2013 AUDI A7 ESP

130 Driving Saf ely
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, a irbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe the info rmat ion
and warn ings in th is sect ion -fo r yo ur own
safety as well as that of your passengers .
The information in this se ction app lies to all
model ve rsions of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures described in this sec tions may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
struct ions and heed the WARNINGS in
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the inte rest of you r passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter­
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
your vehicle so that this important info r­
mation will always be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if you have
ques tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations.
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a varie ty o f fea tures
avai la bl e to he lp re duce the risk of injury in an accident
. The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in your Audi:
- sophis tic ated s afety be lts fo r drive r and a ll
passenger sea ting pos it ions,
- safety belt prete nsioners ,
- safety belt force lim iters fo r the front seats,
- safety belt he ight adjustment systems for
the front seats ,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats *
- side airbags in the front seats a nd outer rear
seats*,
- side curtain airbags ,
- specia l LATCH anchorages for child re-
straints,
- hea d restr aints for each sea ting pos ition,
- ad justab le s teer ing colum n.
These ind iv idual safety features, can work to­
ge ther as a system to help protect you and
you r passengers in a wide range of accidents .
T hese features canno t wo rk as a system if
they are not always cor re ct ly adjusted and co r­
rect ly used.
Safety i s everybody' s respon sibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occu ­
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen ­
gers,
befor e driv ing always:
.. Make s ure that all lig hts and signa ls are op­
erating correctly.
.. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
.. Mak e sur e that all windows are clean and
afford good v is ibility to the outside .
.. Se cu re a ll luggage a nd o ther items carefu lly
q page 63, ¢ page 60 .
.. Ma ke s ure that noth ing can interfere wi th
the peda ls .
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir­
rors correctly for your height.
.. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re-
straints according to the ir height . .,..

.. Make sure to use the right child restraint
correct ly to protect children
Q page 175,
Child Safety.
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page 52,
General recommendations .
.. Faste n your safety belt and wear it properly.
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts properly ¢
page 140 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi­
tion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver 's ability to concentrate on the road
without being distracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the
veh icle and all of its occupants.
If your ability
to drive is impai red, safety r isks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road ¢ _&. .
Therefore:
.. Do not let yourself be dist racted by passen­
gers or by using a cellular telephone.
.. NEVER drive when your driving ability is im ­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense .
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions .
.,. Take frequent breaks on long trips . Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch.
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under
pressure or when you are stressed.
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
Driving Safely 131
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor­
tant for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 147 Correct seat ing pos it ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
follow ing position:
.. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
wh ile keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
¢ _&. .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upr ight position so that your back
comes in full contact w ith it when you drive.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween the steering wheel and yo ur breast
bone
Q fig. 147. If not possible, see your au ­
thorized Audi dealership about adaptive
equipment .
.. Adjust the steer ing wheel so that the steer­
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face.
.,. Grasp the top of the steering whee l with
your elbow(s) slightly bent.
.. Applies to vehicles with adjustable head re­
straints: Ad just the head restraint so the up­
per edge is as even as possible with the top
of your head. If that is not possible, try to
adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to this posit ion as possible .
.. Fasten and wear safety be lts correctly
¢ page 143 . .,.

134 Driving Safel y
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations.
Fig . 14 8 Head restr ain t: vi ewed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection.
11> For adjustable head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
stra int so that it is as close to th is position
as possible ¢
fig. 148.
11> If there is a passenger on the rear center
seat ing pos it ion*, slide the center head re ­
stra int* upwa rd at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints¢
page 55.
A WARNING , _
All seats are equipped with head re ­
straints. Dr iv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints that a re not properly
adjusted increases the risk of ser ious or fa­
tal nec k injury dramat ic al ly. To help reduce
t he risk of in ju ry:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and proper ly adjusted.
- E very person in the veh icle must have a
properly adj usted head restra int.
- Always make su re each pe rson in the ve­
hicle proper ly adjusts the ir head re­
st rain t. Ad just the head restrain t so the
upper edge is as even as possib le with
the top of your head. If that is not possi ­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so that it is as close to this posit
ion as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint .
- Chil dren must a lways be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and size ¢
page 175.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant res traint sys tem can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the
body . Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and w ill even in­
c rease the r is k of injury and dea th by moving
the safety be lt to cri tical areas o f the body.
Improper seating positions a lso increase the
risk of serio us injury and death when an air­
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper sea ting position. A dr iver is
responsible for the sa fety of all veh icle occu­
pant s and espec ially for children . Therefore :
11> Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used ¢_& .
The following bulletins list on ly some samp le
pos itions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam­
ples will make you more aware of seat ing po­
s itions that are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up i n the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride wit h the seatback reclined
- never lie down o n the rear seat
- neve r lean up against the instrument panel ..,_

A WARNING ,~
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­ dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 137
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured. For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
r:!)page250.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly<>
page 136, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
'
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140 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts . Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more likely to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety belts. The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions: two in the front and two in the rear. In some
vehicles, there are five seating positions: two in the front and three in the rear. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child sitting on your lap. -
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up.
Fig. 149 Safety belt warning light in the instrument
cluster -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly.
.. Make sure that your passengers also buckle
up and properly wear their safety belts.
.. Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder
to fasten the safety belts. In addition, you will hear a warning tone for a certain period of
time .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belts.
A WARNING
-- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.

146 Safet y belt s
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi­
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk 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. 159 Safety belt height adjustment for the front
sea ts - 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
Q A in Safety belt
position on page 145.
,. Push
the loop-around fittings up Qfi g. 159
@, or
"" squeeze together the (D button , and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
"" Pul l the belt to ma ke sure that the upper at­
tachment is p roperly engaged.
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other important information
Qpage 143.
@ Tips
With the front seats, the height adjust­
men t of the seat can also be used to adjus t
the posit ion of the safety be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se­
rious injury or death. Safety belts can o nly
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even
i ncrease t he risk of inju ry and death by mov­
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas o f the
body. Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil­
dren . Therefore:
"" Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
QA .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always ma ke sure that all vehicle occ u­
pants are co rrectly restra ined and stay in
a correc t seating position whe never the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS and
o ther important inform ation
Qpage 143.

Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 131,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 53 ,
"" Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 143,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren ¢
page 175.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions ¢
page 131,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or detai ls
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 53.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 175.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 149
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
ficat io ns to your veh icle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter­ ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from h itti ng pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle de ce leration rate
caused by the collision and regis te red by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not . .,. •
•

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
~ page 175.
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 seat. It can be a
very dange ro us p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -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 tor 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 child 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 Standard ~
page 177.
The PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells 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 sw itch on the ignit ion, 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 the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system for the front passenger seat
A irbag sys tem 151
equa ls the combined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of the rearward-facing or forward-facing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­ p lia nce w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 177.
-w ill stay on if t he re is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger de tection system
~ page 161, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lec trica l capacitance registe red on the
front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year ­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward -facing chi ld restraints listed in Feder­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your ve­
hicle was certified.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year-o ld child but less than the
weight of a small adu lt, the front airbag on
the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by the e lec­
tron ic contro l unit and can deploy if the con­
t rol unit senses an impact that mee ts the co n­
di tions s to red in its memo ry.
For example, th e airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is i n one of
the ch ild seats listed~
page 177), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
IIJ,
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