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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 restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PA SSEN GER AI R BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever 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, immediately in
stall the rearward-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufactu rer 's
ins truct ions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefer ably
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 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 o r an improp
e rly inst alled child restra int can cause se rio us
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 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 crash. .,.
169
Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
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 fly 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 vehicle is
being used¢
page 158 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 139, 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 bock into the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
Th@ 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 deactivate this feature. If the
convertible locking retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child 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
170
would not be restrained and could be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 158. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat<=:>
page 139, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
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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 practicable way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat,
F ederal 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 LA TCH system for
" L ower Anchorages and Tethers for Children". In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor
age bars") are used to describe the system.
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
F orward-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 seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per
formance of the child restraint and its ability to protect the child in a collision . Installing a child
restraint that requires 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 with hook-on or push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
child restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to help keep the child restraint
firmly in place .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the r isk of injury and death in a
crash.
Child safety
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you
intend to install in your vehicle.
- 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 .
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH lower
anchorage points can lead to injury in a colli
sion . The LATCH lower anchorage points are
des igned to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly 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. 165 Schematic overview: LATCH anchorage poi nt loca
tions
The illust ration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equ ipped with the lower
anchorages system.
171
Child safety
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig . 1 66 Lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig . 167 Rear seats: lower anc horage bracket locations
Lower ancho rages
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo
cated on the rear end of the rear seatback.
Remove the covers
r::;, fig . 166 to access t he lowe r
anchorage attachment po ints.
The lower anchorage attachment points are visi
ble
<=> fig . 167 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to-use at
tachment and minim ize the possibility of improp
er ch ild restraint insta llation .
All child restraints manufactured after Septem
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach
ments for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended for installation and attachment of
child restraints specifically certified for use w ith
LATCH lower anchorages . Child restraints that
are not equipped with the lower anchorage at-
172
tachments can still be installed in compliance
with the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions on us ing vehicle safety be lts.
_& WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
-Always carefully follow the ch ild restraints
manufacturer's instructions for proper in
stallation of the child restraint and proper
use of the lower anchorages or safety belts
in your vehicle .
-Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages .
- Always read and heed the important infor
mat io n about ch ild restraints in this chapter
and WARNI NGS
r::;, page 158, 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.
Fig . 168 Lower anchorages : prope r mount ing
Mounting
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upright pos ition and secure ly latched
in place .
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring
catch release on the child safety seat onto the
LATC H lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into p lace
r::;, fig . 168 .
.,. Pull on the con nector atta chments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LA TCH
lower ancho rage.
,....,
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I.Cl ,....,
.. Pull straps tight fo llowing the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following the
child restraint manufactu rer's instruct io ns .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restrain t firm ly in place.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an acc ident .
- These anchors were deve loped only for child
safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attac h other child safety seats, belts
o r othe r objects to these anchors.
- Always ma ke sure that you hear a click when
latching the seat in place . If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
forward and hit the interior of the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the r isk of injury in an acc ident.
-Always follow the child restra int system
manufacturer's instruct io ns for proper in
stallation of the child restraint system and prope r use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety be lts in your ve
hicle.
- Always read and heed the important infor
mation and WARNINGS about child safety
and the insta llation of chi ld restraint sys
t ems~ page
158, Child safety.
Child sa fety
Tether anchors and tether straps
F ig. 169 Sedan Tether anchors: recess flaps behind the
rear seatbacks
Fig . 1 70 allroad Tether anchors: attac hment hoo k loca
tions behind the rear seatbacks
Sedan: The tether anchors for the rear seating
pos itions are located in recesses in the rear win
dow shelf
Q fig. 169.
allroad: The tether anchors for the rear seating
pos itions are located on the backs ide of the rear
seatbacks
o fig . 170.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at
taches the top part of a ch ild restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the chi ld 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 requ ired by U.S . fed
eral regulations to comply with child head move
ment performance requirements . These new per
formance requ irements make a tether necessary
on most new child safety seats. ..,.
173
Child safety
_& 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 restra int anchors (in
clud ing 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 chi ld restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchor po int.
- 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 ch ild restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu
pant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether ancho rs.
- If a tether or other strap is used to attach a
child res traint to the front passenger seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, that it
ca uses the we ight-sens ing mat to measure
more weight than is ac tually on the seat.
- T he heav ier we igh t registered can make the
Advanced Airbag System work as though an adult were on the seat and dep loy the Ad
vanced Airbag when it must be suppressed
ca using serious or even fatal injury to the
child.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSEN GE R AIR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing posit ion and have the airbag system
inspec ted by your a uthorized Aud i dea ler.
174
.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 171 Sedan Tether strap: prope r routing and mount ing
Fig. 172 allroad Tether strap: proper routing and mount
ing
Installing the tether st rap
... Release or deploy the tether strap on the chi ld
restraint according to the child restraint manu
facturer's instructions.
.., Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint<=>
fig. 171 or<=> fig. 172 (raise
the head restraint if necessary).
.., Sedan: Tilt the recess flap up to expose the an
chor bracket.
.., Sedan: Attach the tethe r st rap anchorage hook
into the open ing of the tethe r anchorage.
... allroad: Slide the tether strap hook over the an
chor bracket.
... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
.., Tighten the tether strap firm ly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions.
Relea sing the tether strap
... Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufact urer's instructions .
... Depress the spr ing catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
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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 . This applies especially to
leather seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward -facing child restraint
systems come with a tether. P lease read and
heed the child rest raint system manufacturer's
instruc tions care fully to de termine how to prop
erly install the tether.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser ious ly injured and can be killed if the front
airbag infla tes · even w ith an Advanced A irbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag wi ll 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, or
door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing child restra int 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 heav ier weight registered can
make the system wo rk as though an adult
we re o n the seat a nd deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be supp ressed caus ing
serious o r even fatal in jury to the c hild.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
sa fety 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, immediate ly install
the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
Ch ild safety
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer .
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources o f additional in
formation about child restraint se lection, instal
lation and use :
N HT SA advises tha t the best ch ild safety seat is
the one that fits your child and fits in your vehi
cle, and that you wi ll us e correct ly and consis
tent ly.
T ry before you buy!
U.S National H igh way Traffic Safety Administra
tion
T el. : 1-888 -327-4236 ( TTY: 1-800 -424-9153)
www.nhtsa .gov
Nati onal SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel. : (202) 66 2-0600
www .safekids.org
Saf ety BeltSaf e U.S .A
T el. : (800) 745-SAFE (English)
T el. : (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
www .carseat.org
Tran sport C anada Information Centr e
Tel. : 1-800-333-0371 o r ca ll 1-613-998-86 16 if
you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/ roadsafety/men u. htm
Audi Cu stom er Re lations
T el. : (800) 822-2834
175
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Some vehicle func tion s (p ower w indow reg ula
tors, for example) are lost i f th e battery termi
na ls are d isconnected. These functions have to be
relearned afte r the battery termina ls are con
nected aga in. To prevent th is, the batte ry shou ld
only be disconnected from the vehicle e lectr ica l
system w hen abso lute ly necessary for repairs.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If yo u do not drive you r vehicle over a period of
seve ral days or weeks, e lectrical components a re
g radually c ut back or sw itched off. This reduces
e nergy consumption and ma inta ins starting ca
pability over a longer pe riod
c> page 182.
Some o f the conven ience f unctions may not ope r
ate, s uch as the inte rior lights or the power seat
ad justment. The convenience functions will be
ava ila ble aga in whe n you tu rn o n the ignition and
start the engine .
Winter operation
During the winter months, battery capacity tends
to dec rease as temperatu res dr op. This is be
cause more power is also consumed wh ile start
in g, and the head lights , rear wi ndow defogge r,
etc., are used more of ten .
Avoid un necessa ry power consumption, part icu
l arly in city traffic or when t rave ling on ly short
d ista nces . Let your authorized Audi dealer check
the capaci ty of the vehicle battery be fore w inte r
sets in
r=;, pag e 214. A well cha rged batt ery w ill
n o t onl y preven t st arti ng p roble ms w hen the
wea ther is cold, but will also last l on ger .
(D Tips
If your v ehicle is left stand ing fo r se ve ral
wee ks at extre mely low tem per at ures, the ve
hicle b attery sh ould be re moved and stor ed
w here it will not free ze . Th is will preve nt i t
from being dama ged and hav ing to be re
placed .
Checking and Filling
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor. Befo re you check anything
i n the luggage compart ment ,
read and heed all
WARNINGS
c> &_ .
Always heed the safety warnings , when working
o n the veh icle batte ry or t he ve hicle elec trical
system to prevent in jury .
The following WARNINGS are very important
when working on the battery :
Always heed the following WARNING SYM-
BOLS and safety precautions when wo rking on
the battery.
®
Always wear eye protection.
A
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Al-
ways wear gloves and eye protection.
@
No
- sparks
- flames
- smoking.
~
When a battery is charged , it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury.
®
Always keep the battery well out of reach
of children.
A WARNING
= -
Whenever working on t he battery or on the
e lectr ica l system, the re is the r isk of injury,
accide nt a nd eve n fire. Read and he ed the fol
l ow ing W AR NIN GS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat
tery acid or any l ead particles ge t on you r
skin o r clothing. Shield yo ur eyes. E xplosiv e
g ases can ca use b lindne ss or other in jury.
- Ba tte ry acid contai ns sulfur ic acid. Sulfu ric
acid can ca use blindness and s evere burns.
- Always wea r gloves and eye protection . Do
n ot tilt t he batte ry because aci d could lea k
out of the ventilation openings. ""
213