Child safety
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. 163 Schematic overview: installat ion of the attach
ments app licable to
a LATCH seat
Fig. 164 Schematic overview: installat ion of the seat using
the vehicle 's safety belt system
... 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 177 or install the seat using the LATCH
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)
c:>page 177.
... If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
r::>page 183.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::>page 172 .
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
174
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
c> fig. 163 and
c:>fig. 164.
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, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child 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 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 arm rest, door
or roof.
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
-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 install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
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move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head restraint in place
c> page 49 . 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 134, Safety belts,
c> page 142, Airbag system and
c> page 166, 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.
Child safety
-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.
175
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ment, the airbag can inflate comp lete ly and pro
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain fronta l
coll is ions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
inju ry and death in a co llision or ot her eme r
ge ncy sit uat io n. To help red uce the r isk of se
r ious persona l injury and/o r death:
- T he shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
cen ter o f the child's collar bone as poss ib le
and must lie flat and snug on the uppe r
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across t he pe lvis
and never across the stomac h or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and s nug.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary .
- Failure to proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency s ituation
¢ page 134.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
back rest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints : adj ust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if
ficult to i nstall the child seat w ith the head
restra int i n place
¢page 49. Install the
head restrain t again immedia tely o nce the
child seat is remove d. Driving w ithout head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fata l neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the sho ulder be lt under
the a rm or be hind the bac k, because it co uld
cause seve re injur ies 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 a irbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
yo ur vehicle.
-
Ch ild saf ety
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning fo r
ward, sitt ing sideways or o ut of position in
any way during an acc ident can be struck by
a dep loying airbag . Th is w ill resu lt in serious
pe rsonal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when
eve r th e ign ition is swit ched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perfo rm the
checks
d es cribed¢ page 154, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child res tra int off the front passen
ge r seat and inst all it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions i f th e
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on wheneve r
the ignition is switched on .
- A lways read and heed all WAR NINGS when
ever using a chi ld restrained in a vehicle is
be ing
u sed ¢ page 134, Safety belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, 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.
T he safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety be lts and for the front pas
senger's seat safety be lt have a convertible lock
ing retractor for child restra ints. The safety be lt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un
r eel. The ret ractor ca n be activated to lock the
safe ty belt and preven t the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing no rma l dr iving. A ch ild
safety se at can o nly be properly insta lled when
the safety be lt is locked so t hat the c hild and
c h ild safety seat will stay in place .
Always remembe r: E ven thoug h your ve hicle is
equipped wi th an Advanced Airbag system, all
c h ildren, especia lly t hose 12 yea rs and younger,
.,,.
177
Child sa fety
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 dur ing norma l driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back
rest to which the center rea r safety be lt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se
c u re a chi ld restraint.
-If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restrain t 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 child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Forward -facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger 's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
c hild.
- It is safe r to install a forward-facing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
¢ page 166 . Special pre ca utions
178
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ¢ page 143, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know .
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light mus t come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t come on and stay on, perform the
checks
described ¢ page 154, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int 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.
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing 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 carrier .
- After checking to make sure that the ch ild
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog
nized by the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the co rrect front passenger fron tal air bag
stat us.
A WARNING
Forward- facing child restra ints:
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has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a fr ont seat with a
passenger front and s ide airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or v ery near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up an d down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for
wa rd- facing child restr aint.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety bel t upper
anchor age is beh ind the child res train t and
not next to or in front o f the chi ld restrain t
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 ch ild 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 a irbag w ill 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, cen ter armrest, door
o r roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the fron t passenger sea t in exceptional c ir
c u ms tan ces.
- Make sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all t he ti me
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and st ay on, immedia tely in
st al l the re a r-fa cing ch ild saf ety se at in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer .
Child saf ety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the c hild safety seat manufacturer's
i nstruct io ns when instal ling a child restra int i n
your vehicle. To activate the convertib le locking
r etractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat .
.,. Slowly pull the belt all the way out .
.,. Route it arou nd or through the child restra int
be lt
path~ ,&..
.,. Push the c hild safety sea t down with yo ur full
weigh t to ge t the safe ty belt really tight.
.,. Insert t he be lt tong ue into the b uckl e for tha t
seating position .
.,. Guide the safety be lt back into t he ret ractor un
til the be lt lies flat and sn ug on the c hild safety
seat .
.,. You s hou ld hea r a "cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds bac k into the ine rtia reel. Test the con
vert ib le lock ing retractor by pull ing on the bel t.
You s hou ld no lo nger be able to pull the belt
ou t of the re tra cto r. T he convertib le lo ckin g re
t ra cto r is now activated.
.,. Ma ke sure that t he red release bu tton is facing
away from the c hild rest raint so that it can be
unb uc kled quickly .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly t ight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more t han
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wro ng ch ild rest raint o r an impro p
e rly instal led child restr aint can cause se rious
person al injury or de ath in a crash.
- Always make sure th at t he s afety be lt re
tr act or is locked when installing a c hild
safety sea t. An un locked safe ty be lt retra c
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in p lace
du ring norma l drivin g or in a c rash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around dur ing
a sudden stop or in a crash.
