
,....,
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,....,
the child restraint is installed is in an up
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at
tached to it could f ly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
r=;, page 171. Specia l precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 152, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way back into the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
The belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position. The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deact ivate this feature. If the
convert ible locking retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt w ill gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
_& WARNING
-
Improperly installed chi ld safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re
straints while the vehicle is moving . You
Child safety
would not be restrained and could be seri
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
¢page 171. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 152, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
LATCH system (Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicab le way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat,
Federal regulations require special lower ancho
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children". In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni
versa l anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor
age bars") are used to descr ibe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
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 req uirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new ch ild seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the per
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility to
protect the child in a collision. Installing a child
restra int that requi res a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their child seats w ith hook-on or ..,.
183

Child safety
push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps.
I n addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
chi ld restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to he lp keep the child restraint
firm ly in place.
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 veh icle.
- Never install a child restraint without a properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruct ions
requ ire the top tether strap to be used.
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH lower
anchorage points can lead to injury in a colli
s ion . The LATCH lower anchorage points are
designed to withstand on ly those loads im
posed by cor rect ly fitted child restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
item to the LATCH lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 178 Schematic overview : LA TCH anchorage point loca
t ions
The illustration shows the seating locatio ns in
your veh icle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system.
184
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig. 179 Lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig . 180 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracket locat ions
L o wer anch ora g es
The lower ancho rage attac hment po ints are lo
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat cushion .
Remove the covers
c:::> fig. 179 to access the lower
an chorage at tachme nt points.
The lower anchorage attachment po ints are v is i
ble
c:::> fig. 180.
Lower anchorages secure the child restra int in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts .
Anchorages prov ide a secure and easy-to-use at
tachment and minimize the possib ility of improp
er child restraint installat io n.
All child restra ints manufactured after Septem
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach
ments fo r the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended for installation and attachment of
ch ild rest raints spec ifically certif ied for use wi th
LATCH lower a ncho rages. Child restra ints that .,.

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are not equipped with the lower anchorage at
tachments can still be installed in compliance
with the child restra int manufacturer 's instruc
tions on using vehicle safety belts.
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the child restra ints
manufacturer's instructions for proper in
stallation of the child restra int and proper
use of the lower anchorages or safety be lts
in you r vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages .
-Always read and heed the important infor mation about child restraints in this chapter
and WARN INGS
¢page 171, 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. 181 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upright position and securely latched
in place.
• Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring
catch re lease on the ch ild safety seat onto the
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
r=;, fig. 181 .
•Pullon the connector attachments to make
sure they a re properly attached to the LA TCH
lower anchorage.
Ch ild sa fety
• Pull straps tight following the chi ld restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
• Loosen the tension on the straps fo llow ing the
child restra int manufacture r's ins tructions.
• Depress the spr ing catches to release the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages.
Remember: Use tethe r straps to help keep the
c hi ld rest raint firmly in p lace.
A WARNING ~
I mproper use o f the LA TCH system can in -
crease the risk of serious personal injury a nd
death i n an accident.
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attach other chi ld safety sea ts, be lts
or other objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that yo u hear a click whe n
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 interior of the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING .
Improper installation of child restra ints w ill
i nc rease the risk of injury in an accident.
-A lways follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper in
stallat ion of the chi ld restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the lowe r anchorages or safety belts in yo ur ve
h icle.
- Always read and heed the important info r
mat ion and WARNINGS about ch ild safety
an d the ins tallat io n of child restrai nt sys
tems
r=;, page 171, Child safety.
185

Child safety
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 182 Tether anchors: attachm ent hook locatio ns be
hind the rear seatbacks
The tether anchors fo r the rear seating positions
are located on the backside of the rear seatbacks
~ fig. 182 .
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap tha t at
taches the top part of a child restra int to speci al
anchorage points in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to red uce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash,
in order to help red uce the risk of head injury
that could be caused by strik ing the vehicle inte
rior.
Forward fac ing 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 perfo rmance requirements make a tethe r
necessary on most new child safety seats.
A WARNING
Improper installation of ch ild restraints will
increase the r isk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restra int you
intend to install i n your Audi .
- Improper use of child restra int anchors (in
clud ing tether anchors) can lead to inj ury in
a collision . The ancho rs are designed to
withs tand only those loads imposed by cor
rectly fitted child restra ints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems on
one LATCH lower a nchor po int.
186
- 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 be lts or other kinds of occu
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or othe r
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 measu re
more weight than is actually on the seat.
- The heavier weight reg istered can make the
Advanced A irbag System wor k as though a n
adu lt were on the seat and deploy the Ad
vanced Ai rbag when it must be suppressed
causing ser ious o r 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 excep tio nal circ ums tances a nd the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dea ler.

Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 183 Tether strap: proper rout ing and mount ing
Fig. 184 Tether strap: proper ro utin g and mo untin g
Inst all ing th e teth er str ap
.,. 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 st rap
und er the rear
head restra int and into the rear cargo a rea
¢ fig. 184 (raise the head restraint if necessa
ry) .
.,. Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket .
.,. Pull on 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.
Atta ching to the center seating p osition
.,. Slide the rear seat forward c> page 66.
.,. Pull the anchor bracket forward and connect
the tether strap hook .
.,. Tighten the tether strap and move the seat
;::: backward .
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Child sa fety
R elea sing the teth er str ap
.,. Loosen the tension following the child restra int
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 firmly installed for several days, this
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 also be permanently stretched around
the tether strap . T his applies espec ially to
l eather 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.
_&. WARNING ~
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat i nsta lled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously inju red and can be ki lled if the front
a ir bag inflates - even wi th an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat o r infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, cente r armrest, or
door .
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing 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 registered can
make the system work as thoug h an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Ai rbag when it must be suppressed causing
serio us or eve n fatal injury to the child. .,..
18 7

Intelligent Technology
shared, please see your contract with the
wireless te lecommunications provider and the
"About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI*:
I MENU ! button > Audi connect > About
Audi connect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
The Electroni c Stab ili z at ion Control (ESC) re infor
ces driver safety. It reduces the r isk of slipping
and improves driving stability. ESC detects crit i
cal s ituations suc h as the vehicle overstee ring
and understeering o r the wheels sp inning. The
ve hicl e is stab ilized by applying the b rakes o r re
ducing e ngine torque . Once t he ESC is acti ve , the
i n dicator light
m bli nks in the instrument cl us
ter.
The fo llow ing sys tems a re integrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock b rake system (ABS)
ABS preve nts the wheels from lock ing up when
b raking . The veh icle can sti ll be steered even dur
i n g ha rd brak ing . Apply steady press ure to the
b rake pedal. Do no t pump t he pedal. A pulsing in
the brake pedal indicates tha t the system i s help
i n g you to br ake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing dis
tance . It increases brak ing power when the d river
p resses the brake pedal q uic kl y in eme rgency si t
uations . You m ust press and hold t he b rake pedal
until the situa tion is over. In vehi cles w it h ad ap
tive cruise contro l* , the brake assist system is
mo re sensit ive if the distance detected to the ve
h icle ahead is too small.
Anti -slip regulation (ASR)
A SR re duces eng ine power when the drive w heels
begin to spin and adapts the force to the roa d
conditions. This makes it easie r to sta rt, acceler
ate and drive up hi lls.
190
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spi nning and
transfers the drive power to the other w heels .
This function is not ava ilable at higher speeds.
I n ext reme cases , ED L automat ica lly swi tches off
to help keep the b rake on the bra ke d whee l from
overheating . EDL will sw itch on again automa ti
ca lly w hen conditions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC he lps to stabilize the vehicle by cha ng ing
t h e s teer ing torque .
On vehicles with dynam ic steering*, ESC helps
stab il ize the steer ing in crit ica l sit uat ions .
Selective wheel torque control
Selective wheel torque cont rol is used when d riv
i ng o n curves. The front whee l on the inside of
the curve or both wheels on the i nside of the
curve are braked selectively as needed . Th is al
l ows mo re prec ise driving in c urves . The applica
ble sys tem may not a ctivate w hen d riv in g in we t
o r snowy cond it ions.
_8. WARNING
- The ESC and i ts integ ra ted systems cannot
overcome the laws of physics . This is espe
cially important on slippery or wet roads. If
the systems begin act ing to stab ilize your
veh icle, you should immediately change
your speed to matc h the road and traffic
conditions. Do no t let the increased safe ty
provided by t hese systems tempt yo u to
t ake risks. Doing so will i ncreas e th e risk of
a loss of vehicle con trol, collisi on and se ri
ou s person al injur ies .
- Always a dap t your spee d to road , traffic and
weather condi tions. The risk of los ing con
t rol of the vehicle in cr eases w hen driving
t oo f ast, es pecially throu gh curves and on
slippe ry or wet roads, and when driving too
close to ve hicles up ahea d. The ESC and its
integ rated systems cannot always prevent
col lisions - there is still a risk of accidents!
- Always accelerate w ith special ca re on even,
smooth surfaces s uch as those that are wet
o r covered with ice and snow. The drive .,..

