airbag off AUDI S6 2013 Owner's Guide

-The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows
- The airbag ind icator light in the instrument
pane l
The a irbag system is monitored elect ro nic ally
to make certain it is f unct io ni ng proper ly a t all
times. Eac h time you switch on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light wi ll come on
for a few seconds (se lf diagnost ics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ign ition is swit ched off,
- i n s ide coll isions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions .
_& WARNING
-Sa fety belts and t he a irbag system w ill
only p rov ide p rotection whe n occu pan ts
are in the proper sea ting posit ion
¢ page SO, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indicator light ¢ page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut ho rized Audi dea ler . It is pos ­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained .
Fig . 1 65 Ill ustra tion of princip le: In flated side cur ta in
airbags on t he left s ide
.
A irba g sy stem 169
The side c urtain airbags infla te between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
¢ fig . 165.
When the system is trigge red, t he side curta in
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
th ro ugh a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG labe l. In or­
der to he lp provide this additional protection,
the side curta in a irbag must inflate withi n the
blink of an eye at ve ry hig h speed and with
great fo rce . T he side curta in a irbag could in­
j u re yo u if your sea ting posit io n is not proper
o r u pright or if items are loca ted in t he a rea
where the supplemental side curta in a irbag
in flates . This applies especially to chi ld ren
~ page 171 .
Although they are no t a soft pillow, side cur­
ta in a irbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
j u ry to the head and the uppe r part of the
body .
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is qui te no rma l and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safe ty belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags do t heir job to provide supplemental
protection .
_& WARNING ...__
Improperly wea ring safety belts and im­
p roper seating posit ions increase the risk
of ser ious perso nal inj ury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
- Never let occupa nts pla ce any pa rts of
thei r bo dies in t he area fro m whi ch the
side curt ain air bag inf late.
-

172 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_&, WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the
child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require the follow­ ing special precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac­
ing seat has been designed and certi­
fied by its manufacturer for use on a
front passenger seat with a front and
side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an­
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits proper installation in ac­
cordance with the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
-Always move the passenger seat into
its rearmost position in the seat's fore
and aft adjustment range, as far away
.
from the airbag as possible before in­
stalling the child restraint. The back­
rest must be adjusted to an upright po­
sition .
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter). These
may influence the electrical capaci­
tance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se­
rious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) 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 passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
¢ page 136, Safety belts,
¢ page 145 , Airbag system and ~

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

174 Child Saf ety
always correctly signaled by the PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light .
M any types and models of ch ild restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
e ls are introduced regularly incorporating new
and improved designs and older models are
taken out of production. Child restraints are not standardized. Ch ild restra ints of the same
type typically have different weights and s izes
and d ifferent "footprints", the size and shape
of the bottom of the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a veh i­
cle sea t. These differences ma ke it vi rtually
i mposs ible to ce rtify comp lia nce w it h the re ­
q ui rements for advanced a irbags w ith each
and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your vehicle.
F or this reason, the United States Nat ional
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify compliance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle with the suppress ion
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208 . These child rest raints are :
Subpart A -Car bed child rest ra int s
Model
Ange l Guard Ange l
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-0 13PAW and base
l 22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad-December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
1 20 4
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
-Model
Graco Snug ride
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
P eg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMU NOOUS
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Br itax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007 H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007 Booster 22-209
E venf lo Tribute V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December
1, 1999
254
E venflo Generations Se ptember 25, 20 07
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo Septembe r 25, 2007
.&_ WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat and the ignit ion is switched
on.
- Ta ke the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not s tay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .

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

1 78 Child S afet y
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong chi ld safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­ senger seat -even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child wi ll be seriously in­
jured and can be k il led when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant ca rrier with great force and smashes
the chi ld safety seat and chi ld aga inst
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof
c:> page 147, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing direction. Such re­
straints are des igned for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-fac ing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear -facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games dev ice or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con­
nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga­
rette 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
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion .
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CO player, electronic games de­
vice or power inverter) . These may influ­
ence the electrical capacitance measured by the capacit ive passeng er detection
sys tem and can also fly around in an acci­
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
c:>page 136, Safety
belts, ¢page 145, Airbag system
and
c> page 171, Important things to know .
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs . (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
F ig . 1 68 Schema tic overview: installat ion of the at­
tac hments applicab le to a LA TCH seat
Fig . 1 69 Schemat ic overview: installat io n of t he sea t
using the vehicle 's safety be lt syste m
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
Ill>

belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
r::!>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 the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
r::!> page 182.
"' If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
r::!> page 188.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::!> page 177.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg).
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
r::!>fig.168and r:::>fig.169.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­ stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
-
Child Safety 1 79
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
r:::> page 53. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
r::!> page 136, Safety
belts, r::!> page 145, Airbag system
and
r::!> page 171, Important things to know .
A WARNING ~
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
-
seat or infant carrier . "" •
•

180 Child Safety
-Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before installing the child restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con­
nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga­
rette 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
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice or power inverter). These may influ­
ence the electrical capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system and can also fly around in an acci­ dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and
80 lbs . (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 170 Rea r seat : child p rop erly res trained in a boos­
te r se at
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
"" Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a child on a booster seat.
"" The shoulder belt must lie as close to th e
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and mu st lie flat and snug on the upper
body.
It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
"" If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly .
"" Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 177.
Children up to at least 8 years old (ove r 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex-
perts say that the skeletal structure, ..,.

particularly the pelvis, of these children is not
fully developed, and they must not use the ve­ hicle safety belts without a suitable child re­
straint .
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle 's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­ less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a c rash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­ bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial­
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
Child Safety 181
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child 's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per body. It must never lie across the
throat or neck . The lap belt must lie
across the pelvis and never across the
stomach or abdomen . Make sure that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢ page 136.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
¢page 53. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat, for example the front seat.
-
•
•

182 Child Saf ety
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle .
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is sw itch­
ed on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and s tay on, perform
the chec ks described ¢
page 157, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest raint off the front p as­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASS EN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 136, Safety
belts,¢ page 145, Airbag system
and
¢ page 171, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible
locking re tractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retracto r for child restra ints .
The safety belt must be locke d so that belt
webbing can not unreel. The ret ractor ca n be
activ ated to lock the safety be lt and p revent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
d ur ing normal driv ing . A child sa fe ty seat can
on ly be proper ly installed whe n the safety belt is loc
ked so that the chi ld and child sa fety
seat wi ll stay in place.
Alw ays remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped wi th an A dvan ced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 1 2 years and young ­
er, sho uld always ride in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
A WARNING
Improperly installed ch ild safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. A n un locked safety belt re­
trac to r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A loose child sa fe ty se at can fly aroun d
du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backres t to wh ich the center rear safety
belt * is attache d is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter safety belt is
be ing used to secure a child rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely la tc h ed,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs o n the front pas­
senger seat . A child will be serious ly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ge r airbag inflates.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r w ith gr eat
for ce and will smas h the child safe ty seat
a nd child ag ai nst t he back res t, cen ter
a rmrest, doo r or roof.
- Always inst all rear-fa cing ch ild safety
se ats or in fa nt c arrie rs on the re ar se at.