Child safety
-Take the child restraint off the front passenger 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
l8 , ,.,_ _ g
---0
Fig. 161 Schematic overv iew: keep unu sed safety belts
away from chi ldren in chil d safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,@- center rear safety belt*
~
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them
c::> ,&. .
-Guide the safety belt webbings @and ®* be
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
c hild restraint is installed
c::>fig. 161. When do
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when winding 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 booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
172
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 restrain t.
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. 162 Schema tic overview : rearward-facing infa nt seat,
prope rly installed on the rear seat
.. 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 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).
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 172 .
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
II>
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.
~
Child safety
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. 165 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a booster
seat
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 chi ldren 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 child 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 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 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
c>page 172.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
176
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 sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt over the child's body is
very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children 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 child, regardless of how big the
c hi ld is. Always remember that children 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. The
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable 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 pant
moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too close to the airbag 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 fatal 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 exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the a irbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's
.,..
Wheel s
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto matic transmission, power steer
ing , power brakes , power win
dows , power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
items are available as factory-in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low sidewall for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
20 4
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the t ire pressure recom
mended by the vehicle manufac
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for
more than a couple of miles (kilo
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire pressure is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle w ith standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, ai r condi
tioning and additional weight of
optional equipment.
E x tra load ti re
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "X L",
"
l" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" on X I I
the sidewall. .,.
0 0)
-N ,.... N
-0
s ..
Gross Axle Weight Rating ( " GAWR")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system, measured
at the tire-ground interfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (" GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded
weight of the vehic le.
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in
flation pressure . You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla
tion pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible )
inflation pressure
Wh eel s
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a tire may be inflated . Also called "maxi
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occup ant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to
ta l seating capacity of your vehi
cle .
Occupant distribut ion
means distribution of occupants
in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire .
Overall width
means the linear distance be
tween the exteriors of the side
walls of an inflated tire, including elevations due to labeling, deco
rations , or protective bands or
ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords.
205
Wheels
Production options we igh t
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs.
(2.3 kg) in excess of those stand
ard items which they replace, not previously considered in curb
weight or accessory weight, in
cluding heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack, heavy duty
battery, and special trim.
Radial pl y tir e
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the beads are laid at substantially
90 degrees to the centerline of
the tread.
R ecomm ended in flation
pressure
see ¢ page 204 , Cold tire infla
tion pressure.
R einforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire . Rein
forced tires may be identified as
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" , , ,
on the sidewall.
206
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated.
Rim diam eter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat . If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
r im
flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code )
means the speed at which a tire is
designed to be driven for extend
ed periods of time. The ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢ table
on page 202 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law .
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
...
Wheels
by the tire manufacturer. This in
formation is used to contact con sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 kilo
grams) times the vehicle's desig nated seating capacity .
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by distrib
uting to each axle its share of the
maximum loaded vehic le weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual
tire that is determined by distrib
uting to each axle its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (dis
tr ibuted in accordance
with¢ ta
ble on page
2 13) and d ividing by
two .
Occupant loading and distri
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating capacities
Re fer to the tire inflation pres
sure
label¢ page 211, fig. 188
2 08
for the n umbe r of seating posi
tions. Refer to the
table ¢ table
on page
213 for the number of
people tha t correspond to the ve
hicle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on t ires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility.
These facilities have the proper
know ledge and are eq uipped with
the required too ls and rep lace
ment parts.
... New t ires do not yet have the
optim um gripping properties.
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 35 0 m iles
(500 km) with new tires .
... Only use tires with the same de
sign, size ( rolling circumfer
ence) , and as close to t he same
tread pattern as possible on a ll
four wheels .
...
Do not replace tires individually.
At least replace bo th tires on the
same axle at the same time .
... Audi recommends that you use
Audi O riginal Tires. If you would
like to use di fferent tires, please
note that the tires may perform
...
Wheels
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of
load or weight that any vehicle
and any tire can carry. A vehicle
that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overloading can not only lead to loss of vehicle control, but can al
so damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation that can
cause the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your pas sengers also depends on making
sure that load limits are not ex
ceeded. Vehicle load includes ev
erybody and everything in and on
the vehicle. These load limits are
technically referred to as the vehi
cle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat
ing
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the weight
of the basic vehicle, all factory in
stalled accessories, a full tank of
fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum load. The maxi
mum load includes the number of
passengers that the vehicle is in
tended to carry ("seating capaci
ty") with an assumed weight of 150 lbs. (68 kg) for each passen-
214
ger at a designated seating posi
tion and the total weight of any luggage in the vehicle. If you tow
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer must be includ
ed as part of the vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
vehicle's two axles.
The fact that there is an upper limit to your vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating means that the
total weight of whatever is being
carried in the vehicle (including
the weight of a trailer hitch and
the tongue weight of the loaded
trailer) is limited. The more pas
sengers in the vehicle or passen
gers who are heavier than the
standard weights assumed mean
that less weight can be carried as
luggage.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
and the Gross Axle Weight Rating
are listed on the safety compli
ance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar.