2018 AUDI A7 child seat

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' ~ Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
~ page 54.
~ Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per ­
sonal injury in the event of hard b raking or an
accident . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal in jury:
- Always put objects, fo r example, luggage o r
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
- Always sec ure objects in the luggage com­
partmen t using the tie-down hooks an d
s u itable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads wi ll influence the way yo ur vehi­
cle handles. To he lp reduce the ris k of a loss
of contro l leading to serio us pe rsonal 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 d istribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as poss ible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the driv­
er's side B-p illar. Exceeding permissible
we ight s tanda rds can cause the vehicle to
slide and handle differently .
- Please obse rve information on safe driving
~page 1 2 9.
A 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
fitt ing completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid can not be fully closed.
-
Dri ving saf ety
- If you absolutely m ust dr ive 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.
A WARNING
=
A lways make su re that the doo rs, all win-
dows, the powe r roof* and the rea r lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the r isk of
i njury when the veh icle is not being used .
- After closing the rear lid , always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked .
- Never leave your veh icle unattended espe­
cially with the rear lid left open . A child
could crawl in to the vehicle th rough the lug­
gage compartment and close the rea r lid be­
coming trapped and unab le to get o ut. Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle c an le ad to ser ious
pe rsonal injury.
- Never let children play in o r around the vehi­
cle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compa rtment. Vehicle occupants mus t al­
ways be p roperly restrained in one of the ve­
h icle's seat ing pos itions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce w indow fog­
ging. Stale air esc apes to the outs ide
t hrough vents in the tr im panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.
- The tire p ressure m ust co rres pond to the
load. The t ire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The t ire pressure label is lo ­
cated on the dr iver's side B-pillar . The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures fo r the veh icle at its
maximum capac ity weight and the tires that
we re on your vehicle at the time it was man ­
ufac tured . For recommended t ire pressures
for normal load condi tions, p lease see chap­
t er
~page 217.
135

Drivin g saf ety
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo proper ly
¢ page 134, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of p hysics mean that even
sma ller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in­
jury . Items in the ve hicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignificant factor .
For examp le, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 t imes the normal
weight of the item . Th is means that the weight
of the item would suddenly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
t ha t a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying free ly th rough
the passenger compartment could ca use in a co l­
lision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail d uring ha rd
brak ing or in a collision and cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- Always use suitab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help p revent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan­
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down, always use suitab le mounting straps and
prope rly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartmen t to help p revent
items from flying forw ard as dangerous
missiles into the passenger compartment .
- Never a ttach a child safe ty se at tether strap
to a tie-down.
136
-
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you belie ve that your vehicle
ha s a defect whi ch could cau se a
c rash or could cau se injur y or
death, you should immedi atel y in­
form the N atio nal Highw ay Traffic
Sa fe ty Admini stration (NHTSA) in
a ddition to n otif yin g Audi of
Am eri ca , Inc.
If NHTS A re cei ves s imilar com­
pl aint s, it m ay o pe n an in vestiga­
tion , and if it find s that a saf ety
defe cts ex is ts in a group of
ve hicle s, it m ay ord er a re call and
remed y campaign. However,
NHTSA cann ot become in volved in
indi vidu al probl em s between you,
your dealer, or Audi of Am erica,
Inc.
To conta ct the NHT SA, you ma y
either call:
T el.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY :
1-800-424- 9153) or
1-800-424- 9393
or you may write to:

Safety belts
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of t he instr uctions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly inc reases the risk of ser io us personal
inju ry and dea th.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ila bl e to reduce t he ris k of ser ious
injury and dea th in automob ile acc idents.
Fo r yo ur pro tec tion an d that of your passe n­
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fe ty be lts
whe n the veh icle is mov ing.
- Pr egnan t wome n, in ju re d, o r physically i m­
paired perso ns m us t al so use s afety be lts.
L ik e all ve hicl e o ccupa nts, they are mor e
li ke ly to be serio usly i nju re d if th ey d o no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r
-th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Aud i has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. In some
ve hicles, there are f ive seating positions: two in
the front and three i n the rea r. Each sea ting pos i­
t ion has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearin g s afety bel ts or weari ng the m im­
p ro perly in cr eas es th e risk of ser io us person al
inju ry and dea th.
- N ever strap mo re th an on e person, inclu d­
i ng sm all childr en, into an y be lt .
It is espe ­
ci ally d angerous to pla ce a sa fety bel t over a
c h ild sitting o n you r lap .
138 -
Never let more peop le r ide in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be s ure everyone ridin g in t he vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or c hild restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only)
to remind you about the importance of buckling ­
up .
Fig. 142 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in th e inst rume nt clus ­
ter
-e nl arged
Before driving off , always :
~ Fasten yo ur safety belt an d ma ke sure you are
wearing it prope rly.
"' "' 0 N ~ Ma ke sure that your passengers a lso b uck le up
and properly wea r the ir safety belts.
~ Protect ch ild ren w ith a c hild restraint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The wa rning lig ht . in the inst rument cluste r
li ghts up w hen the ig nition is o n as a rem inder to
fasten the safety bel ts . In addi tion, you w ill hear
a war ning tone for a certain period of time .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING -
- Sa fety belt s are th e sing le mo st effecti ve
means av ail able to reduc e the risk of ser ious
in jur y and de ath in a utom obile accide nts.
Fo r your p rotec tion and t hat o f yo ur p ass en ­
ge rs, a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
w hen t he ve hicle is moving .
~

a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 00 <.,;) ' A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are cor rectly restrained.
-For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
-Never place a safety belt over a child sitt ing
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith their feet on
the instrument panel or st icki ng out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc ., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard ­
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re ­
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
-Never use comfort clips or devices that cre ­
ate slack in the shoulder be lt . However, spe­
c ial clips may be requ ired for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
-Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acc i­
dent. Inspect belts regularly .
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
Safety bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thor ized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inert ia reel
q table on page 230 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 148 Be lt buckle and to ngue on t he d river' s se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restra int proper­
ly
q page 47, Sea ts and storage.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright posit ion and securely latched in
p lace before using the belt
q ,&. .
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pe lvis
q fig . 148, q ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue in to the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
..,
141

