Page 177 of 302

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~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 171 .
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 175
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 that 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
c::> page 130 .
-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
c::> page 57. 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 ~
•
•
Page 178 of 302

176 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 151, 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 130, Safety
belts,<=> page 139, Airbag system
and
<=> page 165, 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.
- If the rea r set backrest is not secure ly
latched, the ch ild and the child restra int
will be throw n forwa rd togethe r with the
backrest a nd wi ll str ike par ts of t he ve hi
cle interior. The chil d can be ser iously in
ju red or killed.
- N ever inst all re ar- fa cing child safety
seats or in fant c arriers on the front pas
sen ger seat . A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed whe n the passen
ge r airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the c hild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst t he backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
Page 179 of 302

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-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 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:;, page 141, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
_& 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
c:;, page 151, 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.
Child Safety 177
- After checking to make sure that the
child restraint is properly installed, make
certain that the child restraint is correct ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas
senger frontal airbag status .
_& 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.
_& 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. ..,..
•
•
Page 180 of 302

178 Child Saf ety
- 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
PASS ENGER 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 a irbag 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
e r's instructions when install ing a ch ild re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tib le locking retractor:
• Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
• Slow ly pull the be lt
a ll th e wa y out.
• Route it around or through the chi ld re
straint be lt path
q ,& .
• Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight.
• Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
• Gu ide the safety belt back into the retractor
unt il the belt lies flat a nd snug on the ch ild
safety seat.
> You should hear a "click ing" noise as t he
belt w inds back into the ine rtia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt . You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor . The con
vertib le lock ing retractor is now act ivated.
• Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the c hild restra int so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
• Pullon the belt to make sure the safety belt
is p roperly t ight a nd fastened so that the
seat cannot move fo rward or sideways mo re
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
p roperly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious pe rsonal injury or death in a c rash .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is loc ked when installing a child
safety seat. An un locked safety belt re
tracto r 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 si tt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a s udden stop or in a crash .
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright pos ition and securely latched
into place and cannot fold fo rward. Oth
erwise, the seatback with the child sa fety
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 us ing a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
q page 165. Special
p recautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
q page 141, 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 oil the way bock into
the retractor.
• Press the red b utton on the safety belt buck
le. The belt tong ue will pop o ut of t he b uck
le .
• Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety be lt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety be lt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt w ith
out the convertible locking retracto r for child
rest raints .
...
Page 181 of 302

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If the convertible locking retracto r shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided comp letely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the co nvertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and u ncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
Improperly insta lled child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ra ctor for
child restrain ts w hile 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
c:!) page 165. Spec ial
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:!) page 141, 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 provide a s impler and more pract icable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
chi ld restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LAT CH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requirements.
Child Sa fet y 1 79
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a ch ild restra int that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abil
ity to protect the child in a collision . 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 LA TCH
l ower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these chi ld restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the child
restraint f irmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury and death in
a crash.
- 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
tions require the top tether st rap to be
used .
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lowe r anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mo unt two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es.
-
•
•
Page 182 of 302

180 Child Safet y
@ Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISO FIX" is used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig . 174 Schemat ic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocat ions
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped w ith the low
e r anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 175 Lower a nch orages, covers marked
Fig. 176 Rea r seats: lowe r ancho rage b racket locat ions
L o w er an ch orage s
The circular markings on the rear seat help
you to ident ify the location of lower anchorag
es for the two outboard seating positions
~ fig . 175. The LATCH lower unive rsal ancho r
age a ttachment po ints are between the rear
seatback and rea r seat cushion .
Remove the covers~
fig. 175 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points.
The lower anchorage attachment points are
vis ible
c:> fig . 176 .
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle 's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to -use attachment and minimize the possib ili
ty of improper child rest ra int installation .
All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must h ave lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system .
Please remember that the lower anchorage
po ints are only intended for installat ion and
attachment of child restraints spec ifically cer
tified fo r use with
LATCH lower anchorages .
Child rest raints that are not equ ipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in
sta lled in compliance w ith the ch ild restra int
manufactu rer's instr uctions on using veh icle
safety belts .
A WARNING
-
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious persona l injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefu lly follow the child re
straints manufacturer's instructions for
Page 183 of 302

"' N
a:: I.J "". rl I.O
"' ......
"' rl
proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchora ges
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS¢
page 165,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
Fig. 177 Lower anchorages: p roper mo unting
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and securely
latched in place.
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place¢
fig. 177 .
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
s ure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child restra int
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions .
Child Safety 181
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
& WARNING ~
Improper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats using 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
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the veh i
cle .
& WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
-Always read and heed the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child safety and the installation of child re
straint systems¢
page 165, Child Safe
ty.
-
Page 184 of 302

182 Child Safet y
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 178 Tethe r ancho rs: attachment hook locat io ns
behind the rea r sea tbacks
The tethe r anchors for the rear sea ting posi
tions are located on the backside of the rea r
seatbacks
~ fig. 178.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for·
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to he lp reduce the r isk of head
in ju ry that could be ca used by s tri king the ve
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, a re required by U .S .
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requ irements make a
tether necessary on most new chi ld safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
st ra int you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of c hild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in ·
jury in a co llision. Th e anchors are de·
sign ed to withstand only those loads im
posed by cor rect ly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mou nt two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchor po int. -
Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether ancho rage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds o f occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attac h any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing
chi ld safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l c ircumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rea r seating position and
h ave the air bag system ins pe cte d by your
Au di dea le r.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig . 1 79 Tet her st rap: prope r rou ting and mou nting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether st rap on the
child res traint accord ing to t he child re
s traint manufa cturer's instructions.
.,. Guide the upper te ther s trap unde r or side
ways o f the rear head restraint~
fig. 179
(depending on the c hild restraint) .
.,. Attach the tether strap anc horage hook into
the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten t he tether strap firmly fol low ing the
child r estraint manufacture r's instructions .
liJJ,