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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 veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 175, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenag ers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l
oped, they require restraint systems especial ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restra ints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your chi ld's size ~
page 206, Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 203
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be
cause of the large amount of important infor
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport
ing children on the front passenger seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly when
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ikin g the interior or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An un re
strained or improper ly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in
jured or even killed when an a irbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it 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.
•
•
204 Child Saf ety
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
ch ild safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forward -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
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 man ufacturer's in
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move t he passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child rest raint that is not visible
could cause i t to fail i n another collisio n
si tua tion.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you
r
vehicle was manufacture d.
T he Adv anced Airbag system in yo ur vehicle
has been certified to mee t the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and sma ll adults on the
drive r side. The low r is k dep loyment cr iteria
are intended to red uce the risk of in jury
through interact ion w it h the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates . In addition, the syst em
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the "sup
pression" re quirements o f th e Safety Sta nd
ard, to t urn off the fron t airbag for infan ts up
to 12 months who are res trained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that a re list
ed in the Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an
Advanced Airbag system , a ll children, espe
cia lly those 12 years and yo unger, should a l
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 ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a ch ild in a for
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a ve ry
dange rous place fo r an infan t or a large r child
i n a rea rward-f acing se at.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
c h ild restra int on the front passenge r seat us
i ng the weig ht-sens ing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor be low th e safe ty belt latch
o n the front passenge r seat that measures t he
tens ion on the s afety be lt.
T he we ight -sensi ng mat measures total
we ight of t he chi ld and the ch ild safety seat
and a c hild b la nk et on the front passenger
seat. The we igh t on the fron t pa sse nger se at
is re late d t o the desig n of the ch ild res trai nt
and its "f ootprint", the s ize and shape o f the
bottom of the chi ld restraint as it sits on the .,..
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seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child restra int manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the we ight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir
bag System. When a chi ld restraint is being
used on the front passenge r seat with a typi
cal 1 year -old ch ild, the A dvanced Airbag Sys
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor
ed in the electronic control unit.
The electron ic contro l unit al so registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the belt. The input from this sen
sor is t hen used w ith the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restraint with a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less 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 chi ld restraint is p roperly instal led at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions. If in excep
tional ci rcumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefu lly read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing
Child Sa fet y 205
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag status is always correct ly signaled
by the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over t he years, new mod
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restrai nt that sits
o n the seat, when they a re insta lled on a veh i
cle seat. These diffe rences make it v irtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 25, 2007 R ide AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century Smart Fit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007 22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
•
•
206 Child Safety
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1,
1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007 Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco Comfo rtSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- 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. -
Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immed iate
ly.
@ 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
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil
dren:
.. Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c::;,page 209.
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions 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 213 .
.. 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) .
.,. If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 208.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always ride in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size . .,.
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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 . 217 Sche matic overv iew: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 213 or install the seat
using the LA T CH attachments.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly 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 208.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infan t carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 217.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a po tentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
l arger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
Child Safety 209
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A ch ild will be ser iously in
jured and ca n be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof ¢
page 184, Child restraints on the
front seat- some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
and cannot prote ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward fac ing
child sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 173 , Safety
belts,
¢ page 182, Airbag system and
¢ page 203, Important things to know.
210 Child Safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 218 Schematic overv iew : ins tallat ion of t he at
ta chments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 219 Schematic overview: insta llation of th e sea t
us ing t he veh icle's safety be lt system
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to install
a chi ld safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::> page 213 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c::>page213.
.. If the child safety seat is eq uipped w ith a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
i=>page220.
.. Secure unused safety be lts on the rear seat
c::> page 208.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restra int if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg). T
oddlers 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 certified for their size and weight
c::> fig . 218 and c::> fig . 219 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe
ty seat . It is a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improp erly in
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation .
- 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 . A chi ld 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 in
f la tes -even with an Advanced 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 rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possible ..,.
212 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
9page 208.
Ch ildren up to at least 8 years old (over 40
l bs. or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safe
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itable child restraint.
It is us ually best to put these children in ap
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le 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 ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (S7 in
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder belts.
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety belt a lone to restrain any child, regard
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires 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
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable 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
i n flat ing airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she wi ll be struck violen tly and will
receive serious or possib ly even fatal in
jury .
In order fo r the ai rbag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mportant that a ll vehicle occupants, espec ial
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
proper ly 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 airbag can inflate com
pletely and prov ide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
.&, WARNING
No t using a booste r seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, inco rrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly 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
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up
per body. It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r ac ross t he
stomach o r abdomen. Make sure the belt
liesflat andsnug.Pullon thebeltto
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afety belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 173 .
- The rear side o f the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re straint if it is difficu lt to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
c::> page 80. Install the head restraint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed. D riving without head restraints
or w ith head restra ints that a re not prop
erly ad justed increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck inj ury dramatically . ""
214 Child Safety
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
c::> page 203 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::> page 184, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
<=:> page 193, 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.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child. -
Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re straint up, against or very near the in
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- 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 Advanced 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 be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception-
al circumstances.
~