Page 217 of 350

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-A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas
senger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the seat and regis
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air
bag System . The heavier weight regis
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle . To activate the conver
tible locking retractor :
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out .
.. Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path~&_ .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
.. You should hear a "clicking " noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt . You should no longer be able to
Child Safety 215
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
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 203. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 184, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-
•
•
Page 218 of 350

216 Child Saf ety
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 be lt tongue w ill pop out of the buck
le .
.. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
A lways le t the safety belt retract complete ly
into its stowed position . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertib le locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints.
If the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt m ust
be unfastened and guided completely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and uncomfortable to wea r.
A WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfaste n the safety belt to deacti
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild rest rain ts while the veh icle is mov
ing. You would not be rest rained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 203. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 184, 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 p rov ide a simpler and more practicable way
to a ttach the child restra int on the vehi cle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ia l lowe r
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
T he combination of the tether anc horages and
the lowe r anchorages is now genera lly ca lled
t h e
LATCH system fo r "Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Child ren."
F o rward-facing chi ld restrai nts ma nufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U .S .
f edera l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance req uirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the performance of the c hild restra int and its abil
ity to protect the child in a coll is ion. Insta lling
a chi ld restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these chi ld restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
rest raint firmly in place.
A WARNING
-Imp roper installat ion of ch ild restra ints
will i ncrease the r is k of injury a nd death i n
a crash.
-
Page 219 of 350

-Always follow the instructions 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 manufacturer's instruc
t ions req uire the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH
lower anchorage po ints can lead to injury
in a collis ion. The LA TCH lower anchorage
poin ts are des igned to w ithstand only
those loads imposed by correct ly fit ted
child restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchorage point .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
other i tem to the LATC H lower anchorag
es .
{i) Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lowe r universa l anchorages" (or "lower
universa l anchorage bars") are used to
desc ribe the system .
- In ot her countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
u sed to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
F ig. 22 1 Schematic overview : LATCH anc horage point
locations
The ill ustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low-
M "' er anchorages system. 0 ..J
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Child S afety 21 7
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig . 222 Second row of seats: lower anchorage bracket
locat ions
F ig . 223 Thir d row of seats: locator buttons for lower
a nch orages
Attachment locato r markers for lower
anchorages
T he lower anchorage locations in the second
row of seats are indicated by the attachment
locator marke rs of the lower anchorage brack
ets¢
fig. 222. Remove the covers to access
the lower anchorage brackets. Circular locator
buttons on the third row of seats" indicate the
lower anchorage locations on the third row of
seats
¢ fig . 223.
L o w er anch orag es
The lower anc horage attachment points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion ¢
fig. 222 or¢ fig. 223.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili-
ty of improper child restra int installation. .,..
Page 220 of 350

218 Child S afe ty
A ll child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are on ly intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages . Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the tow
er anchorage attachments can still be instal led in compliance with the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instruct ions on using vehicle
safety belts.
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can ca use serio us pe rsonal injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild re
strain ts manufac turer's instruct io ns for
proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
ot her items to the
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 203,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Applies to vehicles: with third row seating
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and are availa
ble from your authorized Audi dealer.
F ig . 224 T hir d row of seats: install ing the gu idance fix ·
tures
0
Fig. 225 Close-up: fitting the guidance fixture over the
l ower anchorage bracket
T he lower ancho rage attachment points are
located on the third row of seats between the
seatback and the seat cushion. Special guid
ance fixtures increase the conven ience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat
mater ial from possib le damage when instal
ling ch ild restra ints .
Installing the guid anc e fixture s
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
tower anchorages are v is ible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
d irection of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢fig. 225.
.,. Ma ke sure that each of the two guidance fix
t ures per sea t snaps into place.
Removing the guidance fixtures
.,. Remove the ch ild restra int according the
child restraint manufacture r's instructions .
.,. Push dow n on the seat cushion so that the
lowe r ancho rages are v is ible.
.,. Pull off the gu idance fixtures from the lower
anchorages.
.,. Always remove the guidance f ixt ures and
keep them in a safe p lace when not in use .
You may find it easier to install chi ld re
straints equipped with hooks attached to
straps witho ut the g uidance fixtures in place.
If this is the case, remove the guidance fix
tures by pulling them off the anchorages. However, the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages . ..,.
Page 221 of 350

