Child safety
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always
be properly restrained in a child safety seat certi
fied for their size and weight¢
fig. 143 and
¢fig. 144 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest pl ace for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat . It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat.
.8, WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. 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 Ad
vanced 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 install rearward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you must install a rearward facing child
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, immediately install
the rearward-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
158
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
¢page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 121, Safety belts,
¢page 129, Airbag system
and
¢ page 151, Important information.
.8, WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special precautions be taken:
- 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 .
-Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible 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 ad
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position .
- 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 light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 139, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- 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
,-1 N
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,-1 I.Cl U"I
,-1 I.Cl ......
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 .
Fig. 145 Rear seat: c hild prope rly rest rai ned in a booste r
sea t
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (5 7 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 the ir bodies and the safety belt
can help protec t them in a crash.
.,.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when usi ng the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a ch ild 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 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 tight
en if necessary .
.,.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=>page 156.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best pro
tected in ch ild safety seats des igned for their age
and weight . Experts say that the skeletal str uc
ture, pa rticular ly the pe lv is , of these children is
no t fully developed, and they must not use the
Child safety
vehicle safety be lts wi thout a suitable child re
straint.
It is usually best to put these childr en in appro
priate booster seats. Be su re the booster seat
meets all applicab le 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 o f
the belt over the chi ld's body is very important
for the ch ild's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren 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
lap belt portion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone
to restrain any ch ild, regard less of how big the
ch ild is. Always remember that childr en do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts . T he
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pe lvis. 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 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 forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close , he or she
will be struck violently and w ill receive serious or
possibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's ..,.
159
Child safety
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions.
.,&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se
rious personal injury and/or death:
- 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 .
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
~ page 121.
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
~page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will result in serious
personal injury or death.
160
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER 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 described~
page 139, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System .
-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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
~ page 121, Safety belts,
~page 129, Airbag system
and
~ page 151, Important information.
Securing child seats
' Securing a child safety seat using a safety
I _l:>elt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger's seat 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 convertible lock
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must 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
child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and weight . ..,.
.... N
0 I-co ....
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- 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 no rma l 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 d uring
a sudden stop or in a collision .
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restrain t will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will strike parts of the vehicle interior. The ch ild
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rearward -facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front passen ger seat. A child will be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may inte rfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
c hild.
- It is safe r to install a forward-fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
¢page 151. Specia l pre caut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 130, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Ch ild safety
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
i nstall a forward or rearward-facing child re
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht must come on and stay on w henever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed¢
page 139, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restr aint off t he 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.
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion.
- An imprope rly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the chi ld.
- Always care fully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child safety
seat or carr ier.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in
jury in a crash.
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restra ints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned 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 nea r the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
-
161
Child safet y
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSEN GER 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 ch ild 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 Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier wi th great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat a nd child
against the backrest, cen ter armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in
sta ll a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir
cumstances .
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-fac ing
child restraint attached to the front passen
ger seat can put too much pressu re on the
weight-mat in the seat and register a heavi er we ight in the Advanced Airbag System.
The heav ier we ight registered can make the
system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it m ust be s uppressed causi ng serio us or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make s ure 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 , immediately in
sta ll the rearward-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the a irbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer .
162
· Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufacturer's
i nstruct ions when installing a child restra int 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 th e w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path
~ ,&. .
.. Push the ch ild safety sea t down wi th yo ur full
weigh t to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the be lt tong ue into the b uck le for that
seating position .
.. Guide the safety be lt back into the retracto r un
til the belt lies flat and sn ug on the ch ild 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 lo nge r be able to pull the belt
out of the retracto r. T he convertib le locking re
tractor is now activa ted.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the chi ld restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly t ight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or s ideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild restraint or an improp
e rly installed child restra int can ca use serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tr actor 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 driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a chi ld is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash.
,-1 N
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,-1 I.Cl U"I
,-1 I.Cl ......
-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 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 LA TCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to attach a
child restraint to the front passenger seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, that it
causes the weight-sens ing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat .
- The heavier weight registered can make the
Advanced Airbag System work as though an
adult were on the seat and dep loy the Ad
vanced Airbag when it must be supp ressed
ca using se rious o r even fatal injur y to the
c hild.
- If you must install a re arward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of except io na l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-fac ing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 151 Tethe r str ap : pro pe r ro uting an d mountin g
Installing th e teth er strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restra int according to the child restraint manu
fac turer's in struc tions.
Ch ild sa fety
.,. Guide the upper tether strap unde r the rear
head restraint ~
fig. 151 (rais e the head r e
straint if necessary) .
.,. Tilt the recess f lap up to expose the ancho r
bracket .
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
.,. Tighten the te ther s trap fi rm ly following the
child restraint manufacturer 's ins truc tions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension follow ing the child restra int
manufact urer 's instr uctions .
