Safety belts
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snugly
c> fig. 234. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c> fig . 234. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c> page 268.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expec tant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 235 Safety belt pos ition during pregnancy
To prov ide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body
c> page 269 .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c> page 59, Front seats .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelvis and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
c:> fig. 235, ¢ ,&. .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
270
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos
sible across the pelvis and below the round
ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c> .&. in Fasten
ing safety belts on page
269 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 236 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢ fig. 236. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
¢ ,&. .
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving. Doing so will increase your risk of be
ing injured or killed.
-Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
P ASS ENGER A IR
BA G OFF~;
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately .
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correc t use of child safety sea ts substan tially re
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for each
child and a lways use it properly~
page 301.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer 's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
child safety seat , you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢ page 306.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt 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
¢ page 301 .
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 fo r their age and size.
_& WARNING
~ Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the wrong
~ child safety seat or improper ly installing a N .... 0
0
:E: '
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuve r or impact .
An unrest rained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r is k of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
- Commerc ially availab le child safe ty seats
are requi red to comply with U.S . Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your ch ild and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush
ion. The ch ild restraint must not t ip or
lean to either side . Audi does not recom
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro
vide adequate contact with the seat.
- Always heed all lega l requirements per
ta ining to the insta llation and use of child
safety seats and carefu lly follow the in
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using .
- Never a llow children under 57 inches
(1.45 mete rs) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub
stitute for a chi ld restrain t system .
- The strongest person cou ld not ho ld the
ch ild with the forces that exist in an acci
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
299
u (0 ...... N r--. N ...... 0
0
:E
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF ~;
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig. 246 Schema tic ove rv ie w: k eep unu sed s-a fety belts
away from chil dren in chil d safety seats .@ · oute r rear
sa fety belt,
@ -cente r rea r sa fety bel t
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LA TCH univ ersal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them
c::> ,& .
-Gui de the safety belt webbings @ and @ be
hind the head restra int of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
c::> fig. 246 . When do
ing so, do not engage the convertible lock ing
retractor! You should not hear a "click ing"
sound when w inding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booste r seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
cou ld cause the chi ld serious personal injury
and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by proper ly routing them aro und the
Child safety
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
Child safety 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. 247 Schema tic ove rview: rearw ard -fac ing in fan t seat ,
proper ly i nsta ll ed o n the rear sea t
., When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the chi ld safety seat from moving
c::> page 306 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safe ty belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
., Sec ure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page301.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs . or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
expe rts be lieve that infants and small children
shou ld ride only in special res tra ints in wh ich the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant ..,.
301
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
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 are less than 4
ft.
9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 250 Rear se at; chi ld proper ly restrained in a booster
sea t
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 protect them in a crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and must lie fla t 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 height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r:=>page 301.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de-
u ~ signed for their age and we ight. Experts say that
N ~ the skeletal structure , part icularly the pelvis , of
g these children is not fully developed, and they
:E
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro
priate booster seats. Be su re the booster seat
meets all applicab le 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 routing of
the belt over the chi ld's body is very important
for the ch ild's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildr en 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
lap belt portion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone
to restrain any ch ild, regard less of how big the
ch ild is. Always remember that childr en do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts . T he
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pe lvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child 's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerab le 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
pan t moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close , he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child 's ..,.
305
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.