2016 AUDI A7 tow

Driving safety
"'Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 53.
.&_ WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted , out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in­
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury :
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the out ­
side of the steering wheel rim with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are located .
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
properly and make sure that all passengers
are properly restrained .
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle .
128
-
-Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position .
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢
page 167 . Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front pas­ senger seat¢
page 143.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
"' Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
"'For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
c:> page 129 . Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as possible.
"' Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat .
"'Fasten and wear safety be lts correctly
¢ page 138.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 52 .
.&_ WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious per­
sonal injury :
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
Ill>

Driving safety
-Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning .
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving . Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus­ ing a loss of veh icle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac ­
teristics. Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden vehicle ma­
neuver or in a collision.
.. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com­
partment.
.. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as far forward as
possible.
.. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
¢ page 63, Luggage compartment.
.,. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place .
_& WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per­
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage com­
partment using the tie-down hooks and
suitable straps.
132
_& WARNING ~ -
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles. To help reduce the r isk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
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 Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and
handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driving
¢page 126.
_& WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed wh ile driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all a ir outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air rec irculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed.
_& WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all windows,
the power roof* and the rear lid are securely
closed and locked to reduce the risk of injury
when the vehicle is not be ing used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
-
that it is properly closed and locked. ~

Safety belts
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 pregnancy.
Fig. 154 Safety belt posit ion during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be pos itioned correctly on the wear­
er's body ¢
page 139 .
... Adjust the front seat and adjustab le head re­
stra int* correctly ¢
page 52, General informa­
tion .
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢
fig. 154, ¢ ,.&. .
... Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 138, fig . 152.
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­
ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ A in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 139 .
140
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
.,,
Fig. 155 Re leasing th e tongue from th e buckle
... Push the red release button on the buckle
¢ fig. 155. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
¢ A.
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Doing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
Fig. 156 Safety belt heigh t adjustment for the front seats
- loop -around fittings
0 ,-. N 0 :i: .. m
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possible and should fit well
on the body
¢ ,.&. in Safety belt position on
page 139.
~

Airb ag syst em
manufacturer's instructions require the use
of a towel, foam cushion or something else
to properly position the child restraint,
make certain that the
PA SSE NGE R A IR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is insta lled on the front
passenge r seat.
- If the PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iate ly in­
sta ll c hild restra int in a rear seating position
and have the a irbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets we t, dry i t i m­
mediately .
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger sea t,
this can keep the airbag system from work ­
ing properly and may, for instance, deacti­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If th is
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the airbag ind icator light
fl in the inst ru­
ment cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, but has not
soaked in, this may a lso keep the airbag sys ­
tem from work ing properly and cause the
passenge r frontal a irbag to be enab led
(turned on), even tho ugh there is a properly
insta lled child restraint system on the sea t.
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat cus hion can have the same effect .
If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light light
will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The fron t Advanced A irbag System and the s ide
a ir bags s upplement the prote ction offered by the
front three-point s afety be lts wi th pre tensioners
a nd load limiters and the adjustable head re ­
straints * to he lp red uce the risk of i njury in a
wide range of acc ident and crash situations . Be
sure to read the important informat ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
152
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece leration meas ured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned
off if the electrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenge r detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount programmed in the electronic cont rol uni t. T he
fron t passenger frontal airbag will a lso be turned
off if the capac itance meas ured by the sys tem for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant of about one year of age in one of the chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on a nd stays on to tell you when the front Ad ­
vanced Airbag System on the passe nger side has
been t urned
off ¢ page 155.
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of inj ury w hen an a irbag i n­
fla tes, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of posit io n in any way,
your r isk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive se rious injuries and
co uld even be killed if yo u are up ag ains t t he
ai rbag or too close to it when i t inflates -
eve n with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 143.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig . 159 Inflated fro nt a irbags
" "' 0 ± ., a,

Airbag system
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 169 .
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and .. .
- a car bed has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rward -facing child restraint has been instal­
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equal to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld 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
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will stay on. Never install a
rearward-facing child restraint on the front pas­
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po­
sitions on the rear seat ¢
page 144, Child re­
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 167, Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer­
tain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on contin uously whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on all the t ime,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off
for more than 4 seconds and then turning it on
again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint . Make
sure that the chi ld restraint is properly installed
and that the safety belt for the front passenger
156
seat has been correctly routed through the
child restraint as described in the chi ld restraint
manufacture r's instruct ions;
- make sure that the convertib le locking retractor
on the safety be lt for the front passenger seat
has been activated and that the safety belt has
been pulled tight .
- make sure that no electrical device (such as a
laptop,
CD player, electron ic games dev ice,
power inverter or seat heater for ch ild seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retrofit ­
ted or otherwise added to the front passenger
seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or other liquids on
the fron t passenger seat cushion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come on and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint
off the front passenger
seat and insta ll it p roperly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is pro pe rly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its siz e
and age .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should NOT
come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should NOT
come on when the ignit ion is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
S seconds while dr iv ing, under these c ircumstan­
ces, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper-
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with ..,.

Child safet y
exceptional circ umstances and the
PA SSENGE R AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected immediately by your Aud i dealer .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the a irbag and cause serious
persona l injury to the ch ild .
-If exceptiona l circumstances require the use
of a forwa rd-facing child rest raint on the
front passenger's seat, the child 's safety
and we ll-being requ ire the following specia l
precautions to be taken :
- Always make sure that the forward -facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided w ith the child seat
or infant car rier.
- Never install a chi ld restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions req uire the top tether strap to be used .
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper anchor­
age to the adjustment position that per­mits proper insta llation in accordance with
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­ tions.
- 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
child restraint . The backrest must be ad ­
justed to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rea rmost pos ition in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
168
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats) . These may influence the electrical
capac itance measured by the capac itive
passenger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se rious
personal injury .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, e lectronic
games device, powe r inverter o r seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
vo lt socket or the cigarette lighter socket .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or otherwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restra int sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cush ion.
- Always make sure that the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on
all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .
- If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate­ ly install the forward-fac ing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspe cted by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buc kle the ch ild seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it. A
l oose ch ild seat can fly around du ring a
sudden stop or in a collis ion .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
whenever using a ch ild restraint in a vehi­
cle ¢
page 135, Safety belts, ¢ page 143,
Airbag system
and ¢ page 167, Impor­
tant information .
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during a crash . Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause it to fail in another co llision situation.

Child safety
-Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu ­
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer 's
instructions provided with the child sa fety
seat or carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possible be­
fore installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is in
the upright position .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys ­
tem on this seat .
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic games device ,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats) . These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c::> poge 135, Safety belts,
172
c::> page 143, Airbag system and
c::> page 167, Child safety .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re ­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and 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 if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig. 167 Schem ati c o verview: keep unused safety belt s
away fro m childre n in child safety seats. @ -ou te r rear
s a fe ty belt, @ -center rea r sa fety belt*
If a child safety sea t is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag ­
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them
c::> _&. .
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and ®* be ­
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
c::> fig . 167. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "clicking "
sound when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.

Child safety
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth ­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat .
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
r::!;> poge 135, Safety belts,
r::!;> page 143, Airbag system and
~ page 167, Important information .
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety sea ts con
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
Fig. 169 Schema tic ov ervi ew: installatio n of th e atta ch­
m ents app lica ble to a LATCH seat
174
Fig. 170 Schem ati c ove rview : instal la ti on of the sea t using
t he vehicle' s sa fet y bel t system
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢
page 177 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2 .5 cm)
r::!;> page 177.
.,. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢ page 183.
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 172.
A toddler o r child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their size and weight¢
fig. 169 and
¢fig. 170 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat . It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat.
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious