2014 AUDI A7 weight

178 Child Saf ety
WARNINGS. Make certain that the ch ild and
child restraint are correct ly recognized by the
capacitive passenger detect ion system in the
front passenger seat, that the front passenger
a irbag is turned off, and that the airbag status
is always correct ly signa led by the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight .
Many types and models of child restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
e ls are introduced regular ly incorporating new
and improved designs a nd older models are
taken out of production . Child rest raints are
not standardi zed. C hild restra ints of the same
type typi cally have differen t weights and s izes
and d ifferent "footprints", the size and shape
of the bottom o f the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a vehi­
cle seat. These differences make it virtually
imposs ible to certify compliance w ith the re­
qu irements for advanced a irbags w ith each
and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of yo ur vehicle .
For this reason, the United States Nat ional
H ighway Traffic Safety Admin istration has
published a list of specific type, makes a nd
models of child rest ra ints that must be used
to certify complia nce of the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem in yo ur vehicle with the suppress io n
requiremen ts of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 . These child restraints are:
Subpart A -Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Ange l September 2S, 200 7
Ride AA2403 FOF
Subpart B -Rear -facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 2S, 2007
22 -0 13PAW an d base
22-999WHO
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
E venflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25 , 2007
Peg Perego Pr imo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C - Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02S19 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit De luxe September 2S, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco H igh Back September 2S , 2007
Booste r 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Meda llion December 1, 1999
254
E venflo Generations September 25 , 200 7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Todd ler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PA SSEN -
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on. ...

-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
•
•

Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 171 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from chi ldren in child safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,
@-center rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
espec ially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
mu st be se­
cured so that the ch ild in the ch ild restra int
cannot reach them
Q ,&. .
- Gu ide the safety belt webbings @and @*
behind the head restraint of the seat whe re
the ch ild restrai nt is installed
Q fig . 171.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha ­
ble locking retractor! Yo u should not hear a
"clicking" sound when winding up the safety
belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety be lt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled. This could ca use the child serious
personal i nju ry and even death.
- Always secure un used rear seat safety
belts out of r each of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts su ch as by p rope rly routing them
around the head res traint of the seat
whe re the child restraint is installed.
- Never act ivate the sw itchab le locking re­
t ractor when rout ing the safety belts
around the head res traints .
- Never le t anyone sit at the center rear
sea ting pos it ion if the cente r rear safety Child S
afety 181
be lt has been ro uted around a rear head
restraint.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or
9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash .
Fig. 172 Schemat ic overv iew: rearward -facing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear seat
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locki ng retractor on the
safety belt to preven t the child safe ty seat
from mov ing
Qpage 186 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with you r
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
Qpage 181.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant car riers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts be lieve that infants and
small chi ld ren shou ld r ide o nly in special re­
str aints in wh ic h t he child faces the back of
the ve hicle. These infant sea ts suppo rt the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 172 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fron t seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
c hi ld to ride. The fron t se at is not t he safest
place for a child in a fo rward -facing child seat . ..,_

~ 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 .
•
•

~ 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. ~
•
•

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-

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
ac tivate the trailer operation mode
c::> page 209, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weig ht-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on t he ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trail er
hi tch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check wi th t he tra ile r hi tch man ufa ctur er to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
h itch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch m ust be installed in such a way that
i t does not interfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng bumper syst em. No mod ificat ions should
b e made to the vehi cle e xhaus t and br ake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check th at a ll hitc h
mo unt ing bo lts rem ain securely fas tened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra ile r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from behind~ .&.
Trailer towin g 209
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equippe d wi th a bra king sys­
tem, check to be s ure that i t conforms to all
regulations .
T he trailer hyd ra u lic bra ke sys tem mus t not be
d irec tly connec ted to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Trai ler lights must meet all reg ulations. Be
su re to c heck with your Audi dea ler for correct
wir ing, switches and relays .
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside mirrors, then you
must insta ll extended mir rors. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-
Afte r removi ng the trailer hitch , do no t
s tor e i t in yo ur v ehicl e. In case of sudden
b raki ng, the hi tch co uld fly forwar d and in­
j ur e you o r yo ur pass enge rs.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r fo r you r vehi cle is l imited to a typi cal
cla ss 1 o r class 2 tr ailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the tra ile r is held secure ly
in place to p revent it from shift ing fo rward,
ba ckward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c::> .& in Driving instructions on page 211 .
Engine cooling sy stem
Towing a t railer ma kes the engine wor k hard­
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
•
•

210 Trailer towing
Make sure that the cooling system has eno ugh
fluid .
Tire p res sure
When tow ing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehi cle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open) .
Inflate trailer t ires to trai ler and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Chec k to make s ure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
h icle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per ­
mit turn ing corners . When you install safety
cha ins, make su re they wi ll not drag on the
road when yo u are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the tra iler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Adjusting the Audi drive select
Make sure the vehicle is on a level su rface be­
for e
hitching up the tra ile r and b efor e adjust­
ing the tongue weight. The vehicle must be in
auto or comfort dr iving mode and no t raised
qpage 102, q(D _
Make sure that the vehicle is lowered. In Info­
tainment , se lect:
ICARI f u nction button> Low­
e r
control b utton .
I f you m ust dr ive under poor road co ndit ions,
you can raise the veh icle
aft er coup ling the
tra iler or
after adjusting the tong ue weig ht
q page 104.
-Changes in tempe ratu re or load can af­
fect the heig ht of the veh icle.
- Always se lect
auto or comfort mode.
Otherwise, the tongue load spec ified for
your vehicle will no longer be applicable.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the fo llow ing:
.,. Do not tow a loaded t railer when yo ur car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
veh icles.
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not dr ive at the max imum permissib le
speed.
.,. Always app ly brakes early .
.,. Mon itor the tempe ratu re ga uge.
Weight distribut ion
T owing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
su lts in a highly unstable distribution of
we ight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds on ly to avoid t he risk of losing
steering con tro l.
A "ba lanced " rig is easier to ope rate and con­
t ro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble , while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi ­
ble under the c ircumstances . Whenever poss i­
ble , transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while observing
tong ue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficu lt it be ­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
whe n going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing .
Do not
try to stop the s way ing b y accele rating .
Observe speed limits . In some a reas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing tra ilers are lower than for
regular veh icles . .,.