Page 305 of 404

u. 00 .-< N l' N .-< 0 N > 00
-For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head restraint in place
c> page 61 . Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c> page 260, Safety belts,
c> page 269, Airbag system and
c> page 294, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position.
Child safety
-Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restraint 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 cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light 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 forward-facing child seat at a seat ing position on the rear seat and have the
airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer .
- 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 OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
303
Page 306 of 404

Child sa fet y
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 . 2 51 Rea r seat: c hild proper ly restra ined in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fi t most
chi ldren un til they are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1. 45 meters) ta ll and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Boos ter sea ts raise these chi ld ren up so
that t he safety bel t will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
.. Do no t use the conve rtible locking retra ctor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to rest rai n
a chi ld on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and must lie flat and s nug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck . The
lap belt must lie across the pelv is and never
ac ross the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight
en if ne cessa ry .
.. Applies to: vehicles with safety be lt height ad
justment: If yo u must t ransport an older child
in a booster seat on the front passenger seat,
yo u can use the safety belt he ight adjustment
to help adjust the shoulder portion properly.
.. Secure unused safety belts o n the rear seat
¢ page 300.
Ch ild ren up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in ch ild safety seats de
signed fo r thei r age and we ight . Experts say that
the skeleta l struct ure, particularly the pelvis, of
304 t
h ese children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
s ui tab le child restraint .
It is usually best to put t hese chi ld ren in appro
priate booste r seats. Be sure the booste r seat
meets a ll applicab le safety standards .
Booster sea ts raise the seating posi tion of the
c hi ld a nd reposi tion both the lap and shoulde r
parts of the safety belt so that t hey pass across
the child 's body in the rig ht places. The routing of
the be lt over the ch ild's body is very important
for the chi ld's protection, whether o r not a boos
ter seat is used. C hildren 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
l ap belt portion of the veh icle's safety belt a lone
to restra in any ch ild, regard less of how big t he
c hil d is . Always remember that chi ldren do not
h ave t he p ronounced pelvic str ucture required fo r
the p roper function of lap be lt po rtion of the ve
hicle's three point la p and shoulder belts. The
c hil d's safety abso lutely requi res that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snug ly and
as low as possib le aro und the pe lvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety be lt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerab le 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 pos it ion and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck vio lent ly and w ill rece ive serio us or
possibly eve n fatal injury .
In order for the a irbag to offer protect ion, it is
importa nt that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptiona l cir cumstances, be prope rly
r estra ined and as far aw ay from the a irbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the chi ld's
body and the fron t of the passenger compa rt-
ment, the a irbag can inflate completely and
..,.
Page 307 of 404

u. 00 .-< N l' N .-< 0 N > 00
provide supplementa l protection in certain fron
tal collisions .
A WARNING -
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly insta lling a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer
gency situat ion . To help reduce the r isk of se
r ious personal inj ury and/o r death:
- The shoulder belt must l ie as close to the
center of the child 's collar bone as poss ible
and must lie flat and snug on the uppe r
body . It must neve r lie across the t hroat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across the pe lv is
and never across the stomac h or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and sn ug .
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will ca use severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency situation
¢ page 260.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: ad just o r re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if
ficult to install the child seat w ith the head
restra int i n place
¢ page 61 . Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
c hild seat is removed. Driving w ithout head
restra ints or w ith he ad restraints t hat are
not p roper ly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fata l neck injury d ramatically.
- Never le t a child put the sho uld er be lt un der
the arm or be hind t he back, because it co ul d
cause severe injuries in a c rash .
- C hildren o n the front sea t of any car, even
with Adva nced Ai rbags, can be serio usly in
jure d or even killed when a n ai rbag inflates.
- Never le t a child stan d or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never le t a child ride in the c argo a re a of
yo ur vehicle.
- Alw ays remem ber th at a c hild leaning for
wa rd, s itting sideways or out of position in
any way during an accident can be struck by
Ch ild saf ety
a dep loying airbag. Th is w ill resu lt in serious
pe rsonal in jury or death.
- If you m ust insta ll a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on a nd stay on, when
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
Q page 281, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos itions if t he
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
ligh t does not stay on wheneve r
t he ig nit io n is sw itch ed on.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS whe n
eve r using a ch ild restrained in a vehicle is
be ing use d
Q page 260, Safe ty belts,
Q page 269, Airbag system and
Q page 294, 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 .
The safety belts emergency loc king retr actors 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 restraints . The safety be lt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un
reel. The retractor can be act ivated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing norma l driving . A ch ild
safety seat can only be prope rly installed when
the safety be lt is locked so t hat the ch ild and
c hi ld safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especia lly those 12 yea rs and younger,
sho uld a lways r ide in t he bac k seat p roperly re-
st rained for thei r age and s ize.
..,..
305
Page 308 of 404

