2012 AUDI Q7 child seat

162 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 72.
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 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 de­
ploys.
- 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 safety
seats ¢
page 200. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat¢
page 179 .
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 possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible ¢
page 163.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
• Fasten and wear safety belts correct­
ly ¢
page 174 .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see ¢
page 71.
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

unfolds 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.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of the ir own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt be longing to that
seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restra int prop ­
erly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor 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 w il l not be ab le to protec t you prop­
er ly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined o r
ti lted far back! The farther the backrests
are ti lted back , the greater the risk of in ­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
t ion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c> page 200 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat
c> page 179 .
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 seat ing pos ition in the event of a sudden
brak ing maneuve r or an acc ident , your pas­
se ngers on the rea r bench seat must always
observe the fo llow ing :
~ If there are passengers in the rear seat, fold
the head rest ra ints up on the occupied seats
or slide the center head restrain t upward at
least to the next notch
c> page 77 .
Dr ivin g Sa fely 163
~ Make s ure that the seatback is secure ly
latch ed in the upright posi tion
c> page 79.
~ Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
~ F asten and wear safety be lt s properly
<=> page 174 .
~ Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
pria te fo r the ir s ize and age ¢
page 200.
A WARNING
Passengers who are imp roperly seated on
the rear seat can be se riously inj ured in a
crash .
- Each passenger must always si t 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 seatback is sec urely latch­
ed in the upright position and the safety
be lt s are properly posit ioned on the
body . By not s itting up right, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
in jury from improperly positioned safety
be lts!
- Always adjust the head restraint p roperly
so that it can give maximum protection .
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re ­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations .
Fig. 1 83 Head restr ain t: v ie wed from th e front
The head restraints must be correct ly adjust-
ed to achieve the best protectio n. ..,.

164 Driving Safel y
• Adjust the head restraints so the upper
edge is as even as possible with the top of
your head. If that is not possib le, try to ad­
just the head restraint so that it is as close
to this position as possible
q fig. 183.
• If there are passengers in rear seat, fold the
head restraints up on the occupied seats or
s lide the center head restra int upward at
least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
q page 76 .
A WARNING
-
Driv ing without head restraints or w ith
head restra ints that are not properly ad ­
justed increases the risk of serious o r fatal
neck injury dramatically. To help reduce
t he risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- E very pe rson in the veh icle must have a
properly ad justed head restra int.
- Always make su re each pe rson in the ve­
hicle properly adjusts the ir head re­
straint. Ad just the head restraints so the
upper edge is as even as possib le with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
wh ile driving. If you have driven
off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safe ly be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
st rain t.
- Children must always be properly re­
strained in a ch ild restraint that is appro­
pr iate for their age a nd s ize
q page 200.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they a re p roperly positioned on the body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness
of safety belts and will even in­
c rease the risk o f injury and death by moving
the safety belt to crit ica l areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air­
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant w ho is
not in the proper s eating position. A dr iver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle o ccu­
pants and espec ially for child ren. The re fo re:
• Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
Q & .
The following bulletins list o nly some sample
pos itions tha t w ill increase the r isk of serious
i njury and dea th. O ur hope is that t hese exam­
ples will ma ke yo u more aware o f seat ing po­
s itions tha t a re dangerous.
Th erefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- neve r sta nd up i n the vehicle
- neve r stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride wit h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- neve r sit on the e dge of the seat
- neve r sit sideways
- neve r lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or
back of the seat
- neve r ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo a rea
A WARNING
Imp roper seating positions increase the
risk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occ u-
pants stay in a proper seating position
and are properly restrained whenever the
veh icle is being used.

to reduce the risk of injury when the vehi­
cle is not be ing used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out . Be ing trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious persona l injury .
- Never let children play in or around the vehicle .
- Never let passe ngers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Ve hicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air c irculation helps to reduce window
fogging . Sta le air escapes to the outside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be su re
to keep these slots free and open .
-The t ire pressure must correspond to the
load. The t ire pressur e is shown o n the
tire p ress ure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is loc ated on the d river's s ide B-pi ll a r.
The t ire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold ti re inflat ion pressu res for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weig ht and the tires that were on you r
vehicle at the time it was man ufactured .
For recommended t ire pressures fo r nor­
mal load conditions, please see chap ter
c:> page278 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly
c:> page 166, Loading the luggage com ­
partment.
In a coll is ion, the l aws of phys ics mean that
even smalle r items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
Dr iving S afel y 167
serious injury. Items in the ve hicle possess en ­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and th e
weight o f the item . Vehicle speed is the most
s ignificant factor.
Fo r example, in a fronta l collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10 -lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 t imes the
no rmal weight of the item. This means t hat
the weigh t of the item would sudden ly be
about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imag ine the
i njur ies that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing
fr eely th ro ugh the passenger compar tme nt
c ould cause in a co lli sion like this.
A WARNING
We ak, dam aged or imprope r str aps used
to secure items to tie -downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serio us personal injury .
-Always use s uita ble mount ing stra ps and
properly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compa rtme nt to he lp pre­
vent items from shift ing or f ly ing fo r­
ward as dangerous missiles .
-When the rea r seat backrest is folded
down, a lways use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to hel p prevent items from fly ing for­
ward as da ngerous missiles into the pas­
s enger compartment .
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat te th er
s trap to a t ie- down .
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you b elieve that your v ehi cle
has a d efe ct whi ch could cause
a crash or could cause injury or
d eath, you should imm ediately
inform the National Highway
Tr affic Safet y Admini stration ..,.
•
•

1 70 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts a re nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the instruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are t he sing le most effective
means avai lab le to red uce the risk of se­
r ious injury and dea th in a utomob ile acci ­
d ents . For your p rot ection and that of
yo ur passenge rs, alw ays co rrec tly wear
s afety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- P regnant wo men, injured, or physically
im paired perso ns mu st also use safe ty
bel ts. Lik e all veh icle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser iously injured if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Vehicles with five seats : Your vehicle has two
front seats and three rear seats. Each seating
position has a safety belt .
Vehicles with six seats:* Your vehicle has two
front seats, two seats in the second row and
two seats i n the t hird row. Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt.
Vehicles with seven seats:* Your vehicles has
two front seats, three seats in the sec ond row
and two seats in the third row. Each seating
position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety be lts or wear ing them
i mprope rly inc reases the r isk of serious
p ersonal injury and dea th.
- Never strap more than one person , in ­
cluding sma ll children, into a ny be lt . It is
esp ecia lly da nge ro us to p lace a safe ty
be lt ove r a ch ild sitt ing on your lap.
- Never let more p eopl e ride in th e vehicle
than there are safety belts availabl e .
- Be s ure everyone riding i n the vehicle is
p roperly rest rain ed w ith a separate sa fe­
ty belt o r chi ld restr aint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importanc e
of buckling-up.
Fi g. 1 85 Safety be lt warning lig ht in the instr ument
cl uste r -e nlar ged
Before driving off, always :
.. Fasten you r safety belt and make sure you
are wear ing it properly .
.. Mak e sur e that you r passenge rs also buck le
up and prope rly wear their safety be lts.
.. Prote ct childre n wit h a child res train t sys-
t em app ro pr ia te for the s ize and age .
T he wa rn ing lig ht . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up w hen t he ignit ion is switched on as a
rem inder to f asten the sa fe ty belts. In addi ­
t ion, you will hear a w arning to ne for a cert ain
per iod of t ime.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your pa ssenger s also properly put on their
s afety belts .

forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision , safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident . Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags ,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly .
Safety belts 173
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­ cluding small children, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv­
en.
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­ hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­ aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi­
tion .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt. Howev­
er, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly. If web-
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are .,..
L,_ _______________ _J
•
•

the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secur ing a child
safety seat in the vehicle
~ page 211 .
Safety belt position
Correct bel t posi tion is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 192 Safety be lt pos it io n
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad­
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats
and the outer seating positions in the sec­
ond row seating,
- height-adjustable front seats.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
-
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt
Safety belts 175
should always fit snugly¢ fig. 192. 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 ¢
fig. 192 . Pull on the belt to tight ­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its pos ition 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
¢ page 173.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fig. 193 Safety belt pos ition du ring pregnan cy
To provide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body¢
page 175 .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 71 , General recommenda ­
tions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢fig. 193, ¢ A.

Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 161,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 72 ,
"" Wear safety be lts properly ¢
page 173,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren ¢
page 200.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions ¢
page 161,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or detai ls
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 72.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 200.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 179
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
ficat io ns to your veh icle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from h itti ng pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle de ce leration rate
caused by the collision and regis te red by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not . .,. •
•