2014 AUDI A7 ECU

-never knee l on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument pa nel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet o n the ins trumen t pa nel
- never rest you r feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never r ide in the footwe ll
- never r ide in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r is k of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occu­
pants stay in a p ro per seat ing pos it ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
Appl ies to vehicles: with knee a irbags
A WARNING
Always make s ure that the knee ai rbag can
inf late without interfe rence. Objects be ­
tween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
c an res ult in serious or fata l injuries.
- No objects of any k ind sho uld be car ried
in the footwell area in fron t of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat. Bul ky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham ­
per or prevent p roper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
Dr iving Safel y 135
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and in jure you or your passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
i nterfe rence and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats that leave t he pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that ca nnot move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle control and incr ease the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objec ts in the drive r's
footwell. An ob je ct cou ld get into the
pedal area a nd inte rfe re wi th pedal fun c­
tion. In case of sudde n brak ing o r an a c­
cident, yo u wou ld not be a ble to brake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke su re th at nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fas teners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
.,. Ma ke s ure t hat the floor ma ts are prope rly
secured an d cannot move and interfere wi th
the peda ls ~ _& .
Use only floor mats tha t leave the peda l area
u nobstru cte d a nd th at are firmly secured so
that they cannot slip o ut o f position. You can
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136 Driving Saf ely
obtain sui table flo or mats from your
authorized Audi Dealer.
F loor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at­
tached to these fasteners . Properly secur ing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding
i nto pos itions that could interfe re wi th the
pedals or impair safe operation o f your vehicle
in other ways .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can resu lt
in a loss of veh icle contro l and increase the
r isk of serious personal injury .
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering w ith
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of a lready insta l­
led floor mats . Additional floor mats and
other cove rings w ill reduce the si ze of
the pedal area and interfere with the peda ls.
- Always properly reinstall and se cu re floor
mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
- Always make su re that obje cts canno t
f all into the driver footwe ll wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving . Objects can become
t rapped under the b rake pedal and accel­
erator peda l causing a loss of veh icle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­ erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
Loose i tems in the luggage compartmen t can
shift suddenly, changing veh icle hand ling characteristics. Loose items can a
lso increase
the risk of s erious persona l injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver o r in a co llision .
.. Dis trib ute the load even ly in the luggage
compa rtment .
.. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible .
.. Secure luggage using the tie-downs prov id­
ed
¢ page 64, Luggage compartment .
.. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Imp roperly stored luggage or other items
can fly thro ugh the vehi cle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak­
i ng or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry:
- Always put ob jects, fo r example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compa rtment us ing the tie-down hooks
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
-
Heavy loads w ill influence the way yo ur ve-
h icle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
l oss of cont ro l leading to serious personal
in Jury :
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects , that a change in the cen ­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
poss ible .
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle We igh t Rat ­
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specif ied on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
miss ible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and hand le diffe rently.
- Please observe information on safe dr iv­
ing¢
page 130.

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
~page 247.
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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138 Driving Safely
th e lu gg age compartment to help pre-Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY :
vent items from shiftin g or flying
1-800-424-9153) or forward as dange ro us m iss iles.
- When the rear seat back rest is folded
1-800 -424-9393
down, always use su itab le mounting
st raps a nd pro perly secure items to the
or you may write to:
t ie -downs in t he luggage com partmen t
NHTSA to help prev ent item s fro m flyi ng fo r-
w ar d as dang erous miss iles into th e pas-
U.S. Department of Transporta-
se ng er compartm ent .
tion - N ever at ta ch a child sa fety seat tet her
st rap to a tie- down.
1200 New Jersey Ave., S. E.
Reporting Safety
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
You can also obtain other infor-
mation about motor vehicle
If you believe that your vehicle safety from:
has a defect which could cause
a crash or could cause injury or http:/ /www. safe rca r. gov
death, you should immediately
Applicable to Canada
inform the National Highway If you live in Canada and you
Traffic Safety Admini stration
believe that your vehicle has a
(NHTSA) in addition to notify- defect that could cause a crash,
ing Audi of America, Inc. injury or death, you should im-
If NHTSA receives similar com- mediately inform Transport
plaints, it may open an investi- Canada, Defect Investigations
gation, and if it finds that a and Recalls. You should also no-
safety defects exists in a group tify Volkswagen Group Canada,
of vehic les, it may order a recall
Inc.
and remedy campaign. Howev- Canadian customers who wish
er , NHTSA cannot become in-
to report a safety-related de-
volved in individual problems feet to Transport Canada, De-
between you, your dealer, or feet Investigations and Recalls,
Audi of America, Inc .
may either call Transport Cana-
To contact the NHTSA , you may
da toll-free at:
....
either call:

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 be lts 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 d riv­
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 be ing 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 . Safety belts
143
- 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 requ ired 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
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel~
ta­
ble Cleaning interior on page 215 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 156 B el t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

144 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restr aint
properly ¢
page 53, General recommenda­
t ions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢.&,.
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even ­
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢ .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
yo ur seat until you hea r it latc h securely
¢fig. 156.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. This fea­
ture locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and i n an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv ing the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt preten sione rs
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated ¢
page 147. The function of the pre­
tensioner is moni tored by a warning light
¢ page 19.
Sw itchabl e lo cking fe atur e
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
m ust be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
¢ page 186 .
.,& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 144, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
wheneve r the rea r center safety belt is
being used.
If the backrest is not secu re­
ly latched, the passenger will move for­
ward with the back rest dur ing sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety bel t to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety belt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child seat in the vehicle ¢
page 188.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to¢
page 147.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
F ig. 157 Safety bel t pos it ion
"' .... 0
~ CD

Use the height adjustment to change the posi­
tion of the shoulder belt of the front saf ety
belts .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
-
-The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body . Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
even ly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The be lt
sho uld a lways f it snugly ¢
fig. 157. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause seri­
o us injuries by shifting its position on
yo ur body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 143.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The bes t way to protec t the fe tu s is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fi g. 158 Safety belt pos it io n durin g pregnancy
To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body¢
page 144 .
Safety belts 145
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 53, G eneral r ecomm enda­
tion s .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis¢
fig. 158,
¢& .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
r=:;, page 143, fig. 156 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause serious persona l injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers m ust always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information ¢&.
in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 144 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
but ton only after the vehicle has stopped.
,,,,,
Fig . 159 Re leas ing the tong ue fro m t he buc kle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
r=:;, fig. 159. The be lt tongue will spr ing out
of the buckle ¢
.&, .
0 ...
"' 0 ±
~
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the be lt tongue to its stowed pos ition.
Ill>

-Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag 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 driver, you are responsible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil­
dren:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢ page 181.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 186.
~ 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) .
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 181.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for their age and size.
_& 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.
-
Child Safety 1 79
- 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
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