2012 AUDI A7 warning

162 Airbag sys tem
-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate w ithout interference .
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in a colli­
sion .
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on
the hooks .
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
if shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, use only genuine Audi
sun shades.
- Never swing the sun viso rs ove r to the
side windows if things such as pens, ga­
rage door openers, hands-free speake rs,
etc. are a ttached to the sun visors. They
cou ld come loose and cause se rious in­
jury if the side c urtain airbag inflates .
- A deploying air bag infla tes in a fr action
of a second and with great force.
- Never a tta ch objects to the cover or in
the deploymen t zone of a side curtain
airbag .
- T he ai rbag dep loymen t zones m ust be
kept clear a t all t imes . Make sure t here
are no objects, pets, or other persons in
the space between any vehicle occupant and any airbag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the
doors .
A WARNING
-The airbag system can deploy only once .
If the airbag has been triggered, the sys­
tem must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur­
tain airbag system, removal and installa­
tion of the a irbag components, o r other
repa irs perfo rme d by a qualified dealer­
ship. Othe rwise the airbag system may
not wo rk cor re ctly .
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system i n any way.

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 129, 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 167, 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 163
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.
•
•

164 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_&, WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the
child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require the follow­ ing special precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac­
ing seat has been designed and certi­
fied by its manufacturer for use on a
front passenger seat with a front and
side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an­
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits proper installation in ac­
cordance with the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
-Always move the passenger seat into
its rearmost position in the seat's fore
and aft adjustment range, as far away
.
from the airbag as possible before in­
stalling the child restraint. The back­
rest must be adjusted to an upright po­
sition .
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter). These
may influence the electrical capaci­
tance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se­
rious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is
connected to the 12-volt socket or the
cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
¢ page 128, Safety belts,
¢ page 137, Airbag system
and ~

166 Child Saf ety
always correctly signaled by the PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light .
M any types and models of ch ild restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
e ls are introduced regularly incorporating new
and improved designs and older models are
taken out of production. Child restraints are not standardized. Ch ild restra ints of the same
type typically have different weights and s izes
and d ifferent "footprints", the size and shape
of the bottom of the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a veh i­
cle sea t. These differences ma ke it vi rtually
i mposs ible to ce rtify comp lia nce w it h the re ­
q ui rements for advanced a irbags w ith each
and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your vehicle.
F or this reason, the United States Nat ional
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify compliance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle with the suppress ion
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208 . These child rest raints are :
Subpart A -Car bed child rest ra int s
Model
Ange l Guard Ange l
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-0 13PAW and base
l 22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad-December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
1 20 4
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
-Model
Graco Snug ride
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
P eg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMU NOOUS
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Br itax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 2S, 2007 H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007 Booster 22-209
E venf lo Tribute V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December
1, 1999
254
E venflo Generations Se ptember 25, 20 07
3S2xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 2S, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo Septembe r 25, 2007
.&_ WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat and the ignit ion is switched
on.
- Ta ke the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not s tay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .

@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag 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 responsible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil­
dren:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
9page 169.
~ 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
r::!) page 174.
~ 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).
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for their age and size.
_& 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.
- 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-
Child Safety 167
hide 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.
- 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. •
•

168 Child Saf ety
- Never install rear-facing chi ld safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A chi ld will be ser iously in­
jured and can be k illed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant car riers on the rear seat.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere wi th the ai rbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forwa rd-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If exceptiona l circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger 's seat, the chi ld's
safety and well-being requ ire that the
following special precaut ions be taken:
- Make sure the fo rward-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 carefu lly follow the manufac­
turer 's instructions p rov ided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position o f the pas ­
senger seat 's fore and aft adjustment
range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the child restra int.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­ vents the front passenger 's seat from
be ing moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position .
- Never p lace or use any electrical dev ice
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is connected to the
12-volt socket or the
c igarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heate r has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
stra int system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, e lectronic
games device or powe r inverte r) . These
may influence the electr ica l capaci­
tance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also
fly a round in an accident and cause se­
rious personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safe ty seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a s udden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
¢ page 128, Safety
belts,
¢ page 13 7, Airbag system and
¢ page 163, Child Safety .
A WARNING ,-
To reduce the risk of serious injury , make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger sea t and the ignit ion is switched
on.
- Ta ke t he chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions i f 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.
A WARNING
A child in a chi ld restraint installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or with 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 buck le unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ldren in ch ild
seats a nd properly act ivate the converti­
ble locking retractor so that the child
cannot unreel the safety belt from the
retra cto r.
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.
F ig. 151 Schemat ic overv iew : rea rwa rd -fa cing infa nt
s ea t, p rope rly in stalled o n the re ar sea t
... <'< ...
-.:, ... m
.,. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the c hild safety seat
from moving
c:> page 174 or install the sea t
us ing the LATCH attachments .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight
so tha t the sea t ca nnot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
I nfants up to about one year (20 lbs . or 9 kg)
a re best pro tected i n specia l infa nt carriers
and chi ld safety seats des igned for their age
g roup . Many experts believe that infants and
sma ll children should ride only in spec ial re­
straints in which the chi ld faces the back of
Child S afety 169
the vehicle . These infant seats support the ba­
by's back, neck and head i n a c rash
c:> fig. 151 .
The airbag on the p assenger side makes the
fron t seat a potentia lly dangero us place for a
ch ild to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in fant or a
larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
Secure unused saf ety belts on the rear
s eat!
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal anchorages,
the unu sed safety belt s must be secured so
that the c hild in the child restra int cannot
reach them .
A WARNING
--
Not using a child safety seat, us ing the
wrong c hild safety seat o r imprope rly in­
stalling a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious persona l injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear- fa cing child safety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas ­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­ bag System. A chi ld will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­ ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier wit h great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, doo r o r
roof
c:> page 139, Child restraints o n the
front seat -
some important thing s to
know.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
se ats or inf ant c arrie rs on the rear sea t.
- Never install a rea r-fac ing chi ld restrai nt
in the forward-fac ing direct io n. Su ch re­
s traints a re designe d for the special
needs of infants and very small chi ld ren
a nd 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 exceptiona l circumstan ­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF

1 70 Child Safety
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con­
nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga­
rette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop , CD player, electronic games de­
vice or power inverter). These may influ­
ence the electrical capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system and can also fly around in an acci­
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave­
hicle is being used c:::> page 128, Safety
belts,
c:::> page 13 7, Airbag system and
c:::> page 163, Important things to know.
A WARNING
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower universal anchorages or
with the standard safety belt on the rear
seat may play with unused rear seat safety
belts and become entangled resulting in
serious personal injury and
even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly routing them around the head restraint for the seating
position where the child restraint is in­
stalled.
-
- Never activate the switchable locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
belt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.
- A child restrained in the child safety seat
on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockable safe­
ty belts.
- Always secure unused lockable safety belts on the rear bench.
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. 152 Schematic overview: installat ion of the at­
tachments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 153 Schematic overview : installat ion of the seat
u sing the vehicte ·s safety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
th e convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
¢ page 174 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
II>