<( co .... N
" N ..... 0
" > 00
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
-------~
Fig. 1 45 Schematic overv iew : keep unused safety belts
away from ch ildre n in ch ild safety seats .@ -outer rear
safety belt
::!
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety belts
mu st be secured so
that the child in the ch ild restraint cannot reach
them
9 &, .
-Guide the safety belt webb ing @ behind the
head restraint of the seat where the child re
straint is installed
<=:> fig. 145. When do ing so,
do not engage the convertible locking ret rac
tor! You sho uld not hear a "clicking" sound
when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety be lt
webbing .
_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LA TCH lower anchorages or wit h the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
cou ld cause the ch ild ser ious personal in jury
and even death .
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of ch ildren in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restra int is ins tal led.
- Never act ivate the convertible locki ng re
t racto r when routing the safety belts around
the head restra ints.
Ch ild sa fety
Child seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or
9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
F ig . 14 6 Schematic overv iew: rearward -fac ing infant seat,
p roperly insta lled on the rea r seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le loc king re tractor on the safety belt
to p revent the chi ld safety seat from moving
9 page 176 or insta ll the seat using the LATCH
attachments.
... Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm) .
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=:>page 171.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carr iers and child
safety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
experts be lieve that infants and small ch ildren
sho uld ride o nly in special res tra ints in wh ich the
ch ild faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
c rash
r:::;, fig. 146 .
The airbag on the passenger s ide makes the fron t
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
c h ild in a forward-facing child seat. It is a very
dangerous p lace for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward-facing seat.
171
Child safety
_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly install ing a
child restra int increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carr iers on the front passenger
seat -
even with an Advanced Airbag System.
A chi ld will be seriously injured and can be
k illed 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, door or roof
c> page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in
the forward-facing direction. Such restraints are designed for the special needs of infants
and
very small children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
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, immed iate ly install
the rear-fa cing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag systetn inspected by your Audi dealer.
- 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 passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any ch ild restraint system 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 passenge r seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, elect ronic games dev ice,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the e lectr ica l
172
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detect ion system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used.:.>
page 135, Safety belts,
r:=;,page 143, Airbag system
and
.:.> page 165, Important information.
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. 147 Schema tic ove,v iew: installat ion of t he attach
me nts applicable to a LA TCH seat
Fig. 148 Schematic oveiview : installat ion of th e seat using
the vehicle's sa fety belt 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 176 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that .,..
Child safety
so that the safety belt will be properly
pos it ioned.
- 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.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CO player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any ch ild rest raint system on
t h is seat.
- Make s ure that the re a re no wet objects
(s uch as a wet towe l) and no water or other
liquids o n the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games dev ice,
power inverter or se at heater for child
seats) . These may influence the e lectrica l
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal 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
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall the forward-facing child seat at a seat ing posit ion on the rear seat and have the
airbag system inspected by your author ized
Audi dealer.
- T ake the ch ild restraint off the front passen
ger seat and insta ll it p roperly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
174
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.
Fi g. 1 49 Rear seat: ch ild prope rly restra ined in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts a lone w ill not fit most
ch ild ren until they are at leas t 4 ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs. (36 kg) . Booste r seats raise these ch ildren up so
that the sa fety belt will pass p roper ly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety be lt
can help protect them in a crash.
.,. Do not use the convertib le locking re trac tor
when using the veh icle's safety be lt to restrain
a child on a booster seat.
.,. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen
ter 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 m ust lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and sn ug. Pu ll on the be lt to tight
en if necessary.
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c>page 171.
Children up to at least 8 years o ld (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) a re best protected in child safety seats de
signed for their age and weight . Experts say that
the skeletal structure, part icu larly the pelvis, of
these ch ildren is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint.
Child safet y
-If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
P ASSENGER 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 descr ibed
~ page 155, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the ch ild restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used~
page 135, Safety belts,
~ page 143, Airbag system and
~page 165, 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 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 convertib le lock
i n g ret rac to r fo r child rest raints . The safety belt
m ust 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
chi ld safety seat w ill stay in place .
A lways remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re
stra ined for their age and size .
176
A WARNING ,.
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the r isk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
-
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tractor is locked when installing a ch ild
safety seat . An unlocked safety be lt retrac
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in place
during normal d riving or in a c rash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not si tting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round dur ing
a sudden s top or in a collision.
