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
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected immediately by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
- 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 the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward -facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper anchor
age to the adjustment position that per
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing the
child restraint. The backrest must be ad
justed to an upright position .
- 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 .
Child safety
-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.
- 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.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on
all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate
ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi
cle
r=;, page 134, Safety belts, r=;, page 142,
Airbag system
and ¢ page 166, Impor
tant informat ion .
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause it to fail in another collision situation.
167
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 .,..
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 ...
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
Please remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and at
tachment of child restraints specifically cert ified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child re
straints that are not equipped with the lower an
chorage attachments can still be installed in
compliance w ith the child restra int manufactur
er 's instructions on using vehicle safety belts .
.8, WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always caref ully follow the child restra ints
man ufactu rer's inst ructions for proper in
sta llation of the child restr aint and proper
u se of the lower anchorages or safety be lts
in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages.
- Always read and heed t he important infor
mation about child restraints in this chapter
and WARNINGS
~ page 166, Child safety .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
F ig . 174 Lower anchorages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upr ight position and sec urely latched
i n place .
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring
catch re lease on the ch ild safety seat onto the
Ch ild safety
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into p lace
¢ fig. 174.
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
.. Pull straps tight following the ch ild restraint
manufacturer 's instructions .
Relea sing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps fo llow ing the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spr ing catches to release the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in p lace.
.8, WARNING "---Imp roper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an accident.
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attach other ch ild safety seats, belts
or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click when
latching the seat in place. If you do not hear
a click the seat is not sec ure and co uld f ly
forward and hit the inter io r of the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle .
.8, WARNING
I mp roper installation of child restra ints w ill
i n cr ease the risk of inju ry in an a ccident.
- Always follow the ch ild restraint system
manufac ture r's ins tructions fo r prope r in
s tallat ion of the ch ild restrain t system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety belts in yo ur ve
h icle.
- Always read and heed the important infor
matio n and WARNINGS about ch ild safety
and the installat ion of child restraint sys
tems
¢ page 166, Child safety .
-
181
shared, please see your contract with the
wireless telecommunications provider and the
"About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI:
! MENUI button> Aud i connect > About
Audi conn ect.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road ho ld ing and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of skid
d ing and loss of vehicle control. It works only
when the engine is runn ing . E SC detects certain
d ifficult dr iving sit uat ions, including when t he
ve hicl e is begin ning to spin (yaw) out of contro l
and helps you to ge t the veh icle back under con
tro l by se lective ly braking the wheels, and/or re
ducing engine powe r and provid ing steering as
sistance to help hold the vehicle on the dr iver's
intended course. The indicator light
GJ in the in
strument cluster blinks when ESC is taking action
to help you co ntrol the vehicle.
ESC has limitations. It is important to remember
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 sudden change in the
coeff icient of friction of the road surface. When
there is a section of dry road that is sudde nly cov
e red with water, slush o r snow, ESC cannot pe r
form the same way it wo uld on the dry s urface . If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa
ter i nstead of the road su rface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because contact
with the pavement has been interrupted and the
ve hicle cannot be braked or steered. Dur ing fast
cornering, pa rticula rly on w inding roads, ESC
cannot always deal as effect ively w it h difficult
d riving si tuations tha n at lowe r speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road , traffic and weather cond itions . ESC cannot
override the vehicle's physical lim its, increase the
ava ilab le traction, o r keep a ve hicle on the road if
road departure is a resu lt of driver in attention .
I nstead, ESC imp roves the possibi lity of keep ing
Intellig ent Technology
the vehicle under contro l and on the road d uring
extreme mane uvers by using the driver's steering
i nputs to help keep the vehicle go ing in the in
tended direction. If you are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC
can provide any assistance, you may not exper i
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certain s itua
tions when you need less tract ion, you can sw itch
off ASR by press ing the button
lm c> page 188,
fig . 177 . Be sure to switc h ASR on again whe n
you no longer need less traction.
The following systems are integrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock braking sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the wheels from locking when brak
ing. The vehicle can still be steered even dur ing
hard braking. Apply steady pressure to the brake
pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A pulsing in the
brake pedal ind icates that the system is acting to
stab ilize the veh icle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking dis
tance. It increases braking power when the dr iver
presses the brake peda l quickly in emergency sit
uat ions. You must press and ho ld the brake pedal
unt il the dange rous situation is over . In vehicles
with adaptive c ruise cont rol*, the b rake ass ist
system is more se nsitive if the distance detected
to the ve hicle ahead is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power whe n the dr ive wheels
begin spin ning and adapts the force to the road
co ndit ions. This makes it eas ier to s tart, acce ler
ate a nd d rive up incl ines.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other dr ive
wheel or wheels if the vehicle is equ ipped with all
whee l drive*) . This function is not available a t
highe r speeds .
In extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches off
to keep t he brake o n the braked wheel from over
hea ting . T he veh icle is still working co rrectly. EDL
IJJ>
187
Intelligent Technology
ESC levels Sport mode on Sport mode off
Behavio r
The ESC and ASR stabilization functions The fu ll stabilization function of the ESC
are limited ¢ .&. . and ASR is avai lable again.
Operation Press the I .a OFF I button.
Press the I.a OFFI button again .
Indicator II turns on. II turns off.
lights
Driver mes- Stabilization control (ESC): sport. Warn- Stabilization control (ESC): on
sages ing! Restricted stability
A WARNING
Only switch sport mode on when your driving
abilities and the traffic s ituation permit, be
cause there is a r isk of slid ing .
- The stabilization function is limited when
sport mode is sw itched on. The driving
wheels could spin and the vehicle cou ld
swerve, espec ially on slick or slippery road
surfaces .
(D Tips
Sport mode cannot be sw itched on if the
cru ise control system* or adaptive cruise con
trol* is switched on.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new brake
pads do not possess the ir full braking effect, they
have to be "broken in" first¢.&. . You can com
pensate for this slightly reduced braking power
by push ing harder on the brake pedal. Avoid
h eavy braking loads during the break-in period .
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still sub
ject to wear , depend ing largely on operating con
d itions and dr iving habits ¢.&. . On veh icles that
are e ither dr iven most ly in stop-and-go city traf
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be
checked by your authorized Audi deale r more of
ten than specified in the
Warranty & Mainte
nance booklet.
F ailure to have your brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake perform
ance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking ef
fect of the engine. This way, you prevent un nec
essa ry wea r on the brake system. If you must use
you r brakes, do not hold the brakes down contin
u ous ly. Pump the brakes at intervals.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on the
speed, bra king fo rce and outside conditions such
as temperature and humidity.
Effect of water and road salt
In certain situations, for example after driving
through water, in heavy rain, after overn ight con
densation or afte r wash ing your car, the brak ing
effect can be reduced by moisture or ic e on the
brake rotors and brake pads. The brakes must be
dried f irst with a few careful brake applications .
At h igher speeds and w ith the windshield wipers
turned on, the brake pads press against the brak e
rotors for a short amount of time. This occurs at
regular intervals without the driver noticing and
provides for better brake response t ime under
wet conditions.
T he effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a sa lt-covered road
and the brakes are not used . Likewise, yo u clean
off accum ulated salt coating from brake discs
and pads with a few cautious applications of the
brake¢ .&..
Corrosion
There may be a tendency fo r dirt to build up on
the brake pads and corrosion to form on the discs .,..
189