AUDI Q7 2018 Owner´s Manual

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.
f ig . 243 Sche matic overview: installatio n of the attach­
ments applica ble to
a LA TCH seat
Fig. 2 44 Schematic overview: installat ion of the seat using
the vehicle's safety belt system
~ 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 302 or install the seat us ing the LA TC H
attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt rea lly t ight so that
the seat cannot move forward o r sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm)¢
page 302 .
~ If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 308.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 297.
~ A toddler or child is usually too large for an in-
~ fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
8 weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg). 0 :E ' Child s afe ty
Todd lers 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. 243 and
¢ fig. 244.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -fac ing child safety seat . It is a
very dangerous place for a n in fant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he wrong
chi ld safety seat or imprope rly insta lling a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth­
er emergency situation.
- Ch ildren on the front seat of any car, eve n
wit h 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
va nced Ai rbag System .
- The inflat ing airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, ce nter a rmrest, door
or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-fa cing c hild safety seats
on the rear seat .
- If you m ust instal l a rea rwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circ ums tan ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; light does not
come on and stay on, immediately insta ll
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the ch ild safety seat shou ld
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-
f icult to instal l the ch ild seat with the head ._.
299

Child sa fety
restraint in place~ page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restra ints or w ith 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 veh icle is
being used
~ page 261, Safety belts,
~ page 269, Airbag system and
~ page 291, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
o f a forward- facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special
precaut ions be taken:
- Make s ure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and cert ified by its manufact urer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­ tions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the h ighest 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 fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child res tra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restrain t and
not next to or in front o f the child restrain t
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
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 .
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CO player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
300
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighte r socket.
- If a seat heater has been ret rofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restra int 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 cush ion .
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CO p layer, electron ic games device,
power inverte r or seat heater for ch ild
seats) . These may influence the elect rical
capacitance measu red by the capacitive pas­
senger detect ion system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause se rious per­
sonal injury .
- Ma ke sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
1-f; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 1-f; light
does not come on and stay on, immediately
install the forward -facing child seat at a
seating position on the rear seat and have
the airbag system inspected by your author­ ized Audi dealer.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
1-f; 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.
Fig . 245 Rea r seat: chi ld p roper ly restrained in a booster
sea t
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 chi ld on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possib le and
must lie fla t 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
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 297.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety seats de­
a ~ signed for their age and we ight. Experts say that
N ~ the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis , of
g these children is not fully developed, and they
:E ' Child safety
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 applicab le 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 chi ld's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt over the chi ld's body is very important
for the ch ild'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 ch ild, regard less of how big the
ch ild is. Always remember that child ren 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 shoulde r 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 pe lvis . 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 considerab le 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 pan t moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inf lating
airbag. When an occupant is too close , he or she
will be struck violent ly and w ill rece ive serious or
poss ibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child's ..,_
301

Child sa fety
body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment, the air bag can inflate comp lete ly and pro­
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain fronta l
coll is ions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and death in a collision or other eme r­
gency sit uat ion. To help red uce the risk of se­
rious persona l injury and/or death:
- The shoulder be lt mus t lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possib le
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt 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 proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency situation
¢ page 261.
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if­
ficult to install the child seat with the he ad
restra int in place¢
page 58. Ins tall the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restra ints or w ith head rest raints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the sho ulder belt under
the arm or beh ind the back, because it cou ld
cause severe injur ies 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 .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo area o f
you r vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, s itting sideways or out of position in
302
-
any way du ring an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. Th is w ill result in serious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
'1; light must come on and stay on,
wheneve r the ign it ion is swi tched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed ¢
page 281, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
'1; light does not st ay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 261, Safety belts,
¢ page 269, Airbag system and
¢ page 291 , Important information .
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas ­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts for the rea r seats and for the
front passenge r's seat have a conve rtible locking
r etractor for child safety seats. The safety belt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un ­
r eel. The retractor can be act ivated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing norma l dr iving . A ch ild
safety seat can o nly be prope rly installed when
t h e safety be lt is locked so that the c hild and
c hi ld s afety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ld re n, especially those 12 yea rs and you nger,
sho uld always ride in t he b ack seat p roperly re-
strained for their age and s ize.
II>-

