2016 AUDI A6 ESP

to help provide this additional p rotection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very h igh speed and with great force .
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le­
mental side curtain airbag inflates. This applies
espec ia lly to children
~ page 166.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
f ire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know a nd do to help the safety be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supp lemental protec tion .
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and imprope r
seating positions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used.
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of their
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
tain airbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate without interference .
- Use the built -in coat hooks on ly for light­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may interfere w ith airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in a collision.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on the
hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or, if
shades installed after the vehicle leaves the
factory, use only genuine Aud i sun shades.
Airb ag sys tem
-Never swing the sun visors over to the side
windows if things such as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at­
tached to the sun v isors. They could come
loose and cause ser ious injury if the side cur­
tain airbag inflates.
- A dep loying airbag inflates in a fract ion of a
second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a s ide curtain airbag.
- The airbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at all times. Make s ure there are no
objects, pets, o r other persons in the space
between any vehicle occupant and any air­
bag at any t ime.
- Do not attach any accesso ries to the doors .
A WARNING
-The airbag sys tem can deploy on ly once. If
the airbag has been trigge red, the system
m ust be rep lace d by an authori zed A udi
dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have wo rk invo lv ing the side curtai n
airbag system, re moval and i nstallation of
the airbag components, or other repairs
pe rformed by a qualified dealership. Other­
wise the airbag system may not work cor­
rectly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any components of
the airbag system in any way .
165

Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 135, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
g reater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fully devel­
oped, they require restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, weight, and body struc­
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 -pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adu lt safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an acc ident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
your child's size¢
page 169, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the impo rtant in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re-
166
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the very important information about trans­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they are
extremely importa nt for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especia lly infants and
small chi ldren.
.&_ WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inf lating airbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acci­
dent sit uations.
.&_ WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child 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, or
door.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat in

Child safety
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument panel when the a irbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression " requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad ·
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always ride in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size. 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 place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat . It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca­
pacitive passenger detection system in the front
passenger seat cushion that can detect the pres­
ence of a baby or a child in a child restraint sys ­
tem on this seat .
The capacit ive passenger detection system regis­
ters the changes that result in an electrical field
when a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket
are on the front passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child restraint system resting on the seat. The meas ­
ured capacitance of a child restraint system var-
168
ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The electrical ca pacita nee of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specified
by the U.S .National Highway Traffic Safety Ad­
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typical of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat w ith a typical 1 year-old infant, the Ad­
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con­
trol unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe­
ty Standards and has been certified by its manu ­
facturer for use with an airbag . Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exception ­
al circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa­
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the applicable WARNINGS. Make cer­
tain that the child and child restraint are correct­ ly recognized by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system in the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off, and that the airbag status is always correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Many types and models of child restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in­
troduced regularly incorporating new and im­
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
different weights and sizes and different "foot­
prints", the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with
each and every child restraint that has ever been .,..

sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your vehicle.
F or this reason, the U nited States National High­
way Traffic Safety Administration has p ublished a
list of specific type, makes and models of child
restraints that must be used to certify compli­
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle with the suppression requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed ch ild re str aint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ange l Guard Angel September 2S, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
Subp art B - Re ar-f acin g child re str aint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4543 December 1, 1999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo D iscovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo F irst Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco 5nugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Viag- September 25, 2007
gio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C -Fo rward -facing and con vertibl e
child r est raint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summ it Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Boos- September 25, 2007
ter 22-209
Ch ild safety
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
E venflo Meda llion 254 Decembe r 1, 1999
Evenflo Generat ions September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
stra int is ins talled on the front passenger seat
and the ign it ion is swi tched on.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the ai rbag system inspec ted by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categor ies A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag f unction.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, yo u are responsib le for the safety
of eve rybody in the vehicle, especia lly children:
.,. Always use the right child safety seat for each
child and always use it properly ~
page 172.
.,. Always carefully follow the chi ld safety seat
manufacturer 's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly th rough the chi ld safe ­
ty seat.
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
Iii>-
169

Child safety
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢page 176.
~ 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 .
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 size.
_& 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.
-All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U .S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select one
that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­
ion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom ­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequate contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of child
safety seats and carefully follow the in­
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using.
170
-Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety belt.
They must always be restrained by a proper child restraint system . Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold the
child with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the
passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also in­ jure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem.
- 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 installed
on the front passenger's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. Always install for­
ward-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat .
- 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: .._
.__ ______________ _j ...

.... N
0 CJ ' M I.Cl ......
-Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or 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 be­
fore 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 that the backrest is in the upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er 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
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 oth­
er 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 elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- 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 collision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 134, Safety belts,
Child safety
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child safety.
A WARNING
-
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on .
- 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
:8
. ,. -,. i
--- CJ
Fig. 166 Sc hematic overview: keep unused safety be lts
away from ch ild ren in c hild safety seats.@· outer rear
safety belt,®· center 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
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them ¢_& .
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and
@* be­
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
¢ fig. 166 . When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
171

Child safety
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 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 passenger compart­
ment , the airbag can inflate completely and pro­
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions.
A 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 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 injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢ page 134.
- 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 re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 57. 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,
for example the front seat.
176
-
-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 .
- 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 153, 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 134, Safety belts,
¢page 142, Airbag system
and
¢ page 166, 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 con 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
stra ined for their age and size.
A WARNING
-
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 install ing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing 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 collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to wh ich the center rear safety be lt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se ­
cure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will strike parts of the vehicle interior. The chi ld
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing chi ld safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger airbag in­
flates.
- The inflating a irbag w ill 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 rear-facing child safety seats
o r 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 rfe re with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
Ch ild safety
being used ¢page 166. Special precautions
apply when instal ling a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 143, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know .
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
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
¢ page 153, 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
PA SS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the child .
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carr ier .
- After checking to make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is co rrectly recog­
n ized by the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the fron t passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal a irbag
stat us.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restra ints :
-
177