ESP AUDI S8 2014 Workshop Manual

17 2 Airbag system
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags . Remember too,
side airbags will deploy on ly once and on ly in
certain k inds of accidents -your safety belts
are always there to offer protect ion.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion . In some co llisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate . Remember too, that air ­
bags will deploy only once and only in certa in
kinds of co llisions -your safety belts are al­
ways there to offer protec tion in those acci­
dents in wh ich airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed.
The side airbag s yst em will not depl oy :
- when the ign ition is switched off
- in s ide collisions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in ro llovers.
I n some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curta in a irbags and side airbags may be
triggered together.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and t he airbag system will
only provide protection when occ upants
are in the proper seating posit ion
¢ page 173.
- If the airbag indicator light ¢ page 18
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by your aut ho rized Aud i dealer.
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 supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig . 1 72 Inflated s ide a irbags on left s ide of veh icle,
r ea r side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the a irbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG".
It expands between the side tr im panel
and the passenger. In orde r to help provide
t hi s addit io nal pro tect ion, the s ide airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup ­
plementa l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos ition is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
especially to ch ildren
q page 177, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate betwee n
t h e occ upant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is str uck in certa in side col ­
li sion ¢
fig. 172 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion " the impact and in this way t hey can
help to reduce the risk of inju ry to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal a nd does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.

-The airbag indicator light in the instrument
pane l
The airbag system is moni to red ele ct ro ni ca lly
t o make certain it is fu nct ion ing properly a t all
times. Each time you switch on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light wi ll come on
for a few seconds (se lf d iagnost ics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is switched off,
- i n s ide collisions wh en the acceleration
measu red by the sensor is too low,
- i n rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers.
A WARNING
-
- Safety belts and the a irbag system will
only p rov ide p rotection when occ upants
are in t he p roper seat ing posit io n
c::> page 58, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indicato r light c::> page 18
comes whe n the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r auth o rized Audi dea le r. I t is pos ­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags con work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly res trained.
Fi g. 174 Ill ust rat ion of prin cipl e: In flat ed side cu rtain
airbags on the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
"' N ;g
±
"" ID
Airba g system 175
vehicle that is struck in a side collision
c::> fig. 174 .
When the system is t riggered, the side curta in
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
w indows identified by the AIRBAG labe l. In or­
der to he lp provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and with
great force. The side curtain a irbag could in ­
jure you if your seating pos it io n is not prope r
or upright or if items are located in the area
whe re the supplemen tal side curta in a irbag
infl ates. This applies espe cially to ch ildren
c::> page 177 .
Although they are not a soft p illow, side cur­
ta in ai rbags can "cushion" the impact and in
th is way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the head a nd the upper part of the
body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the ai rbag de­
ploys . Th is is qui te no rma l and does not mean
t h ere is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to he lp the safety belts and
airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection .
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and im­
p roper seating positions increase the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death when­
eve r a vehicle is being used .
- Never let occupants place any parts of thei r bod ies in the area from which the
side curta in a irbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the s ide curtain
airbags can inflate without interference.
-
Unsuitable accessor ies fitted inside the ..,

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 146, 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 bod ies 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 180, 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 177
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 un re ­
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-fac ing ch ild
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.
•
•

178 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
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer 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 carrier.
- 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 installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright 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.
(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 th e
driver side. The low ris k deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interact ion with the airbag t hat 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 .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush ­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the .,..

180 Child Saf ety
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo F irst Cho ice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi -September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward-facin g and
con vert ible c hild re stra int s
Model Manuf actured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco 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 Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco Comfo rtSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco P latinum Ca rgo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER A IR 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 author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag 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 driver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
.. Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 183.
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the ch ild
safety seat .
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first a ctivate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 187.
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
.,. If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , m ake sure tha t it is not so tight that i t
causes the weight-sensing ma t to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
.. Sec ure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 182.
Always remember : Even though your 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 restrained for their age and size . .,.

A WARNING
1
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 .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil­ dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat .
Child Safety 181
-Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- 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 •
•
•
•

182 Child Safet y
as possible before insta lling the child
restra int.
- Always make sure t hat 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 .
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat ca n fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 145, Safety
belts,
c::> page 153, Airbag system and
c::> page 177, 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 whe never a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas ­
senge r seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he front pas ­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN­
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­ ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
Fig . 175 Sche matic ove rview: keep un use d safety be lts
away from c hildre n in chil d safe ty seats. @· oute r rear
sa fety be lt, @ · ce nter rear sa fet y b elt
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal low er ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se­
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c::> & .
-Guide the safety belt webbing behind the
head restra int of the adjacent seat
c::> fig. 175 . When doing so, do not engage
the switchable locking retractor! You should not hear a "click ing" sound when wind ing up
the safety belt .
- Let the bel t re tractor wind up the safe ty belt
webbing.
A WARNING ,-
A child in a chi ld safety sea t in stalled with
the LA TCH lower a nchorages or with the
standa rd safety be lt or a child in a boos ter
se at on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en ­
tang led . This co uld cause the chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat sa fety
be lts out of reac h of children in c hild
seats such as by proper ly routing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re­
tractor whe n routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint .

186 Child Safety
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 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, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in 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. (5 7 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 bel ts. 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 crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job , the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the 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
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 145.
-The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the child seat with the
head restraint in place ¢
page 139. Driv­
ing with head restraints that are not
properly 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.

-Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitting sideways 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 switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the che cks described
¢ page 164, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child rest rain t off the fron t pas­
senger seat and ins tall it proper ly a t one
of the rear seat posi tions if the
PASSEN­
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 restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 145, Safety
belts,¢ page 153, Airbag system
and
¢ page 177, 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 retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints .
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbi ng cannot unreel. The retracto r can be
activ ated to lock t he safety be lt and p revent
t he safe ty belt webbing from loosening up
d uring normal driving . A child sa fety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
Child Sa fet y 187
is loc ked so that the chi ld and child sa fety
seat wi ll stay in place.
A lw ays remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, sho uld always ride in the back seat prope r­
l y restrained for the ir age and size.
A WARNING
Imp roperly installed chi ld safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tracto r is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
trac to r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child saf ety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild i s not si tt ing in it.
A lo ose child safe ty seat can fly aroun d
du ring a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when ­
eve r the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int .
- I f the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward togethe r with the bac k­
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 rrie rs on 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 with gr eat
for ce an d
will smas h the child safety se a t
a nd child ag ainst the ba ckr est, cen ter
armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
se ats or in fa nt c arrie rs on the rear se at. •
•

188 Child Safety
-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
c::;, page 177 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::;, page 155, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
.&_ 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
c:.> page 164, 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 reg is- tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
.&_ 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
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
-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 inflates -even
with an Advanced 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 be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger 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 regis­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air­ bag System. The heavier weight regis­
tered can make the system work as