2015 AUDI Q7 warning

196 Airbag system
turned off, and the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment.
& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­ pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water . Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary. -
For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version. Re­ placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only.
Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­ nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped , all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.

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@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate Material -special handling may app ly, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­ chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts w ith pretens ioners are
scrapped, a ll applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authori zed
Aud i dea ler is familiar w ith these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dea ler perform this service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
l owering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
se nsors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in wh ic h it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made. Other k inds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it sho uld .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina ­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspens ion components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi­
nally installed on you r vehicle.
- Never use tire- rim combinat ions that
have not been approved by A udi.
A irba g sy stem 19 7
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety be lt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the b uckle to send the
wrong informa tion to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advan ced Air­
bag System from wo rking properly.
- Always ma ke sure that nothing can inter­
fe re with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obs truc ted.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 212 Side airbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests~ fig. 212 and the rear
backrest* facing the doors . They are identified
by the wo rd "AIRBAG".
Th e side a irbag sy stem ba sic ally consi st s of :
-the electron ic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the s ides of
the front backrests
- two rear side airbags (as an ordered option)
- the airbag warn ing light in the instrument
cl uster .
T he airbag system is mon itored e lec tronically
t o m ake ce rtain that it is f unction ing pro perly
at all times . Each time you turn on the ig ni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) . ..,.

198 Airbag system
The s ide airbag system supplements the safe­
ty b elts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's, front and rear* passeng­ er's upper torso on the side of the vehicle that
is struck in a side collision . The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control un it is
h igh enough .
If this rate is below the refer­
ence va lue programmed into the control u nit,
the side airbags will not be triggered , even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de ­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one collision and another. Important fac tors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehi cle speed, etc.
9 page 199, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe ­
ty belts work to help keep t he driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
coll is io n so that the side a irbags can provide
p rotec tion .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is pa rt of the overall oc­
cupa nt res traint system in your ve hicle. Al­
ways remember tha t the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason w hy you sho uld a lways wear
your safety belts, not just beca use the law re­
quires you to do so
9 page 173, General
notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental s ide a irbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
a nd minor abras io ns can also be associated
with deployed side a irbags . Remember too,
side ai rbags wi ll deploy on ly once and on ly in
cer tain k inds of acc idents -your safety belts
ar e a lways there to offer protect io n.
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- t
io n. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate . Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once and on ly in certain
k inds of co llisions -yo ur safety be lts are a l­
ways there to offer protection in those acc i­
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have al ready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit ion is t urned off
- in side co llisions when the acce leration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front -end collisions
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollove rs.
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
s ide curtain airbags and s ide a irbags may be
t rigge red togethe r.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide pro te ct ion when occup ants
are in the proper sea ting posi tion
9 page 199.
- If th e air b ag ind icator light 9 page 16
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system ins pected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fi g. 213 In flated s ide a irbags on le ft side of ve hicle,
rear sid e airba g opt io na l eq uipment

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When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger . In order to help provide
this additional protection, the side airbag must inflate withi n a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force . The sup­
p lemental side a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upr ight or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
p lemental side airbag expands. This applies
especia lly to children
c::, page 203, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lision
c::> fig . 213 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the upper
part of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­ ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and a irbags do the ir job to pro­
v ide supp lemental protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause ser ious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in ­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a veh icle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
A irbag system 199
-Always sit in an upright position and
never lean aga inst the area where the
supplementa l side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest
their head aga inst the s ide trim panel
i n the area where the supplemental
s ide a irbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety be lts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone s itting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window .
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without inte rference.
- Never install seat covers or rep lace­
ment upholste ry over the fron t seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
deploy.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must a lways be repaired
i mmediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- Ob jects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfer ing with the way the airbag
unfo lds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessor ies or
other objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, or even large, bu lky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat
backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can be­
come dangerous project iles and cause
i njury when the supplementa l side air­
bag deploys.
- Never carry any ob jects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the ai rbags or allow ch ild ren or other
passengers to trave l in th is position.
- Always use the bu ilt-in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any ...,
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The airbag system is not a substitute for yo ur
safety be lt. Rathe r, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
way s remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it prope rly . Th is
i s another reason w hy you shou ld always wear
your safety belts, not just beca use the law re­
qu ires you to do so~
page 173 , General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
side curta in a irbag system is designed to he lp
r educe the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
i nj uries, fo r example , swelling , bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated w ith
these airbags upon deployment . Remember
too, these airbags wi ll dep loy on ly once and
only in certain kinds of accidents -your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection.
The side curta in airbag system basically
con sist s o f:
- The electronic contro l mod ule and externa l
s ide impa ct sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side w indows
- The airbag indicator l ight in the instrument
panel
The a irbag system is monitored ele ct ron ically
to make certain it is functioning proper ly at a ll
times. Eac h time you t urn on the ignition, the
a irbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (se lf diagnostics).
The side curtain airb ag is not activated:
- if th e ign it io n is turned off
- i n s ide collisions when t he accelerat ion
measure d by the sensor is too low
- in rear-end co llisions.
_& WARNING
- Sa fe ty belts and t he a irbag sys tem w ill
only p rov ide p rotection whe n occu pan ts
are in the proper seating position
~ page 74, General recommendations .
- If the airbag indicator ligh t¢ page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing use d,
.
A irba g sy stem 201
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer .
It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together wi th
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained .
Fig. 2 15 Illus trati on of p rinc ip le: I nflat ed s ide curtain
a ir bags o n the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the
vehicle that is struck in a side coll is ion
Q fig . 215 .
When the system is triggered , the side curta in
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG labe l. In or­
der to he lp p rovide this additional protection,
the side curta in a irbag m ust in flate withi n 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 io n is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the supplemental side curta in a irbag
inflates. This applies especially to ch ildren
¢ page 203.
Although they are not a soft p illow, side cur ­
ta in ai rbag s can "cushion" the impact and in
th is way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the head and the upper part of the
bod~
~

