
Child safety
Child seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward -facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 173 Schema tic overv iew: rearwa rd -facing infan t sea t,
properly installe d on the rea r seat
• 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
c::> page 178 or install the seat using the LA TCH
attachments.
• Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 173.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats des igned for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in spec ial restraints in which the
chi ld faces the back of the veh icle. These infant
seats support the baby 's back, neck and head in a
crash
c::> fig . 173 .
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 seat.
It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward-facing seat.
174
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death in a crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even w ith an Advanced Airbag System .
A ch ild will be serio usly inju red and can be
killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof
c::> page 149, Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in
the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and very small children and cannot p rotect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately i nstall
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c::> page 140, Safety belts,
c::> page 148, Airbag system and
c::> page 168, Important information.

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. 174 Schemat ic overv iew: installatio n of the attac h
ments app lica ble to a LA TCH seat
Fig. 175 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 feature on the safety belt to
prevent the child safety seat from moving
Q page 178 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)
Q page 178.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
Q page 183.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Q page 173.
~ A toddler or child is usually too large for an in-
~ fant restraint if it is more than one year old and r--
8 weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) .
0
0:
co
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 certi
fied for their size and weight
Q fig . 174 and
q fig . 175.
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
chi ld 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 armrest, 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. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
ficult to install the child seat with the head
91>
175

use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 173.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protect ed in child safety s eats de
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restra int .
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 child's body in the right places. The rout ing 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. Chi ld ren age 12 and unde r must
a lways ride in the rear seat .
Ch ildren who are at least 4 ft . 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 mete rs) tall ca n genera lly use the veh icle's
three po int lap and shoulder be lts. Neve r use the
l ap belt po rtion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
chi ld is. A lways remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt port ion of the ve
h icle 's three point lap and shoulder be lt s. The
chi ld 's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
port ion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis . Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, a irbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and wit h considerable force . In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to p rotect the occupant as the occu
pant moves forward into the a irbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too
~ close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating ....
~ ai rbag. When an occ upant is too close, he o r she
N 8 will be struck v iolently and will receive ser ious or
~ possibly even fatal injury. 00
Ch ild safety
In order for the a irbag to offer protection, it is
important that a ll vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who m ust be in the front seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restra ined and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child 's
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the a irbag can inflate completely and pro
vide s upplementa l protec tion in certain frontal
collisions.
A WARNING
-
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrect ly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
i njury and death in a collision or other emer
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se rious personal injury and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild'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 ac ross the pelvis
and never across the stomach o r abdomen.
Make sure the bel t lies flat and sn ug. Pu ll on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Fail ure to properly route safety bel ts over a
child's body w ill cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢ page 140.
- The rear side of the chi ld safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
f icult to insta ll the ch ild seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 64 . Install the
head restraint again immed iately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
rest raints or with head restra ints that a re
not properly adj usted increases the r is k of
serio us or fatal ne ck in jury dramatically .
- Never let a chi ld put the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind the ba ck, because i t could
cause severe inj uries in a crash .
- Ch ild ren on the fron t seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in-
jured or even ki lled when an airbag inflates .
Ill>
177

Child safety
-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.
- 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
Q page 158, 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
Q page 140, Safety belts,
Q page 148, Airbag system and
Q page 168, Important information.
Securing child seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency 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 .
178
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re
strained for their age and size.
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
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 collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back
rest to which the center rear safety belt is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se
cure a child 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 child
can be seriously injured or killed .
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
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 child 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 child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing child
safety seat on the rear seat.

Child safet y
-Make sure that the PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG O FF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a
rear seat ing position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dea le r.
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 veh icle. To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferab ly
on the rear seat.
.,. Slow ly pull the belt
all the wa y out .
.,. Route it around o r th rough the ch ild restraint
belt path
¢ _& .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety be lt really tight.
.,. Inse rt the bel t tongue into the buckle fo r that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un
ti l the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" no ise as the belt
winds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vertible locking retractor by pulli ng on the belt .
You should no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The conve rtible locking re
tractor is now act ivated .
.,. Make s ure that the red release b utton is fac ing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
u nbuck led quick ly.
.. Pu ll on the be lt 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
Us ing the wrong child restra int or an improp
erly installed ch ild rest raint can cause ser ious
personal in ju ry o r dea th in a cr ash.
180
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tractor is locked when installing a ch ild
safety seat. An unlocked safety be lt retrac
tor cannot hold the chi ld safety sea t in place
during normal driving or in a c rash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round dur ing
a sudden stop or in a c rash.
- Always make sure the seat back rest to which
the child res traint is installed is in an up
right position and securely latched into
place and canno t fold forw ard . Othe rw ise,
the sea tba ck wit h the child safe ty seat at
tached to it could fly forwa rd in the event o f
an accident o r othe r emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 168. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 149, 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 bel t is wound all the way back into the re
tra ctor .
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
The belt tongue will pop out of the buc kle.
.,. Guide the safety be lt all the way back into i ts
s towed pos it io n .
A lways let the safe ty be lt retract completely into
i ts stowed pos it io n. T he safety be lt ca n now be
u sed as an ord inary safety bel t w ithout t he con
ver tib le locking ret ractor fo r chil d rest raints .
If the conve rtible locking retractor should be ac
tivated inadverte ntly, the safety belt must be un
fastened and guided comp lete ly back i nto its
stowe d position to deac tiva te th is fe ature. If the
convertible locking retractor is no t deactivated,
the safety be lt will gradually become tighter and
u ncomfortab le to wear.

