ECU AUDI A4 2013 Owner's Manual

140 Safety belts
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
,.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
,.. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly .
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person , in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­ ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv­
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder pa rt of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of pos i­
tion . -
Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly .
If web­
bing, b indings, buck les, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au ­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inert ia reel
¢ page 212, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 148 Belt buck le and to ngue on t he drive r's seat

To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly
r::!:> page 58, Seats and storage.
• Make sure the seatback of t he rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢ ,&. .
"" Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely
r::!:>fig . 148.
• Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
c ur ely la tched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. T his fea­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten t he safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped with a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature¢
page 176.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
r::!:> page 141, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 141
belts are proper ly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely latched, the passenger w ill move for­
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash .
- Never attach th e safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat . A tt ach ing the belt to
t he wrong buckle will reduce s afety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
¢ page 178.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 149 Safety belt position
Standa rd features on your veh icle help you ad­
just the position of the safety belt to match you r body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .

142 Safety belts
& WARNING
Improperly positione d safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The belt
should always fit snugly¢
fig. 149. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo­
men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
¢ fig. 149. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
inJury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 140.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
saf ety belts correctly -throughout the pr eg­
nancy.
Fig. 150 Safety belt posit io n during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 141.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 58, Seats and storage.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig. 150, ¢ ,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 140, fig. 148 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
-
- E xpectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢
& in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 141.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 151 Releasin g the tongue from the buckle
.. Push the red releas e button on the buckle
¢ fig. 151 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢
A. .,..

range, and as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible before instal ling the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from be ing moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:::;,page 137, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 161 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt,
@ -center rear safety belt
.
Child S afety 1 71
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se ­
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c:::;, &,.
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and @
beh ind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restra int is insta lled
c:::;, fig. 161.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha­
ble locking retractor! You shou ld not hear a
"cl icking" sound when w inding up the safety
be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with
the LA TCH lower ancho rages or with the
standard s afety be lt or a child in a boos ter
seat on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un­
use d rea r seat safety belts and become en­
tang led . This could cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing t hem
around the head restrai nt of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate t he switchable l ock ing re­
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
arou nd the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.

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
~

~ 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.
~

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 .
-

180 Child Safet y
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulations require specia l lower
anchorages in veh icles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TC H system for "L ower Anchorages and
Tethers for C hildren ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abi l­
ity to protect the child in a collision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violation of
state law .
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustab le straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restra int firmly in place.
_&. WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always fo llow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the c hild re- straint yo
u intend to install in your vehi­
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision . T he LATC H lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
chi ld res traints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag­
es.
(D Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower
u niversa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de­
scribe the system.
- In other countries, the term " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a ncho rages.
Location
Fi g. 166 Sc hem atic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seat ing loca tions in
you r vehicle which are equipped with the low­
er anchorages system.