2014 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK ESP

Always remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­
qu ires you to do soc>
page 133, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental s ide airbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other i njuries, for example, swel ling, b ruising,
frict ion bu rns and minor ab rasions can also be
assoc ia ted with deployed side airbags. Re­
member too, side airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -
your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection.
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa ­
tion. In some co llisions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al­
ways there to offer protection in those acci­ dents in wh ic h airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed.
The side airbag sy stem will not deploy :
-when the ign ition is switched off
- in s ide collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in ro llovers.
In some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curta in a irbags and side airbags may b e
tr iggered toge ther.
_& WARNING
- Saf ety belts and the a irbag system will
only prov ide protection when occ upan ts
are in the proper seating posit ion
c>page 164.
- If the airbag indicator light c> page 18
comes when the vehicle is being used,
-
Airba g sy stem 163
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
It i s pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
How supplemental s ide airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 16 6 In flated side airbags on left side of vehicle,
rear side airbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area ma rked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In orde r to help provide
th is add it io na l prote ction, the side airbag
mus t inflate within a fraction of a second a t
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup­
plementa l side air bag could injure you if your
seating pos ition is not proper or up right o r if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
c> page 168, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplementa l side airbags i nflate be­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
s id e of th e vehicle th at is str uck in certain side
collision
c> fig. 166.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
h elp to reduc e the risk of injury to the upper
part o f the body.
A f ine dust may develop w hen the airbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in th e vehicle.

166 Airbag system
-The side curtain ai rbags above the front and
rear side windows
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electron ica lly
to make certain it is f unct io ning properly at a ll
times. Each time you switch on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light will come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignit io n is switched off,
- in s ide coll isions when the accelerat ion
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the a irbag system w ill
only p rov ide protection whe n oc cupants
are in t he p roper sea ting posit ion
¢ page 53, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indica tor ligh t¢ page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have t he system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut horized Audi dea ler . It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inf late when it
is not supposed to, or w ill 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.
Fi g. 168 Ill ustrat io n of p rincipl e: Inflated side curtain
airbags on t he left s ide
T he side curtain airbags inf late between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
¢ fig . 168.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with prope llant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to he lp provide this additional protection,
the side curta in a irbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at ve ry high speed and with
great fo rce . The side curta in a irbag could in­
jure you if your seating posit ion is not prope r
o r u pright or if items are located in t he area
where the supplemen tal side curta in airbag
inflates . This applies especially to chi ldren
c> page 168.
Althoug h they are not a so ft pillow, side cur­
ta in airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
th is way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
j u ry to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A f ine d ust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is qui te normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that yo u and your passengers
must know and do to he lp the safety belts and
airbags do their job to provide supp lemental
protection .
A WARNING
'"' Improperly wea ring safety belts and im­
p roper seating pos it ions increase the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death when ­
ever a vehicle is being use d.
- Never let occupants place any pa rts of
t heir bod ies in the area from whi ch the
-
side curta in a irbag inf la te. .,..

168 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 134, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate ch ild restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's size ~
page 172, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re- straints are on the front passenger seat
. Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in th is
owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str iking the i nterior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- 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
armrest, or door.
II>-

1 70 Child Safety
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
q page 133, Safety belts,
q page 142, Airbag system and
q page 168, Important things to
know.
(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 a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (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.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system in the
front passenger seat cushion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a child in a child re­
straint system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system
registers the changes that result in an electri­
cal field when a child, a child restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capacitance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the child restraint system
resting on the seat. The measured capacitance
of a child restraint system varies depending
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
The electrical capacitance of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U.S.National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the relevant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System control unit together with the capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
old child. When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system with the data
stored in the electronic control unit. Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefully read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air-
bags and heed all of the applicable .,..

