AUDI Q7 2017 Owner´s Manual

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as even as possible with the top of your head. If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible. If there is a passenger in the center
rear seat, slide the head restraint upward
i=> page 63.
• Make sure that the seatback is secu rely latched
in the upright pos ition
c:> page 68 .
• Keep both feet flat i n the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
• Fasten and wear safety be lts properly
c:> page 268 .
• Make sure that children are always properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their si ze and age
c:> page 295 .
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Safety belts only offer max imum p rotection
when the seatback is securely latched in the
upr ight position and the safety be lts a re
prope rly pos itioned on the body. By not sit ­
t ing upright, a rea r seat passenger increases
the risk of personal in jury from improperly
posit ioned safety belts !
- Alw ays adjust the head rest raint prope rly so
that it can g ive maximum protection.
Dr iving safety
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore an impor­
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys­
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
F ig . 22S Head restra int: v iewed from t he front
The head rest raints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection.
• Adj ust the head restraints so the upper edge is
as even as possib le with the top of your head. If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re­ straint so that it is as close to this posit ion as
possible . Position* the head restraint as close
as possible to the back of your head .
• If there are passengers in rear seat, fold the
head restraints up on the occupied seats .
Ad justing head restraints
c:> page 63.
A WARNING
-A ll seats are equipped w ith head restraints .
Driving w ithout head restraints or w ith head
r est raints that are not prope rly adj usted in­
creases the r is k of se rious or fata l neck injury
dr amat ic al ly. To help reduce the risk of injury:
- Always d rive with the head restra ints in
p lace and properly adjusted .
- Every person in the veh icle must have a
p roperly adjusted head restraint .
- Always make sure each person in the veh icle
p rope rly adjusts the ir head restraint. Ad just
the hea d restraints so the upper edge is as
even as possible wi th the top of your hea d.
If that is not poss ible, try to ad just the head
rest raint so that it is as close to this position
as poss ible.
~
259

Driving sa fe ty
-Never attempt to adjust head restraint
wh ile driving. If you have dr iven
off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to adjust the head restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
¢ page 295.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or deat h. Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im­
proper seating positions reduce the effect iveness
of safety belts and w ill even increase the r isk of
i njur y and dea th by moving the safety be lt to crit­
ical areas of the body. Impro per sea ting posit ions
a lso increase the risk of ser ious injury and dea th
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seat ing position. A driver
is responsib le for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children. Therefore :
~ Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating pos ition when the vehicle is being used
c> .&, .
The fo llowing bulletins list only some sample po ­
sitions that will increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death. Our hope is that these examp les will
make you more aware of seating posit ions that
are dangerous.
The ref ore, when ever th e vehicle i s moving:
- never stand up in the ve hicle
- never s tand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- never r ide with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on t he seats
- never lean up against the instrument pane l
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never le an out the w indow
- never put yo ur feet out the window
260
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- neve r rest your feet on the seat c ushion or back
o f the seat
- neve r ride in the footwell
- neve r ride in the ca rgo area
A WARNING
I mp roper seating positions inc re ase the risk
of ser iou s personal inju ry and de ath whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
s tay in a proper sea ting posit ion and are
pro perly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used .
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
Always make sure that the knee airbag can in­
flate w ithout interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can inc rease the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the ai rbag dep loys o r by being pushed in­
to you as the airbag dep loys.
- No persons (ch ild ren) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat . If the airbag deploys, this can res ult in
serio us or fat al injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried i n
the footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's seat. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for examp le) can hamper or prevent
proper dep loyment of the airbag . Sma ll ob­
jects can be thrown thro ugh the vehicle if
the airbag deploys and injure you or your passengers.