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_& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause serious personal
injury in a crash.
- Always ca refully follow the child re
straint manufacturer's instruct ions for
proper installation and use of child re
st raint systems.
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorag
es to attach safety belts or othe r kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments a nd
lower attachments are only des igned to
se cur e a child res tra int t hat has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- T ether anc horages and lower an chorages
are desig ned to withstand o nly those
loads imposed by corre ctly fi tted ch ild
res traints . Under no circumstances can
they be used safe ly for adu lt or child
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one chi ld re
st raint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attac hing two child re
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious persona l injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fo ld ing the rear seatback to prevent
damag ing the seat c ushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery on the seat cush
i on and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures wer e insta lled. The up
ho ls tery would a lso be permanently
stretched around the guid ance fixtures.
This applies especially to leat her seats.
Child S afety 219
Installing a child restra int with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
f o llo w t he child res traint manufa cturer's i n
structions.
F ig . 2 2 6 Lower an cho rages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright pos ition and securely
latched in p lace.
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connecto rs lock into place ¢
fig. 226.
.. Pull on the con nector atta chme nts to ma ke
sure they are properly a ttac hed to the LA T CH
lower ancho rage .
.. Pull straps tight fo llowing the child restraint
manufact ure r's instruct ions .
Releasing
.. loose n the tension on the straps following
t he ch ild restraint manufac turer's instruc
tions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from t he lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use te ther s traps to help keep the
chi ld restraint f irmly in place .
A WARNING '-
Imp roper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
Page 222 of 350

220 Child Safe ty
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats us ing the ''LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latching the seat in place. If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
cou ld fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi cle.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury in an acc i
dent.
- Always fo llow the child restraint system
ma nufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
yo ur vehicle.
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
straint systems ¢
page 203, Child Safe
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 227 Tether anchors for second row of seats: at
t ac hm ent hook locatio ns
-
Fig. 228 Tet her anchors fo r thir d row of seats: attach
men t hook loca tions
The tether anchors for the three rear seating
positions in the second row of seats are locat
ed underneath the seats in the back
c> fig. 22 7. For vehicles with third row seat
ing*, the tether anchors for the two seating
pos itions in the third row of seats are stored
u nderneath a p lastic cover cap in the floor
¢ fig . 228 .
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a ch ild restra int to
special anchorage po ints in the vehicle .
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 risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking t he ve
hicle inte rior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S .
federa l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement perfo rmance requ irements .
T hese new perfo rma nce req uirements make a
tether nece ssary on most new child safety
seats .
,&_ WARNING
-= -Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death i n
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re-
straint you intend to install in your Audi. ..,_
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-Improper use of child restra int anchors
(incl uding tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor po int.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use ch ild restra int tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to t he LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tac h a child restraint to the fro nt passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the we ight-sensing
mat to measu re mo re weight than is ac
t ual ly on the seat.
- T he heav ier we ight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System wo rk as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy the Adva nced Ai rbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- 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 posi tion and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Child S afety 221
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 229 Tet her st rap: prope r rout ing a nd mounti ng
Fi g. 23 0 Tet her st rap fo r seco nd row sea ts: prope r
rou ting and moun tin g
Installing the tether strap
... Release or deploy the tet her strap on the
child res traint accord ing to the child re
st raint manufacture r's ins tructions .
... Guide the upper tether strap
unde r the rear
head restraint and into the rear ca rgo area
(raise the head restraint if necessary).
... Fo r the second row o f seats: Pull the floor
ing back, in order to reach the anchor brack
et
c:::> fig. 230 .
... For the third row of seats:* Remove the
plastic cover cap with a screw drive r, in orde r
to reach the anchor bracket
c:::> page 220,
fig . 228.
.,. Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket .
... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. For the se cond r ow of seat s: Push the floor-
ing forward into place again .
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Page 224 of 350

222 Child Safety
Releasing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension following the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
.. For the second row of seats: Push the floor
ing forward into place again.
.. For the third row of seats:* Replace the
plastic cover cap .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for several
days, this could 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 also be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear -facing child restraint sys
tems come with a tether . Please read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
& WARNING
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, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heavier weight
registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about child restraint selection, in
stallation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
vehicle, and that you will use correctly and
consistently.
Try before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
http://www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45 -SAFE (Eng Lish)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http://www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800 -333-0371 or call
1-613-998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu.htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834