2015 AUDI Q7 warning

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damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety be lts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the funct ion of the inertia reel
9 ta­
ble Cleaning interior on page 244.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!

Fig. 203 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 7 4, General recommenda­
tions .
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright posit ion and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> &_.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis¢ ,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
<=> fig . 203.
Safety belts 177
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
ic be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This fea­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::> page 16.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
must be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
<=> page 213.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause ser ious injury in an accident
¢ page 178, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upr ight and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely latched, the passenger will move for­
ward with the backrest during sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash .
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck-
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
~

178 Safety belts
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 itself 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 securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
c:::> page 215.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 204 Safety be lt pos it ion
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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.
.&_ 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. Hold 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 should always fit snugly
¢
fig. 204. 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. 204 . Pull on the belt to ti9ht­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injur ies by shifting its position 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
c:::> page 176.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fig. 20S Safety belt position during pre gnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 178.
"Adju st the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly
c:> page 74, 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 pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢
fig. 205 ,
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.. Inse rt the tongue into the correct b uckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
e:> page 177 , fig . 203 .
.. Pull on the be lt 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
de nt.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the safety belt as low as
poss ible across the pe lv is and be low the
ro unding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other impor tant information
e:> .&. in Fas­
tening safe ty belts on page 177.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
F ig . 2 06 Relea sing the to ngu e fr om th e buc kle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
e:> fig . 206 . The belt tongue wi ll spring out
of the bu ckle
c:> _& .
.. Let the bel t wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed posit ion.
On vehicles with
third ro w seat* : an unfas­
t ened safety belt can be secured in the retain­
ing clip in t he luggage compartment s ide
tr im . In this way, the luggage compartment
cover can be removed without obst ruct io n. Al­
so, the belt tongue height can be adjusted so
that luggage compartment can be loaded
without obst ruction wit h the backrest folded
:5: forward.
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Safety belts 179
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehi­
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase your
risk of being injured o r killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
Wi th the aid of the safety belt heigh t adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout­
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area , accord ­
ing to body size .
Fig. 207 Safety belt heig ht adj ustm en t - loop-a round
fi ttings
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body
e:> .&. in Safety belt
position on page 178 .
.. Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig. 207
@ , or
.. squeeze together the (D button, and push
the loop-around fittings d own @.
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the upper a t­
t achment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
-
A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c::> page 176 .
(0 Tips
With the front seats, the he igh t adj ust­
ment of the sea t can also be used to ad just
the position of the sa fety belts.

180 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 effect iveness of safety belts and will even
i ncrease the r isk 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 serio us inj ury 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 ch il­
dren . Therefore:
.. Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle wh ile traveling
¢ _& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that al l vehicle occu-
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position wheneve r the
vehicle is be ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
¢page 176.
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
g reat seve rity and in a rollove r. T his tightens
the belt and takes up be lt slack ¢.&.
in Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner on
page 181.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce
forward occupant movement dur ing a coll i­
s ion.
(D 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 s ide collisions, in
rear-end collisions and in accidents in­
volving very little impact force, the safe­
ty be lt 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 with these regulations
and w ill be pleased to pass on the infor­
mation to you .
- Be sure to observe all safety, env iron­
mental and other regu lations if the ve hi­
cle or individual parts of the system, par­
t ic ular ly 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 Aud i. Insta lling, remov­
ing, servic ing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a co lli­
s ion .
T he re a re some important t hings you have to
know to make su re that the effectiveness of ..,.

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the system will not be impaired and that dis ­
carded components do not cause injury or pollute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretens ioner from act ivat ing when needed
or act ivat ing it unexpectedly:
- The be lt pretensioner system can be acti­
vated only once. If belt pretens ioners
have been act ivated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt sys tem.
- Safety belt systems includ ing safety be lt
pretensione rs cannot be repaired. Spe­
c ial p rocedu res are required for removal,
ins tallation and disposal of this system.
- For any wor k on the safety belt sys tem,
we st rongly recommend that you see
yo ur authorized Aud i dealer or qualified
technician who has an A udi approved re­
pair manual, t raining and specia l equip­
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -specia l hand ling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardo uswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts w ith pretens ioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulat ions
must be observed. You r autho rized Aud i
dea le r i s familiar w ith these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dea le r perform this serv ice for you.
Sa fety belts 181
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Since the circums tances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and another , it is not
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat w ill always t rig ger the a irbags .
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or so ft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed ,
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alw ays rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tect ion in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; for example , when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af­
ter the first co llision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti ­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts ¢
page 173.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will dec rease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
ga te whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
A irbag system 183
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 177, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad ­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 164.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts near the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i an d installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle . •
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184 Airbag sys tem
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
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 203.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways 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 safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for a n infan t or
a child in a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufact ured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag 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 Sta ndard
c> page 205.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you tur n on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat -
w ill go off i f the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registere d by the
weight -sensing mat
r::!) page 193, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off .
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
c hi ld b ut less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control uni t se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whethe r the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
r::!) page 205), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- re cli ned ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::> page 164, Proper sea ting
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l St andard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,_

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as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 193, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld safety seat or infant
carrier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of position by the rap ­
id ly inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . The airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the child restraint and even
seriously 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 accord ing to their age and si ze - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat¢
page 203, Child Safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fron t airbag inf lates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w it h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have 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 in­
terfere with the deployment of the air­
b ag and cause serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
WARNING
If, in exceptional c ir c umstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 185
-Always ma ke sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
wit h 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 position in t he seat's fore and
aft adj ustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mu st be a dju ste d to an upright
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light wi ll 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 ¢
page 193, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld 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
li g ht does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child r estraint manufa cture rs when in­
s tall ing c hild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstan ces, you must
ins tall a forward or rearw ard-facing c hild
restra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Imp roper ins tal lation o f ch ild restraints
can reduce t heir effec tiveness or even
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