2014 AUDI Q7 Owner´s Manual

unfolds with great force in the blink of
an eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger 's breastbone and the instru­
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of the ir own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt be longing to that
seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restra int prop ­
erly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win­ dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt w il l not be ab le to protec t you prop­
er ly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined o r
ti lted far back! The farther the backrests
are ti lted back , the greater the risk of in ­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
t ion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c> page 204 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat
c> page 183 .
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained whenever the vehicle is in use .
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor ­
rect seat ing pos ition in the event of a sudden
brak ing maneuve r or an acc ident , your pas­
se ngers on the rea r bench seat must always
observe the fo llow ing :
~ If there are passengers in the rear seat, fold
the head rest ra ints up on the occupied seats
or slide the center head restrain t upward at
least to the next notch
c> page 78 .
Drivin g Sa fely 167
~ Make sure that the seatback is secure ly
latch ed in the upright posi tion
c> page 80.
~ Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts proper ly
<=> page 178 .
~ Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
pria te for the ir s ize and age
c> page 204.
A WARNING
Passengers who are imp roperly seated on
the rea r seat can be seriously inj ured in a
crash .
- Each passenger must always si t on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec­
tion when the seatback is sec urely latch­
ed in the upright position and the safety
bel ts are properly posit ioned on the
body . By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
in ju ry from improperly positioned safety
be lts!
- Always adjust the head rest raint p roperly
so that it can give maximum protection .
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re ­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations .
Fig. 1 94 Head restr ain t: v ie wed from th e front
The head restraints must be correct ly adjust-
ed to achieve the best protectio n. ..,.

168 Driving Safely
• Adjust the head restraints so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possib le, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible
Q fig . 194.
• If there are passengers in rear seat, fo ld the
head restraints up on the occupied seats or
s lide the cent er head restra int upward at
least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
Q page 77 .
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re­
straints. Dr iv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints tha t are not properly
adjusted incre ases the risk of ser io us or fa­
t al neck injury dramat ically. To help reduce
the risk of inju ry:
- Always drive with the he ad restraints in
place and proper ly adjusted.
- E very pe rson in the veh icle must have a
properly ad justed head restra int .
- Alw ays m ake su re e ach pe rso n i n the ve­
hicle proper ly adjusts the ir head re­
st raint . Ad just the head restrain ts so the
upper edge is as even as possi ble wit h
the top of your head . If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restra int so
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible .
- Never attempt to adjust head rest raint
wh ile driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the dr ive r head rest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safe ly be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
s t rain t.
- Children must always be properly re­
stra ined in a ch ild restrai nt tha t is appro­
pr iate for their age a nd s ize
Q page 204.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly sea ted.
Imp roper sea ting posit ions can ca use serio us
in ju ry or death . Safe ty belts can on ly work when they are properly positioned on the
body. Improper seating positions red uce the
effectiveness of safety belts and wi ll even in ­
crease the r isk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to crit ica l areas of the body.
Improper seating positions a lso inc rease the
risk of ser ious in jury and death when an a ir­
bag dep loys and str ikes an occupant w ho is
not in the p roper seating posi tion. A dr iver is
responsible fo r the s afety of all ve hicle occu­
pan ts and espec ially for child ren . There fore :
• Never allow anyone to assume an incor rect
seating posi tion when the vehicle is bei ng
used
Q .&, .
The following bulle tins list o nly some sample
pos it ions that w ill increase the r isk of serious
i njury and dea th. O ur hope is that t hese exam­
ples will ma ke yo u more aware o f seat ing po ­
s itions that are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never sta nd up in t he vehicle
- neve r sta nd on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride wit h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- neve r lean up against the instrument panel
- neve r sit on the edge of the seat
- neve r sit sideways
- neve r lean out t he window
- neve r put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cush ion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- neve r ride in the ca rgo a rea
A WARNING ._
Improper seating posit ions increase the
risk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
-Always make sure that all vehicle occ u-
pants stay in a proper seating position
and are p roperly rest rained whenever the
veh icle is being used .
-

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 all pedals move freely without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the peda l area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a
full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the r isk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver's
footwell. An object could get into the
peda l area and interfere w ith pedal func­
tion. In case of sudden braking or an ac­
cident, you would not be able to brake or
accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Make su re that the floor mats are properly
secu red and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals ~
A,.
Use o nly floor mats that leave the pedal a rea
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot s lip out of position. Yo u can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author­
ized Audi dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
Driving S afel y 169
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at­
tached to these fasteners . Properly securing
the f loor mats will prevent them from sliding
into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operat ion of your vehicle
in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of vehicle control and increase the
risk of serious persona l injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfer ing with
the peda ls or the ability to contro l the
vehicle .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings on top o f already instal­
led floor mats . Additiona l floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the dr iver footwell while the ve­
hicle is moving . Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control. •
•