- I f the backrest is not se curely latched, the
child and the ch ild restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and w ill
strike parts of the veh icle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear -facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child w ill be seriously injured and
can be k illed when the passenger a irbag in
flates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere w ith the deployment of
the airbag and ca use serio us inju ry 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
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c::!;> page 165. Special p recautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 144, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor-
tant things to know .
~
<( co .... N ,.__
N .... 0 ,.__
> co
A WARNING 1=
Always take special precautions if you must install a forward or rearward -facing ch ild 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
P ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on , perform the
checks descr ibed
~ page 155, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the ch ild restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN GER AI R
BAG OF F
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of ch ild restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improper ly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child .
- Always carefu lly follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the child restra int is properly installed, make certa in
tha t the child restraint is correctly recog
nized by the capacit ive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the cor rect front passenger fronta l airbag
status .
A WARNING
Forward-fac ing child rest raints :
- Always ma ke sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man
ufacturer for use on a fron t seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
-
Ch ild safety
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as possible , before installing the for
ward-facing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
= Rearward-facing chi ld restraints:
- A child in a rearward-fac ing c hild safety sea t
installed on the front passenger seat will be
serio usly injured and can be ki lled if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the c hild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially carefu l if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in except ional cir
cumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall the rea r-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating posit ion and have the airbag
sys tem inspected by you r Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the c hild safety seat manufacturer 's
instruct ions when installing a child restraint in
177
Child safety
your vehicle. To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, 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 position .
.,. Guide the safety 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
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac
tor 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 up
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at-
178
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 165. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 144, 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.
The 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.
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 deactivate the convertible locking retractor for child re
straints while the vehicle is moving. You
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 165. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
Ill>
<( co ..... N
" N ..... 0 r--. > 00
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢fi g. 153 .
.. 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.
R elea sing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catches to release the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury and
death in an acc ident.
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attach other child safety seats, belts
or othe r objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click when
latch ing the seat in place. If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
forward and h it the interior of t he vehicle,
o r be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING
Improper installatio n of c hild rest rai nts will
increase t he r is k of i njury in an a cc ident.
- Always follow the child restra int system
man ufacturer's inst ru ct ions for proper in
sta llation of the child res tra int system and
pro per use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety be lts in your
ve
hicle.
- Always read and heed the important infor
mation and WARNINGS about child safety
and the insta llation of chi ld restraint sys
tems ¢
page 165, Child safety.
Child sa fety
Tether anchors and tether straps
F ig. 154 Tether anchors: behind the rear seat backrests
The tether anchors for the rear seating positions
are located on the rear seat backrests¢
fig. 154.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at
taches the top part of a child restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte
r ior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S . fed
era l regulations to comply with new child head
movement pe rformance requ irements. These
new performance requ irements make a tether
necessary on most new chi ld safety sea ts.
A WARNING
I mp roper installa tion of child restra ints w ill
i nc rease the risk o f injury and dea th in a
crash.
- Always follow the instru ctions prov ided by
the man ufa ct u rer of the ch ild restrain t you
i n tend to insta ll in your A udi.
- I mp roper use of chi ld restrain t ancho rs ( in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision. The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed
by cor
rectly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mo unt two child rest rai nt systems on
one LATC H lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restra int systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage .
181
Child safety
-Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PAS SEN G ER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rea r
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 155 Tet her strap: proper routing and mounting
Installing th e teth er strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restra int acco rding to the child restra int manu
fac ture r's instruct ions.
.,. Un lock the backrest and fold it slightly forward
¢ page 58and locate the tether anchor behind
the rear seat backrest.
.,. Raise the head restraint behind the child safety
seat.
.,. Gu ide the upper tether strap under or on both
s ides of the rea r head restra int (depending on
the child safety seat model) .
.,. Attach the tether strap ancho rage hook into
the open ing of the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook is engaged.
182
.,. Straighten the backrest back up into its upright
position and press it firmly into the locking
mechanism.
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasi ng th e tet her strap
.,. Loosen the tension on the tethe r strap fo llow
ing the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
.,. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firmly installed for several days, this
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cushion and backrest in the area where
the tether strap was installed. The upholstery
would also be permanently stretched a round
the tether s trap. This applies especially to
l eather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
ch ild restraint system manufacturer's i nstruc
tions carefully to determine how to properly in
stall the tether.
&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously inju red and can be k illed if the front
airbag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- If you m ust install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSENGER A IR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install