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped with an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pu lled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt p ret en sione rs
Safety belts w ith pretensioners he lp to tighten
the safety belt and remove s lack when the pre­
tensioners are activated
c;, page 144 . The func­
tion of the pretensioner is monitored by a warn­
ing light
c;, page 16 .
Convertibl e loc king r etracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 181 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an
accident ¢ page 142,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k­
rest to which the center rea r safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uckle wi ll reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious person-a l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it
moves from the stronger parts
142
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­ men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
,=;, page 183.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
c;, page 144 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 149 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an a cc ident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways f it
snug ly
c;, fig. 149. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by sh ifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious i nju ry .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c;, page 140 .

Safe ty belt s
~ Push the loop -around fittings up ¢ fig. 152 @,
or
~ squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings
do wn@ .
~ Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er impo rtant informat io n
¢page 140.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts .
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly pos itioned on the body .
Imp roper seating posit ions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
risk of injury a nd deat h by mov ing the safety belt
t o cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper sea ting
positions a lso increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi ­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
ve hicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to ass ume an inco rrect
s itting position in the vehicle wh ile trave ling
¢A .
A WARNING
Improperly wor n safety be lts increase the risk
of se rious personal injury a nd death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occupa nts
are correct ly restra ined and stay i n a co rrect
sea ting pos it ion wheneve r the veh icle is be­
ing used.
144 -
Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other impo rtant
informat ion¢ page 140.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Reversible safety belt tensioners*
The following functions a re availab le when safety
belts w ith reversib le safety belt tensioners a re
fastened:
- Automatic tens ioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to t he
passenger after a ce rtain t ime per iod or ve hicle
speed. To switch t he a utomat ic tens ioners off,
select the follow ing in t he M MI :
!CARI function
button
> ( Car )* sy stem s > Vehicle settings >
Seats > Driver 's seat or Passenger' s seat > Au­
tomatic belt tensione r
> Off.
-In certain driving situations, the safety belts
may tighten wit h a reversib le tensioning func ­
tion
c> page 95.
- The safety be lts may also tighten with this re -
vers ible tension ing funct ion in m inor collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
Seat bel ts with py rotechnic safety be lt p reten ­
s ione rs are tensioned automati cally in severe col ­
li sions, depending on the circumstances . This
helps to reduce the forwa rd motion of the occu ­
pants.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrect ly.
- Any work on the tens ioner system or remov ­
al and installation of system components
for other repairs m ust be performed by a
qua lified workshop.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collis ion. If t he py rotech­
n ic pretens ione rs deploy, the pretensioning
system must be rep laced.

Airbag system
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 dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly~ page 130,
.,. Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
~page 47 ,
.,. Wear safety belts properly~ page 140,
.. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect chi ldren
~page 170 .
In a coll is ion, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all t imes.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the air bag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal
coll isions¢ page 130, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢ page 47.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restrained
¢ page 170.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
146
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
thorized Audi dea ler or qualified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ible modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and infla te between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The a irbags w ill deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windsh ield aga in
without interruption.
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in the ir 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 ins ide of the vehicle while reduc ing the forces
acting on the occupant dur ing the crash . In th is
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 t he a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and registered by the electronic con­
trol unit. If this rate is be low the refe rence value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even tho ugh t he car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . V ehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances wi ll vary considerab ly
between one co llision and another, it is not possi ­
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always trigger the airbags. Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the ca r hits, the angle of
im pact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will
..,.

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J ' also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
ro llovers .
Always re memb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection 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 coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
<=:> page 138 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r i n­
st rument panel w ill decrease the effe ct ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never si t close r than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the stee ring w heel or instr ument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the s teeri ng wheel, invest i­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
availab le to he lp you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All ve hicle occupants and especia lly children
must be restrained proper ly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestra ined o r imp roperly restrained
c hild is also at greate r risk of inju ry o r death
t h rough contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rwa rd, s it­
ti ng s ideways or o ut of pos it ion in any way,
yo ur risk of i njury is m uch higher.
- Yo u will also receive se rious injur ies and
c ou ld eve n be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag o r too close to it w hen it in flates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
-
Airbag syste m
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts prope rly
<=:> page 141, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younge r always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
i n flates.
- Never let c hildren r ide unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle . Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride w ith the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument pane l
<=:> page 130.
-Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep bot h feet
on the floor in front of t he seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine t he fron t passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move into
the area of the s ide airbag or the front air­
b ag d uring brak ing o r in a sudden ma neu ­
ve r. Obje cts near the a irbags can be come
p rojecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inf lates .
A WARNING ,..__ -
Airbags that have deployed in a cras h m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap ­
proved by A udi and insta lled by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effect iveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat io n and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
147