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Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in­
terference and that noth ing prevents them from
returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav­
e l is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of seri­
ous injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal area and interfere w ith pedal function. In case of
sudden braking or an accident, you would not be ab le to brake or accelerate!
-Always make sure that nothing can fall or move into the dr iver's footwe ll.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in­terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
... Make sure that the floor mats are properly se­
cured and cannot move and interfere with the
pedals
Q .&_ .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un­
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of pos it ion . You can obtain
suitable floor mats from your authorized Audi
dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
Fl oor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into posi-
Driving safety
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im­
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
-
Pedals that cannot move freely can res ult in a
l oss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
-Always make sure that floor mats are prop­
erly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
proper ly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfer ing with the ped­
als o r the ab ility to control the vehicle.
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
f loor cove rings on top of already installed
floor mats . Additional floor mats and other
cover ings will reduce t he si ze of the pedal
a rea and in terfere with the pedals.
- Always p roperly re insta ll and secure floor
mats that have been take n out fo r clean ing .
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the d river footwell whi le the vehicle is
mov ing. Objec ts can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus­
ing a loss of vehicle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment.
F ig. 226 Safe load positio ning: place heavy objects as low
a n d as far forward as poss ible.
IJI,-
261

Driving sa fe ty
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift s udden ly, changing vehicle handling charac­
ter istics . Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal in jury in a sudden vehicle ma­
neuver or in a coll is ion.
.,. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com­
partment .
.,. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as low and as far for­
ward as possible
c> fig . 226 .
.,. Secure luggage us ing the tie-downs provided
¢ page 69 .
.,. Make su re that the rea r seatbac k is securely
latched in place .
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or othe r items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per­
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury :
- Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
- Always sec ure objects in the luggage com­
partment using the tie-down eyelets and
s u itable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles . To he lp reduce the r isk of a loss
of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal i njury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects, that a change i n the center of
grav ity can also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- Always distr ibute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as poss ible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
o r the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the driv­
er's side B-pillar. Exceeding permiss ible
weight standards can cause the vehicle to
s lide and handle differently .
262
-Please observe info rmation on safe driving
¢page 256 .
A WARNING
To he lp prevent po isonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must dr ive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning :
- C lose all windows,
- Close the s unroof*,
- Open all a ir outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switc h off the air reci rculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
-
Always make sure that the doo rs, all win­
dows, the sunroof * an d the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to red uce the risk of
i n jury 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 ve hicle unattended espe ­
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
co uld crawl into the vehicle th rough the lug­
g age com partment an d close the rea r lid be­
comi ng tr apped and unab le to ge t out . Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to ser ious
pe rsonal i nju ry.
- Never let c hild ren p lay in or 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 ­
hicle's seat ing pos itions.
(D Tips
- Air circul ation helps to reduce w indow fog­
ging . Stale ai r escapes to the o uts ide
t h roug h vents in the trim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.

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-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for the
vehicle at its maximum capacity weight and
the tires that were on your vehicle at the
time it was manufactured. For recommend­
ed tire pressures for normal load condi­
tions, please see chapter
c:> page 344 .
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 properly
c:> page 261, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in­
jury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Vehicle speed is the most significant factor .
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10 -lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item . This means that the weight
of the item would suddenly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying free ly through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col ­
lision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail during hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan­
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from flying forward as dangerous
missiles into the passenger compartment .
-
Driving safety
-Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in­
form the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) in
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com­
plaints, it may open an investiga­
tion, and if it finds that a safety
defects exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and
remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America,
Inc.
To contact the N HTSA, you may
either call:
Tel.:
1-888-327-4236 (TTY:
1-800-424-9153) or
1 -800- 424-9393
or you may write to:
263

Driving safety
NHTSA
U.S. Department of Transporta­
tion 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E .
West Building Washington, DC 20590
You can also obtain other infor­
mation about motor vehicle safe­
ty from :
http:/ /www.safercar.gov
Applicable to Canada
If you live in Canada and you be­
lieve that your vehicle has a de­
fect that could cause a crash, in­
jury or death, you should immedi­
ately inform Transport Canada,
Defect Investigations and Recalls.
You should also notify Audi Cana­ da .
Canadian customers who wish to report a safety-related defect to
Transport Canada, Defect Investi­
gations and Recalls, may either
call Transport Canada toll-free at:
Tel.: 1-800-333-0510 or Tel. : 1-819-994-3328 (Ottawa re­
gion and from other countries)
TTY for hearing impaired:
1-888-67 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
264
Transport Canada
Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga­
tions Laboratory
80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al
For additional road safety infor­
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at:
http:/ /www.tc.gc.ca/eng/
roadsafety/men u.htm

