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0 > CX)
.... I.Cl U"I ,....,
I.Cl ....
_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or w ith 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
co uld cause the ch ild ser ious personal inj ury
and even death .
- Always se cure 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
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
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 .
Fig. 174 Schematic overv iew: rearwa rd-facing infant seat,
properly installed on the rear seat
• When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
ch ild safety sea t, you must first activate the
co nve rtible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safe ty seat from moving
r=.> page 219 or install the seat using the LA TCH
attachments .
• Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt rea lly t ight so that
Child sa fety
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::;, page 214.
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 their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restra ints in wh ich the
child faces the back of the vehicle . These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
¢ fig . 174.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
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-fac ing c hild seat.
It is a very
dange ro u s p lace for an infant or a la rger ch ild in
a rearward-facing sea t.
_& WARNING
-
No t usi ng a child sa fety seat, using t he wrong
chi ld safety seat or imprope rly installing a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even w ith an Advanced A irbag System .
A child will be serious ly injured and can be
killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and child agai nst the ba ckrest, center armrest,
door or roof
r::!.> page 185, Child restraints on
t he front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint in
the forward-fac ing direction. Such restrain ts
are des igned for the special needs of infants
and ve ry small children and cannot protect
them proper ly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you m ust install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
215
Child safety
airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9
in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) toll .
Fig. 177 Rear seat: c hil d p rop erly restrain ed in a booster
seat
"' ,...
i i
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in . (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs .
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chi ldren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety bel t
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety bel t to rest rain
a chi ld on a boos ter seat.
• The shoulder be lt 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 must lie across the pelv is and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary .
• If you must transpo rt an older child in a boos
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can
use the safety belt he ight adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
218
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r=;, page 214 .
Children up to at least 8 years o ld (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in appro
priate 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 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 ch ild's body is very important
for the child's p rotection, whether or not a boos
te r 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 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
l ap belt portion of the veh icle's safety belt a lone
to restrain any child, regard less of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap be lt portion of the ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child's safety abso lutely 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 chi ld's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate with in a blink of
an eye and with considerab le 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 occu
pant moves forwa rd into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos it ion and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
a irbag . When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violent ly and will rece ive serious or
possibly even fata l injury. ..,.
,....,
N
0 > co ,....,
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le before installing the for
ward-facing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSEN GER AI R BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
_& WARNING
Rearwa rd-facing child restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rea rwa rd-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional c ir
cumstances.
- Make sure that the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSEN GER A IR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufacturer's
instruct ions when installing a child restraint in
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 w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path
¢ & .
.. Push the ch ild safety seat 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 un
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat.
.. You should hear a ''cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vert ible lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt.
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertib le loc kin g re
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the c hild 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) .
_& WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint o r an improp
e rly inst alled child restra int can cause se rious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tr actor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An un locked safety be lt retrac
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round during
a sudden stop or in a crash. .,.
221
be happy to provide more infor
mation.
® Mud and snow capability
"M/5 " or "M+S" indicates the tire
has character istics that make it
suitable for driving on mud and
snow .
& indicates a winter tire .
@Composition of the tire cord
and materials
The number of plies indicates the
number of rubberized fabric lay
ers in the tire. In general: the
more layers , the more weight a
tire can carry . Tire manufacturers
must also specify the materials
used in the tire. These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry.
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear ,
traction and temperature
resistance
Tread wear, traction and temper
ature ranges
¢ page 271.
~ @ Running direction
g
~ ...
'° V, ....
'° ....
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires .
Tires and wheels
You must always follow the speci
fied runn ing d irection
¢ page 288 .
@ Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number ind icates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat
ing conditions.
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto
matic transmission , power steer
ing , power brakes, power win
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
i tems are available as facto ry-in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent .
Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low sidewa ll for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement. .,.
255
Tires and wheels
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim .
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom
mended by the vehic le manufac
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for more than a couple of miles (kilo
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire pressure is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle with standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additiona l weight of
op tional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in-
2 56
flation pressures than t he corre
sponding standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl" , "EXTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating
("GAWR" )
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system , measured
at the tire-ground interfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the max im um total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load tha t a
tire is rated to carry for a given in
flation pressure. You may not find
this informat ion on all tires be
cause it is not required by law .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
t he maximum permissible infla
tion p ressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible )
inflation p ressure
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated. Also called "maxi
mum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to
tal seating capacity of your vehi
c le.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance be
tween the exteriors of the side
walls of an inflated tire, including elevations due to labeling, deco
rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Tires and wheels
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre
viously considered in curb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rack, heavy duty battery, and
specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the beads are laid at substantially 90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 256, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flat ion pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires may be identified as .,.
257
Uniform Tire Quality Gr ading
is a tire information system devel
oped by the United States Nation
al Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make relat ive com
parisons among tires. The UTQG
is not a safety rating and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescribed number of miles
(kilometers) or perform in acer
tain way. It simply gives t ire buy
ers additional information to
combine with other considera
tions, such as price, brand loyalty
and dealer recommendations . Un
der
UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in th ree areas:
treadwear, traction, and tempera
ture resistance. The UTQG infor
mation on the tires, molded into
the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN )
This is the tire's "serial number".
It begins with the letters "DOT"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal standards . The next
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant where it was manufac
tured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year of
manufacture. For example,
Tires and wheels
DOT ... 2215 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week of 2015. The
other numbers are marketing co des that may or may not be used
by the t ire manufacturer. This in
formation is used to contact con
sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug
gage load plus 150 lbs . (68 k ilo
grams) times the vehicle's desig
nated seating capacity.
Vehicle ma ximum load on the
tire
means that load on an indiv idual
tire that is determined by distrib
ut ing to each axle its share of the
maximum loaded vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by dist rib
uting to each ax le its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weigh t (dis
tributed in accordance with
c:::> ta
ble on page 265) and dividing by
two. .,.
259
Tires and wheels Model/ Tire designation
Tire pressure
Engine Normal load
Maximum load
(up to 3 people)a>
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A3 Sportb 225/45 Rl 7 91 Y ack: High Performance
30 210 28 190 36 250 36 250
2.0L
225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
4 cylinders High Performance
35 240 32 220 36 250 36 250
(Diesel en-
225/45 Rl7 91H
gine) All Season
33 230 30
210 41 280 41 280
225/40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
36 250 33 230 41
280 41
280
A3 Sportb 205/55 Rl6 91 V
ack e-tron: High Performance
35 240 35 240 36 250 39 270
1.4 liters
225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
4 cylinders High Performance
33 230
33 230
36 250 39 270
(Gasoline/
225/45 Rl 7 91H
electric en- All Season
33 230 33 230 38 260 38 260
gine)
225/40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
33 250 33 250 41 280 41 280
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xi, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire sidewall.
a) 2 people in the front, 1 person in the rear
A WARNING
Please note the important safe
ty precautions regarding tire pressure ¢
page 263 and load
limits ¢
page 266.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of
load or weight that any vehicle
and any tire can carry. A vehicle
that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overloading can not only lead to
loss of vehicle control, but can al-
266
so damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden
tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation that can
cause the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your pas sengers also depends on making
sure that load limits are not ex
ceeded. Vehicle load includes ev
erybody and everything in and on
the vehicle. These load limits are
technically referred to as the vehi cle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat-
ing
("GVWR"). ..,