2015 AUDI Q7 ESP

212 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
9page 208.
Ch ildren up to at least 8 years old (over 40
l bs. or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safe­
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­ perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itable child restraint.
It is us ually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (S7 in­
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder belts.
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety belt a lone to restrain any child, regard­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis . Never let the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable force . In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­ bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
i n flat ing airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she wi ll be struck violen tly and will
receive serious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In order fo r the ai rbag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mportant that a ll vehicle occupants, espec ial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
proper ly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com­
pletely and prov ide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
.&, WARNING
No t using a booste r seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, inco rrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per body. It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r ac ross t he
stomach o r abdomen. Make sure the belt
liesflat andsnug.Pullon thebeltto
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afety belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 173 .
- The rear side o f the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is difficu lt to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
c::> page 80. Install the head restraint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed. D riving without head restraints
or w ith head restra ints that a re not prop­
erly ad justed increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck inj ury dramatically . ""

M N
0 ...J
'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing sideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in se rious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described¢
page 193, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child restrain t off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used ¢
page 173, Safety
belts,¢ page 182, Airbag system
and
c:> page 203, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear sea ts and the fron t
passenger can be locked wi th the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con ­
ve rtible locking retractor for child restraints.
Child Sa fet y 213
The safety belt must be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal dr iving . A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
i s locked so that the chi ld and child safety
seat w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper­
ly restrai ned fo r the ir age and size.
A WARNING
Improperly installed chi ld safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re­
tracto r is loc ked when installing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal dr iving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around during a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
eve r the rea r center safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­ rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-fa cing child safety
seats or infant carrie rs on the front pas ­
senger seat . A child will be serio usly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
~
•
•

214 Child Safety
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 203 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::> page 184, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
<=:> page 193, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child 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
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child. -
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-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed 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, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- 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 Advanced 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 be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception-
al circumstances.
~

M
"' 0 ..J
' "' rl
"' rl
_& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low­
er anchorages can cause serious personal
injury in a crash.
- Always ca refully follow the child re­
straint manufacturer's instruct ions for
proper installation and use of child re­
st raint systems.
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorag­
es to attach safety belts or othe r kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments a nd
lower attachments are only des igned to
se cur e a child res tra int t hat has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- T ether anc horages and lower an chorages
are desig ned to withstand o nly those
loads imposed by corre ctly fi tted ch ild
res traints . Under no circumstances can
they be used safe ly for adu lt or child
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one chi ld re ­
st raint to a sing le tether or to a lower an­
chorage point. Attac hing two child re­
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se­
rious persona l injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fo ld ing the rear seatback to prevent
damag ing the seat c ushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal­
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery on the seat cush­
i on and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures wer e insta lled. The up­
ho ls tery would a lso be permanently
stretched around the guid ance fixtures.
This applies especially to leat her seats.
Child S afety 219
Installing a child restra int with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
f o llo w t he child res traint manufa cturer's i n­
structions.
F ig . 2 2 6 Lower an cho rages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright pos ition and securely
latched in p lace.
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connecto rs lock into place ¢
fig. 226.
.. Pull on the con nector atta chme nts to ma ke
sure they are properly a ttac hed to the LA T CH
lower ancho rage .
.. Pull straps tight fo llowing the child restraint
manufact ure r's instruct ions .
Releasing
.. loose n the tension on the straps following
t he ch ild restraint manufac turer's instruc­
tions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from t he lower anchorag­
es.
Remember: Use te ther s traps to help keep the
chi ld restraint f irmly in place .
A WARNING '-
Imp roper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.

222 Child Safety
Releasing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension following the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
.. For the second row of seats: Push the floor­
ing forward into place again.
.. For the third row of seats:* Replace the
plastic cover cap .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would also be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear -facing child restraint sys­
tems come with a tether . Please read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
& 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, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. 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 serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- 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
Audi dealer.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about child restraint selection, in­
stallation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
vehicle, and that you will use correctly and
consistently.
Try before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
http://www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45 -SAFE (Eng Lish)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http://www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800 -333-0371 or call
1-613-998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu.htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

M N
0 ...J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDRs are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDRs that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for example, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
The Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) rein­
forces driver safety. It reduces the risk of slip ­
ping and improves driving stability. ESC de­
tects critical s ituations such as the vehicle
Intelligent technology 223
oversteering and understeering or the whee ls
spinning . The vehicle is stabilized by applying
the brakes or reducing eng ine torque . Once
the ESC is active, the indicator light
GI blinks
in the instrument cluster.
The following systems are integrated in the
ESC:
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when brak ing. The vehicle can sti ll be steered
even during hard braking. Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking
distance.
It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over. In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control*, the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and dr ive up hi lls.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other wheels.
This function is not available at higher speeds .
In extreme cases, EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheating. EDL will switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems can­
not overcome the laws of physics. This is
especially important on slippery or wet
~
•
•

224 Intellig ent technol ogy
roads . If the systems begin acting to sta­
bilize your vehicle, you should immedi­
ately change your speed to match the
road and traff ic conditions. Do not let
the inc reased safety prov ided by these
systems tempt you to take r isks. Doing
so w ill increase the risk of a loss of vehi­
cl e con tro l, coll is ion and serio us personal
injuries.
- Always adapt you r speed to road, traff ic
and weather condit ions. The risk of los­
ing contro l of the veh icle increases when
driv ing too fast, especia lly t hrough
c u rves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when driving too close to vehicles up
ahead. The ESC and its integrated sys­
tems cannot always prevent collisions -
there is still a r isk of accidents!
- Always acce lerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
Switching on/off
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways help to reduce the risk of loss of ve­
h icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identi­
cal tires. D ifferent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator light
DJ or fil (USA
mode ls)/ ti] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
<:;> page 16,
<:;>page 18.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
,.-------------.,
------------------
Fig. 231 Upper cente r console: f'J OFF button
The follow ing s ituations are exceptions where
it may be useful to switch on offroad mode to
a llow the whee ls to spin:
Offroad mode on
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
- Dr iving on rough terrain when much of the
car's weight is lifted off the whee ls (axle ar­
ticulation)
- Dr iving downh ill wh ile brak ing on loose
ground
Offroad mode off
Beha vior
The ESC and ASR stabilization funct ions The fu ll stab ilization funct ion of the ESC
are limited <:;>,&..
and ASR is availab le agai n.
Operat ion Press the I~ O FFI button . Press the I~ OFFI button again.
Indi ca to r IJ tu rnson. II turns off.
li g ht s
D riv er m es- Stabil izat ion cont rol (ES C): O ffroad. S tabil ization contro l (ESC) : On
sa ges Warning! R estricted st ab ility

M N
0 ...J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Hill descent c ontrol
The hill descent control is sw itched on in off­
road mode. When slowly descending steep
gradients on loose ground or when the axles
are articulated, hi ll descent control provides
assistance by automatically applying the
brakes to keep vehicle speed constant. The ve­
h icle is also rendered easier to steer by selec­
tive distribution of braking force . Hill descent
control intervenes when:
- the accelerator pedal is not pressed,
- the vehicle is travelling less than 12 mph
(20 km/h),
- a steep gradient is detected,
- wheel behavior indicates loose ground or
conditions with poor adhesion (e .g. also ax le
articulation) .
H ill descent control operates both dr iv ing for­
ward and in reverse. Active hill descent con ­
trol is deactivated by pressing the acce lerator
pedal until the conditions for act ivation al­
ready listed are met again.
A WARNING
You should only switch offroad mode on if
your dr iving abilities and road conditions
permit .
- The stabilization function is limited
when offroad mode is switched on. The
dr iv ing wheels could spin and the vehicle
cou ld swe rve, especia lly on slick or slip­
pery road surfaces.
- You should on ly sw itch offroad mode on
when d riving offroad .
(D Tips
Offroad mode cannot be switched on when
adaptive cru ise control* is sw itched on.
Brake system
Operating condit ions and d riving hab it s
The brakes on today's automob iles are st ill
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­
i ng conditions and dr iv ing habits ~& . On
vehicles that are e ither driven mostly in stop-
Int ellig ent technolog y 225
and-go city t raff ic or are driven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dea ler more often than specif ied in
the
Warranty & Mainten ance boo klet . Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes, you sho uld use the braking
effect of the engine . This way, you prevent un ­
necessary wear on the brake system. If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down cont inuously . Pump the brakes at inter­
vals.
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, braking force and outside condi ­
t ions such as temperature and humid ity .
Mo is ture or ro ad s alt
Under certa in conditions, for example, when
driv ing through water or very heavy ra in, or
even after washing your veh icle, the braking
effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in
freez ing cond itions ice) on the brake pads . A
few carefu l brake applications should dry off
the b rake pads or remove any ice coatings.
When you are drivi ng at higher speeds with
the windshield w ipers on, the brake pads wi ll
briefly touch the brake discs in regu la r i nter­
vals so as to improve react ion time when brak­
ing on wet sur faces. You, the drive r, wi ll no t
notice anything .
T he effect iveness of the brakes can be reduced
whe n the vehicle is d riven on a sa lt-cove red
road and the b ra kes are not used. He re too,
you should clean off accumulated sa lt coa ting
from brake discs and pads with a few caref ul
applications of the brake~& .
Corrosion
The re may be a tendency for di rt to b uild up
o n the br ake pads and corros io n to fo rm on
the d iscs i f the car is not driven regularly or
o nly for short trips with litt le use of the
brakes.
If t he brakes a re not used frequently, o r if cor­
ros ion has formed on the discs, it is adv isable
to clean off the pads and d iscs by braking .,.
•
•