2014 AUDI Q7 belt

176 Safety belts
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 199 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig. 200 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
will fly forward and strike the drive r
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc­
cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
q fig. 199. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­ posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents
in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and other passen­ gers¢
fig. 200. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 201 Driver is correctly restrained in a sudden brak­
ing maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
lilJJ,

forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision , safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident . Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags ,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly .
Safety belts 177
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­ cluding small children, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv­
en.
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­ hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­ aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi­
tion .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt. Howev­
er, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly. If web-
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are .,..
L,_ _______________ _J
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•

178 S afet y belt s
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Aud i dealer or qualified
workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct rep lacement safety be lt
by an authorized Audi dea le r. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
c anno t be clear ly seen. Anchorages that
we re loaded m ust also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disass emble, or
t ry to repa ir t he safety be lts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts
may not wo rk p roperly and can impa ir
the funct io n of t he in ertia reel¢
ta­
ble Cleaning in terior on page 246.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 2 02 Belt buckle and tongue o n th e dr iver 's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly¢
page 72, General recommenda­
tions .
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in a n upright pos ition and securely
l atched in place before using the belt ¢&_ .
.. Hold the belt by the to ngue and pull it even­
l y across the chest and pelvis
c:::> &, .
.. Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latc h securely
¢ fig . 202.
.. Pull on the belt to ma ke sure t hat it is se -
curely latched in the buck le .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Eve ry safety belt is equipped with an automat­
ic be lt r etractor on t he shou lde r belt. This fea­
tu re locks the belt when the be lt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident .
The be lt may a lso lock when you drive up or
down a steep hi ll or thro ugh a sharp curve.
D uring normal driving the belt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that he lps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac ­
t ivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a war ning light¢
page 16.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the d river
seat is equipped with a sw itchab le locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a c hild safety seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
c:::> page 214.
A WARNING
Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious injury in an accide nt
c:::> page 179, Safe ty belt posi tion.
-
- Safety b elts offer opt imum protect ion
only whe n the sea tbac k is u prigh t an d
be lts a re pr operly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always m ake sure that the rear sea t
b a ckrest to wh ich the center rear s afety
be lt is at tached is secure ly latched when ­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used . If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, the passenger w ill move for­
ward with the backrest dur ing sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a c rash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck-
le for another seat . Attaching the belt to .,_

the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt i tself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secur ing a child
safety seat in the vehicle~
page 216.
Safety belt position
Correc t bel t posi tion is the key to ge tting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 203 Safety belt pos it io n
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad­
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats
and the outer seating positions in the sec­
ond row seating,
- height-adjustable front seats.
A 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. Ho ld the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt
Safety belts 179
should always fit snugly= fig. 203. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo­
men . Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug ¢
fig. 203 . Pull on the belt to tight ­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its pos ition on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable , soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 177 .
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
saf ety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fig. 204 Safety belt pos ition du ring pregnan cy
To provide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 179 .
... Adjus t the fron t seat and head restra in t cor­
rectly ¢
page 72, General recommenda ­
tions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pu ll it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis¢
fig. 204,
=A . ~

180 Safety belts
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your sea t until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 178, fig. 202.
•Pullon the belt to make sure that it is se ­
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelv is and be low the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢ .&.
in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 178.
Unfastening safety belt s
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 205 Releasing the to ngue from th e buckle
• Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 205 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
c:> ,& .
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
On vehicles with
third row seat* : an unfas­
tened safety belt can be secured in the retain­ ing clip in the luggage compartment side
tr im . In this way, the luggage compartment
cover can be removed without obstruction . Al­
so, the belt tongue height can be adjusted so
that luggage compartment can be loaded
without obstruction with the backrest folded
forward .
A WARNING
-Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi-
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase your
risk of being injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout­
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area , accord ­
ing to body size .
Fig. 206 Safet y bel t heigh t adju stm en t- loop-a roun d
f itt ings
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body¢.&.
in Safety belt
position on page 179.
• Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig. 206
@,or
• squeeze together the (D button, and push
the loop-around fittings down@.
• Pull the be lt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information ¢
page 177.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the he ight adjust­
ment of the seat can also be used to adjust
the position of the safety belts.

Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se­
rious injury or death. Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on the body . Improper seating positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even increase the risk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety belt to critical areas of the
body . Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion . A driver is responsible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil­
dren . Therefore:
... Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ ,& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating posit ion whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:>page 177.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety
belts are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sen­
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great severity and in a rollover. This tightens
the belt and takes up be lt sla ck
c:> .& in Service
Safety belts 181
and disposal of safety belt pretensioner on
page 182.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce
forward occupant movement dur ing a colli­
sion.
@ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat­
back that has been fo lded forward.
(D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear-end collisions and in accidents in­
volving very little impact force, the safe­
ty belt pretensioner are not activated.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are
activated, a fine dust is re leased. This is
normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The re levant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped. An au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop is familiar w ith these regulations
and w ill be pleased to pass on the infor­
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, env iron­
menta l and other regulations if the veh i­
cle or ind ividual parts of the system, par­
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this
service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Insta lling, remov­
ing, servic ing or repair ing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
s ion .
T he re are some impo rtant things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of .,. •
•

182 Safety belts
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pollute the environment .
.&_ WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti­
vated only once . If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe­
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re­
pair manual, training and special equip­
ment necessary.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/haza rdouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed . Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.

Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
¢ page 165,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 73 ,
""Wear safety be lts properly r::::> page 177,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren
r::::> page 204.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 165,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or detai ls
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 73.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r::::> page 204.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side ca n do its
job. If you have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 183
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation o f the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
ficat io ns to your veh icle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment panel and the front passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again witho ut inter­
ruption .
A ll of th is takes place in the blink o f an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combinat ion with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from h itti ng pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle de ce lerat ion rate
caused by the collision and regis te red by the
elec tron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not . •
•