2016 AUDI A7 wheel

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>

Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles.
F ig. 147 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig . 148 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/
h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts¢
fig . 147, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wa ll
c> fig. 148.
136
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a frontal collision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher .
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a fronta l co llision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of phys ics don't just apply to
frontal coll is ions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 149 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forwar d
Fig. 150 A rear passenge r not wea ring a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the drive r
Unbelted occupa nts are not able to resist the t re­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe ­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, .,.

M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N \!) ,....,
Airbag system Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­ er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
r:> page 12 7,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
9 page 53,
.,. Wear safety belts properly r::> page 137 ,
.. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
r:> page 167.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passeng er is not seated
properly . Therefo re in order to help the ai rbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to si t properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal collisions
r:> page 12 7, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
r::> page 53.
It's especially important that children are proper ­
ly restrained
r:> page 167.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job . If
you have a physical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au­
thori zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger . The airbags will deflate im­
mediately after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye , so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move­
ment . Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The triggering of the airbag system de­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con­
trol unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered , even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whe ther an airbag should infla te or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision and another, it is not possi­
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will ..,.
143

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in roll ­
overs.
A lwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy on ly once,
and only in certain kinds of collis ions. Your safety
be lts are a lways there to offer p rotection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restra int and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::> page 135.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in­
strument panel wil l decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
o f personal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase yo ur seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle du ring a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained child is also at greater risk of injury or death
thro ugh contac t wit h an inflat ing airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, s it­
t ing s ideways o r out of position in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
c ould even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
144
-
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
c::> page 138, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that ch ildren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may
be severe ly injured or killed when an a irbag
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im­
prope rly restrained in the vehicle . Ad just the
front sea ts prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::>page 127.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the f loor in front of the seat to help p re­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects . Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag o r the front air­
b ag du ring bra king or in a sudden maneu­
ver . Ob jects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause in jury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in you r vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the important information and
hee d the WAR NIN GS for import ant details .,..

M N
"' N I.O rl
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
ins tructions prov ided with the ch ild seat or
carrier.
- Always make sure that t he re is no thing 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 occ upied by some­
one who is heav ier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional 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 wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
F ig . 157 Locat ion of d river a irbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig . 158 Locat ion of front passenger's a irbag: in the instru ­
ment pa nel
Your vehicle is equipped w ith an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compl iance with Un ited States
Ai rb ag system
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured. The safety be lts for the
seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack
out of the belt system. The pretensioners are also
activated by the electron ic 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
c:> fig . 157 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument pane l
c:>fig. 158. The
general location of the airbags is marked ''AIR ­
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the a irbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapte rs that make
up the owner's literature . Please be sure to heed
the WAR NINGS - they are extremely importa nt
fo r yo ur safety and the safety of you r passengers,
especially infants and small children .
_& WARNING
=
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
with p roperly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safety belts and
make sure tha t everybo dy in your vehicle is
properly rest rained.
- Always hold the steering wheel w ith both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po ­
sitions to help reduce the risk of persona l in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never ho ld the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steer ing wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, ha nds, and head if
the dr iver airbag deploys .
~
147

Airbag syste m
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag w ill in ­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airba g unfo lds and/or by
being pus hed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag depl oyment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying a irbag
can become project iles when the airbag de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never place accessor ies 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 wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,.AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument pane l or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these a reas 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 music players. Such objects co uld cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the a ir­
bags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag dur ing breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver . Objects near the a irbags can
fly dangerously th rough the passenger com­
partment and ca use i njur y, partic ularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate .
A WARNING
A person on the front passenge r seat, espe ­
cially infants and small children, wi ll receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
148
-
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that dep loyment un­
de r these specia l condit ions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of yo ur vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the ,,low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-o ld children under the U.S. Fed­
era l Standard if a c hild with e lectr ica l capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one -yea r old infant re ­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certif ied is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position .
- For their own safety, all ch ildren, especially
12 yea rs and younger, should a lways ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped with a front Advanced
A irbag System in compliance w ith United States
Federa l Mo tor Ve hicl e Safety Standa rd 208 asap­
plicable at the time your vehicle was manufac­
tured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety be lts to p rov ide additional protec tion
f or the driver 's and front passenger 's heads and
u pper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in fronta l impacts when the ve hicle de­
ce lerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occ upants is not a s ubstitute for yo ur safety
belts. Rather , it is part of the overall occupant re­
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can only he lp to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe-
ty belt and wear ing it properly . Th is is why you
ll>

M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N \!) ,....,
and your passengers must always be properly re­
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to meet the "low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-old children on the pas­
senger side and very small adults on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
q page 169, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"S uppression " requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi­
cle's comp liance with the US Safety Standard
qpage 169,
- When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a total
e lectr ical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
Airbag system
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the control unit and
can deploy if the control unit senses an impact
that meets the conditions stored in its memory.
If the total electrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typical 1 year-old, but less than the weight of a
small adult, the front airbag on the passenger
side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (re­
gardless of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
q page 169),
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instrument panel will come on and stay on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic control unit
q page 154.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the impor tant infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS .
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
9page 143.
149

-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger .
- A capacitive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster~
page 154.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel ~
page 155, fig. 160 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
~ - Never remove the upholstery from the front <(
~ passenger seat.
~ -Never disassemble or remove parts from the 1.1'1
N seat or disconnect wires from it. ID ......
Airbag system
-Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat . Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- 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.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat .
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
- 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. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint
~
151