weight AUDI S8 2011 Owner's Manual

Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 138, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­ ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure . Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in ­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your chi ld's size ~
page 172, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 169
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small chi ldren .
A\. WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil ­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­ der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ikin g the interior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre ­
strained or improper ly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal­
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an a irbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
•
•

170 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 exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a re ar seating posit ion and have the air­
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad ­
vanced A irbag System" in compliance wit h
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as app licab le at the
time your veh icle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the " low-risk" re­
qu irements for 3- and 6-year old ch ildren on
the passenger s ide and small adults on the
driver side . The low risk deployment criter ia are intended
to red uce the risk of in jury
thro ugh interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for examp le, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag 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 a irbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenge r seat in child restra ints that are list­
ed in the Standard .
Even though your veh icle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, a ll children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly res trained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a child in a for­
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-fac ing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in you r vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us ­
ing the weight-sens ing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tens ion on the safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat and a ch ild blanket on the front passenger
seat. The we ight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the ch ild restraint
and its "footp rint", the s ize and shape of the
bottom of the child res traint as it sit s on the
seat. The weight of a ch ild restra int and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re­
straints and for the different mode ls of the
same kind of chi ld restraint offered by ch ild
restraint manufacturers.
T he weight ranges fo r the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the .,._

NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in­
fants and typical 1 year-o ld child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir­
bag System. When a child restraint is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi­
cal 1 year-old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sens ing mat with the informat ion s to r­
ed i n the electron ic cont rol unit.
The electron ic control unit a lso registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt .
The te nsio n on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be d iffe rent for an ad ult
who is properly using the safety belt as com­
pa red to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
T he sensor below the latch for the safety be lt
for the front seat passenger measures the t ension on the be lt. The input from this sen­
sor is then used with the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restrai nt with a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or no t the airbag mus t be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less o f the chi ld res traint 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 insta lled at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions .
If in excep­
tional c ircumstances you must use it on the
fr ont passenge r seat, caref ully read all of the
information on c hild safety and Adv ance d Air­
b ags and heed a ll of the app licable WAR N­
I NGS . Ma ke certai n that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
t he airbag status is always correctly signaled
by the
PASSENGE R AIR BAG OFF light .
Many types and models of child restraints
h ave been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
els are introduced regularly incorporating new
Child Sa fet y 1 71
and imp roved des igns and o lde r models a re
taken out of production . Chi ld restraints are
not standard ized. Child rest raints of the same
type typically have d ifferent weights and si zes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restrai nt that sits
o n the sea t, when they a re installed on a veh i­
cle seat . These diffe ren ces make it v irtually
i mpossible to certify complian ce with t he re­
quiremen ts for advanced airbags with eac h
and every ch ild restraint tha t h as eve r been
so ld in the past or wi ll be so ld over the course
of the useful life of your vehicle.
Fo r thi s reason, the Uni ted S ta tes Na tional
Hig hway Traffic Safety Adm inist rat ion has
published a list o f specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 . These child restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restra ints
Model
A ngel Guard A ngel
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartF it December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
I
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
I
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 21 2
Evenflo First Choice December
1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snug ride September 25, 2007 Peg Perego Pr imo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUNOOUS
•
•
....

172 Child Safety
Subpart C - Forward-facing and
convertible child r estra in ts
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundab out September 25, 2007
E 9 L02xx
Cos co Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribu te V Sep tember 25 , 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport
Graco Toddler Safety
Seat Step 2 September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Graco Platinum Cargo September 2S, 2007
8_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is sw itched
on .
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at o ne
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur autho riz ed Aud i dealer immediat e­
ly.
The c hild seats listed in catego ries A to C
have been tested by A udi on ly for th e Ad­
vanced Ai rbag function .
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, yo u are respons ib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
.,. Always use the right ch ild safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
~ page 174.
.,. Always carefu lly fo llow the child sa fe ty seat
manufac turer's inst ruct ions on how to ro ute
t he sa fe ty belt properly through the child
safety seat .
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
r=> page 178.
.,. Push the c hild safety seat down with you r
full weight to get t he safety be lt really tight
s o that t he seat ca n no t move fo rward o r
sideways more th an one inch
(2 .5 cm) .
.,. If a s trap o r tet her is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat .
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper­
ly restra ined fo r the ir age and size .
A WARNING
-Not usi ng a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety s eat o r imprope rly in­
stalling a c hild res tra int increases the risk
of ser ious perso na l in ju ry an d de ath.
- All vehicle oc cupants and espe cially chil­
d ren mu st always be res tra ine d pr operly
wheneve r rid ing in a vehicle.
-

