2012 AUDI A7 Owners Manual

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. .,.

All child restraints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Please remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and
attachment of child restraints specifically cer­
tified for use w ith
LATCH lower anchorages.
Child restraints that are not equipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in­
stalled in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury i n an ac­
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re­
straints manufacturer's instructions for
proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to t he
LATCH lower ancho­
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢page 163,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
Fig. 158 Lower anchorages: proper mount ing
Child Safety 1 79
Mounting
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and securely
latched in place.
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place
¢fig. 158 .
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lowe r anchorage .
.,. Pull straps tight follo wing the child re­
straint manufacture r's instruc tions.
Releasing
.,. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
t ions.
.,. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag­
es .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats using the "LATCH" sys­
tem.
- Never attach other chi ld safety seats,
be lts or other objects to these anchors.
-A lways make sure that you hear a click
when latching the seat in place. If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi­
cle.
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury i n an acci­
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's inst ruct ions for proper
installation of the child restra int system
-

180 Child Safety
and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re­
straint systems
c:> page 163, Child Safe­
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 159 Te the r ancho rs: recess fl aps be hind the rear
sea tback s
The tether anchors for the rear seating posi­
tions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow shelf
c:> fig. 159
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
special anchorage points in the vehicle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve­
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S .
federal regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
A 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 Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage .
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
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.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 160 T eth er st rap: prop er rou ting and mounting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
stra int manufacturer's instructions.

~ Guide the upper tether strap und er the rear
head restraint ¢
fig. 160 (raise the head re­
stra int if necessary).
~ Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the tethe r anchorage .
~ Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
~ Tighten the tether strap firmly following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions .
Rele asing the tether str ap
~ Loosen the tension following the ch ild re ­
stra int manufacturer 's instructions .
~ Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage.
{[) Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days , th is co uld leave a mar k on the up­
holstery on the seat c ushion and bac krest
in the area whe re the tether st rap was in­
stalled. The upholstery wo uld a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward -facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear-facing child res traint sys­
tems come with a tether . P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to properly insta ll th e tether .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w it h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, or door .
Child Safet y 181
-If you must insta ll a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rear seating position and
h ave the airbag system i nspe cted by yo ur
Aud i dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
The re a re a number of sources of add itiona l
information about child rest raint se lection , in ­
stalla tion and use:
NH TSA advises that the best child safety seat
i s the one that fits your ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle , and that you will use correct ly and
consistently .
T ry before you buy !
U.S Na tional Highway Traffic Safety Admin ­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -327 -4236 (TI Y: 1-800 -424 -9153)
www .nhtsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www .safek ids .org
Safet y BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE ( English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www .carseat .org
T ransport Can ada Info rmation Cent re
Tel.: 1 (800) 333-0371 or call
1 (613) 998-8616 if you are in the Ot tawa
area
www .tc.gc.ca/roadsafety
Audi Custome r CARE
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
•

182 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
Applies to vehicles: with Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help pro­
tect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The functions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking): the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli­
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* : the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap .
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig­
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the deploy­
ment time is adapted in dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli ­
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al­
so calculated . If the system senses an immi­
nent collision the follow ing functions can be
tr iggered:
- Audi braking guard
c::> page 85
- Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli­
hood of a rear-end collision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated. If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered:
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear .
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail­
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
_& WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks . This will increase
the risk of a coll is ion and serious personal
in juries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­ jects. This increases the risk of a colli­
sion.
-Aud i pre sense does not detect people or
an im als or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path
c::> page 79.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray
and reflections from gua rd rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi­
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac­
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au­
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.