2015 AUDI Q7 warning

186 Airbag system
prevent them from providing any
protection.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and serious ly injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-se nsing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 2 08 Locat ion of dr ive r air bag : in stee ring wheel
Fig. 2 09 Locat ion of front passenger's a irbag: in the in­
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in complia nce w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
( FM VSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
veh icle was manufactured. The safety belts f
or the seats have "pretensioners" that help
to take slack out of t he belt system . The pre­
tens ioners are also act ivated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
T he front safety be lts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
i n a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub ¢
fig. 208 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 209 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lot you nee d to know about the ai r­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of you r passengers, especially in­
fants and small chi ldren.
_&. WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alo ne for p rotection.
- E ven w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only supplement al pro tectio n.
- Airbag work most effect ive ly when used
with p roperly wor n safety bel ts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safety belts
a nd make sure tha t eve rybody in your ve­
h icle is properly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rso n on the fron t passenger seat, es­
pe cial ly infa nts and sm all ch ildren, w ill re­
ceive serio us inju ries and can even be kil-
l ed by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- A lthough t he Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is des igned to tur n off the
front passenge r airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
-
that deployme nt under these special ..,

188 Airbag sys tem
If the tota l weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For e xample , the airbag m ay deploy if :
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 205),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument pane l w ill come on and stay
on.
The front airb ag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt o r teenager is o n the front pas­
senger se at
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w it h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat .
I f the front passenge r airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standa rd requires the airbag to meet
the " low ris k'' deployment criter ia to help re ­
d uce the risk of inj ury through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de ­
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it.
¢ page 193
Always remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat. Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information i n the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly. -
If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
f lates -eve n w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢page 182.
A WARNING "---
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly inju red and ca n be killed if
the front air bag infla tes -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designe d to tur n off the
front airbag when a rearward -facing
child restraint has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­ lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild
safety seat or i nfant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
a nd child aga inst the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rea rward-fac ing ch ild re­
s traint s on the rear seat.
- If you must ins tall a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circu mstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on an d stay on, im ­
mediately insta ll the rear-facing c hild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-If, in except io nal circumstances, you m ust
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
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-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 lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint . T he
b ack res t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tay s on all the
t ime w henever the i gnition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot 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 function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 189
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator in­
side the instrument pa nel for the front pas­
senge r.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The informat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect roni c con trol u nit to regu­
la te deployment of the front Adv anced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tori ng sys tem and ind ic a tor
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 193.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e ins tru­
ment panel
q page 193, fig . 211 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 fo r 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-sensi ng mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
q pag e 184, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety be lt latch fo r the d riv­
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latche d or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic contro l unit.
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly .
-
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190 Airbag sys te m
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r­
bag System under the passenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the airbag system from wo rking proper­
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itiona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­ ing properly .
-If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re- straint manufacturer's instructions
re­
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll child restrain t in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of inju ry in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be s ure to read the impor ­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
When the electronic control unit registers a low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat· er t ime in the crash sequence.
If the electron ic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air ·
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence· re·
gard less of whether the safety belt is being
u sed o r not . In higher sever ity crashes as reg­
iste red by the electronic control unit, both the ..,.

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first and second stages deploy almost at the
same time.
On 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
amo unt programmed in the electronic control
un it. The front airbag on the passenger side
w ill 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
recog nized on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off
Q page 184, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- 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
Q page 182.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 210 Inflated front airbags
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 fronta l col­
l ision.
A irba g sy stem 191
The 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 upant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly
adj usted
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, t hings you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat co uld become dan­
gerous projecti les, and be p ushed in to you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is no rma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the vehi cle. This dust is made up mos tly of a
powder used to lub ricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irritate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood o f serious injuries, other
injuries, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can a lso happen when air ­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
supplement the th ree-point safety belts only
i n some frontal co llisions in which the vehicle
deceleration is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front a irbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occurs
- in side collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollovers
- when the crash dece leration meas ured by
the air bag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic cont ro l unit
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu-
pied ..,.

192 Airbag system
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by th e Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on)
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
¢page 184.
A WARNING -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- 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.
- 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 because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
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
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the area of the front air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back­
rest forward when the vehicle is moving.
An inflating airbag will force the back­
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc­
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing conditions.
-
-To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
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away by getting out of the vehicle or
opening 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 you r
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
PA SSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
e lectronic control unit, 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 . will come o n for a few sec­
onds (se lf d iagnostics).
The system mu st be inspe cted when the
indicato r light •=
-does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched o n the ignition, or
- comes on wh ile driving
If an airbag system malfunct ion is detected,
the indicator light will first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminde r
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a irbag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill come on and stay
on w henever the ignition is on .
A irbag system 193
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light
q page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Audi dealer.
It is pos­
sible tha t the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will no t inflate
when it should .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
-
.r--------------,
------------------
Fig. 21 1 Section from t he in strument panel: PASSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
qfig. 211.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side has been
turned off by the electron ic control unit. Each
time you turn on t he ignit ion, the
PASSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- w ill stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- wi ll stay on i f there 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
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-accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sens ing mat
under the upholstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGER AIR BA G OFF or
PAS SENGER AIR B AG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . Th is is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
a ir bag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator l ight
c> page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r autho rized Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates , a ch ild without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serious ly inju red and can
be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that al l children, especially 12
years and younge r, a lways rid e on the
back seat properly restr ained fo r their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing
c hild safety seats on the rear se at - even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
A irbag sys tem 195
-If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme­
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rea r seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspe cted by your au­
thorized A udi dealer.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rea r­
ward- facing child rest raint attached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch pressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and registe r more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the sea t into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible . The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
...---
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated and restr ained at
one o f the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
porting anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty sea t, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be ..,.
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