4 years AUDI A7 2015 Owners Manual

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Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
tai ls about children and Advanced Airbags
~page 173.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
a ll chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, always ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld seat. It can be a
very dange ro us p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
h as been cert ified to comp ly with the require­
men ts of Uni ted States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turne d off ("sup­
p ressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. For a listing of the child re­
straints that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard ~
page 175.
The PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight w ill come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occup ied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system for the front passenge r seat
A irbag sys tem 149
equa ls the combined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearwa rd-facing o r forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. Fo r a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­ p lia nce w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 175.
-w ill stay on if t he re is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger det ection sys tem
~ page 159, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lec tric al capacitan ce registe red on the
fron t passenger seat is eq ua l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year ­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
f orward -facing child restraints listed in Feder­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your ve­
hicle was certified.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year-old child but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front airbag on
the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by the e lec­
tron ic cont ro l unit and ca n deploy if the con­
t rol unit senses an impact tha t mee ts the co n­
di tions s to red in its memo ry.
For example, th e airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the ch ild seats listed~
page 175), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenge r seat. .,,. •
•

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U.S. Federal Standard if a child with elec­
trical capac itance greater than the com­
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restra ined in one of the for­
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which your vehicle was certi­
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy­ ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rea r seat
area than in the front seating posit ion .
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
c ially 12 years and younger, sho uld al­
ways ride in the back p roperly rest rained
for their age an d size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
e r's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enough.
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
fro nt seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant rest raint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up ­
righ t, wearing yo ur sa fety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
h as been certified to meet the " low r isk" re­
q uir ements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of i n­
j ury through interaction with the front airbag
A irbag system 153
that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been cert ified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for in fants 12 months o ld and younger
who are rest rained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standa rd
c> page 175, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing of the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com­
p lia nce w it h t he US Safe ty Stand ard
c>page 175,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas ­
senge r seat that has an e lec trica l capa ci­
tance t hat is more than the tota l elect rical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle was certified), the front airbag
on t he passenger side may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electron ic cont ro l unit de tects a to ­
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen­
ger seat that requi res the front a irbag to be
turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does no t come on, the front airbag on
the passenger side has not been turned off by
the contro l unit and can deploy if the control
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi­
tions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll>
•
•

162 Airbag sys tem
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i­
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
.8_ WARNING
-If the s tatus of the Adv a need A irbag Sys­
tem has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AI R BAG OFF
light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch
the driver's attent ion. If this happens, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the steps described above.
- If the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is sitting on the front passen­ ger seat after taking the steps descr ibed
abov e, make sure the adult is properly
sea ted and rest rained at one of the rear
sea ting po sitions. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
.8_ WARNING
An air bag system that is not funct io ning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light ¢
page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut horized Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not i nflate
w hen it should.
.8_ WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a c hild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearw ard-fa cing
child sa fe ty seat, or in a forward- facing
child restrain t that has not been prope rly
installed will be serious ly inj ured and can
be killed.
- Even though your vehi cle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12 years and younger, always
ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even with
an Advanced A irbag System .
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and stay on, immediate­ ly install the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and h ave the airb ag
sys tem inspec ted by yo ur Audi de aler.
- If , in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust ins tall a forw ard -fac ing ch ild re­
s t raint on the front passenger seat, al ­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible. The backrest must be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.8_ WARNING
-
- I f the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go o ut when an a dult is sit ting
on the fron t passenger se at aft er taking
the steps described above, make su re the
a dul t is prope rly seate d and restrained at
one of the rea r seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dea le r before t ransporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capac itive passenger detec tion sys­
tem determ ines that the front passenger
seat is empty, the fronta l airbag on the
passenger side wi ll be t urned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay
on.

