Child sa fety
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured 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 in
flates.
- 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 armrest, o r
doo r.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG
OFF ~; light does not come
on and stay on, immediately install the rear
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Forward-facing chi ld seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the
deployment of the a irbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
- If except ional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing
seat has been designed and cert ified by its
manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and s ide a irbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
292
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up aga inst or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper anchor
age to the adjustment position that per
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in
str uctions .
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
r earmost position in the seat's fore and
aft ad justmen t range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward- facing child restra int .
- Always make s ure tha t the safety belt up
per anchorage is behind the chi ld restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re
straint so that the safety belt will be prop
erly pos itioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the f ront passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
l aptop, CD player, elect ronic games de
v ice, power inverter or seat heater for
ch ild seats) . These may influence the elec
trical capacitance measu red by the capaci
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly a round in an acciden t and cause
se rious personal injury.
- Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, powe r inverter or sea t heat
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
vo lt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make su re that there a re no wet objects
(such as a wet towe l) and no water or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cush ion .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ~; light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~. light
does not come on and stay on, immediate
ly insta ll the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Aud i
deale r.
- Always buckle the chi ld seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it. A
loose ch ild seat ca n fly around during a
sudden stop o r in a coll is ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a ch ild restraint in a veh i
cle
~ page 261, Safety belts, ~ page 269,
Airbag system and ~page 291, Impor
tant information .
(j) Tips
Always replace ch ild restraints that were in
stalled in a veh icle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child restra int tha t is not visib le co uld cause
it to fail in another collision situation .
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air
bag System" in comp liance with United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the t ime
your ve hicle was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" requ ire
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment crite ria are intended to
reduce t he r isk of injury thro ugh inte ract ion with
the airbag t hat can occur, for examp le, by being
too close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates . In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" req uirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
~ 12 months who are restra ined on the front pas-...,
~ senger seat in child restraints that are listed i n
~ the Standard. 0 <( 0 00
Child s af ety
E ven thoug h your veh icle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, especially
those 12 years and younger, should a lways ride
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentia lly dangerous p lace for a
ch ild to ride . Th e front seat is not the safest place
fo r a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat.
It
can be a very dangerous place fo r an infant o r a
la rge r ch ild i n a rea rwa rd -facing seat.
T he veh icle 's Advanced A irbag System has a ca
pacit ive passenger detection system in the front
passenge r seat cushion that can detect the p res
ence of a baby or a c hild in a child res tra int sys
tem on this seat .
T he capacitive passenger detection system reg is
te rs the changes that result i n an elect rical field
whe n a child, a ch ild restraint, and a baby b la nket
are on t he fron t passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of a chi ld, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restra int system resting on the seat. The meas
ured capacitance of a child restra int system var
ies depend ing on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The electrical capac itance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specif ied
by the U .S . National Highway Traffic Safety Ad
min istrat ion (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem contro l unit together with the capacitances
typ ica l of infants and a 1 -year old child. When a
c h ild restraint is used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year -old infant, t he Ad
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con
trol un it .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu
fact urer for use w ith an airbag . Always be s ure
t h at the c hild restraint is properly installed at
IJJ,,
293
Child sa fety
one o f th e rear seating positions . If in exception
a l circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and
heed all of the app licab le WARNINGS. Make cer
tain that the child and child restraint are correct
ly recogn ized by the capacitive passenger detec
tion system in the front passenge r seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off, and t hat the
a ir bag stat us is a lways cor rectly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF ~; light.
Many types and models of c hild rest raints have
been ava ilable ove r th e yea rs, new mode ls are in
troduced regularly incorporat ing new and im
p roved designs and o lder mode ls are taken o ut of
p roduction . Chi ld restraints are not standardized .
Chi ld restraints of the same type typically have
d ifferent weights and sizes and d ifferent "foot
prints", the s ize and shape of the bottom of the
chi ld restraint that s its on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat . These differences
make it virtually impossible to ce rtify compliance
with the requ irements fo r advanced airbags with
each and eve ry c hild rest raint that has ever been
sold in the pas t or will be sold ove r the co urse of
the useful life of your vehicle.
For this reason, the Un ited States Nat ional High
way Traffic Safety Adm inist ration has p ublished a
lis t of specific type, makes and models of child
rest raints that must be used to cert ify comp li
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi
cle with th e suppression requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A -Car bed child restraint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ange l Guard Ange l September 25, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
294
Subpart B -Rear-facing child rest raints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4543 December 1, 1 999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22 -999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December
1, 1999
just R ight 212
E venflo First Choice December
1, 1
999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December
1, 1 999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
P eg Perego P rimo Viag- September 25, 2007
g io SI P IMU NOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and convertible
child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Tou riva 025 19 December
1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Boos -September 25, 2007
ter 22-209
E venflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion 254 December
1, 1999
E venflo Generat ions September 25, 200 7
35 2xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Todd le r Safety September 25, 200 7
Seat Step 2
Graco Plat inum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of se rious injury, ma ke sure
that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
comes on and stays on whenever a c hild re
straint is insta lled on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on .
u co ..... N ,..._
N ..... 0 <( 0 00
-Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
P AS SEN GER AIR
BA G
OFF ~; light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
(D Tips
The chi ld seats listed in categories A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the veh icle, especially chi ldren:
~ Always use the right chi ld safety seat for each
child and a lways use it properly
~ page 297.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
ch ild safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
~page 302 .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt 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 297.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith an Advanced A irbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride i n the back seat properly re
stra ined fo r their age and size.
_& WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the w rong
child safety seat or improper ly installing a
Ch ild saf ety
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restra ined properly whenever r iding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the inter ior or by be ing ejected from the ve
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuve r or i mpact.
An unrest rained or imprope rly restrained
child is a lso at greater r is k of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag.
