child restraint AUDI Q3 2017 Owner´s Manual

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Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c:> page 110, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel­
oped, they requ ire restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, we ight, and body struc­
ture. Many countr ies and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20- 3 5 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . This means the weight of the
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident.
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er must always ride in the back seat proper ly re­
stra ined for their age and size. If you must install
a child restra int on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
c:> page 118. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re­
straint that is for their size and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air­
bags provide in some kinds of crashes.
For more information please see information
provided by the:
Ch ild safety
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http:/ /www.safe ­
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc .gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the chi ld safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
yo ur child's size
c:> page 140, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion, we cannot re­
peat it all he re. We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner 's ma nual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the very important information about trans ­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children.
A WARNING
-- Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children must be restrained prope rly whenever r iding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
rest rained child cou ld be inju red by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­ hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
-A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the h ighest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acci­
dent situat ions.
1 37

Child safety
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag 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 ­
flates .
- 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, or
door .
- 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
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po­
sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions provided with the child safety seat or
carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi­
tioned.
138
- Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage 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 "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger 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
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always ride
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size. 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 safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.

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Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de ­
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch on the front passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the child and the child safety seat and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de­
sign of the chi ld restraint and its "footprint", the
size and shape of the bottom of the chi ld re­
stra int as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footp rint" vary for different
kinds o f child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of­
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard to­
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants
and typical 1 year-old child have been stored in
the control unit of the Advanced Airbag System .
When a child restraint is be ing used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old child, the
Advanced Airbag System compares the weight measured by the weight sensing mat with the in­
formation stored in the electronic contro l unit.
The electronic control un it also registers the ten­
sion on the front passenger safety belt . The ten­
sion on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat will be d ifferent fo r an ad ult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to the tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a chi ld re­
straint to the seat. The sensor below the latch for
the safety belt for the front seat passenger measures the tens ion on the belt. The input from
this sensor is then used with the weight to "de­
cide", whether there is a child restraint w ith a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenger
seat and whet her o r not the a irbag must be
turned off.
Ch ild safety
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make s ure tha t it has been cer tified to mee t Safe­
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the c hild restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exception­
al circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa­
t ion on child safety and Advanced A irbags and
heed all of the applicable WARNINGS . Make cer­
ta in that the ch ild restraint is correctly recog­
nized by the weight-sensing mat ins ide the front
passenge r seat, that the front passenge r airbag
is turned off and that the airbag status is always
correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light .
Many types and models of child restra ints have
been avai lab le over the years, new models are in­
t roduced regu larly incorporating new and im­
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restra ints of the same type typically have
different weights and sizes and different 'foot­
pr ints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the
ch ild rest raint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These d ifferences
make it virt ua lly impossib le to certify comp liance
wi th the requi rements for advanced a irbags w it h
each and every child restraint tha t has ever been
sold in the past or wi ll be so ld over the course of
the usefu l life of your vehicle .
For t his reason, the Uni ted States N ation al High­
way Traffic Sa fety Administration has published a
list of specific type, makes and mode ls of chi ld
restraints that must be used to certify compli­
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle w ith the suppress ion requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 . These child
restra ints are:
Subpart A - C ar b ed child r estra int s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 2S, 2007 R ide AA2403FOF
139

Child safety
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4543 December 1, 1999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Cho ice December 1, 1999
204
G raco Infant 8457 December 1 , 1999
Graco Snug ride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Viag- September 25, 2007
gio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C -Forward -facing and convertible
child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Tour iva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Boos-
September 2S, 2007
ter 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion 254 December 1, 1999
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
.,&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious i njury, make sure
t ha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
com es on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
140
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immed iately.
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categor ies A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function.
' Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
.. Always use the right child safety seat for each
child and always use it properly ¢
page 143 .
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe ­
ty seat.
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor o n the safety belt
to prevent t he child safety seat from moving
c::>page 147.
.. Push the chi ld 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) .
.. If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat , make
sure that it is not so tight that it causes the
we ight-sensing mat to measure more weight
than is actually on the seat.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 142 .
Always remembe r: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
shou ld always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and size. .,._

