178 Child Safety
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into the retractor .
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt buck
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck
le .
.. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position.
Always let the safety belt retract completely into its stowed position. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A 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 deacti
vate the convertible locking retractor for
child restraints while the vehicle is mov
ing. You would not be restrained and
could be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
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LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
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, Federal regu lations require special lower
anchorages in vehicles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Children ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new ch ild
head movement performance requirements .
T hese new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a chi ld restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its ab il
ity to protect the child in a co llision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a v iolation of
state law.
Ch ild restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their ch ild seats with
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustable straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restra int firmly in place .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re-
Child S afety 1 79
straint you intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Never install a chi ld restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision . The LATC H lowe r anchorage
points ar e designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mo unt two ch ild restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or a ttach any luggage or
o ther item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es.
a) Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower u niversal anchorages" (or "lower
universa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de
scribe the sys tem.
- In other countries, the t erm " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a nch o rages.
Location
Fi g. 16 6 Schema tic overv iew: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seati ng loca tions in
yo ur vehicle which are equipped with the low
er anchorages system.
180 Child Safet y
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 167 Lower a nch orages, covers marke d
Fig. 168 Rear sea ts: towe r an ch orage b racke t locat io n s
Lowe r ancho rages
The lower anchorage atta chment points are
located on the rear end of the rear seatback.
Remove the covers¢
fig. 167 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible
¢ fig . 168 .
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 m inim ize the possibili
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All chi ld restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1 , 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH lower anchorages. Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the low
e r ancho rage attachments can still be instal- led in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts
.
A WARNING
-Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re
straints manufacturer's instructions for
proper installation of the child restraint
an d prope r use of the lower anchorages
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 WARN INGS
¢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.
F ig. 169 Lower anc ho rages : proper mount ing
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in the upright posit ion and securely
latched in place .
"' Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spr ing catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connec to rs lock into place ¢
fig. 169. ..,.
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.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child restraint
manufacturer 's instructions.
Relea sin g
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instr uc
tions .
.,. 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.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATC H system can in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in an acc ident.
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats us ing the "LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or othe r objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hea r a click
when latching the seat in place . If you do
not hea r a click the seat is not secure and
c ou ld fly forward and h it the inte rior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi
cl e.
A WARNING
Improper installation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of in jury in an acci
dent.
- Always fo llow the child rest raint system
manufacturer's instr uctions for proper
installation o f the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the important in
format io n and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
st raint systems~
page 165, Child Safe
ty.
-
Child S afety 181
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 170 Sedan Tet her anchors: recess flaps behind the
r ea r seatbacks
Fig. 171 allroad Tether anchors: attac hme nt hook lo
catio ns be hind the rear seatbacks
Sedan : T he tether ancho rs for the rear seating
pos itions are located in recesses in the rear
window shelf
c> fig. 170.
allroad : The tether anchors for the rear seat
ing pos it ions are located on the backside of
the rear seatbacks
qfig. 171.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap t hat
attaches the top part of a ch ild restraint to
special anchorage po ints in the vehicle .
T he purpose of the tethe r is to re duce the for
ward movement of the child rest raint in a
crash, in orde r to help reduce the risk of head
injury that cou ld be caused by striking the ve
hicle interior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U .S .
federal regulations to comply with c hild head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats. ...,
182 Child Safet y
& WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de
signed to withstand on ly those loads im
posed by correctly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two ch ild restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchor po int.
- Never attach two child rest ra int systems
to one tethe r strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use ch ild restra int te ther ancho
rages to secure safety belts o r other
kinds of oc cupant rest ra ints.
- Never secure o r attach any luggage or
other items to the LATC H lowe r ancho
rages o r to the tethe r ancho rs.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tac h a child res traint to the front passen
ger seat, make su re that it is not so
t igh t, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure more weight than is ac
t u ally on the seat.
- T he heav ier weight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag 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.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rea r-facing child
s afety seat in a rear seating posi tion a nd
have the a irbag sys tem inspec ted by yo ur
authorized Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 172 Sedan Tether strap: prope r ro ut ing and
mount ing
F ig . 1 73 allroad Tether strap: proper routing and
mount ing
Installing the tether st rap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int
~fig.172 or¢fig .173 (raise
the head restraint if necessary).
.,. Seda n: Tilt the re cess fl ap up to expose the
a nchor b rac ket.
.,. Sedan: Attach the tethe r strap anchorage
hook into the opening of the tether anchor
age .