17 4 Child Safety
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll ision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave­
hicle is being used<=> page 137, Safety
belts,
<=> page 145, Airbag system and
r=> page 169, Child Safety.
&_ 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.
- Ta ke the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it proper ly 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
yo ur authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly .
&_ WARNING
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled resulting in serious per­
sonal injury and even death.
- Always buckle unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of ch ildren in ch ild
seats and properly activate the converti­
ble locking retracto r so that the child
cannot unreel the safety belt from the
retractor .
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and
20 lbs . or 9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
Fig. 158 Schematic overview: rearward -fac ing infant
seat, p rope rly installed on the rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
r=>page 178 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
.,. Push the chi ld safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot
move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
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 r ide only in special re­
stra ints in wh ich the child faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash
c:> fig. 158.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
ch ild to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child sea t.
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 in­ stalling 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 pas­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child wilt be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof¢
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 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 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 a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 137, Safety
belts,¢ page 145, Airbag system
and
¢ page 169, Important things to know.
Child Safety 175
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash .
Fig. 159 Schematic overview: installat ion of the at­
tachments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 160 Schematic overview: instal latio n of the seat
using the vehicl e's safety belt system
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving <=>
page 178 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt realty tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢page 178.
.,. If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 185.
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
~

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. 161 Rear seat: child prope rly restrained in a boos­
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in .
(57 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 .
.. Always position the shou lder portion of the
safety belt midway over the child's shoulder.
If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt he ight adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly .
.. Always make sure that the shoulder portion
of the safety belt never rests against or
across the child's neck .
.. Always make sure that the child can properly
wear the lap portion of the be lt low across
the thighs or pelvis and
never over the
stomach or abdomen.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­ pe rts say that the ske letal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these ch ildren is not fully
Child Safety 17 7
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these child ren in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standa rds.
Booster seats raise the seat ing posit ion 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 p laces. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protect ion, 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 ch ild is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the pro per function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulde r belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion o f the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the a irbag 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 a irbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be st ruck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
Jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
im portant that all veh icle occupants, espec ial-
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
be cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between ..,_

-Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
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 carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger 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 in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment 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
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Child Safety 1 79
A WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward -facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward -facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger 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
¢page 156, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- 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.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from •
•

180 Child Safety
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- 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.
A WARNING , _
Rearward-fac ing ch ild restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenge r
seat will be ser iously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always be especially caref ul if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenge r seat in exception ·
al circumstances .
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and reg is­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced A ir­
bag System. The heav ier we ight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­ ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing ser ious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rea r-facing chi ld safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
Act ivating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
st ra int in your vehicle. To activate the conve r­
t ible lock ing ret ractor:
.,. Place the ch ild restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat .
.,. Slowly pu ll the belt
all the wa y out .
.,. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path
¢ _& .
.,. Push the chi ld safety seat down with yo ur
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buck le for
that seating position.
.,. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until t he belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
be lt winds back into the inertia ree l. Test the
convert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on
the belt . You shou ld no longer be able to
pull the be lt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways mo re
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
-
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
p roperly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing norma l dr iving or in a
crash.

186 Child Safet y
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
.&_ WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restraints
wi ll increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand on ly those loads im­
posed by cor rect ly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mou nt two ch ild restraint systems
on one LA T CH lower ancho r po int.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tethe r strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use c hild restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts o r other
k inds of occ upant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other items to the LATC H lowe r ancho­
rages or to the tethe r anchors.
- If a tether or othe r strap is used to at­
tac h a child rest raint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the we ight-sensi ng
mat to measure more weight than is ac­
t u a lly on t he seat.
- T he heav ier we ight reg iste red can make
t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position a nd
-
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig . 1 69 Tether strap: proper ro uting and mount ing
Installing the tether strap
"' Release or deploy the tether st rap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions .
"' Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int¢
fig. 169 (ra ise the head re­
straint if necessary) .
"' Center seating position*: Guide the upper
tether strap over the rear head restra int.
"' Tilt the recess flap up to expose the an chor
b racket.
"' Att ach the tether strap ancho rage hook in to
the opening of the tethe r ancho rage.
"' Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch o f the hook engages.
"' Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
"'Loosen the tension fo llow ing the child re­
straint manufacture r's in str uctions.
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
If yo u leave the c hild restra int w it h the
tether strap firm ly installed for seve ral
days, this could leave a mark on the up­
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest