2015 AUDI Q7 Latch

M
"' 0 ..J
- "' rl
"' rl
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
Fig . 196 Safe load pos ition ing: place heavy objects as
low and as far forward as possible.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics . Loose items can also increase
the r isk of serious personal injury in a sudden
veh icle maneuver or in a collision .
.. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
.. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as low
and as far forward as poss ible
q fig. 196.
.. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provid­
ed
¢ page 83.
.. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak­
ing or an acc ident. To help reduce the r isk
of serious personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment us ing the tie-down eye lets
and suitable straps .
Drivin g Sa fely 169
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve­
h icle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
miss ible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv­
ing
qpage 163 .
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, a lways
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transpo rt objects larger than
-
those fitting comp letely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fu lly
closed .
- If you absolutely must dr ive with the rea r
lid open, observe the following notes to
red uce the risk of poisoni ng:
- Close all windows,
- Close the Panoramic s liding sunroof *,
- Open all air outlets in the inst rument
panel,
- Switch off the air rec irculat ion,
- Set the fresh a ir fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
A lways make sure that the doo rs, all win­
dows, the Pano ramic s liding sunroof* and
the rear lid are securely closed and locked

176 Safety belts
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision , safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes . So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident . Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags ,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­ tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
.. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly . -
Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned properly on
the body.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv­
en.
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury .
-Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi­
tion .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly. If web-
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are .,,.

M
"' 0 ..J
"". rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
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
u, .... 0 :t
~
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 ,
¢A . ~

M
"' 0 ..J
"". rl
.. 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.
rl l/1 rl
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.

M N
0 ...J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
-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 .
-
•
•

194 Airbag sys te m
- a rearward-facing ch ild restraint has been
insta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been in­
sta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passen­
ger seat is equa l to or less than the com­
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restrain­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
P A S­
S ENG ER AIR BA G OFF
light will stay on . Nev­
er install a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child rest raint is at one
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 184, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 203, Child Safety.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regular ly to
make certain that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OF F
light stays on cont inuo usly whenever the
ignit ion is on. If the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinsta ll the chi ld restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly ro uted through the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint manufactu rer's in­
stru ctions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
tu re on the safety be lt fo r the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
sa fety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the senso r below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 213.
- make sure that things that may increase the weight of the child and ch ild safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen ­
sor is not blocked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sens ing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con­
t inuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen- ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by your autho rized Aud i deale r
immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and make sure that the child is properly restra in­
ed in a c hild restra int that is approp riate for
its s ize and age.
The
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
t h e front pas senge r sea t. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un ­
der these ci rcumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger sea t is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the sea t
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
¢ page 164, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being proper ly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing, .,..

M N
0 ...J
'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
-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 ..,.
•
•