2013 AUDI Q7 instrument panel

178 Safety belts
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision , safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes . So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident . Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags ,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­ tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
.. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly . -
Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned properly on
the body.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv­
en.
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury .
-Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi­
tion .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly. If web-
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are .,,.

Since the circums tances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and another , it is not
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat w ill always t rig ger the a irbags .
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or so ft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alw ays rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tect ion in those s ituations in which airbags
are 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 just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti ­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 175.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will dec rease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
ga te whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries 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.
A irbag system 185
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 179, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined 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 166.
-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 f loor in front of the seat to
he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts near the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i an d installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle . •
•

190 Airbag sys tem
If the tota l weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For e xample , the airbag m ay deploy 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 207),
-a chi ld 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 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 PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt o r teenager is o n 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 veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat .
I f the front passenge r airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standa rd requires the airbag to meet
the " low ris k'' deployment criteria to help re ­
duce the risk of inj ury 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 195
Alway s remember : Even though yo ur 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
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly. -
If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is muc h 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
f lates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢page 184.
A WARNING "---
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly inju red and ca n be killed if
the front airbag infla tes -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem 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 g uarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations 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 i nfant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
a nd child aga inst the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rea rward-facing ch ild re­
s traints on the rear seat.
- If you must ins tall 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 stay on, im ­
mediately insta ll the rear-facing chi ld
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-If, in except ional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
II--

-Always make sure the forward-facing
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 forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment 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 insta lling
the fo rward-facing child restraint . The
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag in dica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide inform ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 19 1
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsioners shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator in­
side the instrument pa nel for the front pas­
senge r.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The informat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu­
la te deployment of the front Adv anced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tori ng sys tem and ind ic a tor
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 195.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u­
ment panel
q page 195, fig . 212 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
q pag e 186, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

194 Airbag sys te m
- 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
electron ic control unit (the
PA SSEN GER 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 r isk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against o r place any pa rt
of the ir body too close to the area where
the airbags are located .
- Occ upants who are unbelted, out of posi­
t ion 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
¢page 186.
A WARNING -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armres t, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of excep tional circ umstan­
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.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
i nc rease the r isk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing pushed into you as the airbag
i n flates.
- Never hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the a rea of the front air­
b ags du ring bra king or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangero us projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the ai rbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholde rs, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, ove r or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steer ing whee l,
instrument panel , seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could ca use in jury in a c rash, es­
pecially when the airbags infla te.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transpo rt objects . Items can a lso
move into the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front airb ag d uring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects nea r the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in ju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re­
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back­
rest forward when the vehicle is moving .
An inflating a irbag w ill force the back­
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc­
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ i ng cond itions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r othe r respiratory
....__ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ s_ ho _u_ l_ d ....:g:_ e_ t_ f_re _s_ h _ a_ i_r _ri ..::g :....h _t __
_J .,.

-the safety belt is being p roperly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or c ushions or other
things 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 be lt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF or
PA SS ENGER AIR BA G ON will briefly appear
i n the instrument cluste r display . Th is is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
ai rbag 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 p ro­
tection 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 Ai rbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed 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 without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-fac ing
child safety seat, o r in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly 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
A irbag sys tem 197
back seat properly rest rained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearwa rd-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme­
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rea r seat ing pos ition and have
the air bag sys tem inspected by y our au­
thori zed A udi dealer.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rea r­
ward-facing child rest raint attached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch p ressu re on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and register 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 the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the sea t into its rearmos t po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible . The backrest must be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
eve r 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 sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
a du lt is properly seate d and restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag sy stem inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
•
•

198 Airbag system
(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
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi . Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working p roperly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
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 deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair , adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you 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 side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer. - The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!

inflates in side impacts and only when the ve­
hicle acceleration registered by the control
un it is high enough. If this rate is below the
reference value programmed into the contro l
unit, the side airbags will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the coll ision.
It is not possible to
define an airbag triggering range that will
cover eve ry possible angle of impact, since the
circumstances w ill vary considerably be tween
one co llision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the natu re (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
veh icle speed, etc. c::>
page 203, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe ­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a co lli­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide protection.
The airbag system is not a s ubstitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it prope rly. Thi s
i s another reason why you sho uld always wear
your safety bel ts, not just beca use the law re­
q ui res you to do soc::>
page 175, General
notes.
It is important to rememb er that while the
side curta in a irbag sys tem is designed to he lp
r educe the like lihood of se rious injur ies, other
in ju ries, for example, swell ing, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment. Remember
too, these a irbags w ill dep loy on ly once and
only in certain kinds of accidents - your safety be lts are a lways there to offer protection.
The side curtain airbag sy stem ba sicall y
consi sts of:
- The electronic control mod ule and external
s ide impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and rear side windows
A irba g sy stem 203
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mon itored e lec tronically
to make ce rtain i t is func tioning prope rly at all
times . Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag i s not activat ed :
- if the ignition is turned off
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in rea r-end collisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide pro te ction when occup ants
are in the proper seating posi tion
c::>
page 71, General recommendations.
- If th e air bag ind icator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized A udi dealer . The side curtain
airbag may not work properly even when
the vehicle acce lerat ion in a side collision
is high enough to activate the airbag.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags con work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
ore properly restrained.
Fi g. 216 Illustrat io n of pr incip le: Inflated side curtai n
a irbags on the left s ide
-
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the
IIJ,,