Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years o ld 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. 131 and
¢fig. 132.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a child to
ride. The front seat 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 armrest, 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
PASSENGER 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 pos ition 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 or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if
ficult to install the child seat with the head
Ch ild safety
restraint in place¢ page 52. Install the
head restraint again immed iately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head restraints or with head restra ints that are
not properly adjusted increases the r isk of
serious or fatal neck inju ry dramatically.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 104, Safety belts,
¢page 112, Airbag system
and
¢ page 132, Impor tant 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 safety and
well-being require that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
des igned 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 pos ition of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possib le befo re
installing the ch ild rest raint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rea rmost 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
- I f the light does not stay on, perfo rm the
checks ¢
page 122, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
139
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. 133 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 137.
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
140
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro
pr iat e 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.
Ch ildren 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 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 vio lently 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 .,..
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro
vide supp lemental protect ion 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 dea th in a collision or other emer
gency situat ion. To help red uce the risk of se
rious personal injury and/or death:
- T he shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie f lat 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 104.
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if
ficult to install the child sea t with the head
restra int in place
¢page 52. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or w ith 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 knee l on any seat,
for example the front 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 ser ious
personal injury or death.
Ch ild safety
-If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed¢
page 122, Monitoring
the Advanced 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
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
eve r using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 104, Safety belts,
¢ page 112, Airbag system and
¢ page 132, 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 can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors for
the rear seats safety be lts and for the front pas
senger's seat safety be lt have a conve rtible lock
ing retractor for child restra ints. The safety be lt
must be locked so t hat be lt webb ing cannot un
ree l. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during norma l driving. A chi ld
safety seat can on ly 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
c h ildren, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re
strained for their age and size.
14 1
Child safet y
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 installing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt retrac
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place
dur ing no rma l driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
pla ce even if a child is not s itting in i t. A
loose child safety seat can f ly around d uring
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k
rest to which the center rea r safety be lt is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se
cure a chi ld restraint.
- If the backrest is no t 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 carr iers 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 car rier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, doo r
o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
o r infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger's
seat may inte rfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing 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
being used
r=> page 132. Specia l preca utions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
r=> page 113, Child
142
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install 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
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
r=> page 122, Monitoring
the Advanced 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 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 improperly installed child restraint 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 carrier.
- Never p lace additiona l items on the seat
that can increase the tota l 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 near the instrument pan-
-
el. ~
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and a ft
adjustment range , as fa r away from the air
bag as possible before installing the for
ward-facing child r estra int. T he backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit io n.
- Make sure tha t th e
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the tim e
w henever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearwa rd-facing child restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional c ir
cumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
we ight-mat in the seat and register a heavi
er we ight in the Advanced Airbag System.
The heavier 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 suppressed c ausing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure tha t 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, immedia tely in
stall the rear-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer .
Child safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufacturer 's
instruct ions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle. To activate the convertible locking retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat .
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path
¢ & .
.. Push the ch ild safety sea t down with you r full
weigh t to ge t the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tong ue into the b uck le for that
seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat .
.. You should hear a ''cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vert ib le lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt .
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the re tractor. The convertib le loc kin g re
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the c hild rest raint 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 o r an improp
e rly inst alled child restra int can cause se rious
person al injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tr actor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An un locked safety be lt retrac
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round during
a sudden stop or in a c rash. .,.
143
.... N
c:i :::J CX)
.... I.Cl U"I
N I.Cl ......
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 138 Tether ancho rs: attachment hook locatio ns be
h ind the rear seatbacks
The tether anchors for the rear seating positions
are located on the backside of the rear seatbacks
¢fig. 138.
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
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte
rior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision. The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor rectly fitted child restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchor point .
Child safety
- 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 luggag e or other
items to the LATCH 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-sensing 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 deploy the Ad
vanced Airbag 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
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 by your Audi dealer.
147
Child safety
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 139 Te ther strap : proper rout ing and moun ting
Fig. 140 Tether strap : p roper ro utin g and moun ting
Inst all ing th e te th er strap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restra int according to the child restra int manu
factu rer 's instruct ions.