- Commerc ially availab le child safety seats
are requi red to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle S afety S tandard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your ch ild and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush
ion. The ch ild restraint must not t ip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro
vide adequ ate cont act with the se at.
- Always heed all lega l requirements per
t ai ning to the insta llation and use of child
safety seats and carefu lly follow the in
structions provided by the manufact urer
of the seat you are using .
- Never a llow children under S7 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one child occupy a chi ld
safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
veh icle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub
stitute fo r a chi ld restraint system .
- The st rongest person cou ld no t ho ld the
ch ild with the forces tha t exist in an acci
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
295
Child sa fety
- The chi ld and the passenger can a lso in
jure each other in an accident .
- Never install rear-facing child 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 - even with an Advanced Airbag Sys
tem .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the bac krest, center armrest, doo r
o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
o r infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Before you carry a ch ild in a rea r-facing child
sa fety seat on the rear seat, remove the
Rear Seat Entertainment (RS E)* and its
holder* from the ba ckres t of the front seat.
- Make s ure there is enough space in fron t of
the ch ild in the ch ild se at.
If necessary, ad
just the angle and posit ion of the seat in
front of the child seat .
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. A lways insta ll for
ward-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
- If except ional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child 's safety
and we ll-being require that the following
special p recautions be taken:
- Ma ke sure the forward -fac ing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or ca rrie r.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down
ad 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 airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild rest raint .
296
-Always make s ure that the safety belt up
per anchorage is behind the chi ld restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re
straint so that the safety belt wi ll be prop
erly pos itioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Always make s ure that the backrest is in
the up right pos ition.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, powe r inverter or seat heat
er for child seats) on the fro nt passenger
seat if the devi ce is connec ted to the
12-
vo lt socke t or the cigarette ligh ter soc ket.
- If a seat heate r has been retrofitted o r
othe rwise added to the fron t passenger
seat, neve r install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat .
- Make sure that there a re no wet objects
(such as a wet towe l) and no water or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cush ion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
l aptop, CD player, elect ronic games de
v ice, power inverte r or seat heater for
ch ild seats) . These may influence the elec
trical capacitance measured by the capaci
tive passenger detection sys tem and can
also fly a round in an accident and cause
se rious personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rmly in
place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly a round dur ing
a sudden s to p or in a collision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing
used~ page 261, Safe ty belts,
~ page 269, Airbag system and
~ page 291, Child safety.
_&. WARNING
To reduce the ris k of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 'I,;; light ~
u co ..... N r-N .....
~ 0 co
comes on and stays on whenever a child re
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
- 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 OF F
~; light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately .
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig . 241 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in child safety seats. @· oute r rear
safety belt, ® · center rear safety belt
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LATCH universal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety be lts
mu st be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them <=>.&. .
-Guide the safety belt webbings @ and @ be
hind the head restra int of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
<=> fig. 241. When do
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You shou ld not hear a "clicking"
sound when w inding up the safety be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LA TC H l ower anchorages or w ith 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
co uld cause the chi ld serious personal i njury
and even death.
Ch ild s afe ty
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convert ible lock ing re
tractor when rout ing 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 restraint.
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. 242 Sc hematic overview: rearward-facing in fant seat,
properly i nstalled on th e 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
<=> page 302 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachme nts .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r 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 297 .
Infants up to about one yea r (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant ca rr ie rs and child
sa fety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small ch ildren
Iii>-
297
Child sa fety
should ride only in special restraints in which the
chi ld faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
c::> fig. 242.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -facing child seat. It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward -facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat o r improperly install ing a
child restra int increases the r is k of se rious
personal inju ry and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing chi ld safety seats
o r infant carr iers on the front passenger
seat
-even with an Advanced A irb ag Sys
tem . A child w ill be seriously injured and can
be ki lled when the inflating airbag hits the
child 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 2 70, Child restraints on
the front seat
-some important things to
know .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restra int in
the forward-facing direct ion . Such restraints
are designed for the spec ial needs of infants
and very sma ll children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-fa cing.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
sa fety seat on the front passenger seat be
ca use of exception al circumst ances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ,;; light does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(s uch as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, powe r inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
298
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the ciga rette lighte r socket.
- If a seat heater has been ret rofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restra int 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 cush ion .
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p layer, electron ic games device,
power inverte r or seat heater for ch ild
seats). These may influence the elect rical
capacitance measu red by the capacitive pas
senger detect ion system and can also fly
a round in an accident and cause se rious per
sonal injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c::> page 261, Safety belts,
c::> page 269, Airbag system and
¢ page 291 , Important information .
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.
f ig . 243 Sche matic overview: installatio n of the attach
ments applica ble to
a LA TCH seat
Fig. 2 44 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
¢page 302 or install the seat us ing the LA TC H
attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt rea lly t ight so that
the seat cannot move forward o r sideways
more than one inch (2.5
cm)¢ page 302 .
~ If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 308.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 297.
~ A toddler or child is usually too large for an in-
~ fant restraint if it is more than one year old and r--
~ weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
~ 0 co
Child s afe ty
Todd lers 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 certi
fied for their size and
weight¢ fig. 243 and
¢ fig. 244.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -fac ing child safety seat . It is a
very dangerous place for a n in fant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he wrong
chi ld safety seat or imprope rly insta lling a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth
er emergency situation.
-Ch ildren on the front seat of any car, eve n
wit h Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates .
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
va nced Ai rbag System .
-The inflat ing airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, ce nter a rmrest, door
or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-fa cing c hild safety seats
on the rear seat .
-If you m ust instal l a rea rwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circ ums tan ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; 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
inspected by your Audi dealer.
-The rear side of the ch ild safety seat shou ld
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the veh icle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
f icult to instal l the ch ild seat with the head ._.
299