2012 AUDI A7 fold seats

52 Seats and storage
Adjusting the armrest
.,. To adjust the angle, raise the armrest from
the start ing pos ition detent by detent.
.,. To bring the armrest back into its origina l
position, lift it above the top position and
then fold it back down.
Opening the storage compartment
.,. Press the button -arrow- upward.
Please note that the driver's arm movements
may be restr icted w ith the armrest fo lded
down. For this reason, the arm rest should not
be folded down when driving in c ity traffic.
Head restraints
Front head restraints
App lies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Head restraints that ore adjusted according
to body size, along with the seat belt , offer
effective protection .
' Fig. 46 Front seat : Ad justing t he head restrain t
"' ;g 0 6
"' m
Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
¢ page 52.
.,. To move the head restrai nt up or forward,
s lide it until it locks into place.
.,. To move the head restraint down or back,
press the side button -arrow-¢
fig. 46 and
slide the head restraint until it locks into
place.
Refer to¢
page 122, Proper adjustment of
head restraints
for guidelines on how to ad- just the
height of the front head restraints to
suit the occupant's body size .
.&_ WARNING
--
-Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad­
justed increases the risk of ser ious or fa­
tal neck injury dramatically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ page 122, Proper adjustment of head
restraints .
(D Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety belts are an extremely effect ive
combination of safety features.
Rear head restraints
Fig. 47 Rear seats: Head restraint
Fig. 48 Rear head res tra ints: release
Adjusting the head restraints
.,. To move the head rest raint up, hold it at the
sides with both hands and slide it upward
until you fee l it lock into place.
.,. To move the head restraint down, press the
button -arrow- ¢
fig. 47 and slide the head
restraint downward.
...

60 Seats and st o rage
Luggage compartment cover
The luggage compartment cover consists of
two parts .
• • Fig. 60 Cover in t he open rear lid
Fig. 61 Cover behind t he rear bench seat
Removing the cov er in the r ear lid
.. Remove the knobs CD¢ fig. 60 from the
ball mounts .
.. Pu ll the cove r@ out of the reta iners @in
the d irect ion of the a rrow.
Install ing th e cover in the rear lid
.. Slide the cover upward into the retainers
@ .
.. Press the knobs CD onto the ball mounts.
9 C) .. (D
Rem oving the cov er behind the rear bench
seat
.. Pull the cove r¢ fig. 61 back .
.. Pull the cove r upward to re lease.
In sta ll ing th e co ver behind the rear bench
seat
.. Inse rt the left and r ight sides of the cover
in to the mounts on the s ide trim .
.. Slide the cover forward until it locks into
place .
A WARNING
--To prevent acc idents, never insta ll the
luggage compartment cover unsecured .
- The luggage compartment cover is not a
surface for storing objects. Objects
p laced on the cover co uld endanger all
veh icle occupan ts during sudden bra king
maneuvers or in a c rash.
(D Note
Objects located on the rear shelf that rub
against the rear window could damage the heating wires for the rear window defog-
ger.
Enlarging cargo capacity of the vehicle
interior
The seat backs can be folded forward to en­
large the cargo capacity.
F ig . 62 Release handle on the seatback
Folding th e seatba ck forward
.. When you pull the release lever @¢ fig. 62
in the direction of the arrow, the safety knob
@ pops out far enough for the red marking
on knob to be visible.
.. Fold the seatback forward .
Raising th e se atb ack
.. Raise the seatback until it is secure ly latch­
ed ~,&. .When you can no longer see the
red mark on the safety knob @, the seat is
latched . ..,

62 Seats and storage
compa rtment can cause in a co llision at a
speed considered relatively low .
.&_ WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard brak ing or in a coll ision and cause
ser ious personal injury.
- Always use suitable retaining straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help pre­
vent items from shifting or flying for­
wa rd.
- Never attach a child seat tether strap to
a tie-down.
- For strength-related reasons, the mount­ ing hoo ks can only be used to s ecure ob­
jects weighing up to 10 lb. (5 kg). Heav i­
er objects will not be adequately secured
- there is a r isk of injury.
Fastening eyes
Light objects can be secured on the eyes .
Fig. 65 Luggage compartment: fastening eyes
You can use the eyes to hang bags, sacks, etc .
.&_ WARNING
The eyes may hold a max imum weight of 3
kg. Heavier objects are not adequately se­
cured. There is risk of personal injury.
Luggage compartment covering
(reversible mat)
Applies to veh icles : w ith lug gage compartme nt car petin g
The reversible luggage compartment covering
should be used when transporting dirty or wet objects.
F ig . 66 Luggage compartment carpeting with seatback
fo lded down: spread o ut over t he bumper
The luggage compartment carpeting can be
used with the d irt resistant side or the decora­
t ive side, depending on wh at is needed.
u) Tips
The protective mat should be folded up
on ly when dry.
Pass-through with ski
sack
Preparing the pass-through
Applies to veh icles: w it h sk i sack
Long objects such as skis can be transported
in the ski sack* .
Fig . 67 Rear bench seat : opening the pass-t hr oug h
Opening the trunk pass -through
... Fold the center a rmrest in the rear forward
and out. .,.

