ch ild safety seats des igned for their age
and weight . Experts say that the skeletal struc
ture, part icu larly the pe lvis, of these ch ildren is
n ot fully deve loped, and they m ust not use t he
Chil d sa fe ty
vehicle safety be lts without a suitable chi ld re
straint .
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in appro
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster sea t
meets a ll applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats ra ise the seating posit ion of the
c h ild and re pos it ion bo th 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 be lt over the child 's body is very important
for the ch ild's protection, whether or not a boos
ter 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 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
three po int lap and shoulder be lts. Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt a lone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
c hi ld is. Always remember that ch ildren do not
have the pronounced pe lv ic st ructu re required for
the proper func tion of lap belt port io n of the ve
hicle 's th ree po int l ap and shoulder be lts. The
ch ild 's sa fety abso lutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snug ly and
as low as possib le 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 occu
pant moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and w ill receive serious or
poss ibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
rest rained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keep ing room between th e ch ild's
II>-
159
Child safety
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions .
.,&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se
rious personal injury and/or death:
- 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.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
c::> page 121 .
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
c::>page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints 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 seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will result in serious
personal injury or death .
160
-If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when
ever 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 139, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
<=> page 121, Safety belts,
<=>page 129, Airbag system
and
c::> page 151, Important information.
Securing child seats
' Securing a child safety seat using a safety
I _!>elt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger's seat con be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child safety
seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas
senger's seat safety belt have a convertible lock
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un
reel. 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 younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and weight . ..,_
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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 safe
ty seat . An unlocked safety belt retractor
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 backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on the front passen
ger seat . A child will be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates.
- 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 rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment 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 when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
r=;, page 151 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 130, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Child safety
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward -facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger 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
r=;, page 139, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER 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 protection.
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child .
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in
jury in a crash .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
-
161
Child safet y
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le before installing the for
ward-fac ing ch ild restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-fac ing ch ild restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be k illed if the
front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant car rier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the bac krest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always be espe cially caref ul if you must in
sta ll a rearward facing chi ld safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptiona l cir
cumstances .
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight-mat in the seat and register a heavi er we ight in the Advanced Airbag System.
The heav ier weight reg istered can make the
system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it m ust be s uppressed causing ser ious o r
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iate ly in
sta ll the rearward-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in
a rear seating posit ion and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer .
162
· Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
i nstruct ions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle . T o activate the convert ible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably on
the rear seat .
.. Slowly pull the belt
all th e wa y out .
.. Route it around or through the child restraint
belt pat h
c::> _&..
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your full
weigh t to get the sa fety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the b uckle for that
seating position .
.. Guide the safety be lt back into the retractor un
til the belt lies flat and snug on the ch ild safety
seat.
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vert ible lock ing retractor by pu lling on the belt .
You should no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the ret ractor. The conve rtible locking re
tractor is now ac tivated .
.. Make s ure 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 be lt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or s ideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an improp
e rly installed child restraint can cause serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safe ty be lt re
tracto r is loc ked when insta lling a child sa fe
ty seat. An unlocked sa fety belt retractor
cannot ho ld 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 chi ld is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around d uring
a sudden stop or in a crash.
.
-Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to attach a
child restraint to the front passenger seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, that it
causes the we ight-sensing mat to measure
more we ight than is actually on the seat .
- The heav ier weight reg istered ca n make the
Advanced Airbag System work as though an
adult were on the seat and deploy the Ad
vanced Airbag whe n it must be supp ressed
ca using se rious or even fatal injur y to the
c h ild.
- If you mu st install a rearwar d faci ng chi ld
sa fety seat on the front passenge r seat be
cause of exceptional c ircums tances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-fac ing c hild safety seat in a rear
seating pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by you r authorized Audi dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig . 1 52 Tether strap : proper ro ut in g a nd mo unting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Re lease or dep loy the tether strap on the chi ld
~ restraint according to the child restraint manu-
o t;o facturer's instructions.
rl I.O
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Chil d sa fe ty
.,. Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint co
fig. 152 (raise the head re
straint if necessary).
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into the
open ing of the tet he r anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tethe r strap hook so that the spri ng
ca tch of the hook engages.
.,. Tigh ten the te ther s trap firmly follow ing the
child res traint manufacture r's instructions .