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179
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Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 170 Te the r ancho rs: recess flaps be hind the re ar sea t
backs
The tether anchors for the rear seating positions
are located in recesses in the rear window shelf
¢ fig . 170
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap that at
taches the top part of a child restra int to special
anchorage points in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to red uce the for
ward movement of the child res tra int in a crash,
in order to help red uce the risk of head injury
that could be caused by striking the veh icle inte
rio r.
F orward facing ch ild res traints 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 r equirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
-Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restra int you
intend to install in your Aud i.
-Improper use of child restra int anchors (in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision . The anchors are designed to
withstand only those lo ads imposed by cor
rectly fitted child restra ints.
-Never mount two chi ld restraint systems on
one LATCH lower a nchor po int.
Ch ild s afe ty
-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 other
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
PAS SENGER 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 a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 1 7 1 Tet her strap : p roper rout ing and mount ing
Installing the tether strap
... Re lease or dep loy t he tether strap on the ch ild
restraint according to the ch ild rest raint manu
facture r's ins tructions .
... Guide the upper te ther strap under the rea r
head
restraint ¢ fig. 171 (raise the head re
straint if necessary) . For child restraints w ith V
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint guide rods do not in terfere 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 the tether a ncho rage.
183
Child safety
~Pu llon the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
~ Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer 's instruct ions.
Releasing the tether strap
~ Loosen the tension following the chi ld 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 with the tether
strap firm ly installed for several days, this
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cush ion 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 ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser ious ly injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates
-even w ith an Adva nced Airbag
System.
- Th e inflati ng airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrie r wi th great force and
wi ll 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 iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
184
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 chi ld re straint se lection, instal
l ation and use :
NHTSA advises t hat the best child safety seat is
t h e one that fits your child and fits in your vehi
cle, and that you wi ll use correct ly and consis
tently.
Try before you buy!
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis
tration
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (T TY: 1-800-424-9153)
http:/ /www .nhtsa.gov
http:/ /www .sa fercar.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http:/ /www .safekids.org
Safety BeltSafe U.S .A.
Tel.: (800) 745-SAFE (En glish)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http:/ /www .carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or call 1-6 13-998-86 16 if
you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/roadsafety/menu . htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
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see
r=;, page 185.
F or the tank capac ity in yo ur vehicle , refer to t he
Technical Data
r=;, page 245 .
To reduce the r isk of fuel leak ing out or vapors
escap ing, make su re t hat the fuel ta nk is closed
correct ly. O therwise
t he-¢..ij indicator light will
turn on.
I f the central lock ing system malfunct ions, the
fuel filler door may emergency release
r=;, page 188.
_& WARNING
An improper f uel ing p rocedure and improper
hand ling of fue l can lead to exp losions, fires,
severe b urns and other injuries .
- Do not smoke and keep away from open
flames .
- T he ig nition m ust be switched off whe n re
f ueling .
- Cell pho nes, radio devices and o ther radio
equipment s hou ld always be switched off
w hen refueling . Electromagnetic rays cou ld
cause sparks and start a fire .
- If you do not insert the fuel pump nozzle a ll
the way into the filler tube, then fue l can
leak out. Spilled fue l can ignite and start a
fire.
- Never get into the vehicle when refueling. If
there is an exceptional s ituation where the
vehicle must be entered, close the door and
touch a metal surface before touching the
fuel pump nozzle aga in . This will reduce the
r isk of electrostat ic d ischarge that can cause
flying sparks . Sparks can start a fire when
ref uel ing .
_& WARNING
We recommend that you do not t ransport any
fue l co nta iners in t he veh icle. Fue l cou ld leak
out of the containe r and ignite, espe cially dur
ing an accident. This can cause exp losions,
fires and injuries .
- If you must transport fuel in a fue l contain
er, please note the following:
Ch eck ing and F illing
- Always place a fue l container on the
ground before filling . Never fill the fue l
container with fuel while it is in or on the
vehicle . Electrostatic charge can occur
wh ile refueling and the fuel vapors could
i gnite .
- For fuel containers made of metal, the fuel p ump nozzle must always maintai n
contact with the conta iner to reduce the
r isk of s tat ic charge.
- Insert the fuel pump nozz le as far as pos
s ible into the fi lle r opening w hile refuel
ing .
-Fo llow lega l requ irements when using,
stor ing and t ransporti ng f uel conta iners.
- Make su re that the fuel containe r meets
t h e in dust ry standa rds, for example ANS I
o r ASTM F8S2 -86.
@ Note
- Remove fuel that has overflowed onto any
veh icle components immediately to reduce
the risk of damage to the vehicle.
- Never drive unt il the fuel
tank is completely
empty. The irregula r supply of fue l that re
sults from that can cause eng ine misfi res.
U nc ombus ted fuel will ente r th e exhaus t
system and increase the risk of damage to
the cata lytic converter.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not overfill the fuel tank, otherwise f uel
ca n leak o ut w hen the ve hicle is warming up.
(D Tips
The fuel filler doo r on your ve hicle does not
l ock if you lock t he ve hicle from t he i nside us
i ng t he centra l loc king switc h.
18 7