ECU AUDI S3 SEDAN 2015 Owner's Manual

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_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death. Safety belts can work only
when used correctly .
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­
fore driving off and make sure al l passen­
gers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be pos itioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- 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 vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects 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 hard­
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­ duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely.
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder be lt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acc i­
dent. Inspect belts regularly. If webb ing,
bind ings, buckles, or retracto rs are dam-
Safety belts
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, d isassemble, o r try
to repair the safety belts yourself.
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia reel~
table Internal
cleaning on page 237.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 122 Belt buck le and tongue on the d rive r's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly ¢
page 54, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is
in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt¢.&, .
.. Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pull it even ly
across the chest and pelvis ¢.&_ .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ fig. 122 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
Ill>
143

Safety belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is eq uipped w ith an automatic
be lt retractor on the shou lder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the be lt is pulled o ut fast,
during hard brak ing and in an accident . The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
S afety belt p rete n sioner s
The safety be lts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove s lack when the pretensioner is activated
¢ page 146. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warning light
<=:>page 20.
Converti ble lock ing r etra ctor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a convertib le locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢page 182 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident¢
page 144,
Safety belt posi tion.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rea r seat back­
rest to which t he center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety be lt is being used .
If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen ­
ger wi ll move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck le
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be se riously in jured by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
144
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are secur ing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
¢page 184.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
¢page 146.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 123 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts.
.&_ WARNING
I mp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the bel t
above the latch to ng ue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snug ly¢
fig. 123. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as poss ible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c::> fig. 123. Pu ll on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
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-A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information ¢
page 142.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy .
Fig. 124 Safety belt position during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
c:> page 144.
• Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re­
straint* correctly¢
page 54, Front seats.
• Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis ¢
fig. 124, c:> .&_.
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 143, fig. 122 .
•Pullon the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across t he pelvis and below the round­
ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 144.
Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
J-L
Fig. 125 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
• Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 125. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
c:> .&_ .
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
_& WARNING
-Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving. Doing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or killed.
Adjusting the safety belt latch tongue
Fig. 126 Safety belt: la tch tongue cl ip (example)
.,.. Slide the clip so that you can easily reach the
belt latch when putting the safety belt on .
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145

Child safet y
"'When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the ch ild safety seat from moving
¢ page 182.
"' 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).
"' Secu re unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 177 .
Always remember: Even thoug h your veh icle is
eq uipped w ith an Advanced Ai rbag system, all
chi ldren, espec ia lly those 12 years and yo unger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
strained for their age and s ize.
A WARNING
Not using a chi ld safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly insta lling a
child restraint increases the r isk of serious
personal injury and death .
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restra ined 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 du ring a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
thro ugh contact with an inflat ing airbag .
- Commercially avai lab le child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S . Fede ral Mo ­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 213 (in
Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a ch ild restraint, select one
that fits your child and the vehicle.
- On ly use child restra int systems that fully
contact the flat port ion of the seat cush­
ion. The ch ild restra int must not tip o r
lean to either s ide. Audi does no t recom­
mend using child safety seats that res t on
legs o r tube -like frames. They do not pro ­
vide adequate contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements pe r­
taining to the installation and use of ch ild
safety seats and carefully follow the in-
176
str uctions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a norma l safety belt.
They must always be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
veh icle wh ile sitting on the lap of another
passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest pe rson could not hold the
child with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the veh icle 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 will be serious ly injured and can be
killed when the passenger airbag inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag System .
- The inflating 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, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing ch ild safety seats
or infant car riers on the rear sea t.
- Forwa rd-facing child safety seats instal led
on the front passenger's seat can inte rfe re
wit h the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. A lways install fo r­
ward-facing child sa fety seats on the rear
seat.
- If except ional circumstances req uire the use
of a fo rward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-be ing require that the following
special precautions be taken : ..,.

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-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 manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possible be­
fore installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
- Always make sure that the backrest is in
the upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive
passenger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢ page 140, Safety belts,
Child safety
¢ page 148, Airbag system and
¢ page 172, Child safety.
A WARNING
-
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
- 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 immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig. 138 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in c hild safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt, @ -ce nter 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
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them ¢_& .
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and
®* be­
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
¢ fig. 138. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "clicking "
sound when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
177