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0
::r ' A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to wh ich the center rear safety belt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rea r cente r safety belt is being used to se­
cur e a ch ild rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forwar d toge ther w it h the backrest and will
st rike parts of the vehicle interior. The ch ild
can be se riously in jured or killed .
- Never ins tall rear-f acing chi ld safety sea ts
or infant carriers on the front passen ger
seat . A child will be serious ly inju red and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in­
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
o r infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
child .
- It is safe r to install a forward-fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child res trained in a veh icle is
being used~
page 291 . Specia l precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
t h e fron t passenger sea t~
page 2 70, Child
Ch ild saf ety
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
A WARNING
--
A lways take special precautions if you must
i nstall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas ­
senger sea t, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; lig ht must come on and stay on whenev­
er the ign ition is swi tched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribe d
~ page 281, Monito ring
t he Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child res tra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and inst all it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion .
- An imprope rly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill the chi ld.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child sa fety
seat or ca rr ie r.
- After checking to make su re that the child
rest raint is proper ly installed, make ce rtain
that the child restraint is co rrectly recog­
n ized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light sig­
na ls the correct front passenger fronta l air­
b ag sta tus.
A WARNING
F orw ard-facing child restra int s:
- Always make sure the forward-facing sea t
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufa cturer for use on a fron t sea t with a pa s­
senger front and side air bag.
303

Child sa fety
- Never put the forward -facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest 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 possib le, before insta lli ng the for­
wa rd-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restra int and
not next to or in front of t he ch ild restraint
so tha t the safety belt w ill be properly pos i­
tioned.
- Make s ure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on a ll the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A ch ild in a rea rw ar d-facing child safety seat
insta lled on the front passenger seat wi ll be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag wi ll hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest , center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in­
sta ll a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional c ir­
c u mstances.
- Make sure that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come o n and stay o n, immed iate ly
install the rea r-fa cing child safety seat in a
re ar seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspe cte d by your Aud i de aler.
304
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
i nstruct ions when installing a child restra int in
your vehicle. To activate the convertible locking r etractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat .
.,. Slowly pull the belt
all th e w ay out .
.,. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path~ .,&..
.,. Push the ch ild safety sea t down with yo ur full
weigh t to ge t the safety belt rea lly tigh t.
.,. Insert t he be lt tong ue into the b uck le for that
seating position .
.,. Guide the safety be lt back into the retractor un ­
til the belt lies flat and snug on the ch ild safety
seat.
.,. You shou ld hear a "cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con ­
vert ib le lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt.
You s hou ld no lo nge r be able to pull the belt
out of the retracto r. T he convertib le lock ing re ­
tracto r is now activa ted .
.,. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the chi ld restraint so that it can be
unb uc kled quickly .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly t ight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or s ideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint or an improp­
e rly insta lled child restra int can ca use se rio us
pe rsonal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re ­
tr actor is locked whe n in stalling a c hild
safety seat . An un lo cked sa fety be lt retr ac­
tor cannot hold the chi ld safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle t he chi ld safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a chi ld is not sitting in it. A
loose chi ld safety seat can fly a round during
a sudden stop or in a crash.

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::r ' -Always make sure the seat backrest to w hich
t h e ch ild restraint is installed is in an up­
rig ht position and securely latched into
place a nd ca nnot f old forward. Otherwise,
t h e sea tback with the ch ild safe ty s eat at­
tach ed to it could fly forward in the event of
an acc ident or o ther emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used¢
page 291. Specia l pre caut ions
apply when ins talling a child s afety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 2 70, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant 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 re­
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety be lt b uck le.
The belt tongue w ill pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety be lt all the way back into its
stowed pos ition .
Always let the safety belt retract complete ly into
its stowed position. The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con­
vert ible lock ing retractor for child restra ints .
If the convert ible lock ing retractor should be ac­
tivated inadve rtently, the safety belt must be un­
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deact ivate this feature .
If the
convert ib le lock ing re tractor is not deact ivated,
the safety belt w ill gradually become tighte r and
u ncomfo rtable to we ar.
_& WARNING
-
Improperly ins talled chi ld safety seats in­
crease the risk of serio us personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the sa fe ty belt to deactivate
the conve rt ible locking retractor for child re­
straints while the ve hicle is moving . You
Ch ild saf ety
wou ld not be rest rained and could be seri­
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used¢
page 291. Special p recautions
apply when install ing a child safety seat on
the front passenge r seat ¢
page 2 70, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
LATCH system (lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
T o p rovide a simp ler and more practicab le way to
attach the ch ild rest raint on the vehicle seat,
Federal regulations require spec ia l lower ancho­
rages in vehicles and devices o n new c hild re­
straints to attach to the vehicle anc horages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tethe r anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called t he LATCH system for
" Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Childre n". In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower un i­
versa l anchorages" (o r "lowe r universa l anchor­
age bars") a re used to descr ibe the system .
In other co untries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
desc ribe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing chi ld restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S . fed­
era l regulations to comply with new child head
movement pe rformance requ iremen ts. These
new pe rformance req uir ements make a tether
necessary on most new ch ild seats.
Installing a c hild restraint t hat requires a top
tethe r withou t one can se riously impa ir the per­
fo rmance of the ch ild rest rai nt and its ab ility to
pro tect the ch ild in a co llision. I nstalling a ch ild
r estr aint tha t requi res a top tether wi tho ut the
top tether may be a vio lat ion o f state law.
Child restra int manufactu rers offe r LATCH lowe r
an chorages on t heir child sea ts w it h hook-on or ..,
305

