a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \.J '
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:
-
a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \,;J '
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.
~
179
Child sa fety
- Always make sure the seat backrest to which
t h e chi ld restraint is installed is in an up
rig ht p osition and s ecurely latched into
plac e and can not f old forward. O therwise,
t he se atback with t he ch ild safe ty seat at
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
¢ page 166. Specia l preca utions
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.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way back into the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt b uckle.
Th@ belt tongue w ill pop out of the buckle.
~ Gu ide the safety belt a ll the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract complete ly into
its stowed position . The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con
vert ible lock ing retractor for child restra ints .
If the convert ible lock ing retractor should be ac
tivated inadve rtently, the safety belt must be un
fastened and gu ided completely back into its
stowed position to deact ivate this feature.
If the
convertib le lock ing retractor is not deact ivated,
the safety belt w ill gradually become tighte r and
uncomfo rtable to wea r.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installe d child safety seats in
crease the risk of serio us pe rsonal injury and
death in a collision .
- Never unfasten the safe ty belt to deactiva te
the convert ible locking retractor for child re
straints while the vehicle is moving . You
180
wou ld not be rest rained and could be seri
ously in jured in an acc ident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
¢page 166. Special p recautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenge r
seat¢ page 143, 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
To p rovide a simp ler and mo re practicab le way to
attach the ch ild restraint on the vehicle seat,
Federal regulations require spec ia l lower ancho
r ages in vehicles and devices on new ch ild re
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tethe r ancho rages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called t he LATCH system for
" Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms
" top tet her" wi th "lower u ni
versa l anchorages" (o r "lowe r universa l anchor
age bars") a re used to des cribe the system .
In other co untries the term
"ISOFIX" is used to
desc ribe the lower anchorages .
Fo rward-facing chi ld restraints manufactured af
ter September
1, 1999, are required by U.S . fed
era l regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance req uir ements . These
new performance requ irements make a tether
necessary on most new ch ild sea ts.
Installing a ch ild restraint that requires a top
tether wi thout one can se riously impair the per
fo rmance of the c hild rest raint and its ab ility to
pro tect the ch ild in a co ll ision. I nstalling a ch ild
r es trai nt th at r equi res a top te ther wi tho ut the
top tether may be a vio lation o f st ate law.
Child restra int manufactu rers offe r LATCH lowe r
a ncho rages on t heir child seats w ith hook-on or
...
a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 0 \,;J '
push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps .
I n addi tion to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
chi ld restrain t systems usually require the use of
tether straps to he lp keep the child restraint
firm ly in plac e.
A WARNING
Improper installation of c hild 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 veh icle.
- Never install a child restra int w ithout a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint ma nufacturer's instruct ions
requ ire the top tether strap to be used .
- Improper use of child restra int LATC H lower
anchorage po ints can lead to injury in a colli
sion . The LATCH lower anchorage points a re
designed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correc tly fi tted child res traints .
- N ever mount two chi ld restraint systems on
one LATCH lower a nchorage poin t.
- Never secure or attach a ny luggage or other
item to the LA TCH lower anc horages .
Location
Fig. 1 66 Sche matic overvie w: LA TCH an ch orag e po int loc a
t ions
The illustration shows the seat ing locations i n
your ve hicle whi ch a re equipped with the lower
ancho rages system.
Ch ild s afe ty
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig . 1 67 Lower an cho ra g es , covers marked
F ig . 1 68 Rear s eats: lowe r an chorag e bra cket lo ca tions
Lower anchorages
T he circular markings on the rear seat help you to
identify the location of lower anchorages for the
two outboard seating positions ¢
fig. 167. The
LATCH lower universal anchorage attachment
points are between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion.
Remove the covers ¢
fig. 167 to access the lower
anchorage attachment points.
T he lower anc horage attac hment po in ts a re v is i
ble
¢ fig . 168.
Lower anchorages secure the child restra int in
the seat withou t using the veh icle's safety bel ts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to-use at
tachment and minimize the possibi lity of improp
er child restraint installation .
All child res tra ints manufac tured after Septem
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach-
ments for t he
LATCH system. ..,_
181
Child sa fety
Please remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and at
tachment of child restraints specifically cert ified
for use w ith LATCH lower anchorages. Ch ild re
stra ints that are not equipped with the lower an
chorage attachments can st ill be installed i n
compl iance with the child restra int manufactur
er 's instructions on using vehicle safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Improper use of LA TC H l ower anchorages ca n
cause se rious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident.
- Always ca ref ull y follow the child restra ints
ma nufactu rer's inst ru ct io ns for p roper in
st all ation of the child res tra int and p roper
use of the lower anchorages or safety be lts
in your vehicle .
- Never secure or a ttac h any luggage or o ther
items to the LATCH lower anchorages.
- Always re ad a nd heed t he important infor
mation about child restraints in this c hapter
and WA RNINGS
¢page 166, Child safety .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
F ig . 169 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is i n the upr ight position and securely latched
i n place .
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the sp ring
catch re lease on the chi ld safety seat onto the
182
LA TCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢fig. 169.
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
.. Pull straps tight following the ch ild restraint
manufacturer 's instruct ions .
Relea sing
.,. Loosen the tension on the straps fo llowing the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catches to release the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c hi ld restraint firmly in p lace.
.&_ WARNING
-
Improper use of the LATC H system can in
crease the r isk of serious persona l injury a nd
death in a n accident .
- These anchors were developed only for child
safety seats using the "LATCH" system .
- Never attach other ch ild safety seats, be lts
or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click when
latching the seat in place. If you do not hear
a cl ick the seat is not sec ure and co uld fly
forward and hit the inter ior of the vehicle,
or be ejec ted from the veh icle .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roper i nstalla tion of child restra ints w ill
in cre ase t he risk of inju ry in a n accident.
- Always follow the ch ild restraint system
manufact ure r's ins truc tions fo r prope r in
s tallat ion of t he ch ild restrain t sys tem an d
proper use of te ther straps as we ll as the
lower anchorages or safety belts in you r ve
hicle.
- Always read and heed the important infor
mation and WARNINGS about chi ld safety
and the installation of c hild restraint sys
tems
¢ page 166, Child safety.
-
a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 0 <..:l '
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