Audi Q5: 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 responsible for the safety of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:

• Always use the right child safety seat for each child and always use it properly.
• Always carefully follow the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions on how to route the safety belt properly through the child safety seat.
• When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety seat, you must first activate the convertible locking retractor on the safety belt to prevent the child safety seat from moving.
• 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).
• If a strap or tether 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.
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat.

Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all children, especially those 12 years and younger, should always ride in the back seat properly restrained for their age and size.

WARNING

Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong child safety seat or improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death.

• All vehicle occupants and especially children must always be restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle.
  • An unrestrained or improperly restrained child can be injured or killed by being thrown against the inside of the vehicle or by being ejected from it during a sudden maneuver or impact.
  • An unrestrained or improperly restrained 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 pertaining to the installation and use of child safety seats and carefully follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer 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 abdomen and neck areas during sudden braking maneuvers or accidents.
• Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat.
• Never let babies or older children ride in a vehicle while sitting on the lap of another 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 interior 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 passenger seat. A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger 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 install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on the front passenger's seat can interfere with the airbag when it inflates and cause serious injury to the child. Always 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 manufacturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
  • Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
  • Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position of the passenger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag as possible 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 that the backrest is in the upright position.
• 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 a vehicle is being used.

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 passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.

• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi dealer immediately.

READ NEXT: