Child safety
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. 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 inju ry and death in a crash.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front passen
ger seat -even w ith an Advanced Airbag Sys
tem . A child will be seriously injured and can
be killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof¢
page 129, Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rearward -facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rearward-facing child re
straint in the forward-facing direction. Such restraints are designed for the special needs
of infants and very small children and can
not protect them properly if the seat is for
ward-facing .
- 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
~ page 120, Safety belts,
~ page 128, Airbag system and
¢ page 150, Important information.
156
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. 143 Schem atic ove rview: instal la ti on of the attach
ments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 144 Sc hematic ove rview : instal lat ion of the seat using
t he vehicl e's sa fet y bel t system
.. 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 159 or install the seat using the LATC H
attachments.
.,. Push the chi ld 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)
~ page 159.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 165.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 155.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) .
IJJ,,
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N 1.1'1 ,....,
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 si ze and weight¢
fig. 143 and
¢fig. 144 .
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.
.8, 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-
Child safety
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
¢ page 56. 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 120, Safety belts,
¢ page 128, Airbag system and
¢page 150, Important information.
.8, 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 138, 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
157
Child safety
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 ore less than 4 ft .
9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig . 14 5 Rear seat: ch ild p roperly restra ined in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in . (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg) . Booster seats raise these c hildren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronge r pa rts of their bod ies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster seat .
• The shoulder be lt must lie as clo se to the cen
t er of the child's collar bone as poss ible and
must lie flat and sn ug 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 tight
en if necessary.
• Secu re unused safety belts on the rear seat
~ page 155.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best pro
tected in child safety seats designed for their age
and weight . Experts say that the skeletal struc
ture, part icularly the pelvis, of these ch ildren is
not f ully deve loped, and they must not use the
158
vehicle safety be lts without a suitable child re
straint.
It i s usually best to put t hese chi ldren in appro
pr iate booste r seats . Be sure the boos ter seat
meets a ll applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats ra ise the sea ting pos ition of t he
ch ild an d repos ition bo th the lap and shoulder
parts o f the safety bel t so th at they pass across
the chi ld's body in the right places . The rout ing of
the be lt over the chi ld's body is very important
for t he chi ld's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. C hildren age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft . 9 in . (57 inc hes/
1.45 meters) tall ca n 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 alone
to rest rain any child, regardless of how b ig the
c hi ld is . A lways remember that ch ild ren do not
have the p ronounced pe lvic st ructure required for
the p roper func tion of lap belt port ion of the ve
h icle 's th ree po int lap and shoulder be lts. The
ch ild' s sa fety abso lutely requires tha t a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snug ly 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 crash, a irbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable force . In order to do
i ts job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occ upant as the occu
pant moves forward into the airbag .
A ve hicle occupant who is out of pos ition 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 vio lent ly and will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury .
In order for the airbag to
offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances, be prope rly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keep ing room betw een the ch ild 's ..,
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N ..,., ,....,
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
~ page 120.
-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
~page 56. 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 .
Child safety
-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~
page 138, 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 120, Safety belts,
¢ page 128, Airbag system and
¢ page 150, Important information.
Securing child seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger's seat can 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 . ..,_
159
Child safety
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 safe ty 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~
page 150 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 129, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
160
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 ~
page 138, 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
-
M N
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N ..,., ,....,
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible before installing the for
ward-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 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 be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional 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 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.
- 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, immediately in
stall the rearward-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
Child safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
instruc tions when installing a child restrain t in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a sea t, preferably on
the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out .
.. Route it around or through the child restraint
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 posit ion.
.. Guide the saf ety belt back into the retractor un
til 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 con
vertible locking retractor by pulling on the belt .
You should no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertible locking re
tractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
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 improp
erly 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 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 crash. ..,.
161
Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 150 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 129, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant 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 re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
Th@ belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ 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 now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature .
If the
convertible locking retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
_& WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
-
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re
straints while the vehicle is moving. You
162
would not be restrained and could be seri ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 150. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c> page 129, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Child safety
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig . 14 7 Lowe r anchorages, covers marked
Fig. 14 8 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracket locat ions
Low er anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment poi nts a re lo
cated on the rear end of the rear seatback .
Remove the cove rs
9 fig. 147 to access the lower
anchorage attachmen t poi nts.
The lower anchorage attachment points a re v is i
ble
9 fig . 148 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages prov ide a secure and easy -to -use at
tachment and m inim ize the possibility of improp
er ch ild restraint installation.
All child restra ints manufactu red after Septem
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach
men ts for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended for installation and attachment of
child restraints spec ifically cert ified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages . Child restraints that are
not equipped with the lower a nchorage attach-
164
ments can still be installed in compliance with
the child restraint manufacturer's instructions on
u sing vehicle safety belts .
_& WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious perso na l injury in an accident.
-Always carefully fo ll ow the child rest raints
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper in
stallation of the child restraint and proper
use of the lower ancho rages or safety be lts
in your v ehicle .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lowe r anchorages.
- Always read and heed the important infor
mat io n about ch ild restra ints in this chapter
and WARNINGS
~page 150, Child safety .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
t ions.
Fi g. 14 9 Lower ancho rages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.,. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat bench is
in the upright position and secure ly latched in
place.
.,. Att ach both hook-on connectors with the spring
catch re lease on the ch ild safety seat onto the
LA TCH lower a nch orage so that the connectors
lock into place ~
fig. 149 .
.,. Pull on the con nector a ttachments to ma ke
sure they are p roperly attached to the LA TC H
lower ancho rage.