-Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASS ENGER A IR
B AG O FF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
F ig . 173 Schemat ic overv iew: keep unused s-afety belts
away from children in c hild safety seats.@· oute r rear
sa fety belt,
@ -center rear safety belt
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LA TCH universal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety belts
mu st be secured so
that the child in the chi ld restraint cannot reach
them
c::> ,& .
-Guide the safety belt webbing behind the head
restraint of the adjacent seat
c::>fig . 173. When
doing 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 .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATC H l ower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booste r seat on the
rear sea t could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
co uld cause the chi ld serious personal injury
and even death .
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of ch ild ren in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restra int is installed.
Ch ild sa fety
- Never activate the convertible lock ing re
tractor when rout ing 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.
F ig. 174 Sc hematic overview : rearward-facing in fant seat ,
properly installed o n th e rear 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
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c::> page 177 or insta ll the seat using the LATCH
attachments.
... Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm) .
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 173.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
expe rts be lieve that infa nts and small chi ldren
shou ld ride only in special restraints in which the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
c::> fig . 174. ...,
173
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh mor e than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their si ze and weight¢
fig. 175 and
¢fig. 176 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a child to
ride . The front sea t is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat .
It is a
very dangerous place for an infa nt or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
A 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 inf lates.
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 with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the bac krest, center arm rest , door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust the rear
seat head restraint if it is diff icult to install
the ch ild seat with the head restraint in
Ch ild safety
place ¢ page 132. Driving with head re
stra ints that are not properly adjusted in
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck in
jury dramat ically .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c> page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 168, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional c ircumstances req uire the use
of a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child 's sa fe ty and
well -being req uire that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-fac ing 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 instr uc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost pos ition of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possib le before
installing the ch ild restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost pos ition in its fore and aft ad
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position .
- Make sure that the
PAS SENGER AIR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
175
Child safety
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. 177 Rear seat: ch ild proper ly restrained in a booster
seat
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 ld ren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly
over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster 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 transport an older child in a boos
te r seat on the front passenger seat, you can
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c> page 173.
Children up to at least 8 years old (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
176
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro
priate booste r seats. Be sure 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 of
the be lt
over the chi ld's body is very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under m ust
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) ta ll 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 child, regard less of how big the
c hi ld is. Always remember that children do not
have the p ronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the
ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
c hi ld's safety absolutely requ ires 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
i ts 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 ve hicle occupant 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 will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury .
In order for the a irbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptional c ircumstances, be properly
re stra ined and as far away from the a irbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's .,..
Child safety
-Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back
rest to which the center rear safety belt is
attached is securely 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 child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- 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.
- 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 or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing child
safety seat on the rear seat.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used ¢
page 168. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 147, Child
restraints on the front seat- some impor
tant things to know.
178
A WARNING , .
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described¢
page 156, 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.
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier .
- Never place additional 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 restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
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 possible before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
- Make sure that the
PAS SEN 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 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 a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild 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 cir
cumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight-mat in the seat and register a heavi
er weight in the Advanced Airbag System .
The heavier weight registered can make the system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when
it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR B AG
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 rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the child sa fety seat manuf actu rer 's
ins truc tions when ins talling a child restraint in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child rest raint on a seat, prefe rably
on the rear sea t.
.. 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 th e 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 pulling on the belt .
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertib le locking re
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint or an improp
e rly installed 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 chi ld safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash. .,.
179
Child safety
and the installation of child restraint sys
tems
r::> page 168 , Child safety.
(D Note
On vehicles with power adjustable rear seats*
some criteria must be observed when attach
ing the child restraint using the
LA TCH sys
tem:
- To attach the chi ld restraint securely, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear po
sition, the seat height set to the lowest po
sition and the head restraint must be ad
justed to the vertical position
c'.:> page 61.
- If a ch ild safety seat is attached to one of
the rear seats , this seat must not be adjust
ed using the power controls under any cir
cumstances . The
Entr y ass is ta n ce for th is
seat must also be deactivated in the MMI
r::> page 64. The child safety seat as wel l as
the rear seat can be damaged by the adjust ment process .
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 18 4 Te ther a nch ors: recess flaps beh ind the rear sea t
ba cks
The tether anchors for the two* /three rear seat
ing positions are located in recesses in the rear
window shelf
r::> fig . 184 . Vehicles with two rear
seating positions* are equ ipped w ith two tether
anchors .
