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. 248 Schemat ic overv iew: installatio n of the attac h
ments app lica ble to a LA TCH seat
Fig. 249 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 306 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 306.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
Q page 312.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Q page 301.
~ A toddler or child is usually too large for an in-
~ fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
8 weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) . 0 :E
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 . 248 and
q fig . 249.
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 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 excep tional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '-I; light does not
come on and stay on, immediately insta ll
the rear-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-
f icult to install the child seat with the head
~
303
Child safety
restraint in place ~page 63. 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
~ page 265, Safety belts,
~ page 2 73, Airbag system and
~ page 295, Important information.
_& 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.
- 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
304 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 detect ion system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
11,;; light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 11,;; light
does not come on and stay on, immediately
install the forward-facing child seat at a
seating position on the rear seat and have
the airbag system inspected by your author
ized 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
11,;; 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 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 265.
- The rear side of the child 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
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
¢page 63. 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.
- Always remember that a child leaning for
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
306
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
fj,;; light must come on and stay on,
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF fj,;; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 285, 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 265, Safety belts,
¢ page 273, Airbag system and
¢ page 295, Important information.
Securing child safety
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 for the rear seats and for the
front passenger's seat have a convertible locking
retractor for child safety seats. 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,
should always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and size.
ll-
u co ...... N r-... N ...... 0
0
:E: '
-
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
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 ch ild
can be se riously injured or killed .
- Never ins tall rear-facing child 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 airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats or infant
carriers 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 -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
~ page 295 . Specia l precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
~ page 2 7 4, Child
Ch ild safety
restraints an the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
A WARNING
-A lways 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 whenev
er the ign ition is switched o n.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed
~ page 285, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Improper installat ion of child res tra ints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them f rom 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 chi ld.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child safety
seat or carr ier .
- After checking to make sure that the c hild
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog
n ized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light sig
na ls the cor rect front passenger fronta l air
bag status.
A WARNING
F orwa rd -facing child restra ints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has bee n des igned and certified by its man
ufa cture r for use on a fron t sea t with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
-
307
Child safety
-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
install the rear-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer .
308
· 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 restrain t 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 putt 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.
u co ,....,
N r-... N ,....,
0
0
:E: '
"' Release or deploy the tether st rap on the child
restraint acco rding to the child restraint manu
facturer's instructions .
"' Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint and into the rear cargo area
(raise the head restraint if necessary). For child
restra ints w ith V-tether straps, always make
sure that the head restraint guide rods do not
interfere with any part of the top tether strap .
"' Slide the tether st rap hook over the anchor
bracket.
"' Pull on the te ther strap hook so tha t the spring
catch of the hook engages.
"' Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llowing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
Relea sing the te th er s trap
"' Loosen the tens ion following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions .
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
@ Note
If you leave the chi ld restraint wi th the tether
strap firmly installed fo r 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 chi ld 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 with an Advanced Air
bag System . Ch
ild
safety
- The inflating airbag will hit the chi ld safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ',,;; light does not
come on and stay on, immedia tely insta ll
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re are a number of sources of additional in
format ion about ch ild rest raint selection, instal
lation and use :
N HT SA advises that the best ch ild safety seat is
the one that fits yo ur child and fits in your veh i
cle, and tha t you w ill u se correct ly and consis
tent ly.
T ry befo re yo u buy!
U.S Na tional H ighway Traffic Safety Admini stra
tion
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY : 1-800-424-91S3)
http:/ /www.nhtsa.gov
http:/ /www.saferca r.gov
National SAFE KID S Camp aign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www.safekids.org
Safet y Belt Saf e U .S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45 -SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http://www.carseat.o rg
T rans port Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or call 1 -613 -998 -8616 if
you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/ roadsafety/menu. htm
Audi Cu stom er Re lations
Tel.: (800) 822 -2834
313
Check ing and F illing
Checking and Filling
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Applies to: vehicles with gaso line engine
Using the right fuel helps keep the environment
clean and prevents engine damage.
F u el r eco mmend ati on
The fuel recommended for your vehicle is unle ad
e d pr em ium
grade gasoline . Audi recommends
using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline with a mini
mum octane rating of 91 AKI (95 RON). For more
information on TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline,
p lease go to the offic ial website
(www.toptiergas .com).
The recommended gasoline octane rating for
your engine can also be found on a label located on the ins ide of the fuel filler flap . This rating
may be specified as AK I or RON .
Your veh icle may also be operated using unlead
ed regular gasoline with a minimum octane rat
ing of 87 AKl/91 RON. However, using 87 AKI/91
RON octane fuel w il l slightly reduce engine pe r
forma nce.
