2015 AUDI A6 ESP

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Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your ve hicle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 13 7, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adu lts and
teenagers, the ir muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed . In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
ad ults.
Because children's bod ies a re not f ully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­ l y designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many co untries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requ iring the use of approved ch ild re­
straint systems for infants and small chi ldren .
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-po und
(6 kg) infa nt w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . T his means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds ( 120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropr ia t e chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Ch ild restra ints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp ­
erly, they can increase the risk of ser ious in ­
jury in an accident.
Consult the ch ild safety seat manufacture r's
instr uctions in order to be sure the seat is
right fo r you r ch ild's size ~
page 175, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the impo rtant informat ion and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
i nstallation of child rest raints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how t hey
wo rk when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 1 71
stra ints are on the front passenge r seat . Be­
ca use of the large amount of impo rtant infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in t his
owner 's man ua l about a irbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenge r seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARN INGS -they
are ex tremely importa nt for yo ur safety and
the safety o f you r passengers, especially in ­
f ants and small chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that c hil­
dren a re generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­ der in the rea r.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrai ned p roperly when­
eve r riding in a vehicle . An unr est rained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
in ju red by str iking the interio r or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuve r or impac t. An un re ­
straine d or improper ly restrai ned ch ild is
also at greater risk of injury o r death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly insta l­
led and used at one of the rear seat ing
positions p rov ides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Ch ildren on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags ca n be ser iously in­
ju red or even kil led when an a irbag in­
fla tes. A child in a rearwar d-fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on t he front passen ­
ge r seat will be ser iously injure d and ca n
be killed i f the front airbag inflates .
- T he infla ting air bag will h it the ch ild
safety sea t or i nfan t carrie r wi th great
force an d will smash the child safe ty seat
an d child against the bac krest , center
armrest, or door .
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-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
¢ page 136, Safety belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 171, Important things to
know.
(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 a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
T he 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
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, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place fo r a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
Child Safety 173
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system in the
front passenger seat cushion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a child in a child re­
straint system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system
registers the changes that result in an electri ­
cal field when a child, a child restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capacitance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the child restraint system resting on the seat . The measured capacitance
of a child restraint system varies depending
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
The electrical capacitance of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U.S.National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the relevant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System control unit together with the capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
old child. When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system with the data
stored in the electronic control unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, ca refully read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air-
bags and heed all of the applicable ..,.
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-Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correc t use of child safety sea ts subs tantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident !
As the driver, you are responsible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil­
dren:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢ page 177.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
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 moving
¢ page 182.
~ Push the child safety seat down with you r
full weigh t to get the safe ty belt really 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 177.
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 size.
_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­ stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death.
-
Child Safety 175
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained child could be
injured by striking the interior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained child is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion . The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger .
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Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
Fig . 167 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from chi ldren in child safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,
@-center rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho­ rages, the unused safety belts
must be se­
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
Q ,&. .
- Guide the safety belt webbings@and @*
behind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restraint is installed
Q fig . 167.
When doing so, do not engage the converti­ ble lock ing retractor! You should not hear a
"clicking" sound when winding up the safety
belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or with the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled. This could cause the child serious
personal injury and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly routing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the child restraint is installed.
- Never activate the convertible locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
Child Safety 177
belt 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. 168 Schematic overview: rearward -facing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear 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
Qpage 182 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really 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
Qpage 177.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant car riers
and child 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. 168.
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 seat . ..,_

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~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 177 .
Children up to at leas t 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex­
perts say that the ske letal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fu lly
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a su itable 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
chi ld and reposition both the lap and shou lder
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 ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booste r seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
C hi ldren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety be lt a lone to restrain any child, regard­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that children do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the ve hicle's three point
l ap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requ ires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a cras h, airbags must i nflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable force. In orde r
to do i ts job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to p rotect the o ccupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos ition and
too close to the airbag gets i n the way of an
inflat ing a irbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she w ill be str uck violen tly and
Child Sa fet y 181
will receive se rious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In orde r fo r the airbag to offer pro te ction, i t is
important tha t all veh icle occupants, espec ial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible . By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the a irbag can inflate com ­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos­
ter se at imp roperly, incorrectly installing a
boos ter sea t or using the vehicle safety
belt imp roperly increases the risk of seri­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie f lat 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 neve r across the
s tom ach o r abd omen. Make sure t hat the
be lt lies flat and sn ug. Pull on the bel t to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute safety belts
over a child's body will ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident or othe r emergency
situation ¢
page 136.
-The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adj ustab le head restraints: adjust or
remove the rea r seat head restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat w ith
the head restraint in place¢
page 56. In­
stall the head restraint again immed iate­
ly once the child seat is removed. Dr iv ing
without head restraints o r with head re-
.
straints that are not properly adjusted ~
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182 Child Saf ety
in creases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramat ically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or dea th .
- 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 igni tion is sw itch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come o n and s tay on, perform
the chec ks des cribed
<=> page 157, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off the front pas ­
senge r seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and hee d all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest ra ined in ave­
hicle is being used<=>
page 136, Safety
belts,<=> page 145, Airbag system
and
<=> page 171, 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 conver tible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
f or the rear seats safe ty belts and for the fron
t passenger's seat safety be lt have a con ­
vertib le locking ret ractor for child restraints .
The safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from looseni ng up
duri ng normal dr iv ing. A child safety seat can
o nl y be prope rly insta lled when the safety be lt
i s lo cked so that t he ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ld ren, especially those 1 2 years and young­
er, sho uld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined for the ir age and size.
& WARNING ,____._
I mproperly installed chi ld safety seats in ­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal in jury
and death in a co llision.
-
- Always make s ure that the safety belt re­
tracto r is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An un locked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving 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 arou nd
du ring a sudden stop or in a collision.
-Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center r ear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fe ty belt i s
be ing use d to secu re a c hild re strain t.
- If th e backrest is not se curely la tched,
t he child and t he child res tra in t wi ll be
thrown forward together with the bac k­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The chi ld can be seriously i n­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or in fant ca rr ie rs on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in ­
jured and can be killed whe n the passen-
ger a irbag i nflates .
~

184 Child Safety
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- 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 se at down with you r
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 retracto r. 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 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
¢ page 171. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 147, 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
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Relea sin g the teth er str ap
"' Loosen the tens ion following the child re ­
stra int manufac turer's instructions .
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
l ease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint sys­
tems come with a tether. P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenge r seat
w ill be se riously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inf lat ing airb ag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w it h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have t he a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi de aler.
Child Sa fet y 189
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number o f sources of additiona l
information abo ut child restraint se lection, in­
stallation and use :
N HT SA advises t hat the bes t ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www. n hts a .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 66 2-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety Belt Safe U .S .A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
Te l.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat.org
Transpo rt Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 o r ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa a rea
http://www .t c .gc. ca/eng/ roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
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