202 Airbag sys te m
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
p loys. This is qu ite normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the veh icle.
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemen tal res traints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags do the ir job to provide supplemental
protection .
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and im­
proper seat ing positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a veh icle is being used .
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the area from wh ich the
side curtain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curta in
airbags can inflate w ithout in terference.
Unsuitable accessories fitted inside the
expansion range of a side curta in airbag
can dangerously interfere with its func­
t ion. A deploying head airbag deve lops
enough force to catapult any piece of
add-on component out of its path of in­
flation and into the passenger compart­
ment . An occupant hit by such a projec­
t ile can suffer serious injury or death
~ page 329, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
yo u have any objects clipped onto them
(for example pens). If the a irbag should
deploy, you co uld be in jured by these ob ­
jects.
- Use the built-in coat hoo ks only for light­
we ight cloth ing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from the hooks. -
On ly use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
vehicle leaves the factory, only Audi roll­ up sunscreens may be used
~ page 328,
Additional accessories and parts re­
placement.
-Always sit in proper seat ing pos ition and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side cu rtain airbags can help p rov ide
protection.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system mus t be repla ced by an au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop .
- Always have work involving the side cu r­
tain airbag system, removal and insta lla­
tion of the airbag components, or other repairs performed by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop. Otherwise
the airbag system may not work correct­
ly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .

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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 175, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenag ers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
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 children .
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,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restra ints, 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 chi ld's size ~
page 206, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about ch ild 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-
Child Sa fet y 203
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this 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 chi ldren .
.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 ikin g the interior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An un re ­
strained or improper ly 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 a irbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it 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.
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204 Child Saf ety
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
ch ild safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air­
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forward -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move t he 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 installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child rest raint that is not visible
could cause i t to fail i n another collisio n
si tua tion.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you
r
vehicle was manufacture d.
T he Adv anced Airbag system in yo ur vehicle
has been certified to mee t the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and sma ll adults on the
drive r side. The low r is k dep loyment cr iteria
are intended to red uce the risk of in jury
through interact ion w it h the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates . In addition, the syst em
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the "sup­
pression" re quirements o f th e Safety Sta nd­
ard, to t urn off the fron t airbag for infan ts up
to 12 months who are res trained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that a re list­
ed in the Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an
Advanced Airbag system , a ll children, espe­
cia lly those 12 years and yo unger, should a l­
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 ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a ch ild in a for­
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a ve ry
dange rous place fo r an infan t or a large r child
i n a rea rward-f acing se at.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
c h ild restra int on the front passenge r seat us­
i ng the weig ht-sens ing mat in the seat cush ­
ion and the sensor be low th e safe ty belt latch
o n the front passenge r seat that measures t he
tens ion on the s afety be lt.
T he we ight -sensi ng mat measures total
we ight of t he chi ld and the ch ild safety seat
and a c hild b la nk et on the front passenger
seat. The we igh t on the fron t pa sse nger se at
is re late d t o the desig n of the ch ild res trai nt
and its "f ootprint", the s ize and shape o f the
bottom of the chi ld restraint as it sits on the .,..