2012 AUDI A7 warning

~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm)
<=> page 174.
~ If the c hild safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether a nchors
<=> page 180.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restra int if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) .
Todd lers and c hildren who are older than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be properly restra ined in a ch ild safety
seat ce rtified fo r the ir size and weight
<=> fig. 152 and <=>fig . 153.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fro nt seat a potentially dangerous place for a
ch ild to r ide . T he fro nt seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forwa rd -fac ing child safe­
ty seat. It is a very dangero us place for an in ­
fant or a larger child in a rearward -fac ing seat .
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat!
If a child s afety sea t is used o n the rear ben ch ,
espec ia lly w ith LA TCH universal anchorages,
the unused safety belts must be secured so
that the child in the chi ld restraint cannot
reach them.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
w rong chi ld safety seat or improper ly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
c o llision or othe r eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly injured or eve n killed when an a ir­
b ag in flates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat w ill be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front ai rbag in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
Child Sa fet y 1 71
-The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the back rest, center
arm res t, door or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
c e s and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n and stay on, im­
medi ately ins ta ll t he rear-fa cing ch ild
safety sea t in a re ar se ating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler.
- Always rea d an d heed al l WAR NIN GS
wheneve r using a child restraine d in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 128, Safety
belts, ¢ page 137, Airbag system
and
¢ page 163, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circ umstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat, the child's safe­
ty and we ll- being req uire that the follow­
ing spec ial precautions be ta ken:
- Ma ke sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed a nd c ert ified by its man u­
facturer fo r use on a fro nt seat wi th a
passe nger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
st ructions p rov ided with the ch ild safety
se at o r infa nt c arr ier .
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmos t position of the p assen­
ger seat's fo re and aft adjustment range,
an d as far away from the airbag as possi ­
ble before installing the ch ild restraint.
- Always ma ke s ure that nothing prevents
the front passenger 's seat from being
moved to the rea rmost position in its
fore and aft ad justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright pos ition. •
•
-

172 Child Safety
-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.
- 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
at a seating position on the rear seat and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- 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.
8_ 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.
-A child restrained in the child safety seat on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockable safe­
ty belts.
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. 154 Rea r seat : child p roperly rest rained in a boos ­
te r se at
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 shoulder 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 height 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 proper­
ly wear the lap portion of the belt 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 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. (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 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 belts. 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.
Child Safety 173
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:
-Always make sure to position the should­
er portion of the three-point belt over
the middle of child's shoulder.
- Never let the shoulder portion of the belt
rest against or across the neck, face,
chin, or throat of the child.
- Always make sure the lap belt portion of
the three-point belt is worn snug and
passes as low as possible across the
child's pelvis. Never let the belt pass over
the soft abdomen.
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation <=>
page 128.
-The rear side of the booster seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is
difficult to install the child seat with the head restraint in place
<=>page 52 . Install Ill-
•
•

174 Child Saf ety
the head restraint again immediately
once the child seat is removed. Dr iving
without head restraints or with head re­
straints that are not properly adjusted
increases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck
injury dramat ica lly .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
-Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways 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
tional 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 checks described
<=> page 149, 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 .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=> page 128, Safety
belts, <=> page 137, Airbag system
and
<=> page 163, Important things to know.
_&, WARNING
A child in a booster seat installed 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 secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly rout ing them
around the head restraint for the seat ing
position where the child restraint is in­
stalled.
- Never activate the switchable lock ing re ­
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
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 locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertib le locking ret ractor for child restraints.
T he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving . A chi ld safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, should always r ide in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for the ir age and size .
_&, WARNING
Improperly installed ch ild safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is lo cked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locked safety belt re -
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat ..,.