Child sa fety
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 normal driving or in a cras h.
- 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 rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se
cu re a ch ild rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward toge ther w ith the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The chi ld
can be seriously in jured or killed .
- Never ins tall rear-f acing chi ld safety seats
or infant carr iers on the front passenger
seat . A child will be serio usly injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld 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
child.
- It is safe r to install a forward-facing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being
used~ page 294 . Special preca utions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the fron t passenger
seat~ page 2 70, Child
306
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
A WARNING
A lways take special p recautions 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 must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed
~ page 281, Monit oring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen
ge r seat an d inst all it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Improper installat ion of child res traints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provi ding 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 carrie r.
- After checking to make sure that the ch ild
restraint is proper ly installed, make ce rtain
that the child restraint is correctly recog nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the co rrect front passenger frontal a irbag
s tat us.
A WARNING
Forward- facing child restr aints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has bee n des igned and certified by its man
uf ac turer for use on a front sea t wit h a pas
senger front and side air bag.
-
Page 309 of 404

u. 00 .-< N l' N .-< 0 N > 00
-Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the ins trumen t pan
el.
- Always move t he front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up an d down ad
justment range and move it back t o the
r e armost position in t he seat's fore a nd aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for
wa rd-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restrain t
so tha t the safety bel t will be properly pos i
tioned.
- Make sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A ch ild in a re arwa rd-facing child sa fety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll 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 ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest , door
o r roof .
- Always be especially careful if you must in
sta ll a rearward facing child safety seat on
the fron t passenger seat in exceptional c ir
c u ms tances .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immedia tely in
st al l t he rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a
re ar seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Au di deale r.
Ch ild saf ety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the c hild safety seat manufactu rer 's
i ns truc tio ns when instal ling a child restra int i n
your vehicle . To activate the convertib le locking
retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear sea t.
.,. 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 hear a "cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vert ib le lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt .
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 restraint 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 death in a crash.
- Always make sure th at the s afety be lt re
tr act or is locked when installing a child
safety sea t. An un locked safe ty be lt retrac
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.
~
307
Page 310 of 404

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 294. Specia l preca utions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ¢ page 2 70, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking r etractor for child
re
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the bel t is wound all the way back in to the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt b uckle.
Th@ belt tongue w ill pop out of the buckl e.
~ 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 bel t 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
tiva ted inadve rtently, the safe ty 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
308
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 294. Special p recautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenge r seat
¢ page 2 70, 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
"ISOF IX" 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
...
Page 311 of 404

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
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 . 2 52 Schema tic overv iew: LATCH a nchor age po int loca
ti ons (ex ampl e)
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system.
Ch ild s afe ty
Description
T he lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig . 253 Lower an cho ra g es , covers marked
Fig . 25 4 Rear s eats: lowe r an chorag e bra cket lo ca tions
Lower anchorages
The circular markings on the rear seat help you to
identify the location of lower anchorages for the
two outboard seating positions ¢
fig. 253. The
LATCH lower universal anchorage attachment
points are between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion.
Remove the covers ¢
fig. 253 to access the lower
anchorage attachment points.
T he lower anc horage attac hment po in ts a re v is i
ble ¢
fig. 254.
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. ..,_
309
Page 312 of 404

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 294, Child safety .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Applies to: vehicles w ith Top Tether
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
F ig . 2 55 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upr ight position and sec urely latched
i n p lace .
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the sp ring
catch re lease on the chi ld safety sea t onto the
310
LA TCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place¢
fig. 255.
.,. 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
ch ild restraint firmly in p lace.
.&_ WARNING
-
Improper use of the LATCH 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 294, Child safety.
-