2015 AUDI S7 steering

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-Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stalling child restraints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- 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 - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the
seat . The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the
seat.
Airbag system 151
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemen tal
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig. 161 Locat io n of drive r airbag : in steering wheel
Fig. 162 Locat ion of fron t pa ssenger' s airbag: in the in·
st rument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners " that help
to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub~
fig. 161 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢ fig. 162. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the .,..

152 Airbag system
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
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 children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys.
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
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
Jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
.,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3- and 6-year-old children under the

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U.S. Federal Standard if a child with elec­
trical capac itance greater than the com­
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restra ined in one of the for­
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which your vehicle was certi­
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy­ ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rea r seat
area than in the front seating posit ion .
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
c ially 12 years and younger, sho uld al­
ways ride in the back p roperly rest rained
for their age an d size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
e r's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enough.
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
fro nt seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant rest raint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up ­
righ t, wearing yo ur sa fety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
h as been certified to meet the " low r isk" re­
q uir ements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of i n­
j ury through interaction with the front airbag
A irbag system 153
that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been cert ified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for in fants 12 months o ld and younger
who are rest rained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standa rd
c> page 175, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing of the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com­
p lia nce w it h t he US Safe ty Stand ard
c>page 175,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas ­
senge r seat that has an e lec trica l capa ci­
tance t hat is more than the tota l elect rical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle was certified), the front airbag
on t he passenger side may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electron ic cont ro l unit de tects a to ­
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen­
ger seat that requi res the front a irbag to be
turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does no t come on, the front airbag on
the passenger side has not been turned off by
the contro l unit and can deploy if the control
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi­
tions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll>
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158 Airb ag sys te m
or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
supp lement the three-point safety belts only
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
dece leration is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
F ront airbag s will not d eplo y:
-if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the minimum
t h reshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electron ic control unit.
The f ront pa ssenger airbag also will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect io n system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side fronta l airbag must be
switched off by the e lectronic control unit
(the
PA SSENGE R AIR B AG OFF light
c> page 160 and how they work comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk 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 the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located.
- Occupants who a re unbelted, out of posi­
t ion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it un folds
with great force in the blin k of an eye
i=>page
149.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild seats on
the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seating pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
c'-----
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the r isk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle 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 ser ious perso nal in­
jury if the a irbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth­
er objects (such as cup holders, te le­
phone brac kets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering whee l,
instr ument panel, seat bac krests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause in jury 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 s ide airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a

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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.
A 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 cup
holders 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.
Airbag system 163
-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 deploy only once. After an airbag has been deployed, it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially
for your Audi model version. Replace­
ment of complete airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book­
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE­
CORD.
- 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 technicians who have the ex­
perience, information and special tools
necessary to perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material - special handling may apply, see
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164 Airbag system
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per ­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts wit h pretens ioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Aud i dea ler is familiar wit h these requ ire­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dea le r perfo rm this se rv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion st ruts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and se nt to the electron ic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels meas ured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­ ured by the sensors and prevent the a irbag
from deploying when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire -rim combina­
tions can change Advan ced A irbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serio us
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance character istics as the components origi­
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinatio ns that
have not been approved by A udi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
F ig . 1 65 Driver's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the ins trumen t
pane l underneath t he steering wheel
¢ fig. 165, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan­
el underneat h the glove compartment.
T he knee airbag offe rs additional p rotection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower th igh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
If t he front airbags dep loy , the knee ai rbags
also dep loy in frontal coll isions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the contro l unit
is met
¢ page 15 7, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addition to their norma l safety function,
safety belts help keep the dr iver or front pas­
senger in position in a fronta l collision so that
the a irbags can provide supplemental protec­
t ion .
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc­
cupant restra int system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the a irbag system can
o nly help to protect you if you are weari ng
your safety belt and wea ring i t properly. This
is why you should always wear your safety
belt, not just beca use the law requi res you to
do so
r::!;>page 138, General notes . ..,.

166 Airbag system
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Appl ies to vehicles: with knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly 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 to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
justing their seat positions, it is impor­ tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy.
-Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag deploys or by being pushed
into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
o r animals ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air­ bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If children are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~ page 173, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 167 S ide a irbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢
fig. 167 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG ".
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be .,_

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-Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
h icle
¢ page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 147, Airbag system and
¢ page 173, Important things to
know.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child rest raint that is not vis ible
could cause it to fail in another collis ion
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is eq uipped with a front "Ad ­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance w ith
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your veh icle was manufactured .
T he Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
qu irements for 3-and 6-year old ch ildren on
the passenger s ide and small adults o n the
driver side. The low risk deployment criter ia
a re i ntended to reduce the risk of inju ry
through interaction with the a irbag that can
oc cu r, fo r example , by be ing too close to the
steering whee l and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
press ion" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restra ined on the front
passenger seat in ch ild restraints that are list­
ed i n the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, shou ld al­
ways ride in t he back seat properly rest ra ined
fo r the ir age and s ize. The a irbag on t he pas­
senger side makes the fro nt seat a poten tially
d a ngerous pla ce for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place fo r a child in a fo r­
ward-facing child safety seat . It can be a very
Child Sa fet y 175
dange rous place fo r an infant o r a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
T he veh icle's Advan ced Ai rb ag Sys tem has a
capacit ive passenger detec tion system in the
front passenger seat cush ion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a c hild in a child re­
stra int system on this seat .
T he capaci tive passenge r detection system
r egisters the changes that result in an electri ­
ca l fie ld when a chi ld, a ch ild restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capac itance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the ch ild restraint system
rest ing on the seat . The meas ured capacitance
of a child res traint system va ries depend ing
o n the type of sys tem and specific m ake and
model.
T he elect rical capac itance of the va rious
types, ma kes, a nd models of child restra ints
spe cified by the U.S. Nationa l Highway Traff ic
Safety Administra tion (N HTSA) in the re levant
sa fety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System contro l unit together with the
capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
o ld child. W hen a child restraint is used on t he
front passenger seat with a typica l 1 year-old
infant, t he Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measu red by the capacitive
passenger detection system with the data
s tored in the ele ctronic co ntrol unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Rega rdless of the c hild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
U nited States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. A lways be sure
that the ch ild restra int is properly installed at
o ne of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
t iona l circumsta nces yo u must use it on the
fron t passenger sea t, ca re fully read all of the
i nformation on child sa fe ty and Advanced Air -
bags and heed all of the applicable ..,.
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