2012 AUDI Q7 seats

188 Airbag system
firs t a nd second stages deploy a lmost at the
same time.
O n the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount prog rammed in the electronic control
un it. The front a irbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogn ized on the seat. The
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to te ll
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off
c::> page 181, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
~ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
o page 179.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 198 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can u nfo ld properly and pro­
vide supplemental protection in a frontal col­ lision. T
he front airbags are designed to provide ad ­
ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly
- t he seats have bee n positioned so that the
occ upan t is prope rly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly
ad justed
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
o r have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous p ro jecti les, and be p ushed in to you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T h is is no rma l and is not caused by a fire i n
the ve hicle. This dust is made up mos tly of a
powde r used to lubricate the ai rbags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate skin.
It i s impo rtant to remember that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood o f se rious injur ies, other
injuries , for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor ab rasions, can also happen when air ­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
supplement the three-point safety belts only i n some fronta l col lisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is h igh eno ugh to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occurs
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs
- when the crash dece lerat ion meas ured by
the air bag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
reg istered by the elect ronic contro l unit
The front pass enger airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu-
pied .,.

-when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on)
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c> page 181.
A 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, 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
authorized Audi dealer .
Airbag system 189
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat . Objects
could move into the area of the front air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back­
rest forward when the vehicle is moving.
An inflating airbag will force the back­
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc­
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing conditions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
.___ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ sh_o_ u_ l_ d _:g:_ e_ t _f_re _s_ h_ a_ i_r _ri ..:::g :....h _t __
_J ~
•
•

192 Airbag sys tem
-the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
t h ings that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upholstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PASSENG ER AIR BA G OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PA SS ENGER AIR BA G ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluste r display . T his is to in­
form the drive r of the current front passenger
a ir bag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light comes on, it
means that the re may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced A irbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward -facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be seriously injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make
certain that a ll children , especially 12
years and younge r, a lways ride on the back seat properly
restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward o r rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appea r and stay on, imme­
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspe cted by your au­
thori zed A udi dealer.
- A tight tether or other s trap on a rea r­
ward-facing child restraint att ached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch p ressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and registe r more weight
than is actually on the seat. 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 ser ious or
even fata l injury to t he ch ild.
- If, i n exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust ins tall a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint o n the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the sea t in to its rearmos t po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the airbag
as possible. The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
--
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps descr ibed above, make su re the
ad ult is properly seated a nd restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re tr ans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
...

(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be
turned off, and the
PASS ENGER AIR B AG
OFF light w ill stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, serv icing o r repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part o f an
ai rbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impai red and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
-Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag uni ts.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, d ry clo th or one
moistened w ith plain water. Solvents or
cl eaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness o r strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All wo rk on the stee ring wheel, inst ru ­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (incl uding the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
A irbag system 193
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualif ied technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or rep lace­
ment upholste ry over the front se at­
backs tha t have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use addi tional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side ai rbags
inflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side ai r­
bag module must a lways be repaired
i mmediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
specia l equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment pa rts designed and approved espe­
cially fo r you r A udi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r­
formed by qualified workshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet unde r
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the veh icle ba ttery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inte r­
r upter m ust only be performe d by a
qualified dea ler -risk of an accident! •
•

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 ..,.
•
•

-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