2012 AUDI Q7 ESP

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 ..,.
•
•

-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

208 Child Safet y
of the rear seat positions if the PASSEN·
G ER AIR B AG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than
4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) toll.
"' .... N 0 r
~
Fig. 207 Rear seat: child properly restra ined in a boos·
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg) . Booster seats raise these chil ­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop·
erly over the stronger parts of their bod ies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the veh icle's safety belt to re­
strain a chi ld on a booster seat.
• The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child's co llar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to t ighten if necessary.
• If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenge r seat,
you can use the safety belt he ight adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder por tion
properly .
Ch ildren up to at least 8 years old (over 40
lbs. or 18 kg) are best p rotected in ch ild safe- ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu­
larly the pe lvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable chi ld restraint.
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in ap­
propr iate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
c h ild and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the ch ild's body in the right p laces. The
ro uting of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protect ion, whether
o r not a booster seat is used. Chi ldren age 12
and under must always r ide in the rear seat .
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts.
Never use the lap belt port ion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any ch ild, rega rd ­
less of how big the chi ld is. A lways remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper funct ion
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
l ap and shou lder belts . The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as poss ible around the pelvis . Never let the lap
belt port ion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, a irbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the a irbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be the re to protect the occ upant
as the occupant moves forward into the a ir­
bag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos it ion a nd
too clos e to the a irbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag . When a n oc cupant is too
cl ose, he or she will be s truck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
Ju ry.
In order fo r the ai rbag to offer pro tectio n, i t is
importan t tha t al l vehicle occup ants, especial-
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat ..,_

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

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