ECU AUDI A7 2014 Owner's Manual

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 be lts 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 d riv­
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 part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion . Safety belts
143
- 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 requ ired 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 , bindings, buckles, 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 inertia reel~
ta­
ble Cleaning interior on page 215 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 156 B el t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

144 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restr aint
properly ¢
page 53, General recommenda­
t ions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the 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 even ­
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢ .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
yo ur seat until you hea r it latc h securely
¢fig. 156.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. This fea­
ture locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and i n an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv ing the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt preten sione rs
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated ¢
page 147. The function of the pre­
tensioner is moni tored by a warning light
¢ page 19.
Sw itchabl e lo cking fe atur e
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
m ust be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
¢ page 186 .
.,& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 144, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
wheneve r the rea r center safety belt is
being used.
If the backrest is not secu re­
ly latched, the passenger will move for­
ward with the back rest dur ing sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety bel t to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety belt 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 seat in the vehicle ¢
page 188.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to¢
page 147.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
F ig. 157 Safety bel t pos it ion
"' .... 0
~ CD

Use the height adjustment to change the posi­
tion of the shoulder belt of the front saf ety
belts .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned 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
even ly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The be lt
sho uld a lways f it snugly ¢
fig. 157. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause seri­
o us injuries by shifting its position on
yo ur body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 143.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The bes t way to protec t the fe tu s is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fi g. 158 Safety belt pos it io n durin g pregnancy
To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body¢
page 144 .
Safety belts 145
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 53, G eneral r ecomm enda­
tion s .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis¢
fig. 158,
¢& .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
r=:;, page 143, fig. 156 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause serious persona l injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers m ust always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information ¢&.
in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 144 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
but ton only after the vehicle has stopped.
,,,,,
Fig . 159 Re leas ing the tong ue fro m t he buc kle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
r=:;, fig. 159. The be lt tongue will spr ing out
of the buckle ¢
.&, .
0 ...
"' 0 ±
~
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the be lt tongue to its stowed pos ition.
Ill>

-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 181.
~ 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 186.
~ 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 181.
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 1 79
- 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
•
•

Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 171 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from chi ldren in child safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,
@-center rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
espec ially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
mu st be se­
cured so that the ch ild in the ch ild restra int
cannot reach them
Q ,&. .
- Gu ide the safety belt webbings @and @*
behind the head restraint of the seat whe re
the ch ild restrai nt is installed
Q fig . 171.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha ­
ble locking retractor! Yo u should not hear a
"clicking" sound when winding up the safety
belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety be lt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled. This could ca use the child serious
personal i nju ry and even death.
- Always secure un used rear seat safety
belts out of r each of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts su ch as by p rope rly routing them
around the head res traint of the seat
whe re the child restraint is installed.
- Never act ivate the sw itchab le locking re­
t ractor when rout ing the safety belts
around the head res traints .
- Never le t anyone sit at the center rear
sea ting pos it ion if the cente r rear safety Child S
afety 181
be lt has been ro uted around a rear head
restraint.
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. 172 Schemat ic overv iew: rearward -facing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear seat
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locki ng retractor on the
safety belt to preven t the child safe ty seat
from mov ing
Qpage 186 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with you r
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
Qpage 181.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant car riers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts be lieve that infants and
small chi ld ren shou ld r ide o nly in special re­
str aints in wh ic h t he child faces the back of
the ve hicle. These infant sea ts suppo rt the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 172 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fron t seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
c hi ld to ride. The fron t se at is not t he safest
place for a child in a fo rward -facing child seat . ..,_

~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety s eat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::;,page 186 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
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢page 186.
~ If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c::;, page 192.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 181.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
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 alw ays be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
c:::;, fig. 173 and c:::;, fig . 174 .
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
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat .
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant 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 child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- 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. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in-
-
Child Safety 183
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-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
c::;, page 57. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::;, page 140, Safety
belts, c::;, page 149, Airbag system
and
c::;, page 175, Important things to know.
A WARNING
-= -
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
•
•

~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 181.
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 185
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 140.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 57. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck injury dramatically. ~
•
•

186 Child Saf ety
- Childre n on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury o r dea th .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep ­
t io nal 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 ligh t
doe s not come on and stay on, perform
the chec ks described ¢
page 161, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off th e fron t pas­
senger seat and install it properly 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 heed all WAR NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 140 , Safety
belts,¢ page 149, Airbag system
and
¢ page 175, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety bel ts for the rear sea ts 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
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenge r's seat safety belt have a co n­
ve rtible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints . T
he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the sa fety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
duri ng norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o n ly be prope rly insta lled when t he safety belt
i s loc ked so that the ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system , all
c h ildren, especially thos e 12 years and young­
er, sho uld alw ays r ide in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
_& WARNING
Im prop erly ins talled ch ild safety sea ts in­
crease the risk o f serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the sa fe ty bel t re­
trac to r i s loc ked w hen insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locke d safety belt re­
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ic h the center rear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fety belt is
be ing used to secu re a child rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child res traint will be
throw n forward togethe r with t he back ­
rest and will strike part s of t he vehi cle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never insta ll re ar-f acing child s afety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas ­
sen ger seat . A child will be serious ly in ­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ge r airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the c hild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat ..,.

188 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.
- 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 rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your 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 se at down with you r
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
"" Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
""Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
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 of the retracto r. 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
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 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 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
"" Press the red button on the safety belt buck­
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le.
""Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
IJll-

now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restra ints.
I f the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea ­
ture.
If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints while the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s imp le r and more pract icable way
to attach the ch ild res traint on the veh icle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
chi ld restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children."
F orward- facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
Child Sa fet y 189
federa l reg ulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a ch ild restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the c hild restra int and its abil ­
ity to protect the child in a collis ion. Insta lling
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the ch ild
restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury a nd death in
a cr ash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufa cture r of the child re­
s traint yo u intend to install in your vehi­
cle.
- Never inst all a child restraint withou t 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 rest raint LATCH
lowe r ancho rage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag-
-
es. Ill-
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