2018 AUDI A7 ECU

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 .

a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 00 <..:l ' 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 pregnan cy.
F ig. 150 Safety belt pos itio n during pregnancy
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body
r=> poge 142.
.,. Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re­
straint* correctly ¢
page 47, Seats and stor­
age .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as poss ib le on the pelv is and
there is no pressure on the ab domen
¢fig. 150, ¢ .(D..
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the cor rec t buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch secure ly .
.. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious 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 a nd heed all WARN INGS and
other important information
c:> .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 142.
Safet y bel ts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only
o~er the vehicle hos stopped.
F ig . 1 51 Releasing th e to ngue from the buckle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r=> fig . 151. The belt tongue w ill spring out of
the
buck ler=> .(D. .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt wh ile the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
i ng injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strop routing
con be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
Fi g. 1 52 Safety belt height adj ust m ent fo r th e fro nt seats
-loop -arou nd fitt ings
0 ..... N 0 :i: The shoulder be lt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the co ll ar bo ne as possible and shou ld fit well
o n the body
c:> LD. in Safe ty belt position on
page 142.
..,.
143

Child sa fety
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen ­
ger seat and insta ll it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSEN GER AIR
BA G OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer immediately.
(D Tips
The chi ld seats listed in categories A to C have
been statica lly tested by Aud i only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially chi ldren:
~ A lways use the right chi ld safety seat for each
c h ild and a lways use it properly
c::> page 176.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe ­
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll a
c hi ld safety seat , you must first activate the
conve rtible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from mov ing
c::> page 181 .
~ Push the child safety seat down wit h your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 176 .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always r ide in the back seat prope rly re­
stra ined fo r th eir age and size.
_& WARNING
N ot using a c hild safety seat, usi ng the w rong
c hild safety seat or imp roper ly installing a
174
chi ld restraint increases t he risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occ upants and especially children
must be restra ined properly whenever rid ing
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by strik ing
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve­
h icle dur ing a sudden maneuve r o r i mpact.
An unrest rained or imprope rly rest rai ned
child is a lso at g rea ter r is k of inj ury o r death
through con ta ct w it h an infl ati ng a irbag.
- Commerc ia lly availab le child safety seats
a re requ ired to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle S afety Standard ( FMVSS) 2 13
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your chi ld and the vehicle .
- Only use child restra int systems that fully
contact the flat port ion of the seat cush­
i o n. The ch ild restraint must not tip or
lean to e ither side . Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
l egs or tube -like frames. They do not p ro­
v ide adequate cont act wi th t he seat.
- Always heed all lega l req uirements per­
ta in ing to the inst allation and use of child
sa fe ty seats and caref ully follow the in ­
str uctions provided by the manufact urer
of the seat you are using .
- Never a llow children under 5 7 inc hes
( 1. 45 meters) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to t he abdomen and
neck areas dur ing sudden brak ing maneu­
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one c hild occupy a chi ld
safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder ch ildren ride in a
ve hicle w hile sitting on the lap of a nother
passenger.
- Holding a c hild in your a rms is never a s ub­
stitute fo r a ch ild restraint system .
- The s tronges t person cou ld no t hold the
c hil d with the forces tha t exist in an acc i­
dent. The c hild will strike the inte rior of
the ve hicle and can also be struck by the
passenger.

Child safety
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­ger 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
l8 , ,.,_ _ g
---0
Fig. 163 Schematic overv iew: keep unu sed safety belts
away from chi ldren in chil d safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,@- center rear safety belt*
~
If a child safety seat 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
c hild restraint is installed
c::>fig. 163. 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 .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
176
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
-Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restrain t.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs . or
9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 164 Schema tic overview : rearward-facing infa nt seat,
prope rly installed on the rear seat
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c::> poge 181 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).
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 176 .
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
II>

Child safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
Fig. 165 Schemat ic overv iew: installat ion of the attac h­
m ents app licab le to
a L ATCH seat
Fig. 166 Schematic overv iew : instal lat ion of the sea t using
the vehicl e's safety bel t sy stem
... 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
c:> page 181 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)
c:>page 181.
... If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the teth er anchors
r::> page 187.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::> page 176 .
A toddler or 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).
178
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
c> fig. 165 and
c:> fig. 166 .
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
personal injury and death in a collision or oth­
er emergency situation.
-Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center arm rest, door
or roof.
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
~

Child safety
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall .
Fig. 167 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chi ldren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly
over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a child on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck . The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
.. If you must transport an older child in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c>page 176.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
180
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro­
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt over the child's body is
very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos­
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle 's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
c hi ld is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the
ve­
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable force. In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu­ pant moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly even fatal injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the a irbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's
.,..

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J ' body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment, the airbag can inflate comp lete ly and pro­
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain fronta l
coll is ions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
inju ry and death in a co llision or ot her eme r­
ge ncy sit uat io n. To help red uce the r isk of se­
r ious persona l injury and/o r death:
- T he shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
cen ter o f the child's collar bone as poss ib le
and must lie flat and snug on the uppe r
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across t he pe lvis
and never across the stomac h or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and s nug.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary .
- Failure to proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency s ituation
¢ page 138.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
back rest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints : adj ust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if­
ficult to i nstall the child seat w ith the head
restra int i n place
¢page 49. Install the
head restrain t again immedia tely o nce the
child seat is remove d. Driving w ithout head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fata l neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the sho ulder be lt under
the a rm or be hind the bac k, because it co uld
cause seve re injur ies in a crash.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an a irbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
yo ur vehicle.
-
Ch ild saf ety
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning fo r­
ward, sitt ing sideways or o ut of position in
any way during an acc ident can be struck by
a dep loying airbag . Th is w ill resu lt in serious
pe rsonal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when­
eve r th e ign ition is swit ched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perfo rm the
checks
d es cribed¢ page 158, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child res tra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and inst all it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions i f th e
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on wheneve r
the ignition is switched on .
- A lways read and heed all WAR NINGS when ­
ever using a chi ld restrained in a vehicle is
be ing
u sed ¢ page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 170, Important information.
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas ­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats.
T he safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety be lts and for the front pas­
senger's seat safety be lt have a convertible lock­
ing retractor for child restra ints. The safety be lt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un­
r eel. The ret ractor ca n be activated to lock the
safe ty belt and preven t the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing no rma l dr iving. A ch ild
safety se at can o nly be properly insta lled when
the safety be lt is locked so t hat the c hild and
c h ild safety seat will stay in place .
Always remembe r: E ven thoug h your ve hicle is
equipped wi th an Advanced Airbag system, all
c h ildren, especia lly t hose 12 yea rs and younger,
.,,.
181

Child sa fety
should always ride in the back seat properly re ­
strained for their age and size.
A WARNING -
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­ tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing norma l driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rea r safety be lt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to se­
c u re a chi ld restraint.
-If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restrain t will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The chi ld
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing chi ld safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be serious ly injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in­
flates.
-The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Forward -facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger 's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the a irbag and cause serious injury to the
c hild.
- It is safe r to install a forward-facing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
¢ page 170 . Special pre ca utions
182 apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ¢ page 147, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know .
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light mus t come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t come on and stay on, perform the
checks
described ¢ page 158, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int 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 whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier .
- After checking to make sure that the ch ild
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog ­
nized by the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the co rrect front passenger fron tal air bag
stat us.
A WARNING
Forward- facing child restra ints:
-