Child safety
push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages , these
child restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to help keep the child restraint
firmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you intend to install in your vehicle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH lower
anchorage points can lead to injury in a colli ­
sion . The LATCH lower anchorage points are
designed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
item to the LATCH lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 246 Schem atic overv iew : LATCH an cho rag e point loca­
tio ns
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system.
306
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig. 247 Second row of seats : locator butto ns for lowe r an­
cho rages
Fig. 248 Third row of seats: lower a nch orage covers
Attachment locator markers for lower
anchorages
Circular locator buttons on the padding between
the seat cushion and backrest in the second row
of seats indicate the lower anchorage locations
¢
fig . 247. The lower anchorage locations in the
third row of seats are indicated by the attach­
ment locator markers of the lower anchorage
brackets ¢
fig. 248. Remove the padding or the
covers to access the lower anchorage brackets.
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo­
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat
cushion
r=:> fig. 247, ¢ fig. 248.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to-use at­
tachment and minimize the possibility of improp-
er child restraint installation. ..,.

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::r ' All child restraints manufactured a fter Septem­
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach ­
ments for the
LA TCH system .
Remember that the lower anc horage points a re
on ly intended for installation and attachment of
chi ld restraints specifica lly certified for use with
LA TCH lower anchorages. Child restraints that
are not equipped with the lower anchorage at ­
tachments can st ill be instal led in compliance
with the child restra int manufacturer's instruc­
tions on using ve hicle safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LA TCH lower anchorages can
cause se rious personal injury in an ac cident.
- Always caref ully follow the child restra ints
ma nufact urer's inst ruct io ns for proper in­
st all ation of the child res trai nt and p roper
use of the lower anchorages o r safety be lts
in yo ur vehicle.
- Never se cure or a ttac h an y lugg age or o ther
items to the
LATCH lower a nchorages .
- Always read a nd heed t he important infor­
mation about chi ld restra in ts in this chapter
and WARN INGS
¢ page 291, Child safety .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol­
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions .
Fig . 2 49 Lower anchorage s: proper mo untin g
Mounting
"'Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upr ight position and secu rely latched
i n place .
Child saf ety
"' Remove the padding or t he covers to access the
lower anchorage brackets.
"' Attach both hook -on connectors with the spr ing
catch release on the child safety seat onto the
LATC H lower anchorage so that the con necta rs
lock into p lace ¢
fig. 249 .
"'Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are p roperly attached to the LATCH
lower ancho rage.
"' Pull straps tig ht following the ch ild rest raint
manufac turer 's ins tructions .
Releasing
"' Loose n the tension on the straps follow ing the
child restra int manufacture r's ins tructions .
"' Dep ress the spr ing catches to release the an­
chor age hooks from the lower anchorages.
Remember: Use tethe r straps to help keep the
c hi ld rest raint firmly in p lace.
A WARNING
I mp roper use of t he LA TCH system ca n in ­
crease the ris k of se rious persona l injury a nd
death in an accident.
-
- T hese an cho rs were developed on ly for chi ld
safety sea ts using the " LAT CH" system .
- Neve r attach othe r child safety sea ts, be lts
or other objec ts to these anchors.
- Always make su re that yo u hear a click whe n
l a tc hing the seat in place. If yo u do no t hea r
a c lick the seat is not sec ure and co ul d fly
forwa rd and hit the interior of the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING ~ -
Improper insta llation of child restraints wi ll
i nc rease the risk of injury in an accident.
- Always fo llow the chi ld restraint system
manufacture r's instructions fo r proper in ­
stallat ion of the chi ld restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety belts in yo ur ve ­
h icle .
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mat io n and WARNINGS about ch ild safety
a nd the installat io n of ch ild rest rai nt sys­
t ems¢
page 291, Child safety .
307

Child safety
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 250 Tether ancho rs for second row of seats: a tt a ch ·
m ent hook locatio ns
Fig. 251 Tether anchors for third row o f seats : atta chment
h ook locations
The tether anchors for the rear seating positions
are located on the backside of the rear seatbacks .
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
t aches the top part of a child restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle .
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
t ha t could be caused by striking the vehicle inte­
rior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U .S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
_& WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the r isk of injury and death in a
crash.
308
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you
intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision. The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor­ rectly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage .
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment .
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu­ pant restraints .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors .
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 252 Tether st rap: p ro pe r rout ing a nd mo unting
Fig. 253 Tether st rap: pro per rout ing a nd mo unting