2018 AUDI A7 child restraint

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. 167 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 176.
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
180
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
.,..

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J ' body and the front of the passenger compart­
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 138.
- 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 158, 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 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 170, 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,
.,,.
181

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 170 . Special pre ca utions
182 apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ¢ page 147, 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 158, 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 00 \,;J ' -Always make sure the forward-facing seat
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.
~
183

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 170. Specia l preca utions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat¢ page 147, 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
184 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 170. Special p recautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenge r
seat¢ page 147, 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
rages 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
ancho rages on t heir child seats w ith hook-on or
...

a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 00 <.,;) ' 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 68 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 69 Lower an cho ra g es , covers marked
F ig . 170 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
c:!;> fig . 169. The
LATCH lower universal anchorage attachment
points are between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion.
Remove the covers
c:!;> fig . 169 to access the lower
anchorage attachment points.
T he lower anc horage attac hment po in ts a re v is i­
ble
c:!;> fig . 170.
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. ..,_
185

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 170, 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 . 1 71 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
186
LA TCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢fig. 171.
.,. 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 170, Child safety.
-

a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 00 <..:l ' Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 172 Te the r ancho rs: att achm ent hook locatio ns be­
hi nd t he rea r seatbacks
The tether anchors for the two/three* rear seat­
ing positions are located on the backside of the
rear seatbacks
¢ fig. 172. Vehicles with two rear
seating positions are equipped with two tether
anchors.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
taches the top part of a child restraint to specia l
anchorage points in the vehicle.
The purpose of the te ther is to red uce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a c rash,
in order to he lp red uce the risk of head injury
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte­ rior .
F orward facing child restraints 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 performance requirements 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
cl uding tethe r anchors) ca n l ead to inj ury in
a collision. The anchors are designed to
withstand only those lo ads imposed by cor­
rectly f itted child restraints .
Child s afe ty
-Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchor point.
- 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 compa rtment.
- 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
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately insta ll
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
i n spe cted by your Audi dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 1 73 Tet her st rap: proper rout ing and mount ing
Installing the tether strap
.,. Re lease or deploy the tether strap on the ch ild
restraint according to the ch ild rest raint manu­
facture r's instr uctions .
.,. Guide the upper tether s trap under o r sideways
of the rear head restraint
I':!.> fig . 173 (dependi ng
on the chi ld restraint).
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
.,. T ighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restra int manufacture r's instruc tions .
.,.
187