2014 AUDI A7 Owners Manual

~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety s eat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::;,page 186 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢page 186.
~ If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c::;, page 192.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 181.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must alw ays be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
c:::;, fig. 173 and c:::;, fig . 174 .
The airbag on the passenger 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 forward-facing child safe­
ty seat .
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A 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 in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates. 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 in-
-
Child Safety 183
flates -even with an Advanced 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
arm rest, 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
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
c::;, page 57. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::;, page 140, Safety
belts, c::;, page 149, Airbag system
and
c::;, page 175, Important things to know.
A WARNING
-= -
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
•
•

184 Child Safety -Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­ ble before installing the child restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
-Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer. -
Take the child 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 stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
"' ....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 175 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos­
te r 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 bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar 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 tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly. ..,.

~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 181.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride 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 portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­
less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
Child Safety 185
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial­
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible . By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com ­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per 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 that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢ page 140.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 57. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck injury dramatically. ~
•
•

186 Child Saf ety
- Childre n on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury o r dea th .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep ­
t io nal circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the igni tion is sw itch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
doe s not come on and stay on, perform
the chec ks described ¢
page 161, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off th e fron t pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 140 , Safety
belts,¢ page 149, Airbag system
and
¢ page 175, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety bel ts for the rear sea ts and the front
passenger can be locked with the conver tible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenge r's seat safety belt have a co n­
ve rtible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints . T
he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the sa fety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
duri ng norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o n ly be prope rly insta lled when t he safety belt
i s loc ked so that the ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system , all
c h ildren, especially thos e 12 years and young­
er, sho uld alw ays r ide in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
_& WARNING
Im prop erly ins talled ch ild safety sea ts in­
crease the risk o f serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the sa fe ty bel t re­
trac to r i s loc ked w hen insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locke d safety belt re­
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ic h the center rear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fety belt is
be ing used to secu re a child rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child res traint will be
throw n forward togethe r with t he back ­
rest and will strike part s of t he vehi cle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never insta ll re ar-f acing child s afety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas ­
sen ger seat . A child will be serious ly in ­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ge r airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the c hild
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 or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the airbag 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 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
-Whenever a forward 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 ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described ¢
page 161, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child 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 stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
Child Safety 187
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the
child restraint is properly installed, make
certain that the child restraint is correct­ ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal airbag status.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- 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.
- Never put the forward-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 airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
.8. WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- 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 Advanced 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.
•
•

188 Child Safety
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi ­
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
"" Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
""Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
""Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path¢,&. .
"" Push the child safety se at down with you r
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
"" Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
""Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
""You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retracto r. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
"" Make sure that the red release button is fac ­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
""Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING .,__
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- 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 buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
"" Press the red button on the safety belt buck­
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le.
""Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
IJll-

now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restra ints.
I f the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea ­
ture.
If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints while the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s imp le r and more pract icable way
to attach the ch ild res traint on the veh icle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
chi ld restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children."
F orward- facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
Child Sa fet y 189
federa l reg ulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a ch ild restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the c hild restra int and its abil ­
ity to protect the child in a collis ion. Insta lling
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the ch ild
restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury a nd death in
a cr ash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufa cture r of the child re­
s traint yo u intend to install in your vehi­
cle.
- Never inst all a child restraint withou t a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc ­
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child rest raint LATCH
lowe r ancho rage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag-
-
es. Ill-
•
•

190 Child Safety
@ Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universal anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISO FIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 176 Schemat ic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocat ions
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped with the low­
e r anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 177 Lower a nch orages, covers marked
Fig. 178 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracket locations
Lower anchorages
The circular markings on the rear seat help
you to ident ify the location of lower anchorag ­
es for the two outboard seating positions
~ fig . 177-=* . The LAT CH lowe r universa l an­
chorage attachmen t points are between the
rear seatback and rear seat cushion.
Remove the covers ~
fig. 177 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points.
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible
c:> fig . 178.
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle 's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to -use attachment and minimize the possib ili­
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All child restraints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system .
Please remember that the lower anchorage
po ints are only intended for installat ion and
attachment of child restraints spec ifically cer­
tified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages .
Child restraints that are not equipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in­
sta lled in compliance w ith th e child restra int
manufactu rer's instr uctions on using veh icle
safety belts.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac­
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re­
straints manufacturer's instructions for