172 Child Safety
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.
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
Correc t 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
r:::;, page 174.
• 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
r:;, page 179.
• 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
r:;,page 174.
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 .
-
-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

17 4 Child Safety
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 169 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in child safety seats.@-outer rear
safety belt
If a ch ild safety seat is used on the rear bench,
espec ially w ith LATCH unive rsal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
mu st be se­
cured so that the ch ild in the child restra in t
cannot reach them
r::;, ,&. .
-Gui de the safety belt webbing @behind the
head restraint of the seat where the child re­
stra in t is ins talled
r::;, fig. 169 . When do ing
so, do not engage the switchable locking re­
t ractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when winding up the safety be lt.
- Let the belt re tracto r wind up the safety be lt
webbing .
~ 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 cause the child se rious
personal in jury and even deat h.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of ch ildren in ch ild
seats such as by prope rly routing them
around the head res traint of the seat
where the child res traint is installed.
- N ever activate the sw itchab le lo cking re­
tr actor when ro uting the safety belts
around the head rest raints.
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 . 1 70 Schem atic overview: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed on th e rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to p revent the child safety seat
from mov ing
c:;,page 179 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachmen ts .
.,.. Push the chi ld 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).
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:;,page 174.
Infants up to about one yea r (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in spec ial infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts be lieve that infants and
small ch ild ren shou ld ride on ly in sp ecial re­
stra ints in wh ich the child faces the back of
t h e ve hicle. These infa nt sea ts sup port the ba­
by 's back, ne ck and head in a c rash
r::;, fig. 1 70 .
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 i s not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child sea t.
It is a very dange rous place fo r an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat .
llll>-

178 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::!;> page 174 .
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex­
perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itab le child restraint .
It is us ually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition bot h the lap and sho ulder
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 chi ld 's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whethe r
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (S7 in­
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder be lts .
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety be lt alone to restrain any child, rega rd­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic st ructure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab ­
solutely requires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possib le around the pelvis . Never let the lap
be lt po rtion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderab le force . In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so t hat it will be there to p rotect the occupant
as the occupa nt moves forw ard into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
i n flat ing a irb ag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she w ill be str uck violen tly and will
receive se rious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In orde r fo r the ai rb ag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mpor tan t t hat a ll vehicle occup ants, espe cial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances , be
proper ly restrained and as fa r 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 prov ide supplemental protection
in ce rtain frontal coll isions .
.8. WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos ­
ter seat imp roperly, in co rrectly installing a
b oos ter seat or using the vehicle sa fe ty
belt imp roperly increases the risk of seri ­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
d uce the risk of serio us personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per body . It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck . The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r acr oss t he
s tomach o r abdomen.
M ake sure t hat the
be lt lies flat and snug. P ull on the bel t to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afe ty belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident o r other emergency
situation
¢ page 133 .
-The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For ad justab le head restraints: adjust or
remove the rea r seat head restra int if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place
c:> page 57. In­
stall the head restraint again immed iate­
ly once the child seat is removed . Dr iv ing
without head restraints o r with head re-
.
straints that are not p roperly adjus ted Ii),

increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
yo ur vehicle.
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will re­
sult in se rious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whe never the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described¢
page 154, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off the fron t pas­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 133, Safety
belts,¢ page 142, Airbag system
and
¢page 168, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
Child Sa fet y 1 79
front passenger's seat safety be lt have a con ­
vertib le locking retractor for child restraints .
The safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webb ing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from looseni ng up
dur ing normal dr iv ing . A child safety seat can
on ly be properly insta lled when the safety belt
is locked so that the chi ld and child safety
seat w il l stay in place .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
ly restrained for the ir age and size.
A WARNING r----------
1 mp rope rly installed chi ld safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the safety belt re ­
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- If the rea r set backrest is not secure ly
latched, the child and the child restra int
w ill be thrown forwa rd togethe r with the
backrest and will str ike parts of t he vehi ­
cle interior. The ch ild can be ser iously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child s afety
seats or in fant carrie rs on the front pas­
senger seat . A child will be serio usly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates.
- 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
armrest, door or roof . •
•