2012 AUDI A7 warning

-never put you r feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r is k of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants stay in a proper seating pos it ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
App lies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
A WARNING
Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be­
tween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of in jury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this c an res ult in serious or fat al injuries.
- No objects of any k ind sho uld be car ried
in the footwe ll area in front of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat. Bul ky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham­
per or prevent proper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
thro ugh the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and injure you or your passengers.
-
Dr iving Safel y 123
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interfe rence and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions .
Only use floor mats t hat Leave t he pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­ ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to b ring the vehicle to a f ull
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
Loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the driver's
footwell. An ob ject cou ld get into the
pe dal area and inte rfe re with pedal func­
tion. In case of sudden brak ing o r an ac­
cident, yo u wo uld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke sure tha t no thing can f all
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor ma t fasteners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Ma ke s ure that the floor mats are prope rly
secured and cannot move and in terfere with
t he peda ls ¢ ..&_ .
U se only floor mats that leave the peda l area
u nobst ructed and th at are firmly secu re d so
that they c annot slip o ut o f posi tion. You c an
obta in suitab le floor mats from yo ur aut ho r­
ized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fastene rs a re in stall ed in your Aud i.
1111>
•
•

124 Driving Safel y
Floor mats used in your vehicle m ust be at ­
tached to these fasteners. Proper ly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from s liding
into pos itions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operation of your vehicle
in other ways .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of veh icle contro l and increase the
r isk of serious personal injury .
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering w ith
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place o r insta ll floor ma ts or other
floor coverings on top of a lready insta l­
led floor mats. Additional floor mats and
other coverings w ill reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and sec ure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall into the driver footwe ll wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped under the b rake pedal and accel ­
erator peda l causing a loss of veh icle
c o ntrol.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objec ts must be prop ­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com ­
partment.
L oose items in the luggage comp art ment can
shift suddenly, changing veh icle hand ling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudde n
vehicle maneuver or in a collision . ..
Distribute the load even ly in the luggage
compartment .
.. Always place and proper ly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible .
.. Secure luggage using the tie -downs prov id ­
ed
¢ page 59, Luggage compartment.
.. Make s ure that the rear seatback is securely
la tc hed in place.
A WARNING
Imp roperly store d luggage or other items
can fly thro ugh the vehi cle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak­
i ng or an accident. To help reduce t he risk
of ser ious personal in jury:
- Always put objects, fo r example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­ pa rtment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the t ie-down hoo ks
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
=
Heavy loads w ill influence the way yo ur ve-
hi cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a
l oss of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal
i njury :
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change i n the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle ha ndling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
poss ible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle We ight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceed ing per­
miss ible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe dr iv­
ing
¢page 118.

A WARNING ,~
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­ dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 125
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured. For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
r:!)page235.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly<>
page 124, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
'
•
•

128 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty bel ts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means avai lab le to reduce the risk of se­
r ious injury and dea th in a utomob ile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- P regnant women, injured, or physically
im paired perso ns mu st also use safety
bel ts . Lik e all veh icle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser iously injured if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating position s:
two in the front and two in the rear . Each seat­
ing position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or weari ng them
improp erly increases th e risk of ser ious
pe rsonal i njury and dea th.
- N ever st rap more than one pe rson, in­
cl uding small ch ild ren, into any belt.
It is
e speci ally dange rous to pla ce a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in the ve hicl e
than there are s afe ty be lts avail able. -
Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safe ­
ty belt or child restra int.
t Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you abou t the impor tance
of buckling-up .
Fi g. 130 Safety bel t warni ng lig ht in the inst rum ent
cl uster -e nl ar ged
Before driving off, alway s:
.. Fasten you r safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make s ure that your passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect children wit h a child restraint sys-
tem app ro priate for the s ize and age .
The warn ing light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up when the ignit ion is on as a reminder
to fasten the safety belts . In addit ion, you will
hear a wa rning tone fo r a ce rtain per iod of
t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make su re that
your pass eng ers also properly put on their
s afety belt s.
A WARNING .....=-
- Safety b elts are the s ingle most eff ect ive
means availa ble to redu ce t he ri sk of se­
rio us inju ry and de ath in au tomobile a cci­
dents. Fo r you r protection and that of
your passengers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts w hen t he vehicle is moving .

-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 131 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 132 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
ergy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts
c:::;, fig. 131, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 132.
Safety belts 129
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli­
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 133 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
th rown forward
Fig. 134 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained .,..

Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­ ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv­
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion . Safety belts
131
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web­
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel
c::> page 209, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 136 Bel t bu ckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

13 2 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 50, General recommenda­
t ions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢,&.
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢ ,& .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latc h securely
¢ fig. 136.
.,. Pu ll on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. This fea­
ture locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and i n an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv ing the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt preten sione rs
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated
¢ page 135. The function of the pre­
tensioner is moni tored by a warning light
¢ page 17.
Sw itchabl e locking fe atur e
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
m ust be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
¢ page 174 .
.,& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 132, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
wheneve r the rea r center safety belt is
being used.
If the backrest is not secu re­
ly latched, the passenger will move for­
ward with the back rest dur ing sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash.
- Never at tach the safety bel t to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety belt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child seat in the veh icle ¢
page 176.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to¢
page 135.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
F ig. 137 Head restra int an d safety be lt pos it io n as
see n from the s id e

Use the height adjustment to change the posi­
tion of the shoulder belt of the front saf ety
belts.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- The shoulder belt portion of the safety
belt must be positioned over the middle
of the occupant's shoulder and never
across the neck or throat.
- The safety belt must lie flat and snug on
the occupant's upper body
c:> fig. 137 .
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary .
-
-The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo­
men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
c:> fig . 13 7. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> page 131.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetu s is to make
sure that expec tan t mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy .
Fig. 138 Safety belt pos it io n during pregnancy
Safety belts 133
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on th e
wea rer's body
c:> pag e 132.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly
c:> page 50 , General recommenda­
ti ons.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly acros s the chest and pelvi s
c:> fig. 138, c:> ,&.
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
c:>page 131, fig . 136 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> A in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 132 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red r elease
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 139 Re le asin g t he tong ue fro m the b uckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
c:> fig. 139. The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
c:> ,& .
.. Let the belt w ind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position . ..,.