airbag off AUDI A6 2015 Owner's Guide

168 Airbag sys tem
The side curtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ¢
fig. 165. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshie ld
frame and the center roof p illar.
The side curtain airbags contain features that provide e jection m itigat ion to he lp prevent ve­
h icle occupants or parts of their bodies from
be ing completely or partially ejected from the
ve hicle interior in certain side impacts and ve ­
h icle rollovers.
The s ide curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso. The s ide curtain airbag inflates in side
impacts and only when the vehicle acce lera­
tion registered by the control u nit is high
enough. If t his rate is below the reference val­
ue programmed into the control unit, the s ide
curtain ai rbag will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re ­
sult of the collision. It is not possible to de­
f ine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one coll ision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the natu re (hard o r soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact ,
ve hicl e speed, etc. ¢
page 169, How side cur­
tain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts wor k to he lp keep t he d river or front
passenger in posi tion in the event of a co ll i­
sion so tha t the side curta in ai rbags can pro­
vide protection.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itute for your
safety be lt. R athe r, it is p art of the overall oc ­
cupant restraint system in your ve hicle . Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
on Ly help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. Th is
is another reason w hy you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­ qu ires you to do so¢
page 136, General
notes .
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
side curtain airbag system is designed to help
reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other
injur ies, for example, swelling, br uising, fric­
t ion burns and minor abras ions can also be as­
sociated w ith these airbags upo n deployment .
Remember too, these airbags will deploy only
once a nd on ly in ce rtain kinds of accide nts -
yo ur safety belts a re always the re to offer p ro­
tection .
The side curtain airbag system basic ally
consists of:
- The e lectro nic co ntrol module and external
side impa ct sensors
- The side curtain a irbags above the front and
rea r side windows wit h ejection mitigation
fe atu res
- The a irbag i ndicator lig ht in the inst rument
pa nel
The airbag system is mon itored electronically
to make ce rtain it is functioning prope rly at all
t imes. Each time you sw itch on the ign ition,
t h e airbag system ind icator light will come on
f o r a few seconds (sel f diagnos tics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is sw itched off,
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration
measu red by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating posi tion
¢ page 52, General re commendations.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light ¢ page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspe cted immedia tely
by your au thori zed A udi deale r.
It is pos­
sible tha t the airbag will infla te when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.

172 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_&, WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the
child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require the follow­ ing special precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac­
ing seat has been designed and certi­
fied by its manufacturer for use on a
front passenger seat with a front and
side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an­
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits proper installation in ac­
cordance with the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
-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 in­
stalling the child restraint. The back­
rest must be adjusted to an upright po­
sition .
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) . These may in­
fluence the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger
detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected
to the 12 -volt socket or the cigarette
lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Always 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 forward-facing child seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your
authori zed Audi dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
~

M N
0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
¢ page 136, Safety belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 171, Important things to
know.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
T he Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example , by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place fo r a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
Child Safety 173
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system in the
front passenger seat cushion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a child in a child re­
straint system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system
registers the changes that result in an electri ­
cal field when a child, a child restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capacitance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the child restraint system resting on the seat . The measured capacitance
of a child restraint system varies depending
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
The electrical capacitance of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U.S.National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the relevant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System control unit together with the capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
old child. When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system with the data
stored in the electronic control unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, ca refully read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air-
bags and heed all of the applicable ..,.
•
•

174 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. ...

176 Child Safety
-The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-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 -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment
range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position .
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected
to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) . These may in­
fluence the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger
detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
- 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 read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 136, Safety
belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 171, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint 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 properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASS EN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.

1 78 Child Safety
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong chi ld safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­ senger seat -even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child wi ll be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant ca rrier with great force and smashes
the chi ld safety seat and chi ld aga inst
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof
c:> page 147, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing direction. Such re­
straints are des igned for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-fac ing.
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
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.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games dev ice, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er soc ket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwis e added to the front passenger seat, never install any chi
ld restraint sys­
tem on th is seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
a nd can also fly around in an acci dent
and cause serious persona l injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 136, Safety
belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
c::> page 171, 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 . 1 69 Sc hemat ic overview: installat ion of the at­
tac hmen ts applicab le to a LA T CH seat
Fig. 170 Schemat ic overv iew: installa tion of th e seat
using the vehicle 's safety belt syste m
Iii-

M N
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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 182 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 182 .
~ If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:::, page 188.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:::, page 177.
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
c:::, fig . 169 and c:::, fig . 170 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fro nt seat a poten tially dangerous place for a
chi ld to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a ch ild in a forwa rd-fac ing ch ild safe­
ty seat .
It is a very dange ro us 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
o usly 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 kil led if the front ai rbag in-
-
Child Sa fet y 1 79
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild
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 se at in a rear se ating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Au di 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 a djustab le head restra ints: adjust or
remove the rear seat hea d restra int if it
is difficult to install the child seat w ith
the head restraint in place
c:::, page 56. 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 serio us or fatal ne ck
in ju ry drama tic ally.
- Always rea d and heed all WAR NINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle i s being used
c:::, page 13 6, Safety
bel ts,
c:::, page 1 45, Airbag system and
c:::, page 171, Important things to know .
A WARNING
If exceptional circ ums tan ces require the
use of a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat, the child's safe­
ty and we ll-being req uire that the fo llow­
ing spec ial precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and cert ified by its man u­
facturer fo r use on a fro nt seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
•
•
-

180 Child Safety -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.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer. -
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 protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
"' ....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 171 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos­
te r seat
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. ..,.

M N
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~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 177 .
Children up to at leas t 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex­
perts say that the ske letal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fu lly
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a su itable 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
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 belt 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 three 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 ve hicle'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
child'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 i ts job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to p rotect the o ccupant
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 181
will receive se rious 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 se at imp roperly, incorrectly installing a
boos ter sea t or using the vehicle safety
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
duce the risk of serious 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 the
s tom ach o r abd omen. Make sure t hat the
be lt lies flat and sn ug. Pull on the bel t 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 136.
-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.
- For adj ustab le head restraints: adjust or
remove the rea r seat head restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat w ith
the head restraint in place¢
page 56. In­
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 ~
•
•

182 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 157, 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 136, Safety
belts,<=> page 145, Airbag system
and
<=> page 171, 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 .
~