1 7 0 Dr iving Safel y
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com ­
partment.
Fig . 195 Safe load position ing: place heavy objects as
low a nd as far forward as possible.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics . Loose items can also increase
the r isk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision .
,. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment .
,. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as low
and as far forward as possible
¢fig. 195.
,. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provid­
ed
¢ page Bl.
,. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
l atched in place .
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle caus ing serious
personal inj ury in the event of hard brak­
ing or an acc ident. To help reduce the r isk
of serious personal injury :
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
partment.
- Always secu re objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eyelets
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
-Heavy loads wi ll influence the way your ve-
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control 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
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
missible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv­
ing
r=;,page 164.
A WARNING
-
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, a lways
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting comp letely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely m ust dr ive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the Panoramic sliding sunroof *,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
pane l,
- Switch off the air recirculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
A lways make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the Panoramic sliding sunroof * and
the rear lid are securely closed and locked
-

to reduce the risk of inj ury when the vehi­
cle is not be ing 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 . Be ing trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious persona l injury .
- Never let children play in or around the vehicle .
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Veh icle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air c irculation helps to reduce window
fogging . Sta le air escapes to the outside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-The t ire pressure must correspond to the
load. The t ire pressure is shown on the
tire p ress ure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the d river's s ide B-pi llar.
The t ire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflat ion 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 t ire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
c:> page277 .
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
c:> page 1 70, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a coll is ion, the l aws of phys ics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
Dr iving S afel y 171
serious injury. Items in the veh icle possess en ­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and th e
weight of the item . Vehicle speed is the most
s ignificant factor.
For example, in a fronta l collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10 -lb (5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means th at
the weigh t of the item would suddenly be
about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
i njur ies that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely th rough the passenger compartment
could cause in a co llision 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 s uitable mount ing straps and
properly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compartment to he lp pre­
vent items from shift ing or f lying fo r­
ward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded
down, a lways use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to help p revent items from fly ing for­
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas­
senger compartment .
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat tether
strap to a t ie-down .
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If yo u b elieve that your vehicle
ha s a defec t w hi ch could cau se
a c rash or co uld cause i njur y or
d ea th, you sh ould imm ediat ely
inform th e National Hi ghwa y
Tr affi c Sa fet y Admini strati on ..,.
•
•

172 Driving Safely
(NHTSA) in addition to notify­
ing Audi of America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com ­
plaints, it may open an investi­
gation, and if it finds that a
safety defects exists in a group
of vehicles, it may order a recall
and remedy campaign. Howev­
er , NHTSA cannot become in­
volved in individual problems
between you, your dealer, or
Audi of America, Inc.
To contact the NHTSA, you may either call :
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or
1 -800-424-9 3 9 3
or you may write to: NHTSA
U.S . Department of Transporta­
tion
1200 New Jersey Ave., S .E.
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
You can also obtain other infor­ mation about motor vehicle
safety from:
http://www.safercar.gov Applicable to Can ada
If you live in Canada and you
believe that your vehicle has a
defect that could cause a crash ,
injury or death, you shou ld im­
mediately inform Transport
Canada, Defect Investigations
and Recalls. You should also no­
tify Volkswagen Group Canada, Inc.
Canadian customers who wish
to report a safety-related de­
fect to Transport Canada, De­
fect Investigations and Recalls,
may either call Transport Cana ­
da toll-free at:
T el. : 1-800-333-0510 or
Tel. : 1-819 -994 -3328 (Ottawa
region and from other coun­
tries)
TTY for hearing impaired: 1-888-67 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by mai l at:
Transport Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga­
tions Laboratory
80 Noe l Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al

For additional road safety infor­
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at:
http://www. tc .gc .ca/ e ng/
roadsafety/menu.htm
Driving Safely 173
•
•
'

174 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automob ile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
your passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all veh icle occupants, they are
more like ly to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
V eh icles with fi ve seats: Your vehicle has two
front seats and three rear seats. Each seating
position has a safety belt .
Vehicle s with six seats:* Your vehicle has two
front seats, two seats in the second row and
two seats in the third row. Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt.
Ve hicle s with sev en se ats:* Your vehicles has
two front seats, three seats in the second row
and two seats in the third row. Each seating position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wear ing them
i mproperly increases the r isk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt . It is
espec ially dangerous to p lace a safety
belt ove r a ch ild sitt ing on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available .
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safe­
ty belt or child restra int.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up.
F ig . 1 96 Safety bel t warning ligh t in the instr ument
cl uste r -e nlarged
Before dri ving off , alw ays:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make sure that your passengers also buckle
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect childre n w ith a child rest raint sys-
tem app ropriate for the s ize and age .
The warn ing light . in the instrument cluste r
li ghts up when the ignit ion is switched on as a
rem inder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
t ion, you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime.
Fa ste n yo ur safet y be lt and mak e sure that
yo ur pa ssengers a lso properly put on th eir
sa fe ty b elt s.