Us e un leade d gaso lin e onl y. Unleaded gasoline
is availab le throughout the USA , Canada, and in
most European countries . We recommend that
you do not ta ke your vehicle to areas or co unt ries
where un leaded gaso line may not be availab le.
For more information on refueling your vehicle,
see
¢page 316.
Octan e rating
Octane rating indicates a gasoline's ability to re
sist engine damaging "knock" caused by prema
ture ignit ion and detonation . Therefore, buy ing
the correct grade of gasoline is very important to
he lp prevent poss ible engine damage and a loss
of eng ine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the Un ited
States and Canada has the following octane rat
i n gs that ca n usually be found on the filler pump:
- Premium Grade: 91 - 96 AKI
314
- Regu la r Grade: 87 - 90 AK I
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI = Anti Knock Index = (R +M)/2 = (RON +MON)/
2
RON = Research Octane Number
MON = Motor Octane Number.
{[) Note
-Do not use a ny fue l w ith o ctane ratings low
er than 87 AKI or 91 RON othe rw ise expen
sive engine damage wi ll occur .
- Do
not use leaded gasoline. The use of lead
ed gasoline will severely damage your vehi
cle's catalyt ic converter and its ability to
control exhaust emissions .
Blended gasoline
Applies to: vehicles with gasoline engine
Use of gaso lin e conta ining alcoho l or MTBE
(meth yl tertia ry butyl ether )
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with al
cohol or MTB E (commonly referred to as oxygen
ates) if the blended m ixture meets the follow ing
criteria:
Blend of g asoline methanol (wood alcohol o r
m eth yl alcoho l)
-Anti -knock index must be 87 AKI or h igher.
- Blend must contain no more than 3% metha-
nol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co -solvents.
Blend of ga soline and ethanol (grain alcohol or
ethyl alc ohol )
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or h igher .
- Blend must not conta in more than 15% etha-
nol.
Blend of gas oline and M TBE
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AK I or h igher .
- Blend must contain not mo re than 1S% MTB E.
S easonall y adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform es
pecially well for winter or summer dr iv ing . Dur-
i ng seasonal change-over, we suggest that you .,..
Checking and Filling
an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility for assistance .
Fuel filler door emergency release
If the central locking system is faulty, the fuel
filler door can be unlocked manually.
II
Fig. 261 Luggage compartment: removing the lig ht cover
II
F ig. 262 Luggage compartment: fuel filler doo r emergency
rele ase
The emergency release mechanism is loca ted be
hind the right light cover in the luggage compart
ment .
"' Use a screwdriver to remove the light cover
¢ fig. 261 .
"' Loosen the loop c::;, fig. 262 from the retainer
and then pull on the loop carefully
c::;, (i) , The
filler door is released .
"' Press on the left side of the fuel f i lier door to
open it
c::;, page 316, fig. 259 .
(D Note
Only pull on the loop until you feel resistance .
You will not hear it release. Otherwise you
could damage the emergency re lease mecha
nism.
318
Selective catalytic reduction (AdBlue/DEF)
General information
Applies to: vehicles wit h selective catalytic reduct ion
In vehicles with selective catalytic reduction, a
urea solution (AdBlue/DE F) is injected into the
exhaust system in front of a nitrogen oxide cata l ytic converter to reduce nitrogen em issions. The
urea solution is known as Ad Blue or DEF (Diesel
Exhaust F lu id) . The informat ion that fo llows w ill
u se the name Ad B lue .
The Ad Blue is carried in a separate tank in the ve
hicle. The Ad Blue usage accounts for approxi
mately 1.0% to 4.0% of the diesel fuel that is
u sed .
When a message about refilling the AdBlue ap pears in the instrument cluster display, you must
refi ll the Ad B lue yourse lf or have it refilled by an
authorized Aud i dea ler or authorized Audi Serv ice
Fac ility
c::;, page 319.
(0 Tips
- Th e d isp lay indicates the distance rema ining
that can be dr iven
c::;, page 318. If the Ad Bl
ue tank is comple tely emp ty, the eng ine will
no t start again after the ign ition is switched
off .
-Ad Bl ue is required by law to ope rate th is ve
hicle.
Messages in the instrument cluster display
App lies to: vehicles wi th selective catalyt ic reduct ion
The display indicat es if the Ad Blue level is low or
if there
is a system malfun ction.
AdBlue level low
You w ill be informed in the instrument cluster
display if the AdBlue in the tank drops below a
ce rtain level. Add at a minimum the amount of
AdBlue shown in the message:
II Refill with a t lea st x qt ( l) Ad Blu e. Range
x mi (km )