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wheels can spin even with these ass istance
systems that cannot always he lp to reduce
the risk of loss of vehicle control.
@ Tips
-ABS and AS R on ly work correctly when a ll
fo ur whee ls are e quipped w ith ide ntical
Switching on /off
Intelligent Technology
tires. Diff eren t tire s izes can lead to a red uc
tion i n engine po wer .
- You may hear noises when t he sy stems de
scribe d are workin g.
- Whe n in sta lling a facto ry-s up plied roo f ra ck
system o n the roof r ailing , the ESC wi ll
adapt itself to a different center of gravity .
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig . 18 5 Versio n A: Lowe r cente r conso le,~ OFF b utto n
The follow ing s ituations are except ions where it
may be usef ul to sw itch on offroad mode to allow
the wheels to spi n:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driv ing in deep snow or on loose ground
Offroad mode on
~ Q:)01_1 _ --.!'3.- -ft.
- Driving with snow chains
- Dr iving down hill wh ile braking on loose ground
- Dr iving on ro ugh te rra in when m uch of the car's
weight is lifted off the wheels (axle articula
tion)
Offroad mode off
Behavio r
The ESC and AS R stabilization f unctions Th
e fu ll sta bilization f unction of the ESC
a re limited
c:> &. .
Operation Press the 1.$ OFF I button.
Indicator II turns on.
lights
Driver mes- Stabilization
control (ESC): Offroad.
sages Wa rning! Restricted stability
A WARNING
- You should only sw itch o ffroad mode o n if
yo ur dr iv ing abilit ies a nd road cond it io ns
permit.
- The stabilization function is limited when offroa d mode is switched on. The dr iv ing
wheels co uld spi n and th e vehicle cou ld
swerve, es pec ially on s lick o r sli ppery roa d
s ur fac es. and ASR
is avai lab le again.
P ress t he
1.$ OFFI button aga in.
II turns off.
Stabilization control (ESC ): On
(D Tips
Offro ad mode ca nno t be switche d on whe n
adaptive c ruise co ntro l* is switched on.
191

Intelligent Technology
Hill descent assist
The hill descent assist makes it possible to drive
down an incline at a constant speed .
~~,·~ ('l)ofF ___ P..1 --- fl~ IIL..~
---
Fig. 187 Top of the center conso le: hill descent assist but
ton
Fig. 188 Display: hill descent assist
.. Press the~ button in the center console
¢ fig . 187 or on the shift gate . The button will
illuminate .
" Press the button again to switch it off. The di-
ode in the button will go out .
Hill descent ass ist brakes all four wheels auto
matically in order to limit speed when driving ei
ther forwa rd o r reverse on hills with a grad e up to
approximately 50%.
When the hill descent assist is on, the current
driving speed, when your vehicle entered the in
cline is maintained.
It is only possible to switch
on the assist when driving slower than 37 mph
(60 km/h). The assist works between app roxi
mately 2 and 19 mph (4 and 30 km/h) . The driver
can increase or decrease the vehicle speed within
these limits by depressing the accelerator or
brake pedal In addition, vehicle steerability is in
creased due to the braking distribution when
driving in reverse .
192
There must be however sufficient ground adhe
sion . The hill descent assist can
not do its job if
the incline is icy or if the incl ine ground is loose
¢ &.
The system does not work at speeds between 19
and 37 mph (30 and 60 km/h). The system is
then in the ready-mode. The diode in the button
will come on . The system automatically sw itched
off when you drive faster than 37 mph (60 km/ h) . The diode will go out in this case .
Active control at a specific speed up to approxi
mately 19 mph (30 km/h) will appear in the in
strument cluster display
c:> fig. 188 . Two dashes
" •• " w ill appear in the ready mode .
Hill descent assist is automatically activated un
der the following conditions:
- the diode in the button illuminates,
- veh icle speed is below approximately 19 mph
(30 km/h)
- the incline is 10%.
& WARNING
-Always adapt your speed to the weather,
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let the
increased safety provided tempt you into
taking risks.
-
-The hill descent assist system cannot over
come the laws of phys ics. Your driving style
must always be adapted to the current road
and traffic conditions.
- The hill descent assist may not be ab le to
hold your vehicle at a constant speed under
all cond itions wh ile driving on an incline (for
example if ground under the vehicle is
loose).
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
Du ring the first 2 50 miles (400 km), new brake
pads do not possess their full braking effect, they
have to be "broken in" first
c:> &. ..,_