/! WARNING
-
Improperly ins talled 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
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
being used ¢
page 168. Special precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 149, 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
T o provide a simpler and more practicable way to
a ttach the child rest raint on the vehicle seat ,
Federal regulat ions require special lower ancho
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re
stra ints to attach to the veh icle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is now generally called the LATC H system for
" L ower Anchorages and Tethers for C hildren ". In
Canada, the terms "top tether " w ith "lower uni
ve rsal anc horages" (or "lower un iversal anchor
age ba rs") are used to describe the system.
In other countr ies the term "ISO FIX " is used to
describe the lowe r anchorages.
Forward-facing child restr aints man ufactured af
ter September 1, 1999 , are required by U.S . fed
eral regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requi rements. These
new perfo rmance requirements make a tethe r
~ necess ary o n most new child seats . ..... N
~ Instal ling a child restraint that requi res a top .....
g tether wi thout one can serio usly impair the pero: co
Ch ild sa fety
formance of the child restraint and its abi lity to
protect the child in a co llision. Installing a child
restra int that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a violat ion of state law .
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lowe r
anchorag es on th eir child seats with hook-on or
push-on connectors attached to adjustab le
s t raps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
c h ild restraint systems usua lly require th e use of
tether straps to help keep the child restra int
firmly in p lace .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restra ints w ill
in crease the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the manufactu rer of the ch ild restraint you
inten d to insta ll in your vehicle .
- Never install a chi ld restraint without a
proper ly attached top tether strap if the
chi ld restrain t manufacture r's instructions
require the top te ther s tra p to be used.
- Improper use of chi ld restraint LATCH lower
anchorage poin ts can lead to injury in a coll i
sion . T he LA TC H l ower anchorage poi nts are
des igned to w ithstan d only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted child restrain ts .
- Never mo unt two child res traint sy stems o n
one LA TC H lowe r anchorage po int.
- Never secure or at tach any luggage o r other
item to the LA TC H l owe r an chor ages.
Location
F ig. 177 Sc hemati c overv iew: LATCH ancho rage po in t loca ·
ti on s
~
181

Child safety
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions ore marked for
quick locating.
F ig. 178 Lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig. 179 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracke t locations
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat
cushion.
Remove the covers
Q fig. 178 to access the lower
anchorage attachment points.
The lower anchorage attachment points are visi
ble
~fig. 179.
Lower ancho rages 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 child restraint installation.
All child restraints manufactured after Septem
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach
ments for the
LATCH system.
182
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
on ly inten ded for insta llation and attachment of
ch ild restraints specifically certif ied for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child restra ints that
are not equipped with the lower anchorage at
tachments can still be installed in compliance
with the ch ild restraint manufacturer 's in struc
tions on using vehicle safety be lts .
.&_ WARNING
Im proper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the child restraints
manufacturer's instructions for proper in
stallat ion of the chi ld 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
mation about child restraints in this chapter
and WARNINGS
Qpage 168, Child safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
When ever you install a child restraint always fol
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
Fig. 180 Lower anchorages: proper mount ing
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 wit h the spring
catch release on the child safety seat onto the ..,.

a,
a,
..... N
" ('I ..... 0 0
0:
co
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢ fig. 180 .
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are p roperly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions .
Relea sing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following the
c hild restra int manufac turer 's ins tructions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages .
Remember: Use tether straps to he lp keep the
child rest raint firmly in place .
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury and
death in an acc ident.
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using the "LA TCH" system .
- Never attach other child safety seats, belts
or othe r objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click when
latch ing the seat in place. If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
forward and h it the interior of t he vehicle,
o r be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING
Improper installatio n of child rest rai nts will
increase the r is k of injury in an a cc ident.
- Always follow the child restra int system
man ufacturer's inst ru ct ions for proper in
sta llation of the child res tra int system and
pro per 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
tems
¢ page 168, Child safety. Ch
ild
sa fety
Tether anchors and tether straps
F ig. 181 Tet her anch ors : attachmen t hook loca tion s be
hin d the rear seatbacks
T he tether anchors for the rea r seating pos itions
are located on the backside of the rear seatbacks
¢ fig . 181 .
A tether is a straight o r V-shaped strap that a t
t a ches the top p art of a ch ild rest raint to spe cial
anchorage points in the ve hicle .
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of t he ch ild restrain t in a crash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head inju ry
that co uld be caused by striking the vehicle inte
rior.
Forward facing child restra in ts manufac tured af
ter September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S . fed
er al reg ulations to comply with new child head
movement performance req uirements. These
new performance requ irements mak e a t ether
necessary on most new chi ld safety seats.
A WARNING
-
Improper installation of child restra ints w ill
i ncrease the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the ma nufact urer of the ch ild restraint you
i n tend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of chi ld restraint anchors ( in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision . The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor
rectly fi tted ch ild rest rain ts.
- Neve r mo unt two child restraint systems o n
one LA TC H lowe r anchor point.
~
183