.. Pull the release handle c;,fig . 67 and fold
down the cover of the pass-through in the
vehicle interior .
.. Open the rear lid .
.. Push the ski sack* through the opening
from the luggage compartment .
.. Secu re the ski sack
c::> page 63 .
Closing the trunk pass-through
.. Open the rear lid .
.,. Remove the ski sack from the trunk pass­
through .
.. Push the pass-through cover up inside the
vehicle until it latches .
.. Raise the center armrest in the vehicle
again.
.. Close the rear lid .
& WARNING
Objects must only be transported in the ski
sack since the ski sack can be sec ured. In­
divid ual objects cannot be secured. There
is a risk of injury .
@ Tips
You can also open the pass-through from
the luggage compartment. Push the re­
lease button down and push the cover for­
ward .
Securing the ski sack
Applies to vehicles: wit h ski sack
The ski sack must be secured in the luggage
compartment .
Fig. 68 Luggage compartment: Securing the bag
Seats and storage 63
Fig. 69 Secur ing t he objects in the ski sack
Securing the ski sack in the luggage
compartment
.. The ski sack has two belts with hooks on the
unde rside
c;, fig . 68 @. Hang the hooks to
t he rear fasten ing eyelets in the luggage
compartment .
Securing the objects in the ski sack
.,. There is also a secur ing strap c::> fig. 69 @ in
the sack. Pull the strap taut using the free
end of the strap.
& WARNING ~ -
-The ski sack is intended only for the
transportation of skis and other light ob­
jects . To reduce the risk of serious per­
sonal injury , never transport heavy or
pointed objects in the sk i sack.
- When braking rapidly or dur ing an acci­
dent, the load could be disp laced and
cause injury to occupants.
- Sharp edges on the load must be covered
for protection. Always fasten the belt
tightly around the sack and its contents
c::> fig . 69 .
(D Tips
-Never stow the ski sack away when it is
st ill wet or damp (for examp le, snow
me lting from skis). Allow it to dry com­
pletely before stow ing it away.
- Position skis in the ski sack with the
pointed ends facing the front and ski
poles with the pointed ends facing the
rear .

120 Driving Safely
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 51.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per­
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple­
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop­
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect- edly and you could lose control of the ve­
hicle .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi ­
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢
page 163. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat¢
page 137.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possibl e, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible
¢page 122.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 131.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 50 .
A WARNING
-
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:

-Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru­
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas­
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop­
er ly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢ page 163. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
¢ page 13 7.
Driving Safely 121
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas­
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible
¢page 122 .
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
¢page 131.
.,. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their size and age
r::, page 163.
,& WARNING
..-
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec­
tion when the safety belts are properly
positioned on the body and securely
latched . By not sitting upright, a rear
seat passenger increases the risk of per­
sonal injury from improperly positioned
safety belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.
•
•

same effect. If the front passenger
frontal a irbag is turned on, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the pro tection of­
fe red by the fro nt three -point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adj ustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tan t information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System
and the act ivation of the safety be lt preten­
sioners depend on the decelerat ion measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control un it . The amount of infla ­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front seat position, depending on the d istance between the respe ctive front seat
and the steering whee l or inst rument panel as
registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object invo lved in the crash .
On the passenger s ide, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fronta l airbag
will be t urned off if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenge r seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron­
ic control unit . The front passenger fronta l air ­
bag will a lso be turned off if the capac itance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ger seat eq ua ls tha t of an infant o f abo ut one
year of age in one o f the child seats that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag System
under Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced Airbag System on the passen­ ger s ide has been turned off
c:> page 150 .
Airba g sy stem 14 7
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury w hen an airbag
in flates, always wear safety be lts p ro perly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your ris k of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag o r too close to it when it in­
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 137 .
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 14 3 In flated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that ai rbags can unfold p roper ly and pro­
v ide s upplementa l pro tect ion in a fron tal col­
lis ion .
T he front airbags a re des igned to provide ad­
di tional protection fo r the chest and fa ce of
the d river a nd the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are worn properly ,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and the head restraints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
wi th great force, things you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat cou ld become dan ­
gerous p rojecti les, and be pushed in to you if
t h e a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fire in .,,.

148 Airbag sys tem
the vehicle. This dust is made up most ly o f a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It cou ld irritate sk in .
I t is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re ­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
in ju ries, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front airbags
supplement the three-poi nt safety belts only
in some frontal co llisions in which the vehicle
dece le ra ti on is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignit io n is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the e lectronic control unit.
Th e front pa ssenger airbag al so will not
d epl oy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu ­
pied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electron ic control unit
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
<> page 150 and how they wo rk comes on
and stays on).
.&_ WARNING
Sitting in the wrong posi tion can inc rease
the risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area whe
re
the airbags a re located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
rio us ly injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
<> page 139 .
.&_ WARNING
--A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in -
stalled on the front passenger seat wi ll be
se riously in ju red and can be killed if t he
front ai rbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild seat
or infan t ca rrier with grea t for ce and will
smash the child sea t and chi ld against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear -fac ing ch ild seats on
the rear seat.
- If you m ust ins ta ll a rearw ard fac ing
chi ld seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
.&_ WARNING
= -
Objects between you and the airbag will
i nc rease the r is k of injury in a crash by in­
terfer ing with the way the a irbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed in to you as the airbag
i nflates.
- Neve r hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on o r in t he a rea
of the front p assenger sea t. Objects
could move into the a rea of the front a ir­
bags du ring braking or other sudden ma ­
neuvers and become dangero us projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in-
jury if the a irbags inf late. ..,.