Child safety
_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat cou ld 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 routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child re­
straint is installed.
- Never activate the convertible locking re­ tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit 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. 139 Schematic overview: rearward-facing infant seat,
properly installed on the rear seat
.. 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 moving
c::> page 182 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
178
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 177.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
ch ild faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
c::> fig. 139.
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-facing ch ild seat.
It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a Larger child in
a rearward-facing seat.
_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or
infant carriers on the front passenger seat -
even with an Advanced Airbag System. A
child will be seriously injured and can be kil­ led when the inflating airbag hits the child
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 149, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing chi ld safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint in
the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and very small children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
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the rear-facing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CO player, electron ic
games dev ice, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the dev ice is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the c igarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never i nstall any ch ild restra int system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no wa ter or othe r
liquids on the front passenger seat c ushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD playe r, e lectronic games dev ice,
power inverter or seat heater for chi ld
seats). These may influence the e lectr ica l
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas·
senger detection system and can a lso fly
around in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when·
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c:::> page 140, Safety belts,
¢ page 148, Airbag system and
c::> page 172, Important information.
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 . 140 Schemat ic overview : installat ion of t he atta ch­
ments applicab le to a LATCH seat
Chil d sa fe ty
Fig. 141 Schemat ic overv iew: installat io n of the seat us ing
the vehicle's sa fety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convert ible lock ing retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c::> page 182 or install the seat using the LATC H
attachments .
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight so that
t he seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm)
c::> page 182.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c::> page 188 .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 177.
A toddler or child is usua lly 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 always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certif ied
for their size and we ight
c:::> fig . 140 and
c::> fig . 141.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous p lace for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
child i n a forward-fac ing child safety seat. It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
c h ild in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
No t using a child sa fety seat, us ing the wrong
child safety seat or improper ly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
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airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos it ions 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 be tween 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. 14 2 Re ar seat: child pro perl y restrain ed in a booster
seat
T he vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children unti l they are at least 4
ft . 9 in . (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and we igh about 80 lbs .
(36 kg) . Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety bel t will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a c rash.
.,. Do not use the co nvertib le locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety bel t to restra in
a ch ild on a boos ter sea t.
.. The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen­
te r of the child's co llar 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
ac ross the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug . Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
.,. If you must transpo rt an older chi ld in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger sea t, you can
use the safety belt height adj ustmen t to help
adjust the shoulder port ion properly .
Child sa fe ty
.. Secure unused sa fety belts on the rear seat
i=> page 177.
Childre n up to at least 8 yea rs old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de ­
s igned for their age and weight . Experts say that
the skeleta l structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these chi ldren is not f ully deve loped, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these child ren in appro­
priate booster seats . Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats ra ise the seating position of the
child and reposit ion 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 ­
te r 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
th ree po int lap and shoulder be lts . N ever use the
lap belt portion of the veh icle's safety belt a lone
to re strain any child , regardles s of how b ig the
c hi ld i s. A lways remember that c hildren do no t
have the pronounced pe lv ic struct ure required for
the p roper function of lap belt port ion of the ve­
hicle 's t hree point lap and shoulder be lts . The
c h ild 's safety abso lutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snug ly and
as low as possible around the pelvis . Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the ch ild's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, a irbags 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 the re to p rotect the occ upant as th e occu­
pant moves fo rward into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of posit ion and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag . When an occupan t is too close, he o r she
will be struck violent ly and w ill receive ser ious or
poss ibly eve n fa ta l injury. .,,.
181

Child safet y
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 except ional circumstances, be proper ly
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 comp letely and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in ce rtain frontal
coll is ions .
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrect ly 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 situat ion. To help reduce the risk of se­
r ious 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 pelv is
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure that the be lt lies flat and snug.
Pull on the belt to tighten i f necessa ry .
- Failure to properly route safety be lts over a
child 's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency sit uation
¢ page 140.
- The rear side of the child safety seat shou ld
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re ­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 56. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driv ing without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the r isk of
serious o r fatal neck injury dramatically .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be ser iously 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.
182
-
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your veh icle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in any way during an acc ident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will resu lt in serious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when­
eve r the ign it ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR B AG OF F light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 160, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child restraint off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 140, Safety belts,
¢page 148, Airbag system
and
¢ page 172, Important information.
Securing child 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 lo cking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retracto rs fo r
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas ­
senger's seat safety be lt have a convert ible lock­
ing retractor for chi ld restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un­
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety be lt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving. A child
safety seat can on ly be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and
c hi ld safety seat will stay in p lace .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all

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children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
strained for their age and size.
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 safe­
ty seat. An unlocked safety belt retractor
cannot hold the child safety seat in place
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se­
cure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or
infant carriers on the front passenger seat.
A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing child
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
r:::> page 172 . Special precautions
Child safety
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
r:::> page 149, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know .
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
r:::> page 160, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- 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 whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
-An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog­ nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal airbag
status.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
-
183