2012 AUDI Q7 warning light

as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- 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.
- 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 read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used~
page 170, Safety
belts,
~ page 179, Airbag system and
¢ page 200, Child Safety.
A WARNING
T o reduce t he ris k of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas ­
senger seat and the ignition is switc hed
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he fro nt 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
A WARNING
A child in a child rest raint installed w ith
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play wi th unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled res ulting in ser ious per­
sonal inj ury and even dea th.
- Always bu ckle unused rea r seat safety
bel ts out of re ach of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts and properly a ctivate the converti­
ble locking retrac tor so that the child
cannot un reel the safety belt from the
retractor .
-
Child S afety 205
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
F ig . 20 4 Schematic overview: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed on t he rear seat
... When usi ng the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locki ng retractor on the
safety belt to p revent the child safety seat
from moving~
page 209 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachmen ts .
... Push the chi ld safety seat down with your
full weig ht to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
Infants up to about one year
(20 l bs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in specia l infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and
small children should r ide on ly in special re­
stra ints in wh ich the child faces the back of
the vehi cle. These infant seats support the ba­
by 's back, ne ck and head in a crash
¢ fig. 204.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
ch ild to ride. Th e front seat is not t he safest
pla ce for a child in a fo rward-facing child sea t.
It is a very dangerous place fo r an in fant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat. .._

206 Child Safe ty
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong ch ild safety seat or improperly in­
stall ing a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child will be seriously in ­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in ­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof
c:> page 181, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction. Such re­
st raints are des igned for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small childre n
and cannot p rotect them proper ly if the
seat is forward-fac ing.
- If you must install a rea rward facing
child safety seat on the front passenge r
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have th e a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used-:;.
page 170, Safety
belts,-:;, page 179, Airbag system
and
c:> page 200, Important things to know.
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. 205 Schemat ic overview: installat ion of t he at ­
tachments appl icable to a LATCH seat
Fig . 206 Schema tic overview: installat ion of the seat
us ing the vehicle 's safety belt system
.,. When using the vehicle sa fe ty belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking feature on the safety
be lt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c:> page 209 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
., Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward o r
sideways mo re than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:> page 209 .
.,. If the child sa fe ty seat is eq uipped with a
t ether strap, attach it to the tethe r anchors
c:>page 216.
A toddler or chi ld is usua lly too large for an in­
f ant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
T oddlers and childre n who a re older tha n one
year up to abou t 4 years old and weigh more ..,.

than 20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
c:> fig. 205 and c:> fig. 206.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward -facing seat .
.,&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates. 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 in­
flates -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 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 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.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is difficult to install the child
Child Safety 207
seat with the head restraint in place
c:> page 77. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:> page 170, Safety
belts,
c:> page 179, Airbag system and
c:> page 200, Important things to know.
.,&. WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
-Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in 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.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
c:> page 190, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas-
-
senger seat and install it properly at one ~
•
•

210 Child Saf ety
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place .
A lways remember: Even though your veh icle is
equipped w ith an Advanced A irbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained fo r their age and s ize.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- 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 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 su re that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is sec urely latched when­
ever the rear center safety be lt is being
used to sec ure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
the chi ld and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the veh icle
inter ior. The child can be serious ly in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing chi ld safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat . A ch ild will be ser iously in ­
jured and can be k illed when the passen­
ger ai rbag inflates.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carri er w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, center armrest, door or roo f.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
sea ts or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-fa cing ch ild safety seats or in­
f ant ca rr iers installed on the front pas- senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the a irbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used ¢
page 200. Special
precautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 181, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING
Always take specia l precautions if you
must install a forw ard or rearward-fa cing
chi ld restraint on the front p assenge r's
seat in exceptional situations:
- W henever a forw ard 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 described¢
page 190, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not s tay on
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
- Imprope r installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
p revent them from providing any protec­
tion .
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can int erfere with the airbag as it de­
p loys and se riously injure o r even k ill the
child.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufact ur­
er's ins tructions p rov ided with t he chi ld
safety sea t or carrier.
- Neve r place add itiona l it ems on the seat
that c an in crease the tot al weight reg is­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
~

A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd -facing child re ­
straint up, against or
very near the in­
strument panel.
-Always
move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion .
- Make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING
Rearward-fac ing c hild restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rearwa rd-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenge r
sea t will be ser iously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -
even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
sa fety sea t or infant carrier w ith g reat
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roo f.
- Always be especially caref ul if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception ­
al circumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and reg is­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced A ir­
bag System. The heav ier we ight regis­
tered can make the system work as
th ough an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Ai rbag when it must
Child Sa fet y 211
be suppressed causing serio us or even
fatal injury to the ch ild.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignit ion is switched
on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rea r seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dea le r.
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufactur­
er's instr uctions when installing a child re­
stra in t in your veh icle. To a ctivate the conve r­
t ible Lac king re tr actor:
"' Place the child rest raint on a seat, p re fera­
bly on the rea r seat.
"' Slowly pu ll the belt
all the way out .
"' Route i t aroun d or throug h the ch ild re­
s train t belt path
¢ .&_ .
"' Push the chi ld safety seat down with your
fu ll weight to get t he safety be lt really tight.
"' Insert the belt tong ue into the b uckle for
that seating position.
"' Guide the safety be lt back into the retractor
until the be lt lies flat and snug on the ch ild
safety sea t.
"' Yo u should hear a " clicking" no ise as the
be lt winds back i nto the inertia ree l. Test the
c onvert ible lo cki ng ret ra ctor by pulling on
the belt . You sho uld no longer be able to
pull t he be lt out of the retractor . The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
"' Ma ke s ure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled qu ick ly.
"' Pull on the belt to make sure t he safety belt
is prop erly tight and fasten ed so tha t the
seat ca nnot
move forwa rd or sideways more
t han one inch (2.5 cm). .,. •
•

_& WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
st raint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of ch ild restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correct ly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two child restrai nt systems
on one LA TCH lowe r ancho r po int.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tethe r strap or te ther anchorage.
- Never attach a tether st rap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use ch ild restra int tether ancho­
rages to secur e safety belts o r other
k inds of o ccupant rest ra ints.
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
other items to the LATCH lowe r ancho­
rages or to t he tethe r ancho rs.
- If a tether o r othe r strap is used to at­
ta ch a child rest raint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, th at it c auses the weigh t-sensing
mat to measure mo re weig ht than is ac ­
t u ally on the seat.
- T he heav ier we ig ht reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an ad ult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Airbag w hen it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iate ly install the rear -facing child
sa fety seat in a rear seating posi tion and
have the a irbag sys tem inspec ted by you r
Audi dealer .
Child Safety 21 7
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 21 6 Tet her s trap: prope r rout ing a nd m ounti ng
Fi g. 217 Tet her st rap fo r seco nd row se ats: prope r
rou ting and moun tin g
Installing the tether strap
... Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child res traint accord ing to the child re ­
st raint manufacture r's ins tructions .
... Guide the upper tether strap
und er the rear
head restraint and into the rear ca rgo area
(raise the head restraint if necessary) .
... Fo r the second row o f seats: Pull the floor­
ing back, in order to reach the anchor brack­
et
c:::> fig. 217 .
... For the third row of seats :* Remove the
plastic cover cap with a screw drive r, in orde r
t o reach the anchor bracket
c:::> page 216,
fig . 215.
... Slide the tether s trap hoo k over the anchor
bracket .
... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing
the child restra int manufacturer's instruc­
tions.
.,. For the second row of seats: Push the floor­
ing forward into place again.

218 Child Safety
Releasing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension following the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage.
.. For the second row of seats: Push the floor­
ing forward into place again.
.. For the third row of seats:* Replace the
plastic cover cap .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would also 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 restraint sys­
tems come with a tether . Please read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
& WARNING
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 Ad­
vanced 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, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heavier weight
registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- 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.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about child restraint selection, in­
stallation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
vehicle, and that you will use correctly and
consistently.
Try before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
http://www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45 -SAFE (Eng Lish)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http://www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800 -333-0371 or call
1-613-998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu.htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

220 Intellig ent technol ogy
The vehicle is then stabilized by the forces act­
ing on the whee l during braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering (rear tends to sk id out of the
turn), the brakes are ma inly applied on the
wheel that is on the outside of the curve. In
the case of a vehicle that is
understeering
(tendency to slide out of the curve), the
brakes are applied as needed on the whee l
that is on the ins ide of the curve or addit ional­
l y on the o ther wheels. An acoustic s ignal indi­
cates when ESC b rake app lication cuts in
¢ A .
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
¢ page 223. If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESC wi ll be out of ac­
tion as well .
Activating
When you turn on the engine, ESC w ill auto­
mat ica lly be act ivated and will perform a se lf­
test. As soon as the test is comp leted, the sys­
tem is in normal operating mode.
Offroad mod e
ESC should normally be ope rated in normal
mode because this ensures maximum vehicle
stability. If necessary, you can act ivate the
ESC offroad mode by pressing the but to n
¢ fig . 218 to obtain maximum traction and
braking ability when driving
off paved roads at
l ow speeds. In ESC offroad mode, the indica­
tor light
fi illuminates and the message Off ­
road control Warning! Red uced t ract ion
ap­
pears briefly in the display .
The ESC offroad mode can be usefu l in the fo l­
low ing except iona l situations when slip or a
h ighly effective differentia l locking function is
desirable . Examples:
- when driving with tire chains,
- when driving in deep snow or on loose
ground,
- when driving on uneven surfaces with the
wheels severe ly unloaded (articulation), and
- when rocking the vehicle loose after it has
become stuck.
When the unusua l situat ion is past, you
should shift back to the normal ESC operating mode by pushing the button again
. The mes­
sage
S tabilit y prog ram on then appears brief­
l y in the display.
H ill descent control
T he hill descent con trol is swi tched on in ESC
offroad mode . When slowly descending steep
gradients on loose gro und or when the axles
are articulated, hill descent control provides
ass istance by automatically applying the
brakes to keep vehicle speed constant. The ve­
hicle is also rendered easier to steer by selec­
t ive d istr ibut ion of braking force . H ill descent
control intervenes when:
- the acce lerator pedal is not pressed,
- the vehicle is travelling less than 12 mph
(20 km/h),
- a steep gradient is detected,
- wheel behavior indicates loose ground or
conditions with poor adhesion (e.g . a lso axle
articu lation).
Hill descent con tro l operates both d riving for­
ward and in reverse. Active hill descent con­
trol is deactivated by pressing the accelerator
pedal unti l the conditions for activation al­
ready listed are met again.
A WARNING
- The Electronic Stability Control is never­
theless subject to the laws of phys ics. It
is part icu larly important to pay attention
to this fact on wet and slippery roads. It is therefore impo rtant that you a lways
a dapt your d riving to the condit ion of the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not allow
the increased safety provided by the Electron ic Stability Control system to lull
you into accepting additional safety
risks.
- Please be aware that in ESC offroad
mode, particularly on a smooth and s lip­
pery road, the wheels may have an in­
creased tendency to spin and the vehicle
may break away - danger of skidding!
- Stability is limited in the ESC offroad
mode.