2014 AUDI Q7 ignition

186 Airbag sys tem
as def ined in the electronic control unit
Q page 194, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
A lways remember, a ch ild safety seat or infant
carrier insta lled on the front sea t may be
struck and knocked o ut o f position by the rap ­
id ly inflating passeng er's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . T he airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effec tiveness of the child restraint and even
serious ly injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children - when properly
restra ined acco rd ing to their age and si ze - we
s trongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
Q page 204, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
s e at insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fr ont a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he i nflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest , center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always insta ll rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
hav e the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Aud i dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may i n­
terfere wi th the deployment of the air­
b ag and cau se serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat: -
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 s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­ ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore a nd
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible b efore installing
the forwa rd-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
b ackrest mus t be a djusted to a n up right
position.
- Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the
t ime wheneve r the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING -ra----
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed
Q page 194, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions if t he
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi deal er immed iate­
ly .
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
chi ld restraint manufacture rs when in­
st all ing c hild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward or rearw ard-fa cing child
r estra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Imp roper ins tallation o f child restra ints
can reduce their effec tiveness or even

190 Airbag sys tem
-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned 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 aga inst or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lli ng
the fo rward-facing chi ld restraint. The
b ackres t must be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit io n.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light co m es on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more . The fu nction of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on.
The control unit mo nitors the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a ma lfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
ai rbag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged . Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a cra sh .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle ac celera tion/de ce le ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash . -
An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to fi re
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
un it also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsioners shou ld be act ivated .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator for
the dr iver inside the stee ring wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator in­
side the instrument panel for the front pas­
senge r.
- A we ight-sensing mat under the up ho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat .
The informat io n registe red is sent continu­
ou sly to the elec troni c con tro l unit to regu ­
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring sys tem and in dicator
light in t he instr ument cluster
~ page 194.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and sta ys on in the cen ter o f th e instr u­
ment panel
~ page 194, fig . 210 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension
on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
~ pag e 185, Child restraints on th e
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er a nd fo r the front sea t passenger tha t
senses w het he r th at safety bel t is latched or
no t and transmi ts this information to the
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the fr ont passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-

192 Airbag system
firs t a nd second stages deploy a lmost at the
same time.
O n the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
un it. The front a irbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogn ized on the seat. The
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to te ll
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off
c::> page 185, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
~ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serious inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
o page 183.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig. 2 09 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro­
vide supplemental protection in a frontal col­ lision. T
he front airbags are designed to provide ad ­
ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly
- t he seats have bee n positioned so that the
occ upan t is prope rly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly
ad justed
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
o r have placed on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous p ro jecti les, and be p ushed in to you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T h is is no rma l and is not caused by a fire i n
the ve hicle. This dust is made up mos tly of a
powde r used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate skin.
It i s impo rtant to remember that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood o f serious injur ies, other
injuries , for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor ab rasions, can also happen when air ­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
supplement the three-point safety belts only i n some fronta l col lisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is h igh eno ugh to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occurs
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs
- when the crash dece lerat ion meas ured by
the air bag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
reg istered by the elect ronic contro l unit
The front pass enger airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu-
pied .,.

194 Airbag sys te m
aw ay by ge tting out of the vehicle or
o pening windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator Light and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
e lectronic control un it, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored cont inuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on . Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the airbag monitoring in­
d icator light
I will come on fo r a few seconds
(self diagno stics) .
The system mu st be inspected when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignit io n is
switched on
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have swi tched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on while driving
If an airbag system malfunct ion is detected,
the ind icator light will fi rst start flash ing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light¢
page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Audi dealer. It is pos­
sib le that the airbag will infla te when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when it should .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
-
.r--------------,
------------------
Fig. 210 Sect io n from the instru men t pa nel: PASS EN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF lig ht
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
¢fig . 210.
T he PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic contro l unit. Each
t ime you turn on t he ignition, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flas h for a few
seconds and:
- w ill stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- will stay on i f the re is a small chi ld or child
restraint on the front passenger seat
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been ins talled on the fron t
seat, or

-a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward -facing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passen­
ger seat is equa l to or less than the com­
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restrain­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the
Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS ·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 185, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 204, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght stays on continuous ly whenever the
ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly
routed through the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint manufacturer's in­
st ructio ns;
- make sure that the convert ible locking fea­
ture on the safety belt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
sa fety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 214.
Airbag system 195
-make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and chi ld safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make s ure that the safety belt tension sen ­
sor is not blocked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con­
t inu ously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by you r authorized Aud i dealer
immed iate ly.
- move the ch ild to a rear seat position and
make sure that the child is properly restra in­
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un ­
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the cente r of the seat
cushion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
¢ page 165, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
be lt webb ing, .,..
•
•

202 Airbag system
inflates in side impacts and only when the ve­
hicle acceleration registered by the control
unit is high enough. If this rate is below the
reference value programmed into the contro l
unit, the side airbags will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . It is not possible to
define an airbag triggering range that will
cover every possible angle of impact, since the
circ umstances w ill vary cons iderably between
one co llision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc. c:>
page 202, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safe ­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a co lli ­
sion so that the side curta in airbags can pro­
vide protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your ve hicle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt a nd wear ing it prope rly. Th is
is ano ther reason why you shou ld a lways wear
your safety bel ts, not just beca use the law re ­
qu ires you to do soc:>
page 174, General
notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the
side curta in a irbag system is des igned to he lp
redu ce the like lihood of serious injuries, othe r
injuries, fo r example, swell ing, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated wit h
these airbags upon deployment. Remember
too, these a irbags w ill deploy on ly once and
only in certain kinds of accidents -your safety
be lts are a lways there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
con sists of :
-The electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and rear side w indows - The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mon itore d elec tronically
to make certain i t is func tioning properly at all
times . Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (sel f diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignition is turned off
- in side co llision s when the accele ration
meas ured by the sensor is too low
- in rear-end col lisions .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide pro te ction when occupant s
are i n the proper seating posi tion
<=>page 72, General recommendations.
- If th e airbag ind ica tor light <=>page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained .
Fig. 2 14 Illust rat ion of p rincip le : I n flated side curtai n
airbags o n th e left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the
IJ>

-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 in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
Child Safety 205
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger 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 for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•

Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco Comfo rtSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- 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.
Child Safety 207
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi on ly 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 responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 210.
... Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety sea t .
... When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
t he convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 214.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with yo ur
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) .
... If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sens ing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 209.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hild ren, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for the ir age and size. ..,. •
•