2015 AUDI A7 ESP

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.. Make sure to use the right child rest raint
correct ly to protect children
Q page 173,
Child Safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page S3,
General recommendations .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly.
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts properly ¢
page 138.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi­
tion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver 's ability to concentrate on the road
without being distracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the
veh icle and all of its occupants.
If your ability
to drive is impai red, safety r isks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road ¢
A.
Therefore:
.. Do not let yourself be distracted by passen­
gers or by using a cellular telephone.
.. NEVER drive when your driving ability is im­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc .).
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense .
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traff ic
and weather conditions .
.,. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch.
.. Do NOT drive when you are t ired, under
pressure or when you are stressed.
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
Driving Safely 129
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor­
tant for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 148 Correct seat ing pos it ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
follow ing pos ition:
.. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi ­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
wh ile keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
¢.&_ .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upr ight position so that your back
comes in full contact with it when you drive.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that th ere is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween the steering wheel and yo ur breast
bone
Q fig. 148. If not possible, see your au ­
thorized Audi dealership about adaptive
equipment .
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steer­
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face.
.,. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with
your elbow(s) slightly bent.
.. For adjustable head restra ints: Adjust the
head restraint so the uppe r edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as poss ible. Move the head restraint so that
it is as close to the back of the head as pos-
sible . .,.

132 Driving Safel y
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore on im­
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and con help to reduce the risk of injuries in occident situations.
F ig . 149 H ead re str ain t: vi ew ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection .
.. Adjust the head restr aint so the uppe r edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible¢
fig. 149. Move
the head restraint so that it is as close to the
back of the head as possible.
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seat ing pos ition*, slide the center head re­
straint* upward at least to the next notch .
Adjusting head restraints r=>
page 56.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re­
straints. Dr iv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of serious or fa­
tal neck injury dramat ically. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- E very person in the veh icle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve­
hicle properly adjusts their head re­
straint . Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this posit ion as pos­
sible . Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint .
- Ch ildr en mu st always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and sizer=>
page 173.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury o r death. Safety belts can only wo rk
whe n they are properly positioned on the
body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and wi ll even in­
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety be lt to critical areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an a ir ­
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant who is
not in the proper s eating position . A dr iver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle occu­
pants and espec ially for children. The refore :
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used r=>LQ. .
The following bulletins list only some sample pos itions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam­
ples will make you more aware of seat ing po­
s it ions that are dangerous.
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up i n the vehicle
- never stand on the seats

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A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­ dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
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. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 135
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation 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 tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
~page 247.
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<>
page 134, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision 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 suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
.
•
•

138 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
.. Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more likely to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety belts. The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions: two in the front and two in the rear . In some
vehicles, there are five seating positions : two
in the front and three in the rear . Each seating
position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child sitting 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 with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restraint.
~ 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.
Fig. 150 Safety belt warning light in the instr ument
cluster -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. 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 belts.
.. Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument clus­
ter lights up when the ignition is on as a re­
minder to fasten the safety belts. In addition,
you will hear a warning tone for a certain peri ­
od of time .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belts.
A WARNING
-- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.

144 Safet y belt s
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi­
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk 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. 160 Safety belt height adjustment for the front
sea ts - loop -around f ittings
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body¢
A in Safety belt
position on page 143.
,. Push
the loop-around fittings up ¢fig. 160
@ , or
"'"squeeze together the@ button, and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
"'" Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is p roperly engaged.
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other important information¢
page 141 .
@ Tips
With the fron t seats, the height adjust­
men t of the seat can also be used to adjus t
the posit ion of the safety be lts.
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 o nly
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seating pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even
i ncrease t he risk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas o f 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 respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle 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 be lts increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always ma ke sure that all vehicle occ u­
pants are co rrectly restra ined and stay in
a correc t seating position whe never the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS a nd
o ther important inform ation
¢page 141.

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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.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 129,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 54,
""Wear safety be lts properly r::::> page 141,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect ch ildren
r::::> page 173.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated prope rly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is impo rtant, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag can i nflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemen tal protec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r::::> page 129,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For deta ils
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols
¢ page 54.
It's espe cially important that children a re
p roperly restrained
r::::> page 173.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen­
ge rs ca n and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A ud i work to­
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the dr iver s ide ca n do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 147
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
f astened and reach ing the peda ls, 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 wo rkshop, o r call Audi Customer Re­
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi­
fica tions to your veh icle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill t he a irbags, break open the pad­
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr ive r and between the instru­
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immedia tely after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
thro ugh the windshie ld again witho ut inter­
ruption .
A ll of th is takes place in t he blink o f an eye, so
f ast 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
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
c u pant's fo rward movement . Togethe r they
help to preve nt the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from h itti ng pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces act ing on the
occupant dur ing 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 o f the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The trigge ring of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
elec tron ic control unit. If t his rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
tro l unit, the airbags will not b e trigge red,
even t hough 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 indica tion of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not . .,. •
•

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Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
tai ls about children and Advanced Airbags
~page 173.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
a ll chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, always ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld seat. It can be a
very dange ro us p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
h as been cert ified to comp ly with the require­
men ts of Uni ted States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turne d off ("sup­
p ressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. For a listing of the child re­
straints that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard ~
page 175.
The PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight w ill come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occup ied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system for the front passenge r seat
A irbag sys tem 149
equa ls the combined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearwa rd-facing o r forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. Fo r a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­ p lia nce w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 175.
-w ill stay on if t he re is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger det ection sys tem
~ page 159, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lec tric al capacitan ce registe red on the
fron t passenger seat is eq ua l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year ­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
f orward -facing child restraints listed in Feder­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your ve­
hicle was certified.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year-old child but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front airbag on
the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by the e lec­
tron ic cont ro l unit and ca n deploy if the con­
t rol unit senses an impact tha t mee ts the co n­
di tions s to red in its memo ry.
For example, th e airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the ch ild seats listed~
page 175), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenge r seat. .,,. •
•

152 Airbag system
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
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
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
Jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
.,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3- and 6-year-old children under the