.,. allroad : Slide the tether strap hook over the
anchor bracket.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spr ing catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child res traint manufacture r's ins tructions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension follow ing the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Dep ress the spring catch on the hook and re-
lease it from the anchorage. ..,.
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(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for severa l
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in
s t alled. The upho lstery would a lso be per
manently stretched around the tethe r
s tr ap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come with a tether. Please read and h eed the child restraint system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determ ine how to
p roperly install the tethe r.
A WARNING
-
A ch ild i n a rearward-facing child safety
s ea t insta lled on the front passenger sea t
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the chi ld
sa fety seat or infa nt carrier w it h great
force and wi ll smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-fac ing c hild restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
sea t and regis ter a heavier we igh t in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ie r
we ight registe red ca n make the system
wor k as th ough an adul t were on t he seat
and dep loy the A dvanced Airbag when i t
must be supp ressed ca using serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward facing
child safety seat o n the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im-
Child Sa fet y 183
mediately insta ll th e rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized 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 se lection, in
stallation and use:
NH TSA advises that the best chi ld safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that you w ill use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U .S National Highway Traffi c Safety Admin
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -3 27- 42 36 (TIY: 1-800 -42 4-9153)
www.n htsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (2 02) 662- 0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSafe U .S .A
T el.: (8 00) 7 45-SAF E (English)
T el.: (8 00) 747 -SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information C entr e
Tel.: 1 -800 -333-0371 or c all
1-6 13-99 8-8616 if yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsa fety/
menu .htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
•
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186 Intelligent technology
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
smal l.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces eng ine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the d rive powe r to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
a ll-wheel drive* . This function is not avai lab le
at higher speeds.
I n extreme cases , EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from ove rheating . EDL wi ll switch on again au
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by
changing the steering torque.
In vehicles with dynam ic steeri ng*, ESC also
he lps to stabilize the stee ring in critical s itua
tions.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
The electronic interaxle d ifferential lock (front
wheel drive) or the select ive wheel torque
con trol ( all wheel d rive) oper ates when driving
through curves . The front whee l on the inside
of the cu rve or both whee ls on the inside of
the curve are b raked se lectively as needed.
This a llows more prec ise driving in c urves. The
applicable system may not activate when driv ing i n wet or snowy conditions.
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems can
not overcome the laws of physics. This is
especially important on slippery o r wet
roads . If the systems begin acting to sta·
b iliz e your veh icle, you s hou ld immed i
a tely c ha n ge your speed to match the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let
the increased safety provided by these
systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing
so will increase the risk of a loss of vehi
cle control, collision and serious personal
inj uries.
-Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and weather conditions. The risk of los
ing control of the vehicle increases when
d riving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. The ESC a nd its integrated sys
tems canno t always p reven t collisions -
there is still a risk of acc idents!
- Always accelera te wi th spe cial care on
even, smooth s urfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with these assistance systems that cannot al
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve
h icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR only work cor rectly when
all four wheels are equipped with identi
cal tires. D ifferent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power .
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator light
DJ or ml (USA
mode ls)l iiJ (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction<=>
page 18,
<=>page 19 .
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Intelligent technology 187
Switching on/off
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 174 Version A: lower ce nter console,~ OFF but·
to n
The ESC is designed to function in levels. De·
pending on the level that is selected, the sta
b ili zat ion function of the ESC is limited or
switched off . The amount of stab ilizat ion con
trol will differ depend ing on the level.
The following situations are exceptions where
it may be useful to switch on sport mode (Se·
dan) or offroad mode (allroad) to allow the
wheels to sp in:
Sedan: ESC levels
Fig. 175 Vers ion B: upper cente r console,~ OFF bu t·
ton
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow o r on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
- allroad : Driving on rough terrain when much
of the car's weight is lifted off the wheels
(axle articulation)
- allroad : Driving downhill while braking on
loose ground
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC/ASR on
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stab iliza- The stabilization funct io n The full stab ilization func·
tion funct ions are lim ited is not available
c::> /1.. ESC tion of the ESC and ASR is
c:::> &. . and ASR are switched off. available again.
Operation Press the I~ OF FI button Press and hold the I~ OF FI Press the I~ OF FI button
briefly. button longer than 3 sec-
again.
onds .
Indicator fl turns on. II and lfilf•)H turn on . JI turns off or II and
lights If ilft)H turn off.
Driver mes- Stabilization control Stabilization control Stabilization control
sages (ESC): Sport. Warning! (ESC): off. Warning! Re- (
ESC) : On
Restricted stability stricted stability