2016 AUDI A7 ESP

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
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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>

-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

Airbag syste m
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the a irbag unfo lds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the a irbag inflates .
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle 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 airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangero us projectiles that can
ca use serio us pe rsonal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
objects (such as cup holde rs, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bu lky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steer ing whee l, instru­
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourse lf. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­ bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near t he airbags c an become
project iles and cause injury, part icularly
when the seat is reclined .
- Never place or transpo rt obje cts on the
fron t passenger seat . Objects on the front
passenge r seat co uld cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it in fact is not , or that the person on the seat
is heav ier than he or she actually is . The
change in elect ric capac itance because of
s uch objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be off,
or can cause the airbag to work in a way that
is diffe ren t from the way it would have
worked without objects on the sea t.
- Always make sure that there is no thing on
the front passenger sea t that will cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
154
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actua lly
sitt ing on the seat . The presence of an ob­
ject could ca use the passenger front a irbag
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
wo rked witho ut the ob ject on the seat.
A WARNING
-
T he fine dus t created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing pro blems for people with a
h istory of asthma or other breath ing condi­
tions.
- To reduce the risk of breathing p roblems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory con­
ditions sho uld get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face w ith m ild
soap and water before eat ing .
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
flush them w ith water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t!i Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni ­
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced A irbag System as well as the side
airbags and side curtain airbags wit h ejection
mitigation features (incl uding the e lectronic con ­
trol unit, sensors and system w iring) are all
monitored continuously to make sure that they
are funct ioning properly whenever the ign ition is
o n. Every t ime you turn on t he ignit io n, the air ­
bag system indicato r light
fl will come on fo r a
few seconds (fun ct ion check).
ll>

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his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of s lack in the safety be lt web­
bing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush ­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that m ight cause the ca­
pacit ive passenger detection system to miscal­
culate electrical capac itance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
- If the status of the Adva need A irbag System
has changed while the vehicle is mov ing, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light blinks for
about S seconds to catch the driver's atten­
t ion . If th is happens, always stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri­
bed above.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is si tting on the front passenger seat
after taking the steps described above,
make sure the adult is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
t ions. Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer before trans­
porting anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplementa l protect ion
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light c::;, page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by your
au thori zed Audi dealer.
It is possible that
the a irb ag will inflate when it is not s up­
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
Airbag syste m
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
chi ld restraint, or in a rearward-facing chi ld
safety seat, or in a forwa rd-fac ing child re­
straint that has not been proper ly installed
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed .
- Even though you r vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make ce rtain
that al l children, especially 1 2 years and
younge r, al ways ride on the back seat prop­
erly restra ined for their age and size.
- Always install forward o r rear-facing child
seats on the rear seat -even with an Ad­
vance d Ai rbag System.
- If you must ins tall a rearwa rd-fa cing c hild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
stay on, immediately install the rear-facing
child seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forwa rd-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat , always move the
seat into i ts rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and a ft ad justmen t range, as fa r away
fr om the airb ag as possib le. The b ackrest
m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight position.
Make sure t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- I f the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat after tak ing the steps
described above, make su re the adult is
p roperly seated and restrained a t one of the
rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r before t ransporting anyone on
the front passenger seat.
157

Airbag syste m
(D Tips
If the capaciti ve passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSEN GER
AIR BA G OFF
light w ill stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d iffe rent p laces on your Audi. Insta lling, remov­
ing, servicing or repa iring a part in an area of the
veh icle can damage a part of an ai rbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a co llision.
There are some important thi ngs you have to
know to make sure that the effect iveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that d isca rded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
-Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an a irbag from de­
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­ ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument pane l or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup holders or te lephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the ho rn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. So lvents or cleaners
c ould damage the a irbag cover or change
the stiffness o r strength of the ma ter ial so
that the airbag cannot dep loy and protect
properly .
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts of
the a irbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or electrical system (in ­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
158
who has the training and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
- Never install seat covers or rep lacement
u pholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the are a of the side ai rbag
module mus t always be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an autho rized Aud i dealer.
- The a irb ag sys tem can deploy on ly on ce. Af­
ter an airbag has been deployed, i t m ust be
rep laced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved especially fo r your A udi
model version. Replacement of complete
airbag systems or a irbag components must
be performed by qualified workshops only.
Ma ke sure that any airbag serv ice action is
e ntered in your Aud i Warranty
& Ma inte­
nance booklet unde r
AIRBAG REPLAC EM ENT
R ECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
al ternator and starte r are separated from
the vehicle batte ry w ith a pyrotec hni c circ uit
interrupter .
- Work on the pyrotechnic c ircuit interrupt­
er must on ly be performed by a qua lified
techn ic ians who have the experience, in­
fo rmation and specia l tools necessa ry to
perfo rm the wor k safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter is
scrapped, all app licable safety precautions
must be followed.
~

