AUDI Q7 2019 Owner´s Manual

4M0012721BG
Drivingsafety

1a(LeyalMelaMeal-aed(el
Alwaysusefloormatsthatcanbesecurelyat-
tached
tothefloormatfastenersanddonotin-
terferewiththefreemovementofthepedals.
>Makesurethatthefloormatsareproperlyse-
curedand cannotmoveandinterferewiththe
pedals>A\.
Useonlyfloormatsthatleavethepedalareaun-
obstructedandthatarefirmlysecuredsothat
theycannotslipoutofposition.Youcanobtain
suitablefloormatsfromyourauthorizedAudi
dealer.
FloormatfastenersareinstalledinyourAudi.
Floor
matsusedinyourvehiclemustbeattached
tothesefasteners.Properlysecuringthefloor
matswillpreventthemfromslidingintoposi-
tionsthatcouldinterferewiththepedalsorim-
pairsafeoperationofyourvehicleinotherways.

ZAWARNING
Pedalsthatcannotmovefreelycanresultina
lossofvehiclecontrolandincreasetheriskof
seriouspersonalinjury.
—Alwaysmakesurethatfloormatsareprop-
erlysecured.
—Neverplaceorinstallfloormatsorother
floorcoveringsinthevehiclethatcannotbe
properlysecuredinplacetopreventthem
fromslippingandinterferingwiththeped-
alsortheabilitytocontrolthevehicle.
—Neverplaceorinstallfloormatsorother
floorcoveringsontopofalreadyinstalled
floormats.Additionalfloormatsandother
coveringswillreducethesizeofthepedal
areaandinterferewiththepedals.
—Alwaysproperlyreinstallandsecurefloor
matsthathavebeentakenoutforcleaning.
—Alwaysmakesurethatobjectscannotfallin-
tothedriverfootwellwhilethevehicleis
moving.Objectscanbecometrappedunder
thebrake pedalandacceleratorpedalcaus-
ing a lossofvehiclecontrol.

259

Safetybelts

Safetybelts
Generalinformation
DEERLLL8aes
Wearingsafetybeltscorrectlysaveslives!
Thischapterexplainswhysafetybeltsareneces-
sary,howtheyworkandhowtoadjustandwear
themcorrectly.
>Readalltheinformationthatfollowsandheed
alloftheinstructionsandWARNINGS.

ZA\WARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.
—Safetybeltsarethesinglemosteffective
meansavailabletoreducetheriskofserious
injuryanddeathinautomobileaccidents.
Foryourprotectionandthat ofyourpassen-
gers,alwayscorrectlywearsafetybelts
whenthevehicleismoving.
—Pregnantwomen,injured,orphysicallyim-
pairedpersonsmustalsousesafetybelts.
Likeallvehicleoccupants,theyaremore
likelytobeseriouslyinjurediftheydonot
wearSafetybelts.Thebestwaytoprotecta
fetusistoprotectthe mother-throughout
theentirepregnancy.
Numberofseats
Appliesto:Vehicleswithfiveseats:Yourvehicle
hastwofrontseatsandthreerearseats.Each
seatingpositionhasasafetybelt.

Appliesto:Vehicleswithsevenseats:Yourvehi-
cleshastwofrontseats,threeseatsinthesec-
ond rowandtwoseatsinthethirdrow.Each
seatingpositionhasasafetybelt.

ZA\WARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.
—Neverstrapmorethanoneperson,including
smallchildren,intoanybelt.Itisespecially


dangeroustoplaceasafetybeltoverachild
sittingonyourlap.
—Neverletmorepeoplerideinthevehicle
thantherearesafetybeltsavailable.
—Besureeveryoneridinginthevehicleis
properlyrestrainedwithaseparatesafety
beltorchildrestraint.
Safetybeltwarninglight
Yourvehiclehasawarningsystemforthedriver
andfrontseatpassengertoremindyouabout
theimportanceofbuckling-up.



