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. 2 4 0 Sche matic overview: rearward-facing infant seat,
properly installed on the rear seat
• When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢ page 259 or install the seat using the LA TCH
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
¢page 254 .
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in spec ial infant carriers and child
safety seats des igned for their age group . Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in spec ial restraints in which the
chi ld faces the back of the veh icle. These infant
seats support the baby 's back, neck and head in a
crash
c!;> fig . 240.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangero us p lace for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
chi ld in a forward -facing child seat . It is a very
lL dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in t:0
;:::: a rearward-facing seat.
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Child s afe ty
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death in a c rash .
-Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant car riers on the front passenger
seat
-even w ith an Advanced A irbag System .
A child will be serio usly inj ured and can be
killed when the inf lating airbag hits the
chi ld safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof
c!;> page 228, Child restraints on
the front seat
-some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
-Never install a rear-facing child restraint in
the forward-fac ing direction . Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and very small children and cannot protect
them p roperly if the seat is forward-facing .
-If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances a nd the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not
come on and stay on, immedia tely install
the rea r-facing child sa fety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
-A lways read and heed all WARNINGS whe n
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c!;> page 219, Safety belts,
c!;> page 227, Airbag system and
c!;> page 249, Important information.
255
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. 241 Schematic overview: installat ion of the attach
ments app licable to
a LATCH seat
Fig. 242 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 259 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 259.
... If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
r::>page 265.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::>page254 .
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).
256
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. 241 and
c:>fig. 242 .
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. Adjust the rear
seat head restraint if it is difficult to install
the child seat with the head restraint in
II>-
Child sa fety
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
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AI R BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on , perform the
checks descr ibed
~page 237, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the ch ild restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
B A G OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of chi ld restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improper ly installed chi ld restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in
jury in a crash .
A WARNING
Forward-facing ch ild restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and cert ified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up and down
ad-
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justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for
ward-facing child restraint .
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing chi ld restraints:
- A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
serious ly injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially carefu l if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptiona l cir
cumstances .
- A t ight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight-mat in the seat and reg ister a heav i
er weight in the Advanced Airbag System .
The heavier weight reg istered can make the
system work as though an ad ult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced A irbag when
it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fata l injury to the child.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght 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 rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Child safety
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte
rior .
Forward 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 restraint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision . The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor rectly fitted child restraints.
- 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 compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts 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 a tether or other strap is used to attach a
child restraint to the front passenger seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
- The heavier weight registered can make the
Advanced Airbag System work as though an
adult were on the seat and deploy the Ad
vanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing serious or even fatal injury to the
child.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
266
'
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 .
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 251 Tet her s trap: pro per routing an d mo unting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restraint manu
facturer's instructions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head
restraint ~ fig. 251 (raise the head re
straint if necessary). For child restraints with V
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint guide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap .
.,. Center seating position*: Guide the upper teth
er strap over the rear head restraint.
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor bracket .
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
u. co .... N
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If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firm ly installed for severa l 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 rest raint sys tem manufacturer 's instruc
tions carefully to determine how to properly in
stall the tether .
A WARNING
A child in a rea rward-facing ch ild safety seat
installed o n the fro nt passenge r seat w ill be
ser ious ly injured and can be killed if t he fron t
airbag infla tes -even w it h a n Advanced A irbag
System.
- T he inflat ing air bag w ill hit t he chi ld safety
sea t or infan t carrie r wi th g reat force and
wi ll smash the chi ld safety seat and chi ld
against t he backrest, center armrest, o r
door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing child restraint attached to the front
passenger seat can put too m uch pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and register a
heav ier weight in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem . The heav ier we ight registered can
make the system wo rk as though an adult
we re o n the seat and deploy the Adva nced
Airbag whe n it mus t be sup pressed ca u sing
ser ious o r even fa tal injur y to the c hild.
-If you must install a rearward fac ing c hild
safety seat on t he front passenger seat be
ca use of exceptiona l circumst ances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Ch ild saf ety
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T here are a number of sources o f additional in
formation about child restraint se lection, instal
l ation and use :
N HT SA advises that the best ch ild safety seat is
the one that f its your child and fi ts in your vehi
cle, and that you wi ll use correct ly and consis
tent ly.
T ry befo re yo u buy!
U.S . National Highway Traffic S afet y A dminis
tration
T el. : 1-888-3 27- 42 36 ( TTY: 1-800 -424-9153)
http:/ /www.nh tsa.gov
http:/ /www.sa ferca r.gov
National SAFE KIDS Camp aig n
Tel. : (202) 66 2-0600
http:/ /www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSaf e U.S .A
Te l.: (800) 745 -SA FE (E nglish)
T el. : (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http://www.ca rsea t.o rg
Tran sport C anada Information Centre
Tel. : 1-800-333-0371 o r ca ll 1 -613-998-86 16 if
yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/ roadsafety/men u. h tm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
267
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® Mud and snow capability
"M/S" or "M+S" indicates the tire
has properties making it suitable
to drive in mud or
snow .~ indi
cates a winter tire .
@ Composition of the tire cord
and m aterials
The number of plies indicates the
number of rubberized fabric lay
ers in the tire. In general : the
more layers, the more weight a
tire can carry . Tire manufacturers
must also specify the materials
used in the tire . These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other
materials .
@Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry .
@Uniform ti re quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear , traction and tempera
ture
ranges¢ page 299 .
@ Running direction
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirectional tires .
You must always follow the speci- fied running direction
¢
page 319.
@ Maximum permitted
inflation p ressure
Wh eel s
This number indicates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under normal operat
ing conditions.
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 .
285
Wheels
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 .
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire 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 with standa rd equipment in
cluding the maximum ca pacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and addit ional weigh t of
optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher
in -
28 6
flation pressures than t he corre
spond ing standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "X L",
"xl" , "EXTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-car rying capacity
of a single axle system , measu red
at the ti re-ground interfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR")
means the maximum total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load tha t a
tire is rated to carry for a given i n
flation pressure. You may no t find
this informat ion on all ti res 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 t he sum of:
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(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible }
inflation pres sure
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated . Also called "maxi
mum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 l bs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the veh icle up to the to
tal seating capacity of your vehi
c le.
Occupant distribution
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 .
Wheels
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre
viously considered in curb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes , ride levelers ,
roof rack, heavy duty battery, and
special trim .
Radial ply tire
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 .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 286, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flat ion pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire. Rein
forced tires may be iden tified as
.,.
28 7