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& WARNING
Not using a c hild safety sea t, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the r isk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehi cle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve ­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
- Commercially available ch ild safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federa l
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a ch ild restraint, select one
that fits your child and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­
ion . The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either s ide . Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube- like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequa te contact with the sea t.
- Always heed a ll legal requ irements pe r­
taining to the installation and use of child
safety seats and carefully fo llow the in­
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using.
- Never allow ch ildren 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
cou ld sustain injur ies to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or acc idents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat .
- Never let babies or older chi ldren ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another passenger .
- Ho ld ing a chi ld in your arms is never a sub­
stit ute for a child restra int system.
Ch ild safety
-The strongest person cou ld not ho ld the
ch ild with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the
passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also in­
jure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat . A child w ill be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger a irbag in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem.
- Make sure the re is e nough space in front of
the child in the child seat. If ne cessary, ad­
just the angle and position of the se at in
front of the ch ild seat.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild safety
seat o r infant carr ier 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 insta lled
on the front passenger's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause serio us injury to the chi ld. Always install for­
ward-facing ch ild safety seats on the rear
seat .
- If exceptional c ircumstances requ ire the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the ch ild's safety
and well-being requ ire that the following
specia l precautions be ta ken:
- Make sure the forward -facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the man ufacturer's
instruct ions prov ided with the ch ild safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft ad justmen t range, as far away from
141

Child safety
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt up­
per anchorage is behind the child restra int
and not next to or in front of the child re­
straint so that the safety belt will be prop­
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from be ing
moved to the rearmost pos it ion in 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 s itting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collis ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
r:!;> page 109, Safety belts,
r:!;> page 117 , Airbag system and
r:!;> page 13 7, Child safety .
,8. WARNING
To reduce the risk of se rious injury, make s ure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is sw itched on.
- Take the ch ild restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BA G OF F
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
142
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig. 123 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in ch ild safety seats. @· ou ter rear
safety belt,® -center rear safety belt
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety belts
mu st be secured so
that the ch ild in the child restraint cannot reach
them
r:!;> .& -
-Guide the safety belt webbings @and @ be·
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restra int is installed
~fig . 123. When do·
ing so, do no t engage the convert ible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "cl icking"
sound when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt re trac to r wind up the safe ty belt
webbing.
~ WARNING
-A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety be lt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly ro uting them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed.
- Never activate the convert ible lock ing re·
tractor when rout ing the safety belts aro und
the head restrain ts.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.

Child seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward -facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash .
Fig. 124 Schemat ic overview: 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 locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢ page 147 or install the seat using the LA TC H
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).
"'Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 142.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats des igned for their age group . Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in spec ial restraints in which the
chi ld faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby 's back, neck and head in a
crash
c!;> fig . 124.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangero us p lace for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
chi ld in a forward-facing child seat. It is a very
a:1 dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in a:,
~ a rearward-facing seat. r--. N
'"' 0 0 ::, a:,
Child sa fety
A WARNING
-Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
ch ild safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death in a crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even w ith an Advanced A irbag System .
A child will be serio usly inj ured and can be
killed when the inf lating airbag hits the
chi ld safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof
c!;> page 118, Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in
the forward-facing direction . Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and very small children and cannot protect
them p roperly if the seat is forward-faci ng.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances a nd the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child sa fety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
-A lways read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c!;> page 109, Safety belts,
c:> page 117 , Airbag system and
c:> page 137, Important information.
143

Child safety
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. 125 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the attach ­
ments app licable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 126 Schemat ic overview: installat ion of the seat using
the vehicle 's safety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt 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 mov ing
¢ page 147 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) ¢
page 147.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 152.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 142.
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).
144
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 certi­
fied for their size and weight¢
fig. 125 and
i=>fig. 126.
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 safety seat .
It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, us ing the wrong
ch ild safety seat or imprope rly installing a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth ­
er emergency situation.
- Ch ildren on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates .
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
serious ly injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the chi ld safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center a rm rest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be ­
cause of exceptional circ umstances a nd 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 airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the ch ild safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the veh icle seat. Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
ficult to install the ch ild seat with the head "'

a:,
a:,
...... N r--. N
'"' 0 0 ::, a:,
restraint in place c!;> page 46. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 109, Safety belts,
¢ page 117, Airbag system and
¢page 137, Important information.
_& WARNING
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 manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad­
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up­
right position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Child safety
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks¢
page 12 7, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
-T ake the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER 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 ~-9
in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
Fig. 127 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos ter
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4 ft . 9 in . (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly 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 restrain
a child on a booster seat.
"'Th e shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter 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 tight­
en if necessary.
"'If you must transport an older child in a boos-
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can
IIJJ,
145

Child safety
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=>page 142.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly 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 appro­ priate 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 boos­
ter 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 inches/
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, regardless of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the ve­
hicle 's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child 's safety absolutely 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 occu­
pant moves forward into the airbag.
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 will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury.
146
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants , especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be­
cause 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 passenger compart­
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro­
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer­
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se­ rious personal injury and/or death:
- 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.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
r=:> page 109.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in placer=;,
page 46. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind the back, because it could
cause severe injuries in a crash.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in-
-
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. .,