182 Child Safety -Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi ble 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 adjustment range.
-Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice, power inverter or seat heater for child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer. -
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.
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 are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
"' ....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 175 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos
te r seat
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft . 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
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 re
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. 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 .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly. ..,.
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 179.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable 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
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 child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard
less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable 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 inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
Child Safety 183
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in
jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional 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 airbag can inflate com
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi
ble and must lie flat 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 never across the
stomach or abdomen. Make sure that 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 inju
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 138.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or remove the rear seat head restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place¢
page 57. In
stall the head restraint again immediate
ly once the child seat is removed. Driving
without head restraints or with head re-
.
straints that are not properly adjusted ~
•
•
184 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 159, 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 138, Safety
belts,<=> page 147, Airbag system
and
<=> page 173, 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.
-Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center r ear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fe ty belt i s
be ing use d to secu re a c hild re strain t.
- If th e backrest is not se curely la tched,
t he child and t he child res tra in t wi ll be
thrown forward together with the bac k
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The chi ld can be seriously i n
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or in fant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed whe n the passen-
ger a irbag i nflates .
~
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
-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 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
¢ page 173. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 149, 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 159, 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
PASS EN·
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-
Child Safety 185
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.
- 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.
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.
•
•
186 Child Safety
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
"" Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
""Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
""Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path¢,&. .
"" Push the child safety se at down with you r
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
"" Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
""Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
""You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retracto r. The con
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
"" Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
""Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING .,__
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 173. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 149, 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 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
IJll-
190 Child Safe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 180 Tether ancho rs: attachment hook locations
behind the rear seatbacks
The tether anchors for the two/three* rear
seating positions are located o n the backside
of the rear seatbacks
¢ fig. 180 . Vehicles with
two rear seating positions are equipped with
two tether anchors.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that attaches the top part o f a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of t he tether is to reduce the for
ward movemen t of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve
hicle interior.
F orward facing child rest ra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
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 prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
st rain t you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de
signed to w ithstand on ly those loads im
posed by corre ctly fitted ch ild restraints. -
Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment .
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds o f occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and t he
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system i nspe cted by your
Aud i deale r.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 181 Tether strap: proper routing and mou nting
Installing the tether st rap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re
s traint manufacture r's instructions.
• Guide the upper te ther s trap
und er the rear
head restraint¢
fig. 181 (raise the head re
straint if necessary) .
• Attach the tether strap ancho rage hook into
the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
• Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions. ..,
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Rele as ing the teth er str ap
"' Loosen the tension following the child re
stra int manufacturer's instructions.
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
l ease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled 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
stalled. The upholstery would a lso be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint sys
tems come with a tether. Please read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenge r seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fron t airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflat ing airbag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w ith g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Child Sa fet y 191
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additiona l
information abo ut child restraint selection, in
stallation and use :
NH TSA advises t hat the bes t ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
vehicle, and that you will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National High way Traffic Safet y Admin
istration
T el.: 1 -888 -3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www. n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Sa fety Belt Saf e U.S. A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat.org
Transpo rt Canada Information C entr e
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll
1-6 13-998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsafety/
menu.htm
Audi Cu stomer R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
•
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
@ Tips
-Certain Audi pre sense functions are not
ava ilable when ASR is sw itched off (sport
mode) or when driving in reverse.
- The Audi pre sense functions may not be
available if there is a malfunction in the
ESC system or the airbag control mod
ule.
- The Audi pre sense front/plus functions
are not available if there is a malfunction
in the adaptive cru ise control* system
9 page 93.
-The Audi pre sense rear/plus functions
are not available if there is a malfunction
i n the Audi side assist* system
9page 93.
Audi pre sense 193
•
•