in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a col lision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to which the center rear safety
belt" is attached is secure ly latched
whenever the rear center safety belt is
being used to secure a ch ild restra int.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the ch ild and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­ rest and will strike parts of the veh icle
in ter ior. The child c an be serio usly in­
jured or killed .
- Never install rea r-facing ch ild safety
sea ts or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A ch ild will be seriously in ­
jured and can be k illed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag 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 carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats or in­
fant carr iers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­ ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the ch ild.
- It is safer to install a forward-fac ing
child safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
r::;, page 163 . Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
r::;, page 139, Child restraints on the fron t
seat -some important things to know.
WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
Child Sa fet y 175
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forwa rd 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 ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks descr ibed
<::;, page 149, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not s tay on
whenever the ignit ion is swi tched on.
- Imp roper installation of ch ild restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
preven t them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even ki ll the
child.
-Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur­
er's instructions p rov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- After checking to make sure that the child restraint is properly insta lled, make
certa in that the ch ild restraint is correct­
ly recognized by the capac itive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal a irbag status .
A WARNING
Forward-facing child rest raints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacture r fo r use on a front seat
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re­
straint up, against o r very near the in­
s trumen t panel. •
•

176 Child Safety
-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.
- 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 rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re- straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path
¢ A -
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight .
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt 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 more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- 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 crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
-

into place and canno t fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback w ith the ch ild safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an acc ident or other emer­
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=:> page 163 . Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety sea t on the front passenge r seat
<=:> page 139, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re ­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into the retractor.
~ Press the red button on the safety be lt
buck le . The belt tongue will pop out of the
buck le.
ii-G ui de the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed posit ion.
Always let the safety belt retract comp lete ly
i nto its stowed posit ion. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with­
out the convert ib le lock ing retractor for ch ild
restra ints .
If the c onvertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea­
ture .
If the convertib le locking retractor is not
dea ctivated, the safety belt will g radua lly be­
come tighter a nd uncomfo rt a b le to wear .
_& WARNING
Improperly installed chil d sa fe ty se ats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the sa fe ty belt to deac ti­
vate the convert ible lock ing retractor for
child restraints while the veh icle is mov-
Child Sa fet y 177
ing. You would not be restrained and
could be serious ly injured in an accident.
- Always rea d and heed all WAR NIN GS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used ¢
page 163. Special
precautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat o n the fron t passenger seat
<=:> page 139, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
T o provi de a simp ler and more practicable way
to attach the c hild restra int on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ial lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
c h ild restra ints to attach to the veh icle ancho ­
r ages .
The combinat ion of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Chil d ren."
Fo rward-facing chi ld restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S.
federa l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performa nce re quirements .
T hese new pe rfo rmance requ ir e ments ma ke a
tethe r ne cessary on most new c hild sea ts.
Installing a ch ild restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impa ir the
p erfo rman ce of the c hild restra int and its abil­
ity to p rotect the child in a coll is io n. Insta lli ng
a ch ild res tra in t that re quires a top tethe r
withou t the to p tether may be a violat ion o f
state law.
Child res train t manufacturers offer LA T CH
l ower anchor ages on t heir child seats w ith
hook -on or push -on connectors a ttached to
adjustable straps.
In add ition to the LA TCH lower anchorages,
th ese chi ld res tra int systems usu ally require .,. •
•

1 78 Child Safety
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restraint firmly in place.
.&_ WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your vehi­
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand only
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag­
es.
(j) Tips
- In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universal anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 155 Schematic overvi ew: LATCH ancho rage point
locat ions
ill N 0 6 ... (0
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low­
er anchorages system .
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig. 156 Lower anchorages, cove rs m arked
Fig. 157 Rea r seats: lower ancho rage bracket locations
Lower anchorages
The circular markings on the rear seat help
you to identify the location of lower anchorag­
es for the two outboard seating positions
¢ fig . 156 ~. The LATCH lower universal an­
chorage attachment points are between the
rear seatback and rear seat cushion.
Remove the covers
c:> fig . 156 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible
c:> fig. 157 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachment and minimi ze the possibili-
ty of improper child restraint installation. .,.