B42-0526


Fig.223Safetybeltwarninglightintheinstrumentclus-
ter -enlarged
Beforedrivingoff,always:
>Fastenyoursafetybeltandmakesureyouare
wearingitproperly.
>Makesurethatyourpassengersalsobuckleup
andproperlyweartheirsafetybelts.
>Protectchildrenwitha childrestraintsystem
appropriateforthesizeandage.
Thewarninglightintheinstrumentcluster
lightsupwhentheignitionisswitchedonasare-
mindertofastenthesafetybelts.Inaddition,
youwillhearawarningtoneforacertainperiod
oftime.
Fastenyoursafetybeltandmakesurethatyour
passengersalsoproperlyputontheirsafety
belts.

ZA\WARNING
—Safetybeltsarethesinglemosteffective
meansavailabletoreducetheriskofserious
injuryanddeathinautomobileaccidents.
Foryourprotectionandthat ofyour>


260

4M0012721BG
Safetybelts


passengers,alwayscorrectlywearsafety
beltswhenthevehicleismoving.
—Failuretopayattentiontothewarninglight
thatcomesoncouldlead topersonalinjury.


Whyusesafetybelts?
eelmecleaeawLWmeladane)
Frontalcrashescreateverystrongforcesforpeo-
pleridinginvehicles.

B4H-0465







|
B4H-0466


Fig.225Thevehiclecrashesintothewall
Thephysicalprinciplesaresimple.Boththevehi-
cleandthepassengerspossessenergywhichvar-
ieswithvehiclespeedandbodyweight.Engi-
neerscallthisenergy“kineticenergy.”
Thehigherthespeedofthevehicleandthe
greaterthevehicle'sweight,themoreenergy
thathastobe“absorbed”inthecrash.
Vehiclespeedisthemostsignificantfactor.Ifthe
speeddoublesfrom15to30mph(25to50
km/h),theenergyincreases4times!
Becausethepassengersofthisvehiclearenotus-
ing
safetybelts>fig.224,theywillkeepmoving
atthesamespeedthevehiclewasmovingjust
beforethecrash,untilsomethingstopsthem—
here,thewall>fig.225.
Thesameprinciplesapplytopeoplesittingina
vehiclethatisinvolvedinafrontalcollision.Even
atcityspeedsof20to30mph(30to50km/h),
theforces actingonthebodycanreachoneton
(2,000lbs.or1,000kg)ormore.Atgreater
speeds,theseforcesareevenhigher.
Peoplewhodonotusesafetybeltsarealsonot
attachedtotheirvehicle.Inafrontalcollision
theywillalsokeepmovingforwardatthespeed
theirvehiclewastravellingjustbeforethecrash.
Ofcourse,thelawsofphysicsdon'tjustapplyto
frontalcollisions,theydeterminewhathappens
inallkindsofaccidentsandcollisions.
Whathappenstooccupantsnotwearing
Crlaallieya
Incrashesunbeltedoccupantscannotstop
themselvesfromflyingforwardandbeingin-
juredorkilled.Alwayswearyoursafetybelts!
Fig.226Adrivernotwearingasafetybeltisviolently
thrownforward

forwardandstrikethedriver
Unbeltedoccupantsarenotabletoresistthetre-
mendousforcesofimpactbyholdingtightor
261

>

Safetybelts

bracingthemselves.Withoutthebenefit ofsafe-
tyrestraintsystems,theunrestrainedoccupant
willslamviolentlyintothesteeringwheel,in-
strumentpanel,windshield,orwhateverelseis
intheway>fig.226.Thisimpactwiththevehi-
cleinteriorhasalltheenergytheyhadjustbefore
thecrash.
Neverrelyonairbagsaloneforprotection.Even
whentheydeploy,airbags provideonlyadditional
protection.Airbagsarenotsupposedtodeployin
allkindsofaccidents.AlthoughyourAudiis
equippedwithairbags,allvehicleoccupants,in-
cludingthedriver,mustwearsafetybeltscor-
rectlyinordertominimizetheriskofseverein-
juryordeathinacrash.
Remembertoo,thatairbagswilldeployonlyonce
andthatyoursafetybeltsarealwaystheretoof-
ferprotectioninthoseaccidentsinwhichairbags
arenotsupposedtodeployorwhentheyhaveal-
readydeployed.Unbeltedoccupantscanalsobe
thrownoutofthevehiclewhereevenmoresevere
orfatalinjuriescanoccur.
Itisalsoimportantfortherearpassengersto
wearsafetybeltscorrectly.Unbeltedpassengers
intherearseatsendangernotonlythemselves
butalsothedriverandotherpassengers
=>fig.227.In afrontalcollisiontheywillbe
thrownforwardviolently,wherethey canhitand
injurethedriverand/orfrontseatpassenger.
SilaolheMgela-las
Peoplethinkit'spossibletousethehandsto
bracethebodyinaminorcollision.It'ssimply
nottrue!