• Gu ide the upper tether strap
und er the rear
head restraint and into the rear cargo area
¢ fig. 140 (raise the head restraint i f necessa
ry) .
• Slide the tether strap hook ove r the anchor
bracket.
• Pullon the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages .
• Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instruct ions .
Relea sing the te the r st rap
• Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage .
@ Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firmly installed for several days , this
148
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
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. This applies especially to leather seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear -fac ing child rest raint 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 installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be k ilted if the front
a ir bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant ca rr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center a rmrest, or
door.
- A t ight tether or o ther strap on a rearward
fac ing chi ld restraint attached to the front
passenger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and register a
heavier weight in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem. The heavier weight reg istered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
ser ious or even fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rea rwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately inst all
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Intelligent Technology
Intelligent Technology
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
Event Data Re corder
This vehicle is equipped wi th an Event Data Re
corder (EDR) . The main purpose of an E DR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash -like situa
tions, such as an airbag deploym ent or h itting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand
ing how a veh icle 's systems performed . The EDR
is designed to record data related to veh icle dy
namics a nd safety systems for a sho rt period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less . The E DR in this
veh icle is designed to reco rd s uch data as :
- How various systems in your vehicle were oper
at ing;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety
belts were buckled/fastened;
- How far ( if at all) the driver was depressing the
acce lerator and/or brake peda l; and,
- How fast the ve hicle was trave ling.
These data can help provide a better understand ing of the ci rc u mstances in which c rashes and in
juries occur. NOT E: EDR data are recorded by yo ur
veh icle only if a non-trivia l crash situat ion occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal data (e .g .,
name, gender, age, and crash location) a re re
corded . H owever , other pa rties , such as law en
forcement, cou ld combine the EDR data w it h the
type o f person ally identifyi ng dat a routine ly ac
qu ired dur ing a crash invest igat ion .
To read data reco rded by an EDR, specia l equip
men t is req uire d, and access to the veh icle or the
E DR is needed. In ad dition to the vehicle manu
facturer, other parties, s uch a s law enforcement,
that have t he specia l equipment, can read the in
formation if they have access to the vehicle or the E DR.
Some s tate laws restrict the re trieva l or down
loading of data stored by ED Rs insta lled in a vehi
cle fo r the express purpose of retrieving data af -
150
ter an accident or crash event withou t the own
er 's consent.
Audi will not access the EDR and /or sim ilar data
o r g ive it to others -
- unless t he ve hicle ow ner (o r lessee if the vehi
cle has been leased) ag rees; o r
- upon the offic ial request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court of law or a govern-
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit through the jud icia l
discovery process.
- Audi may also use the data for research about
veh icle operation and safety perfo rmance or
prov ide the data to a th ird party for research
purposes w itho ut identify ing t he specific vehi
cle or info rmat ion about the ident ity of its own
er or lessee and only afte r th e re co rded vehicle
d ata has been a ccessed.
Vehicle control modules
You r vehicle is also equ ipped with a number of
e lectronic cont rol modules for va rious vehicle
syste ms, such as engine ma nagement, em iss io n
contro l, air bag s, a nd safety be lts.
These electronic control modules record data
dur ing norma l vehicle operation t hat may be
n eeded by tra ined techn ic ians for d iagnost ic and
r ep air pur poses. The re cording capab ility of these
modules is lim ited to dat a (no sou nd is recor d
ed). Only a sma ll amount of data is actually re
corded over a very limited period of time, or stor
ed when a system fault is detected by a contro l
module . Some of the data stored may relate to
vehicle speed, direction, or braking, as well as re
straint system use and performance in the event
of a crash . Stored data can also only be read a nd
down loaded w it h specia l equipment that is d i
r ec tly connec ted to the vehicle.
(D Tips
Your vehicle may be e quipped w it h Aud i con
n ect . Yo ur use of certain Aud i connect fea
tures requires wire less services that are p ro
v ided by a third party wireless telecomm uni
cations provider. Fo r de tails regarding how in
fo rmation obtained through Aud i connect is
collecte d, processe d, transmitted, use d, an d ..,.