2012 AUDI Q7 seats

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.

176 Safety belts
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 174, fig. 191.
• Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelv is and be low the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢ .&.
in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 174.
Unfastening safety belt s
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 194 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
• Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 194. The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
c:> &_ .
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
On vehicles with
third row seat* : an unfas­
tened safety belt can be secured in the retain­
ing clip in the luggage compartment side
tr im. In this way, the luggage compartment
cover can be removed without obstruction. Al­
so, the belt tongue height can be adjusted so
that luggage compartment can be loaded
without obstruction with the backrest folded
forward.
A WARNING
-Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi-
cle is mov ing. Do ing so will increase your
risk of being injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout­
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area, accord­
ing to body size.
Fig. 195 Safety belt heigh t adj ustment- loop -around
f ittings
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body¢&.
in Safety belt
position on page 175.
• Push
the loop- around fittings up c:> fig. 195
@,or
• squeeze together the CD button, and push
the loop-around fittings down@.
• Pull the be lt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 173.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjust­
ment of the seat can also be used to adjust
the position of the safety belts.

180 Airbag sys tem
Since the cir cumstances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and anot her, it is not
possib le to def ine a range of vehicle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat will always trigger the a irbags.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in k inds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed; for example, when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af­
ter the first co llision.
This is jus t one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a substi­
tute fo r a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effect ively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 170.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will dec rease the effec­
t iveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the s teer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adap tive equipmen t may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag. -
To reduce the risk of injury when an a ir­
bag inflates, always wear safety be lts
properly ¢
page 174, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severe ly injured or killed when an
ai rbag inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 161.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
help prevent serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects , Items can a lso
move into the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects nea r the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING ~
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig ina l equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle.

Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
tails about chi ldren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 200.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
a ll chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, always ride in the back seat properly restrained for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infan t or
a child in a rea rward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been cert ified to comp ly with the require­
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Sta ndard
c> page 202.
The PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat
A irbag sys tem 181
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat
c> page 190, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the contro l unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
c h ild but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENG ER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on t he passenger side has not
been t urned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, th e airb ag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
c> page 202), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument cluster and stays on .
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small ad ult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitti ng uprig ht w ith their back against a
non -recli ned back rest w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on t he front
passenger seat
c> page 161, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the fron t passenger ai rbag dep loy s, the
Federa l Standard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interact ion w ith the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,. •
•

182 Airbag sys tem
as def ined in the electronic control unit
Q page 190, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
A lways remember, a ch ild safety seat or infant
carrier insta lled on the front sea t may be
struck and knocked o ut o f position by the rap ­
id ly inflating passeng er's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . T he airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effec tiveness of the child restraint and even
serious ly injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children - when properly
restra ined acco rd ing to their age and si ze - we
s trongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
Q page 200, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
s e at insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fr ont a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he i nflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest , center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always insta ll rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
hav e the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Aud i dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may i n­
terfere wi th the deployment of the air­
b ag and cau se serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int 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 s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­ ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore a nd
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible b efore installing
the forwa rd-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
b ackrest mus t be a djusted to a n up right
position.
- Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the
t ime wheneve r the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING -ra----
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed
Q page 190, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions if t he
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi deal er immed iate­
ly .
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
chi ld restraint manufacture rs when in­
st all ing c hild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward or rearw ard-fa cing child
r estra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Imp roper ins tallation o f child restra ints
can reduce their effec tiveness or even

prevent them from providing any
protection.
- An improperly insta lled child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause i njury in a c rash .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag sys tem can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 196 Loca tion of driver ai rbag : in stee rin g whee l
Fig. 197 Locat io n of front passenger 's a irbag : in t he in ­
s trume nt panel
Your veh icle is eq uipped w it h an "Advanced
Ai rbag System " in compli ance w it h United
S tates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the t ime your
ve hicle was manufactured. The safety be lts
A irba g sy stem 183
for the seats have "p retens ioners" that help
to take slack o ut of the be lt system. The pre­
tens ioners are also act ivated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
T he front sa fety belts also have load limite rs
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub
q fig. 196 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 197 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG" .
There is a lot you need to know about the ai r­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read t he
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety i n this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
a re extremely important for your safety and
the safety of yo ur passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
N eve r rely on airbags alone for protec tion.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only s uppleme ntal pro tect ion .
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
wit h prope rly wor n safety belts .
- Therefore , always wea r you r safety belts
and make sure that eve rybody i n your ve­
hicle is p rope rly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rs o n on the fron t passe nger seat, es­
pe cial ly inf ants and sm all children, will re­
ceive serio us injuries and can even be kil­
l e d by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenge r airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these specia l
11>-

If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year -old,
but less than the weight of a small adult, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on).
For example, th e airbag may depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
<=) page 202),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned
off, the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PA SSENG ER AIR BAG O FF
light does not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment cr iteria to help re ­
duce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control
un it.
<=) page 190
Al ways rememb er: Even tho ugh your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat. Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
A irbag system 185
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
<=)page 179.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn
off the
front airbag when a rearward -facing
child restraint has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable s ituations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im ­
mediately insta ll the rear-facing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
~
•
•

-Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat .
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat . Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r­
bag System under the passenger seat
cou ld be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper ­
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat . The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sens ing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­ ing properly .
-If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the chi ld re-
A irbag system 187
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll child rest raint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide airbags supp lement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head rest raints to help reduce the
risk of inj ury in a wide range of accident and
c rash situations. Be s ure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as we ll as the mass
and stiffness of the veh icle or object involved
in the crash .
When the e lectronic control unit registers a
low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat­ er t ime in the crash sequence.
If the electron ic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity , the first stage of the air ­
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re­
gardless of whether the safety belt is be ing
u sed or not . In higher sever ity crashes as reg­
iste red by the electronic control unit, both the
II>
•
•