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at taches the top part of a child restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle .
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
184
that cou ld be caused by striking the vehicle inte
r ior.
Forward facing child restra ints manufact ured af
ter September 1, 1999, a re required by U.S. fed
eral regu lations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
new performance requ irements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints wi ll
i ncrease the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the ch ild restraint you
intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of chi ld restraint anchors (in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision. The anchors are designed to
w ithsta nd only those loads imposed by cor
rectly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mo unt two ch ild rest raint systems on
one LATC H lower anchor poin t.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether st rap or tethe r anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment .
- Never use child restra int tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage o r other
items to the LATCH lowe r anchorages or to
the te ther anchors.
- I f a tether or other strap is used to attach a
child restra int to the front passenge r seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, tha t it
causes the weight-sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
- The heavier weight reg istered can make the
Advanced A irbag Sys tem wor k as though a n
adu lt were on the seat and deploy the Ad
vanced Airbag when it must be suppressed
causing serious or even fatal injury to the
child.
- If you must insta ll a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER A IR 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 posit ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 185 Tether strap: p roper ro uting a nd moun tin g
In sta ll ing the tether strap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restra int manu
facturer's instruct ions.
• Gu ide the upper tether strap
unde r the rear
head restra int ~
fig. 185 (raise the head re
straint if necessa ry) .
• Center seating position*: Guide the upper teth
er strap over the rear head restraint .
• Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
• Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
• Pullon the tether strap hook so t hat the spring
catch of the hook engages .
• Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
c hild rest raint ma nufactu rer's inst ruct ions.
Releasing the tether strap
• Loosen the tens ion following the child restrai nt
manufacturer's instructions .
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap fi rm ly installed fo r several days, this
co uld leave a ma rk on the upholstery on the
Ch ild sa fety
seat cushion and backrest in the area where
the tether strap was installed. The upholstery
would a lso be permanently stretched around
the tether strap. T his applies espec ia lly to
leather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear-facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
child restraint system manufacturer's instruc
tions carefully to determine how to properly in
stall the tether .
A WARNING
- -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
i nstalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously in jured and can be killed if the front
a irbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier w ith great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and ch ild
against the backrest, cente r a rm rest, or
door.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rearward
faci ng chi ld restraint attached to the fro nt
passenger sea t can put too much pressure
on the weig ht-mat in the seat and register a
heavier weight in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem . The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
A irbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even fatal injury to the child .
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safe ty seat in a rear
seating posi tion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
185
Trail er mode
Trailer mode
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger
transportation.
If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember that
the additional load will affect durability, econo
my and performance.
Trailer towing not only places more stress on the
vehicle, it also calls for more concentration from the driver.
For this reason, always follow the operating and
driving instructions provided and use common
sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trailer, you must ac
tivate the trai ler operation mode
¢ page 202, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Tr ailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suitable
for your veh icle and trailer and must be mounted
securely on the vehicle's chassis at a
technically
sound
location . Use only a trailer hitch with a re
movable ball mount . Always check w ith the t rail
er h itch man ufact urer to make sure that you are
using the co rrect hitc h.
Do not u se a bumper hitch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way that it
does not interfere with the impact-absorbing
bumper system . No mod ificat ions should be
made to the vehicle exhaust and brake systems .
F rom t ime to t ime, check that a ll hitch mo unt ing
bolts rema in securely fastened.
When you are not tow ing a traile r, remove the
tra iler hitch ball mount. This prevents the hitch
from caus ing damage should your vehicle be
struck from behind
¢ ,&. .
202
Trailer b rakes
If your trailer is equipped with a braking system,
check to be sure that it co nforms to all regu la
tions.
The tra iler hydrau lic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydrau lic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the tra iler.
Trailer light s
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be sure
to check with your Aud i dealer for correct wir ing,
switches and relays .
Mirror s
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you us
ing the regular outside mirrors, then you
must in
stall extended mirrors . It is important that you
always have clear vision to the rear.
A WARNING
Afte r remov ing the tra iler hitch, do not sto re
i t in you r vehicle. In case of s udden braking,
the hitch could fly fo rwa rd and injure you or
your passengers.
Operating instructions
Fig. 1 87 MMI d ispl ay: tow ing mode o n
Maximum traile r weight
A tra iler for your vehicle is lim ited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 trailer.