.,. Dep ress the spr ing catch on the hook and re
lease it from t he ancho rage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restrai nt w ith the tethe r
stra p firmly i nstalled for several days, this
could leave a mark on the uphols tery on the
seat cushion and back rest in the area where
the tether strap was installed. The upholstery
would a lso be permanently stretched around
the tether strap. This app lies espec ia lly to
l eather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
C urren tly, few rearwa rd-facing child restra int
systems come w ith a tether. Please read and
heed the child restra int system manufacturer's
instructions carefully to dete rm ine how to prop
erly install the tether .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
i nstalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously inju red and can be k illed if the front
a irbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the back rest , cente r a rm rest, or
door.
167
Child safet y
-A tight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing child restra int attached to the front
passenger seat can put too much pressure
on the we ight-mat in the seat and register a
heavie r weight in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem . The heav ier weight registered can
make the system wo rk as though an adult
were o n the sea t and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be supp ressed ca using
serious or even fa tal inj ury to the ch ild .
- If you mus t in st all a rearw ard fac ing ch ild
sa fety seat on the front passen ger sea t be
ca use of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rea r seat ing position and have the airbag
system inspected by your author ized Audi
dealer.
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sou rces of addit ional in
formation about child restra int selection, instal
lation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat is
the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your vehi
cle, and that you will use correctly and consis
tently .
Try before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admini stra
tion
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424 -9153)
www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www .safekids.org
Safety BeltSafe U .S.A
T el.: (800) 745 -SAFE ( English)
Tel.: (800) 74 7-SANO (Span ish)
www .ca rseat .o rg
168
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 -800-333-0371 or ca ll 1-613-998-8616 if
yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/ roadsafety/menu .htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
Intelligent Technology
shared, please see your contract with the
wireless te lecommunications provider and the
"About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI*:
I MENU ! button > Audi connect > About
Audi con nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
E SC helps to imp rove ro a d hold ing and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probab ility of skid
d ing and loss of veh icle control. It works only
when the engine is runn ing . ESC detects certain
d iffic ult dr iving situat io ns, including when the
ve hicl e is begin ning to spin (yaw) o ut of contro l
a nd h elps you to ge t the veh icle b ack u nder con
trol by se lectively braking the wheels, and/or re
ducing engine powe r and providing steering as
sistance to help hold the vehicle on the driver's intended course. The indicator light
GI in the in
strument cluster blinks when ESC is tak ing action
t o he lp you contro l the vehicle.
ESC has lim itations. It is important to remembe r
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not a lways be able to help out under all con
d itions you may come up aga inst . For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
situations where there is a sudde n change in the
coeff ic ie nt of fr iction of the road surface. W hen
there is a se ction of dry road tha t is sudde nly cov
e red with w ater, slush o r sn ow , ESC c annot pe r
form the same way i t wou ld on the dry s urface. If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa
ter instead of t he road su rface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you stee r the veh icle because contact
with the pavement has been inter rupted and the
ve hicle cannot be b raked or steered . Dur ing fast
cornering, part icu larly on w inding roads, ESC
can not always deal as effect ive ly w it h difficult
d riving situat ions than a t lowe r speeds . When
towi ng a trail er, ES C i s not able to help you re
g ai n con trol as it would if you we re not towing a
tra ile r.
A lways ad just yo ur speed and driving sty le to
road , tr affic and weathe r cond itions. ESC canno t
override the vehicle's phys ical lim its, incre ase the
170
available tract ion, or keep a vehicle on the road i f
r oad depa rt u re is a res ult of d river inattention .
Instead, ESC improves the poss ib ili ty of keeping
the ve hicle unde r contro l and on the road d uring
extreme maneuvers by using the driver's steer ing
i nputs to help keep the vehicle going in the in
tended direction . If you are traveli ng at a speed
t h at causes you to r un off the road before ESC
can p rovide any assista nce, you may not exper i
ence the benefi ts of ESC.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certa in s itua
tions when you need less tract ion, yo u can sw itch
off AS R by press ing the button
I!] c:> page 171,
fig. 152 or c> page 171 , fig. 153. Be s ure to
swi tch ASR on again w hen you no longer need
l ess trac tion.
The following systems a re in tegrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up when
braki ng . The vehicle can st ill be steered even d ur
i ng hard b raking . Apply steady p ressure to the
brake peda l. Do not pump the pedal. A p uls ing in
t h e b rake pedal indica tes th at th e system is help
i ng yo u to b rake t he ve hicle.
Brake assist system
The bra ke assist system can decrease braking dis
ta nce. It increases b raking powe r whe n the dr iver
presses t he br ake peda l quickly i n emergency sit
u at io ns. Yo u must pre ss and ho ld the bra ke peda l
u nt il t he s itu at ion is ove r. In vehicles wi th adap
tive cr uise con trol *, the brake assist sys tem is
more sensitive if t he di stance detected to the ve
h icle ahead is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR redu ces engine powe r whe n the dr ive whee ls
begin to spi n and a da pts the fo rce to the road
con ditio ns. Thi s ma kes it easier to s tart, acce le r
ate and d rive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The ED L brakes w heels that are spi nning and
t ra nsfe rs the dr ive power to the ot her dr ive
whee l or w heels if the vehicle is equ ipped with
a ll- wheel drive*. This function is not avai lab le at
h ighe r speeds. .,..