2012 AUDI A7 tow

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 . ..,.

146 Airbag system
-Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci­
tance registered by the capacitive pas­ senger detection system, so that incor­
rect information is provided to the airbag
control unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly .
- 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.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the
capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci­
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad- vanced Airbag System from working
properly.
- 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. Such devices can in­
fluence the capacitance registered by the
capacitive passenger detection system,
so that incorrect information is provided
to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in­ stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator light min the instrument cluster.
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air­
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there
is a properly installed child restraint sys­
tem on the seat. Wet towels or other wet
things on the seat cushion can have the

-The PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front
passenger seat, or
- a rearward -facing chi ld restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rward-facing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectr ica l capaci tance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or
l ess than the combined capacitance of a typ­
ical 1 year-old infant and one of the rear­
ward-facing or forward -facing child re­
stra ints listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safe­
ty Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced
Airbag System in your vehicle was certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
P A S·
SE NG ER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill stay on . Nev­
er install a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any ki nd of child restraint is at o ne
of the seati ng positions on the rear seat
¢ page 139, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 163, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light com es
on ...
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on w hen one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regular ly to
make certa in that the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignit ion is on.
If the PA SS ENGER A IR BA G
OFF
l ight does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn­
i ng it on agai n;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed a nd that the safety be lt fo r the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
ro uted through the child rest raint as descr i-
A irbag system 15 1
bed in the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea ­
t u re on the safety belt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight.
- make sure t hat no electrical device (s uch as
a laptop, CD p layer, e lectronic games device
or power inverter) is p laced or used on the
front passenger seat if the device is connect­
ed to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette
lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret­
rofitted or otherwise added to the front pas ­
senger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with
the safety belt buckles and that they are not
obstructed;
- 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 .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con­
ti nuously (whe n the ignition is sw itched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- move the ch ild to a rear seat position and
ma ke sure that the c hild is properly restra in­
ed in a c hild restra int that is app rop riate fo r
its size an d age.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on .. .
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht sho uld
NOT come on when t he ignit io n i s on and an
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat •
•

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 ~

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

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>

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 .

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 .,. •
•