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-Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
h icle
¢ page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 147, Airbag system and
¢ page 173, Important things to
know.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child rest raint that is not vis ible
could cause it to fail in another collis ion
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is eq uipped with a front "Ad ­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance w ith
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your veh icle was manufactured .
T he Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
qu irements for 3-and 6-year old ch ildren on
the passenger s ide and small adults o n the
driver side. The low risk deployment criter ia
a re i ntended to reduce the risk of inju ry
through interaction with the a irbag that can
oc cu r, fo r example , by be ing 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 "sup­
press ion" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restra ined on the front
passenger seat in ch ild restraints that are list­
ed i n the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, shou ld al­
ways ride in t he back seat properly rest ra ined
fo r the ir age and s ize. The a irbag on t he pas­
senger side makes the fro nt seat a poten tially
d a ngerous pla ce for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place fo r a child in a fo r­
ward-facing child safety seat . It can be a very
Child Sa fet y 175
dange rous place fo r an infant o r a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
T he veh icle's Advan ced Ai rb ag Sys tem has a
capacit ive passenger detec tion system in the
front passenger seat cush ion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a c hild in a child re­
stra int system on this seat .
T he capaci tive passenge r detection system
r egisters the changes that result in an electri ­
ca l fie ld when a chi ld, a ch ild restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capac itance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the ch ild restraint system
rest ing on the seat . The meas ured capacitance
of a child res traint system va ries depend ing
o n the type of sys tem and specific m ake and
model.
T he elect rical capac itance of the va rious
types, ma kes, a nd models of child restra ints
spe cified by the U.S. Nationa l Highway Traff ic
Safety Administra tion (N HTSA) in the re levant
sa fety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System contro l unit together with the
capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
o ld child. W hen a child restraint is used on t he
front passenger seat with a typica l 1 year-old
infant, t he Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measu red by the capacitive
passenger detection system with the data
s tored in the ele ctronic co ntrol unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Rega rdless of the c hild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
U nited States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. A lways be sure
that the ch ild restra int is properly installed at
o ne of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
t iona l circumsta nces yo u must use it on the
fron t passenger sea t, ca re fully read all of the
i nformation on child sa fe ty and Advanced Air -
bags and heed all of the applicable ..,.
•
•

176 Child Saf ety
WARNINGS. Make certain that the ch ild and
child restraint are correct ly recognized by the
capacitive passenger detect ion system in the
front passenger seat, that the front passenger
a irbag is turned off, and that the airbag status
is always correct ly signa led by the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BA G OFF
light .
Many types and models of child restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
els are introduced regular ly incorporating new
and improved designs a nd older models are
taken out of production . Child rest raints are
not standardi zed. Ch ild restra ints of the same
type typi cally have differen t weights and s izes
and d ifferent "footprints", the size and shape
of the bottom of the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a vehi­
cle seat. These differences make it virtually imposs ible to certify compliance w ith the re­
qu irements for advanced a irbags w ith each
and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of you r vehicle .
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Admin istration has
published a list of specific type, makes a nd
models of child rest raints that must be used
to certify compliance of the Advanced Airbag
System in yo ur vehicle with the suppress ion
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 . These child restraints are:
Subpart A -Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ange l Guard Ange l September 2S, 200 7
Ride AA2403 FOF
Subpart B -Rear -facing child re straint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 2S, 2007
22-0 13PAW and base
22-999WHO
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
E venflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25 , 2007
Peg Perego Pr imo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C - Forw ard-facing and
convertible child restraint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02S19 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit De luxe September 2S, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco H igh Back September 2S , 2007
Booste r 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Meda llion December 1, 1999
254
E venflo Generations September 25 , 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Todd ler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PA SSEN -
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on. ...

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-Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil­
dren:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢ page 179.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
~ 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 184.
~ 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 179.
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 size.
_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­ stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death.
-
Child Safety 177
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube •like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
•
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~ When using the vehicle safety belt to insta ll
a chi ld safety s eat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the ch ild safety seat
from moving
c:::, page 184 or install the seat
us ing the LA TCH attachments.
~ Push the child safety seat dow n with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:::, page 184 .
~ If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:::, page 190.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:::, page 179.
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) .
Todd lers and c hildren who are older than one
year up to abo ut 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be properly restra ined in a ch ild safety
seat certified for the ir s ize and weight
¢ fig . 173 and ¢ fig . 174 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a poten tially dangerous place for a
chi ld to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
place for a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safe­
ty seat .
It is a very dange rous p lace for an in­
fant or a la rger chi ld in a rearwa rd-fa cing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety se at, using the
w rong chi ld safety seat or improper ly in­
stalling a child res traint increases the risk
of se rious personal injury and death in a
co llision or other emergency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Ai rbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenge r seat w ill be seriously injured
and can be ki lled if the front ai rbag in-
-
Child Sa fet y 181
flates -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
arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately ins ta ll t he rear-fac ing ch ild
s afety sea t in a rear se ating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea le r.
- Th e rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itione d as close as possi ble
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For ad justab le head restra ints: adjust or
remove the rear seat hea d restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place
c:::, page 57. I n­
stall the head restraint again immed iate­
ly once the child seat is removed. Dr iv ing
without head restraints o r with head re­
straints that are not properly adjusted
increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
in ju ry dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:::, page 138, Safety
belts,
c:::, page 147, Airbag system and
c:::, page 173, 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 we ll-being require that the follow­
ing spec ial 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 .
•
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~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 179.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint.
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
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­
less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
Child Safety 183
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial­
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional 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 airbag can inflate com ­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat 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 never across the
stomach or abdomen. Make sure that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 138.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or remove the rear seat head restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place¢
page 57. In­
stall the head restraint again immediate­
ly once the child seat is removed. Driving
without head restraints or with head re-
.
straints that are not properly adjusted ~
•
•

184 Child Saf ety
in creases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramat ically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or dea th .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep ­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the igni tion is sw itch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come o n and s tay on, perform
the chec ks des cribed
<=> page 159, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off the front pas ­
senge r seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and hee d all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest ra ined in ave­
hicle is being used<=>
page 138, Safety
belts,<=> page 147, Airbag system
and
<=> page 173, 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 can be locked with the conver tible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
f or the rear seats safe ty belts and for the fron
t passenger's seat safety be lt have a con ­
vertib le locking ret ractor for child restraints .
The safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from looseni ng up
duri ng normal dr iv ing. A child safety seat can
o nl y be prope rly insta lled when the safety be lt
i s lo cked so that t he ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ld ren, especially those 1 2 years and young­
er, sho uld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined for the ir age and size.
& WARNING ,____._
I mproperly installed chi ld safety seats in ­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal in jury
and death in a co llision.
-
- Always make s ure that the safety belt re­
tracto r is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An un locked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly arou nd
du ring a sudden stop or in a collision.
-Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center r ear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fe ty belt i s
be ing use d to secu re a c hild re strain t.
- If th e backrest is not se curely la tched,
t he child and t he child res tra in t wi ll be
thrown forward together with the bac k­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The chi ld can be seriously i n­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or in fant ca rr ie rs on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in ­
jured and can be killed whe n the passen-
ger a irbag i nflates .
~

234 Checking and filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig . 197 Engine compartment: cove r on the brake fluid
reservo ir
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 225.
,.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir¢
fig . 197, ¢ page 22 7,
fig. 193.
The brake flu id level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake flu id reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illust rat ion
¢ page 227.
The fluid level may drop
slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light . (U.S. models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on¢
page 15. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized A udi dealer or other quali­
fied facility and the cause corrected.
If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light will illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the
brake flu id will also decrease conside rably and
decrease braking pe rformance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years . Always use new brake flu id
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor­
ed only in the closed original container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap­
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SA E
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of
brake f luid is also indicated on the
brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
long. This can seriously affect the effi­
c ie ncy of the brakes as well as your
safety. This could resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle .