2012 AUDI Q7 Owner´s Manual

vehicle that is struck in a side collision
~ fig . 203.
When the system is tr iggered , the side c urtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and w ith
great force. The side curtain airbag cou ld in ­
jure you if your seat ing pos ition is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the suppleme nta l side cu rtain airbag
in flates . This appl ies espec ia lly to childre n
~ page 200.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they ca n he lp to reduce the r isk of in­
jury to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A fi ne dust may develop when the airbag de­
p loys. Th is is quite normal and does not mea n
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to help the safety be lts and
airbags do the ir job to provide supplementa l
protection.
A WARNING
Improperly wear ing safety belts and im­
proper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a veh icle is being used .
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the a rea from wh ich the
side cu rtain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curta in
airbags can inflate w ithout interference.
Uns uitable accessories fitted inside the
A irbag system 199
expansion range of a s ide curtain airbag
can dangero usly interfere w ith its f unc­
tion. A deploying head airbag develops
enough force to catapu lt any p iece of
add-on component out of its path of in­
f lation and into the passenge r compart­
ment. An occupant h it by s uch a projec­
tile can suffer serio us inju ry or death
~ page 322, Te chnical Modifications.
- Do not swive l the sun visors to the side i f
you have any ob jects clipped onto them
(for examp le pens) . If the airbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob­
jects .
- Use the bui lt - in coat hooks only for ligh t­
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag dep loyment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- On ly use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
veh icle leaves the factory, only Audi roll­
up sunscreens may be used
~ page 321,
Additional accessories and parts re­
placement.
- Always sit in proper seat ing pos ition and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side cu rtain airbag s can he lp p rov ide
protec tion.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system mus t be rep lace d by an au ­
thorized A udi dealer or qualified work ­
shop .
- Always have wor k involving the side cu r­
tain airbag system, removal and installa ­
tion of the airbag components, or ot her
repairs per formed by an authorized Audi
dea ler or qualified works hop. Otherwise
the airbag system may not work co rrect­
ly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
•
•

200 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your ve hicle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 172, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adu lts and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly deve loped . In many respects chi ldren are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
ad ults.
Because children's bod ies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
l y designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many co untries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requ iring the use of approved ch ild re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-po und
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more t han
260 pounds ( 120 kg). Unde r these conditions,
only an appropria te ch ild restrai nt properly
used c an reduce the risk of ser ious inju ry.
Chi ld restra ints, like adult safety belts, mus t
be used properly to be effective . Used improp­
e rly, they can increase the risk of serious in ­
jury in an acc ident.
Consul t the child safety seat manufactu re r's
instr uctions in order to be sure the seat is
right fo r you r ch ild's size ~
page 203, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important informat ion and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
i nstallation of child r estraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
wo rk whe n infants and children i n child re- stra
ints are on the front passenger seat . Be­
ca use of the large amount of impo rtant infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detai led information in t his
owner 's ma nual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very importa nt information about transport­
ing ch ildr en on the fro nt passenge r seat.
Please be su re to heed the WAR NINGS -they
are extremely import ant for yo ur safe ty and
the safety o f your passenge rs, especially in­
f ants and small children .
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally sa fer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
de r in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
d ren must be restrai ned properly when­
eve r riding in a vehicle. An unrest rained
or improp erly restrained chi ld co uld be
in jur ed by str iking the i nterior o r by be­
i n g ejected from the vehicle dur ing a
sud den maneuve r o r i mpac t. An un re­
s traine d or improperly restrained ch ild is
also at greater risk of injury o r death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable c hild restrai nt properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seat ing
positions prov ides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
wi th Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
j u red or even kil led when an airbag in­
flates. A chi ld in a rearwa rd-fac ing c hild
safety seat in sta lled on t he fro nt passen­
ger sea t will be ser iously injure d and ca n
b e killed if t he front airbag inflates .
- T he infla ting air bag will h it the chi ld
safety sea t or infan t carrie r wi th great
force and wi ll smash the child safe ty seat
an d chi ld aga inst the bac krest, center
armrest, or door.
II>-

-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
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer 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 carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
Child Safety 201
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and si ze. The airbag on the pas­
senger 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 for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•

202 Child Saf ety
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of chi ld re­
straints and for the d ifferent models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child
restraint manufacturers .
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in­
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir­
bag System. When a ch ild restrai nt is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi ­
cal 1 yea r-old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem compares the weight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor­
ed in the electronic contro l unit.
The electron ic cont rol unit a lso registers the
tension on the front passenger safety belt.
The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com­
pared to the tension on the belt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the be lt . T he input from this sen­
sor is then used with the we ight to "dec ide",
whe ther there is a ch ild restraint w ith a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use w ith an airbag . Always be sure
that the ch ild restraint is p roperly insta lled at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions . If in excep­
tional c ircu mstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefu lly read all of the
info rmation on c hild safety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed a ll of the applicable WARN­
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag status is a lways correct ly signa led
by the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over the years, new mod­
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bo ttom of the ch ild restra int that sits
o n the seat, when they are inst alled on a vehi­
cle seat. These d ifferences make it v irtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re ­
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Administrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that mus t be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w ith the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208. These chi ld restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Guard Angel Ride AA 2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 200 7
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenf lo Discovery Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212
I
....

-Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choic e December 1, 1999
1204
G raco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snug ride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi -September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP I MUN00US
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
con vertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25 , 2007
High Back Booster
22 -26 2
! Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
E venflo Tribu te V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations Septem ber 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 200 7
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat posi tions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay o n.
Child Sa fet y 203
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categor ies A to C
have been statically tested by A udi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the r ight chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 205.
... Always carefully fo llow the child safety seat
manufactu rer's inst ruct io ns on how to route
th e safety belt properly through the child
safety sea t .
... When usi ng the vehicle safe ty belt to install
a child s afety se at, you m ust first a ctiv ate
t he conve rtible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
¢ page 209 .
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways mo re tha n one inch (2 .5 cm) .
... If a strap o r tethe r is be ing used to tie th e
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure tha t it i s not so tigh t that i t
causes the weigh t-sens in g m at to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
A lways remember: Even tho ugh you r vehicle is
equippe d wi th an Advanced Airbag system, all
c h ildren, especially those 1 2 years and young ­
er, s ho ul d always ride in the back seat prope r-
l y restrained for the ir age and size.
ll>
•
•

204 Child Safety
&_ 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 .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil ­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat . -
Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each another in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger 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, door or roof .
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger 's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- 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 that the
following special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-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 carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag

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 ..,.