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Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be serio usly injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Applies to: Vehicles with five seats: Your vehicle
has two front seats and three rear seats. Each
seating position has a safety belt.
Applies to: Vehicles with seven seats: Your
vehicles has two front seats, three seats in the second row and two seats in the third row. Each
seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
It is espe-
Safety belts
cially dangerous to place a safety be lt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more peop le ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available .
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained with a separate safety
belt or ch ild restraint .
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig. 227 Safety belt warn ing ligh t in the instrument clus ­
ter -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
~ Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
<D N
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~
~ Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts.
~ Protect children with a child restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is switched on as a re­
minder to fasten the safety belts. In addition,
you w ill hear a warn ing 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 ,.____ -
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
inj ury and death in automobile accidents.
F or your protection and that of your
265

Safe ty belts
passenge rs, a lways correct ly wear safety
belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that comes 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 .
Fig. 2 28 Unbe lt ed occupants in a vehi cle headi ng for a wall
Fig . 229 T he ve hi cle c rashes into the wa ll
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­ ies w ith vehicle speed and body weight . Engi­
neers call this energy "k inetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
g reater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Veh icle speed is the most signific ant fac tor .
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h) , the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of th is veh icle are not us­
i n g safety belts~
fig. 228, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the ve hicle was mov ing j ust
266
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 229 .
The same principles apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is invo lved i n 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) o r more. At g reater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep mov ing forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don 't just apply to
frontal collisions , they determine what happens
i n a ll kinds of accide nts and co llisions .
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!
F ig . 23 0 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is vio lent ly
throw n forward
Fig . 2 31 A rea r passe nge r not we aring a sa fety be lt w ill fly
forwa rd an d str ike t he drive r
Unbelted occupants a re not ab le to res ist the tre-
mendous forces of impac t by holding tig ht o r
Ill-

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bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam violently into the steer ing wheel, in ­
strument panel, windshield , or whatever else is
in the way¢
fig. 230. This impact with the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be ­
fore the cras h.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional protection . Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all k inds of accidents . Although your Aud i is
eq uipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the dr iver, mus t wear safety belts cor­
rect ly in o rder to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protec tion in those accidents in w hich
ai rbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the ve hicle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur.
It is also impo rtant for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not on ly themse lves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢
fig. 231 . In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
F ig. 232 Drive r is co rrectly restrained in a sudden b rak ing
maneuve r
Safety bel ts
Safety be lts used properly can make a big differ ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­ plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause ser i­
ous injuries . In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of be ing thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "soft ly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features eng i­
neered into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
k inetic ene rgy over a longer period of t ime, the
safety belts make the fo rces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to cause in ju ry.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts can also substantia lly re­
duce the r isk of injury in other kinds of crashes.
So, whethe r you're on a long trip or just go ing to
the corner store, a lways buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Accident statistics show that vehi­ cle occupants proper ly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Properly using
safety belts also great ly increases the ability of
t h e supplemental a irbags to do their job in a col­
lis ion. For this reason, wea ring a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the Uni ted States and Canad a.
Although your Aud i is equipped with a irbags, you
still have to wear the safety be lts p rovided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in a ll frontal collisions, in side and rear col ­
lisions, in rollovers or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration throug h impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Aud i. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrai ned!
267

Safety belts
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned across the strongest bones of your body.
• Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter .
• Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged .
~ 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 correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
-Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven .
- Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is mov ing. Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed.
- 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.
268
- 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 belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent. Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam­
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer 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
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself.
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia reel
c::> table Interior
cleaning on page 356.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 233 Be lt bu ckle and to ngue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body.
• Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper-
ly
c::> page 59, Front seats. .,.