M N <( I.J "". rl I.O
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Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Applies to vehicles: with k nee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraint s. Always
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 airbags
to prov ide supplementa l protection.
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in­
jury. Wearing safety belts incorrect ly and im­
proper seating positions increase the risk 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 a irbag locat ions . When adjust ing their
seat positions, it is important that both the
dr iver and the front passenger keep the ir
upper bod ies and knees at the followi ng
mi nimum safe distances :
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instr ument
panel.
- at least 4 inc hes (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if yo u
lean forward or to the s ide, or if the seat is
improperly pos it ioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt . The risk increases even
more should the airbag deploy .
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without inte rference . Objects be ­
tween you and the a irbag can increase the
risk of i nju ry i n an accident by inte rfe ring
w ith the way the ai rbag dep loys o r by be ing
pushed into you as the airbag dep loys.
- Never let anybody, especially ch ildren o r
animals ride in the footwell in front of the
passenger seat . If the airbag deploys, th is
can result in ser ious or fatal injuries .
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­
senger's seat . Bul ky objects (shopping
-
Airb ag system
bags, for examp le) can interfere with or
prevent proper deployment of the airbag .
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
or your passengers.
- Make sure the re are no cracks , deep scratch­
es o r other damage in the area of the instru­
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo­
cated .
- I f chi ldren are inco rrectly seated, their ris k
of injury increases in a coll is ion
c::> page 167, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 163 Sid e airbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
c::> fig. 163 and the rear back­
rest facing the doors . They are ident ified by the
word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags insta lled for the front seat ing
pos it ions have been des igned and certified to
help reduc e the r isk of injury that can be caused
by a irbags when they inflate, particularly when
t h e occ upant s itting next to it is not seated p rop­
erly. The s ide a irbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly insta lled child re ­
straints. P lease be sure to read the important in­
formation and warn ings whenever using a ch ild
restraint in a vehicle : Safety be lts
c::> page 135,
Airbag system c::> page 143, Child safety
<=>page 167.
The side airbag sy stem basi cally consi st s of: ..,.
161

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How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 164 Inflated side a irbags on left side of veh icle, rea r
side airbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG". It ex­
pands between the side trim panel and the pas­
senger . In order to help provide this additional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fraction of a second at very high speed and with
great force. The supplemental side airbag could
injure you if your seating position is not proper or
upright or if items are located in the area where
the supplemental side airbag expands. This ap­
plies especially to children
r:::.>page 167, Child
safety.
Supplemental side airbags inflate be­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
coll ision
r:::.> fig. 164.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"c ushion " the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys .
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
in the vehicle .
Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act accordingly to help the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against the area where the supple­
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplemental side airbag
inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replacemen t
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that cover the areas where the side airbags de­ploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
-
- Objects between you and the airbag can in­
crease the risk of injury in an accident by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or
~
163

Airbag syste m
to help provide this additiona l protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force .
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your seating position is not p roper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le ­
mental side curta in a irbag inflates . Th is applies
especia lly to children
c::> page 167 .
Although they a re not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fire in the veh icle .
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supp lemental p rotection.
,& WARNING
Improperly wear ing safe ty belts and imp roper
seating positions increase the risk of serious
perso nal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used.
- Never let occ upants p lace any parts of their
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
ta in a irbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate witho ut interference .
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for lig ht­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in a co llision.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on the hooks.
- Only use factory- insta lled sun shades or, if
shades installed after the vehicle leaves the
factory, use on ly genu ine Audi su n shades.
166
- Never swing the sun visors over to the s ide
w indows if things such as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at­
tached to the sun v isors. They could come
loose and cause serious injury if the side cur­
tain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction of a second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a s ide curtain airbag .
- The a irbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at al l times. Make sure there are no ob­
jects, pets, or other persons in the space be­
tween any vehicle occupant and any a irbag
at anyti me.
- Do not attach any accesso ries to the doors.
,& WARNING
- The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. If
the airbag has been t rigge red, the system
m ust be repl aced by an aut ho rized Aud i
dea le r o r qualified wor kshop.
- Always have wor k involving the side cu rtain
ai rbag system, removal and installation o f
the airbag componen ts, or other rep air s per ­
formed by a qualified dea le rship . Othe rwise
the airbag system may not work correctly .
- Never attempt to mod ify any components of
the airbag system in any way .