airbag off AUDI S4 2013 Owner's Guide

17 2 Child Safety
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
-- /
Fig . 162 Schematic overv iew: rearwa rd -fac ing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear seat
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 176 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
s idew ays more than one inch (2.5 cm).
> Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 171.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re­
straints in which the chi ld faces the back of
the vehicle . These infant seats support the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 162.
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
p lace for a child in a forwa rd-facing child seat.
I t is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
-Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a ch ild restra int increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas­
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child will be ser iously in­
jured and can be killed whe n the inflat ­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof¢
page 146, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild safe­
ty seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rearward-facing ch ild re­
straint in the forward-facing direction .
Such rest ra ints are designed for the spe­
cial needs of infants and very smal l chil­
dren and cannot protect them properly if
the seat is forward-facing.
-If you must install a rearward facing
chi ld safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan ­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your authorized Aud i dealer .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
¢page 137, Safety
belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Important things to know.

Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 163 Sche mati c overvi ew : ins tallat ion o f the at­
tachments appl icable to a LA TCH seat
F ig. 164 Schem atic overview: installat ion of t he seat
u sing the ve hicle' s safety b elt sy stem
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::> page 176 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
.,. Push the child safety seat down w ith your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:;, page 176.
.,. If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:;, page 182 .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:;, page 171.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) . Child S
afety 173
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 cert ified for their si ze and weight
c:;, fig . 163 and c:;, fig. 164 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front sea t is not the sa fest
place for a child in a forward -facing child safe ­
ty seat .
It is a very dangerous place for a n in­
fant or a large r ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child s afety seat o r imprope rly in­
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation .
- Ch ildren on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be se ri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­ bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed o n the front
passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be k illed if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force a nd will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
a rmrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rearw ard-f acing ch ild safe­
ty seats on the rear seat.
- I f you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have t he airbag system inspect­
ed by your authorized Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
~

174 Child Safety
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the
child seat with the head restraint in place
<=> 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 prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=>page 137, Safety
belts,<=> page 145, Airbag system
and
t::> page 166, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well -being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before installing the child restraint.
- 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 sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- 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 light does not stay on, perform the
checks
<=> page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
-
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help pro te ct
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.
"' .....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 165 Rea r seat: child properly rest rai ned in a boos­
te r se at
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly 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 re­
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center 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 tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.

~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 171 .
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are bes t
protected in child safety seats designed for
their age and weight . Expe rts say that the
skeleta l structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without
a suitable ch ild restra int.
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
chi ld and reposition both the lap and shou lder
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 ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booste r seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
C hi ldren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's th ree po int lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety be lt a lone to restrain any child, regard­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that children do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
l ap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requ ires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a cras h, airbags must i nflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable force. In orde r
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­ bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos ition and
too close to the airbag gets i n the way of an
inflat ing a irbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she w ill be str uck violen tly and
Child Sa fet y 175
will receive serious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In orde r fo r the airbag to offer pro te ction, i t is
important tha t all veh icle occupants, espec ial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the a irbag can inflate com ­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos­
ter seat imp roperly, in correc tly installing a
boos ter sea t or using the vehicle sa fe ty
belt imp roperly increases the risk of seri­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
d uce the risk of serio us personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie f lat and snug on the up­
per body. It must never lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pelvis and neve r across t he
s tomach o r abdomen. Make s ure the belt
lies fla t and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute safety belts
over a child's body will ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident or othe r emergency
situation
¢page 137 .
-The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is diffic ult to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
¢ page 61. Install the head restraint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed . D rivi ng without head restraints
or w ith head restra in ts tha t are not prop­
erly ad justed increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck inj ury drama tically . ~
•
•

176 Child Safety
-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi­
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
must come on and stay on, whenever the
ignition is switched on.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- Take the child restraint
off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 137, Safety
belts,
c::> page 145, Airbag system and
c::> page 166, Important things to know .
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger's seat can be locked with the con­
vertible locking retractor to properly secure
child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the front
passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for their age and weight.
& 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 re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
-Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a child restraint.
-If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen- ger airbag inflates.
~

-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, door or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child safe­
ty seats or infant carriers on the rear
seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas ­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­ ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used ¢
page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 146, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
.&_ WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger 's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger 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 described ¢
page 156, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
-Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
Child Safety 177
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­ ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight -sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always 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.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- 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 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 Advanced 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
armrest, door or roof .
•
•

178 Child Safety
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air­
bag System. The heavier weight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- 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, immedi­
ately install the rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor :
.., Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.., Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.., Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path¢,&. .
.., Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.., Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that sea ting position .
.., Guide the safety belt back into the retrac tor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat . ..,
You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to pull the belt out o f the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
"" Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.., Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING ~
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
cra:;;h.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 146, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-

_& 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 re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly 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 ancho­ rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at­
tach a child restraint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight , that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure more weight than is ac­
tually on the seat.
- The heavier weight registered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced 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 because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Child Safety 183
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 172 Sedan Tether strap: proper routing and
mou nting
Fig. 173 allroad Tether strap: proper routing and
mo unting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint ~
fig. 172 or¢ fig. 173 (raise
the head restraint if necessary).
.,. Sedan: Tilt the recess flap up to expose the
anchor bracket.
.,. Sedan: Attach the tether strap anchorage
hook into th e opening of the tether anchor­
age .
.,. allroad: Slide the tether strap hook over the
anchor bracket.
.,. 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 instruc­
t ions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension following the child re -
straint manufacturer's instructions.
1J1-

184 Child Saf ety
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for several
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat c ushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. Th is applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rea rward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child rest raint
systems come with a tether . P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to properly instal l the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rea rward-facing child sa fety
s e at insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag infl ates -even wit h an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflati ng a irbag wi ll hit the child
sa fety sea t or infan t carrier w it h grea t
f orce and w ill smash the c hild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, or door.
- A tight tet her or ot her st rap on a rear ­
wa rd-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat i n the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ie r
we ight registe red can make the system
wor k as though a n adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the A dvan ced Airbag when i t
mus t be suppres sed c ausing seriou s or
eve n fa tal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rea rw ard fa ci ng
ch ild s afety se at on the front passenge r
sea t beca use of excep tional circ ums tan - ces and t
he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi·
tion and have t he ai rbag system inspec t­
e d by your authorized A udi dealer .
Additional Information
'
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of add itiona l
information about child restra int selection, in­
sta llation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your ch ild and fits in your
vehicle, and that you will use correct ly and
cons istently .
Try before yo u buy!
U .S National Highway Traffi c Safet y Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888-327- 4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www.n htsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662 -0600
www.safek ids.org
Safet y BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 7 47-SANO (Spanis h)
www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
T el.: 1 -800 -33 3-0371 o r ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are i n the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822 -2834

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 185
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
JjJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
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