Child safety
BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
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 ore less than 4 ft .
9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 164 Rear seat: child properly restra ined 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 children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protec t them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a child 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 pelvis 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
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can use the safety belt he ight adjustmen t to help
adjust the sho ulder portion properly .
• Secu re unu sed safety belts on the rear seat
~page 163.
Children up to about 40 lbs. ( 18 kg) are best pro
tected in ch ild safety seats designed for their age
166
and weight. Experts say that the skeletal struc
ture, particularly the pelvis, of these children is
not fully developed, and they must not use the
vehicle safety be lts without a suitable child re
straint.
It is usually best to put these children in appro
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable 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 chi ld's body in the right places. The routing of
the belt over the child's body is very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. C hil dre n age 12 and u nder must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
l ap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt a lone
to restrain any child, regard less of how big the
child is . Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap be lt portion of the ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
ch ild's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety be lt pass over
the chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In
a crash, airbags must inflate w ithin a blink of
an eye and with considerable force. In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu
pant moves forwa rd into the airbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos it ion and too
close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck vio lent ly and will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury.
In order for the airbag to offer protect ion, it is
i mporta nt that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the fron t seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's ..,_
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
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 death 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 130.
-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 seat with the head restra int in place
¢page 62. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with 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 kneel on any 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 serious personal injury or death .
Ch ild safety
-If you must insta ll a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances the
P AS ·
S ENGER AIR BA G OFF
light must come on
and stay on, whenever the ignit ion is switch
ed on .
- If you must install a booster seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances the
PASS ENGE R AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when
eve r the ignit io n is switched on.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PAS SENGER A IR
BAG O FF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 130, Safety belts,
¢ page 138, Airbag system and
¢ page 158, 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's seat can be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child safety
seats.
T he 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 convertible lock
ing retractor for child restraints . The safety be lt
must be locked so that be lt webbing cannot un
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing normal driving . A ch ild
safety seat can only be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the ch ild and
ch ild safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
ch ildren, especially those 12 years and younger,
shou ld a lways r ide in the back seat properly re-
strained for thei r age and weight.
II>-
167
Child safet y
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious 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 normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always make sure that the rear seat back
rest to which the center rear safety belt is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se
cu re a ch ild restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together w ith the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The chi ld
can be se riously injured or killed .
- Never ins tall rearward-fac ing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front passen
ger 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 chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the a irbag 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 WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used~
page 158 . Special precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the fron t passenger seat~
page 139, Child
16 8
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
A WARNING
A lways 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 desc ribed
~ page 148, 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. ~
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
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
_& 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.
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
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
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 -
176
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 ..,.
Check ing and F illing
The brake fluid rese rvoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the l eft
side ¢
page 205 .
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads . This is not cause for alarm.
If th e b rake fl uid level fa lls considerably be low
the "M IN" mark, the b rake warning/ind icator
lig ht ( U.S. mode ls :
1111 , Canadian models:. )
will come on ¢
page 15. Do not contin ue to oper
ate the vehicle . T he comp lete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authori zed
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected . If the brake flu id level is too low, the
b rake warning/indicator light will i llum inate.
Contact a n author ized Audi dealer
immediately .
{D) Tips
The brake fluid reservoir is located under
neath the cover .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs mo isture from the air. If the
water content in the b rake fluid is too high, cor
rosion in the brake system may resu lt afte r ape
riod of t ime. The boiling poi nt of the brake flu id
will also decrease cons iderably and decrease
b raking perfo rman ce.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every
two year s.
Always use new brake fluid wh ic h con
forms to Fede ral Motor Veh icle Standard "FMVSS
1 16 DO T 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be diff icult to reach,
therefore, we recommend that yo u have the
brake fl uid changed by yo ur autho rized
Audi
dealer .
Your dealer has t he corre ct tools, t he
right brake fluid and the know-how to do this for
you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous. It must be stored
only in the closed orig inal container out of
the reach of chi ldren!
212
- Bra ke fa ilure ca n result from old or inapp ro
priate brake fluid . Observe these precau
tions:
- Use only brake fluid t hat meets SA E speci
fi ca ti on
J 170 3 and con forms to Federa l
Motor Ve hicle Standard 116 . Always check
wi th yo ur autho rized Audi dea le r to make
s ur e yo u are using the correct brake fluid .
The correct type of brake flu id is also ind i
cated on the b rake fluid reservo ir .
- The brake fluid m ust be new . Heavy use of
the brakes can cause a vapo r lock if the
brake fluid is left in the system too long .
This can se riously affect the efficiency of
the b rakes as well as your safety . This
could resu lt in an accident .
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your veh i
cle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem o f proper d isposa l o f
brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls re
q ui red a nd the necessary expertise, we rec
omme nd that you have the bra ke f luid
changed by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
, General information
U nder normal operating condit ions, the battery
i n your Audi does not need any maintenance.
With
high outside temperatures or long daily
drives we recommend that you have the elect ro
lyte level c hecked by an au thorized Aud i dealer o r
qualified workshop. The electro lyte level shou ld
a lso be che cked each time the battery is c ha rged
~ page 214.
Have the batte ry chec ked when you take yo ur ve
hicle in for service. You are we ll adv ised to re
pla ce a battery tha t is older than 5 yea rs.
With certain types of airbag deployment, t he
batte ry is d iscon nected from the ve hicle electri
ca l system for safety reasons ¢.&.
in Repair, care
and disposal of the airbags on page 151. .,.