Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
Fig. 165 Schemat ic overv iew: installatio n of the attac h
ments app lica ble to a LA TCH seat
Fig. 166 Schematic overv iew : installat io n of the seat using
the vehicle 's safe ty be lt syste m
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
Q page 182 or install the seat us ing the LATC H
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward o r sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm)
Qpage 182.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
Q page 188.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Q page 177.
~ A toddler or child is usually too large for an in-
;::j fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
" 8 weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) .
0 <..:l 'SI"
Child safety
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their size and weight
Q fig. 165 and
q fig . 166.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place 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 infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, us ing the wrong
child safety seat or improperly instal ling a
chi ld 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 inflates.
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild 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 airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center arm rest, door
or roof.
-Al ways install rear-fa cing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
- If you must insta ll 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 rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the ch ild safety seat shou ld
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the veh icle seat.
II>-
179
Child safety
-For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head restraint in place
r::> page 52. 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c> page 139, Safety belts,
r::> page 147, Airbag system
and
r::> page 171, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child 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
designed 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 to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position.
180
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Make sure that 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 forward-facing child seat at a seat ing position on the rear seat and have the
airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer .
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
Child safety
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro
vide supplemental protection 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 situation. To help reduce the risk of se
rious personal injury and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center 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 that 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 139.
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat .
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
¢ page 52. 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.
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind the back, because it could
cause severe injuries in a crash.
- 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,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
182
- 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 .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when
ever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 159, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 139, Safety belts,
¢ page 147, Airbag system and
¢ page 171, 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 con be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas
senger's seat safety belt have a convertible lock
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving . A child
safety seat can only 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
children, especially those 12 years and younger, .,.
co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <..:l '
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 normal driving or in a crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back
rest to wh ich the center rea r safety be lt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se
cure a chi ld restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior . The chi ld
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing chi ld safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be serious ly injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates.
- 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 child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear -facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward -facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger 's
seat may inte rfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-fac ing 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
r:::> page 171 . Specia l precaut ions
Ch ild safety
apply when install ing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
r:::> page 148, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know .
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
i nstall 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 .
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
r:::> poge 159, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG O FF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
-Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int 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 carr ier.
- After checking to make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog
n ized by the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal airbag
stat us.
A WARNING
Forwa rd -facing child restraints :
-
183
Child safety
-Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
-Always be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir
cumstances.
- Make sure that 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 rear-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
184 ·
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions 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 way out.
.. Route it around or through the child restraint
belt path
~ ,&. .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat.
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the belt
winds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vertible locking retractor by pulling on the belt.
You should no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertible locking re
tractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an improp
erly installed child restraint can cause serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash.
IIJJ,-
Child safety
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 172 Tether anchors: recess flaps behind the rear seat·
backs
The tether anchors fo r the rear seating positions
are located in recesses in the rear window shelf
~ fig. 172
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 in 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.
188
- 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 you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF 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 ai rbag system
inspected by yo ur Audi dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 173 Tether strap: p roper rout ing and mount ing
Install ing the tether st rap
.. Release or deploy the tether strap on the ch ild
restraint according to the chi ld restraint manu
facturer's instructions.
.. Guide the upper tether strap
under the rea r
head restraint ~
fig. 173 (raise the head re
straint if necessary). For child restraints with V
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint guide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap.
.. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket .
., Attach the tether st rap anchorage hook into
the opening of t he tether ancho rage.
co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <..:l -
catch of the hook engages.
~ Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
~ Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
~ Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage .
(1;) Note
If you leave the chi ld 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
Current ly, few rear-facing chi ld restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
child restraint system manufacturer's instruc
tions carefully to determine how to properly in
stall the tether .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith an Advanced A irbag
System.
- T he 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, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
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 iately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
Child safety
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional in
formation about child restraint selection, instal
lation and use :
N HT SA advises that the best ch ild safety seat is
the one that fits your child and fits in your vehi
cle, and that you wi ll use correct ly and consis
tent ly.
T ry before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administra
tion
T el. : 1-888 -327-4236 ( TTY: 1-800-424-9153)
http:/ /www.nhtsa.gov
http:/ /www.sa fercar.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
T el.: (202) 662-0600
http:/ /www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 745-SAFE (En glish)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http:/ /www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
T el.: 1-800-333-0371 o r call 1-613-998-8616 if
you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/roadsafety/menu . htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
189
Checking and Filling
& WARNING
AdBlue can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory system. If there is contact with the fluid,
flush immediately with plenty of water . Con
sult a physician if necessary.
(D Note
- Only use Ad Blue that conforms to the
standard ISO 22241 -1. Do not mix any addi
tives with the Ad Blue and do not dilute it
with water.
- Do not add Ad Blue to the diesel tank or add diesel fuel to the Ad Blue tank. Do not start
the engine under any circumstances if the
wrong fuel is filled in the tank. There is a
risk of damaging the fuel tank system and
the engine. See an authorized Audi dealer or
authorized Audi Service Facility for assis
tance.
- AdBlue attacks surfaces such as painted ve
hicle components, plastic and carpet. Re
move the fluid as quickly as possible with a
damp cloth and plenty of cold water. If the
Ad Blue has already crystallized, use warm
water and a sponge . AdBlue residue that is
not removed will crystallize and can damage
the affected surface.
- Do not store refill bottles or canisters per
manently in the vehicle. If the container
leaks, the escaping AdBlue could damage
the vehicle interior.
- Do not allow AdBlue to come into contact
with clothing. If there is contact with the
fluid , flush immediately with plenty of
wa
ter.
(j) Tips
Follow the Ad Blue manufacturer 's instruc
tions for use and storage.
Refilling AdBlue using a bottle
Applies to: vehicles with selective catalytic reduction
... Remove the cap from the refill bottle ¢.&. in
Filling AdBlue on page 196,
c::> (D in Filling
AdBlue on page 196.
196
... Position the bottle on the filler tube and turn
the bottle clockwise until it stops turning.
... Press lightly against the bottom of the bottle
to empty it . Continue pressing the bottom of
the bottle until it is empty or until fluid stops
flowing into the tank .
... Remove the bottle and seal the filler neck
c::> page 197, Completing AdBlue refill.
d) Note
Only use refill bottles that are approved for
your vehicle. Using other systems can cause AdBlue to leak.
(D Tips
- You can obtain refill bottles from an author
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
Facility.
- A permitted refill bottle contains approxi
mately 0.5 gallon (1.9 liters) of AdBlue.
Refilling AdBlue using a canister
Applies to: vehicles with selective catalytic reduction
®
+®
Fig. 179 Canister w ith attachable hose
... Remove the cover from the refill canister c::> .&.
in Filling AdBlue on page 196 , c::>(D in Filling
AdBlue on page 196 .
.,. Secure the end of the hose
.,. Remove the cap @from the other end of the
hose @.
... Position the end of the hose @on the filler
neck in the vehicle and turn the hose to the
right to tighten it .
... Lift the canister up and then tip it . Continue
holding the canister in a tipped position until it
1J,,