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension fo llow ing the child restraint
manufac turer's instructions .
.,. Depress the spri ng catch o n the hoo k and re
lease it from the anchor age.
(D Note
If you leave the child restra int w it h the tet her
s trap firm ly ins talled fo r sever al days, t his
could leave a mark o n the upholstery on t he
seat cushion and bac krest in the area whe re
the tether strap was installed. The upho lstery
would a lso be permanently stretched around
the tether strap. This applies especially to
l eather seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Cur rently, few rea rward-faci ng chi ld restraint sys
tems come wit h a teth er. Please read and heed
the ch ild restraint system manufacturer's ins truc
tions carefully to determine how to properly in
stall the tether .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety seat
i nsta lled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously in ju red and can be killed if the front
a irbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the c hild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ier w ith great force and
will smash the c hild safety seat and child
aga inst the ba ck rest, center armrest, or
door .
167
Child safety
- A tight tether or other strap on a rearwa rd
f acing child restraint attached to the front
passenger seat can put too m uch pressure
on the we ight-mat in the seat and reg ister a
heavier weight in the Advanced A irbag Sys
tem . The heavier we ight registered ca n
make the sys te m wor k as t hough an adult
were on t he sea t and dep loy the Advanced
Air bag when i t must be supp ressed c ausing
serious o r even fa tal in jury to the child.
- If you mus t inst all a re arward f acing child
sa fe ty seat on the front passenge r seat be
ca use of exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately insta ll
the rearward-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your author ized Audi
dealer .
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional infor
mat io n about c hild restra int select io n, installa
tion and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat is
the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your vehi
cle, and that you will use co rrectly and consis
tently .
T ry before you buy !
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administra
tion
Tel.: 1-888-327 -4236 (TTY: 1-800-424 -9 153)
www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Te l.: (202) 662 -0600
www.sa fekids.org
Safety BeltSafe U .S .A
T e l. : (800) 745-SA FE (E nglish)
Te l.: (800) 74 7- SA NO (Spanish)
www.carseat .org
168
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 o r ca ll 1 -613-998-86 16 if
yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/menu .htm
Audi Customer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
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Trailer mode Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger
transportation.
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember that
the additiona l load will affect durability, econo
my and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on the
vehicle, it also calls for more concentrat ion from
the driver .
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating and
d riving instructions provided and use common
sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suitable
for your vehicle and trailer and must be mounted
securely on the veh icle 's chassis at a technically
sound
location . Use on ly a tra iler hitc h with a re
movable ba ll mou nt. Always chec k w ith the t ra il
e r hitch m anu fac tur er to make sure that you a re
using the co rrec t hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way that it
does not in terfere with the impact-absorbi ng
bumper system. No mod ificat ions should b e
mad e to the vehicle exhaust and brake systems .
Fr om time to t ime, c hec k t hat a ll h itch mou nti ng
bo lts remain sec urely fastened .
When you are no t tow ing a trailer,
remove the
trai ler hitch ball mount . Th is prevents the hitc h
fr om caus ing damage should you r vehicle be
s truck from behind¢,&. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equipped w it h a braking system,
check to be s ure that it conforms to all regu la
tions.
Trailer mode
T he trailer hyd raulic brake system must not be di
rect ly connected to the ve hicle's hydraulic b rake
system ¢.&. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety ch ains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r li ghts must meet all regulations. Be sure
to check w it h your author ized Audi deal er for cor
r e ct w iring, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you us
i ng the regular o uts ide mirrors, then you
must in
sta ll extended mirrors .
It is importa nt that you
always have clea r vision to the rea r.
_&. WARNING
- I f a trai ler has elec trical brake s please note
th at these b ra kes are not acti va ted by the
factory -fitted contro l unit -ris k of acci dent!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do n ot store
it in your vehicle . In case o f su dden braking,
the hi tch could fly forward and injure you or
your passe ngers.
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r weight
A trai ler for you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 trailer.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the load in the t ra iler i s held secure ly in
pla ce to prevent it from sh ifting forw ard , back
war d or sideways .
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer¢.&.
in Driving in struc tion s on page 182.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work harder . It
is important that the cooling system's pe rform
ance is up to the additional load . Ma ke s ure that
t h e coo ling system has enoug h fluid.
IIJJ,
181