Fig.228Driveriscorrectlyrestrainedinasuddenbraking
maneuver
262

Safetybeltsusedproperlycanmakeabigdiffer-
ence.Safetybeltshelptokeeppassengersin
theirseats,graduallyreduceenergylevelsap-
pliedtothebodyinanaccident,andhelpprevent
theuncontrolledmovementthatcancauseseri-
ousinjuries.Inaddition,safetybeltsreducethe
dangerofbeingthrownoutofthevehicle.
Safetybeltsattachpassengerstothecarandgive
themthebenefitofbeingsloweddownmore
gentlyor“softly”throughthe“give”inthesafety
belts,crushzonesandothersafetyfeaturesengi-
neeredintotoday'svehicles.By“absorbing”the
kineticenergyoveralongerperiodoftime,the
safetybeltsmaketheforcesonthebodymore
“tolerable”andlesslikelytocauseinjury.
Althoughtheseexamplesarebasedonafrontal
collision,safetybeltscanalsosubstantiallyre-
ducetheriskofinjuryinotherkindsofcrashes.
So,whetheryou'reonalongtripor justgoingto
thecornerstore,alwaysbuckleupandmakesure
othersdo,too.Accidentstatisticsshowthatvehi-
cleoccupantsproperlywearingsafetybeltshave
alowerriskofbeinginjuredandamuchbetter
chanceofsurvivinganaccident.Properlyusing
safetybeltsalsogreatlyincreasestheabilityof
thesupplementalairbagstodotheirjobinacol-
lision.Forthisreason,wearingasafetybeltisle-
gallyrequiredinmostcountriesincludingmuch
ofthe UnitedStatesandCanada.
AlthoughyourAudiisequippedwithairbags,you
stillhavetowearthesafetybeltsprovided.Front
airbags,forexample,areactivatedonlyinsome
frontalcollisions.Thefrontairbagsarenotacti-
vatedinallfrontalcollisions,insideandrearcol-
lisions,inrolloversorincaseswherethereisnot
enoughdecelerationthroughimpacttothefront
ofthevehicle.Thesamegoesfortheotherairbag
systemsinyourAudi.So,alwayswearyoursafety
beltandmakesureeverybodyinyourvehicleis
properlyrestrained!

4M0012721BG
Safetybelts

Importantsafetyinstructionsaboutsafety
Yha)
Safetybeltsmustalwaysbecorrectlypositioned
across thestrongestbonesofyourbody.
>Alwayswearsafetybeltsasillustratedandde-
scribed
inthischapter.
>Makesurethatyoursafetybeltsarealways
readyforuseandarenotdamaged.

ZAWARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.Safetybeltscanworkonly
whenusedcorrectly.
—Alwaysfastenyoursafetybeltscorrectlybe-
foredrivingoffandmakesureallpassen-
gersarecorrectlyrestrained.
—Formaximumprotection,safetybeltsmust
always bepositionedproperlyonthebody.
—Neverstrapmorethanoneperson,including
smallchildren,intoanybelt.
—Neverplaceasafetybeltoverachildsitting
onyourlap.
—Alwayskeepfeetinthefootwellinfrontof
theseatwhilethevehicleisbeingdriven.
—Neverletanypersonridewiththeirfeeton
theinstrumentpanelorstickingout the
windoworontheseat.
—Neverremoveasafetybeltwhilethevehicle
ismoving.Doingsowillincreaseyourriskof
beinginjuredorkilled.
—Neverwearbeltstwisted.
—Neverwearbeltsoverrigidorbreakableob-
jectsinoronyourclothing,suchaseye
glasses,pens,keys,etc.,asthesemaycause
injury.
—Neverallowsafetybeltstobecomedam-
agedbybeingcaughtindoororseathard-
ware.
—Donotweartheshoulderpartofthebelt
underyourarmorotherwiseoutofposition.
—Severallayersofheavyclothingmayinter-
ferewithcorrectpositioningofbeltsandre-
ducetheoveralleffectiveness ofthe system.

—Alwayskeepbeltbucklesfreeofanything
thatmaypreventthebucklefromlatching
securely.
—Neverusecomfortclipsordevicesthatcre-
ateslackintheshoulderbelt.However,spe-
cialclipsmayberequiredfortheproper use
ofsomechildrestraintsystems.
—Tornorfrayedsafetybeltscantear,and
damagedbelthardwarecanbreakinanacci-
dent.Inspectbeltsregularly.Ifwebbing,
bindings,buckles,orretractorsaredam-
aged,havebeltsreplacedby anauthorized
Audidealerorqualifiedworkshop.
—Safetybeltsthathavebeenwornandloaded
inanaccidentmustbereplacedwiththe
correctreplacementsafetybeltby anau-
thorizedAudidealer.Replacementmaybe
necessaryevenifdamagecannotbeclearly
seen.Anchoragesthatwereloadedmustal-
sobeinspected.
—Neverremove,modify,disassemble,ortry
torepairthesafetybeltsyourself.
—Alwayskeepthebeltsclean.Dirty beltsmay
notworkproperlyandcan impairthefunc-
tionoftheinertiareel>tableInterior


cleaningonpage348.

Safetybelts
Fasteningsafetybelts
Safetyfirst-everybodybuckleup!
+>a a =a


Fig.229Beltbuckleandtongueonthedriver'sseat
Toprovidemaximumprotection,safetybelts
mustalways bepositionedcorrectlyonthe wear-
er'sbody.
>»Adjust thefrontseatandheadrestraintproper-
ly=page53,Frontseats.
263
>

Safetybelts

>Makesuretheseatbackoftherearseatbenchis
inanuprightpositionandsecurelylatchedin
placebeforeusingthebelt>/\.
>Pullthesafetybeltevenlyacrossthechestand
pelvis©fig.229,>A\.
> Insertthetongueintothecorrectbuckle of
yourseatuntilyouhearitlatchsecurely.
>Pullonthebelttomakesurethatitissecurely
latchedinthebuckle.
Automaticsafetybeltretractors
Everysafetybeltisequippedwithanautomatic
beltretractorontheshoulderbelt.Thisfeature
locksthebeltwhenthebeltispulledoutfast,
duringhardbrakingandinanaccident.Thebelt
mayalsolockwhenyoudriveupordownasteep
hillorthroughasharpcurve.Duringnormaldriv-
ingthebeltletsyoumovefreely.
Safetybeltpretensioners
Safetybeltswithpretensionershelptotighten
thesafetybeltandremoveslackwhenthepre-
tensionersareactivated>page266.Thefunc-
tionofthepretensionerismonitoredbyawarn-
inglight>page22.
Convertiblelockingretractor
Everysafetybeltexcept theoneonthedriver
seatisequippedwithaconvertiblelockingretrac-
torthatmustbeusedwhenthesafetybeltis
usedtoattacha childsafetyseat.Besuretoread
theimportantinformationaboutthisfeature
=>page301.

ZAWARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriousinjuryinanaccident>page264,
Safetybeltposition.
—Safetybeltsofferoptimumprotectiononly
whentheseatbackisuprightandbeltsare
properlypositionedonthebody.
—Alwaysmakesurethattherearseatbackrest
towhichthecenterrearsafetybeltisat-
tachedissecurelylatchedwhenevertherear
centersafetybeltisbeingused.Iftheback-
restisnotsecurelylatched,thepassenger
willmoveforwardwiththebackrestduring

264

suddenbraking,inasuddenmaneuverand
especiallyinacrash.
—Neverattachthesafetybelt tothe buckle
foranotherseat.Attachingthebelttothe
wrongbucklewillreducesafetybelteffec-
tivenessandcancauseseriouspersonalin-
jury.
—Apassengerwhoisnotproperlyrestrained
canbeseriouslyinjuredbythesafetybeltit-
selfwhenitmovesfromthestrongerparts
ofthebodyintocriticalareasliketheabdo-
men.
—Alwayslocktheconvertiblelockingretractor
whenyouaresecuringachildsafetyseatin
thevehicle>page303.
Safetybeltposition
Correctbeltpositionisthekeytogettingmaxi-
mumprotectionfromsafetybelts.



B4H-0751



Fig.230Safetybeltposition
Standardfeaturesonyourvehiclehelpyouadjust
thepositionofthesafetybelttomatchyourbody
size.
—beltheightadjustmentforthefrontseats,
—height-adjustablefrontseats.

ZAWARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriouspersonalinjuryinanaccident.
— Theshoulderbeltshouldlieasclosetothe
center ofthecollarboneaspossibleand
shouldfitwellonthebody.Holdthebelt
abovethelatchtongueandpullitevenly
acrossthechestsothatitsitsaslowaspos-
sibleonthepelvisandthereisnopressure
ontheabdomen.Thebeltshouldalwaysfit[>

4M0012721BG
Safetybelts


snugly>fig.230.Pullonthebelttotighten
ifnecessary.
—Thelapbeltportionofthesafetybeltmust
bepositionedaslowaspossibleacrosspel-
visandneverovertheabdomen.Makesure
thebeltliesflatandsnug>fig.230.Pullon
thebelttotightenifnecessary.
—Aloose-fittingsafetybeltcan causeserious
injuriesbyshiftingitspositiononyourbody
fromthe strongbonestomorevulnerable,
softtissueandcauseserious injury.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand
otherimportantinformation>page263.

ZXWARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriouspersonalinjuryinanaccident.
—Expectantmothersmustalwayswearthe
lapportionofthesafetybeltaslowaspos-
sibleacrossthepelvisandbelowtheround-
ingoftheabdomen.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand
otherimportantinformation>A\inFasten-

ingsafetybeltsonpage264.


Pregnantwomenmustalsobecorrectly
ese)

Thebestwaytoprotectthefetusistomakesure
thatexpectantmothersalwayswearsafetybelts
correctly-throughoutthepregnancy.

BaL-1296


Fig.231Safetybeltpositionduringpregnancy
Toprovidemaximumprotection,safetybelts
mustalways bepositionedcorrectlyonthewear-
er'sbody>page264.
>Adjustthefrontseatandheadrestraintcorrect-
ly>page53,Frontseats.
>Makesuretheseatbackoftherearseatbenchis
inanuprightpositionandsecurelylatchedin
placebeforeusingthebelt.
> Pullthesafetybeltevenlyacrossthechestso
that
itsitsaslowaspossibleonthepelvisand
thereisnopressureontheabdomen
>fig.231,%A.
> Insertthetongueintothecorrectbuckle of
yourseatuntilyouhearitlatchsecurely.
> Pullonthebelttomakesurethatitissecurely
latchedinthebuckle.

Unfasteningsafetybelts
Unbucklethesafetybeltwiththe redrelease
buttononlyafterthevehiclehasstopped.
ey>Nn
ply= a

Fig.232Releasing thetonguefromthebuckle
»Pushtheredreleasebuttononthe buckle
>fig.232.Thebelttonguewillspringoutof
thebuckle>/\.
>Letthebeltwindup ontheretractorasyou
guidethebelttonguetoitsstowedposition.

ZXWARNING
Neverunfastensafetybeltwhilethevehicleis
moving.Doingsowillincreaseyourriskofbe-
inginjuredorkilled.

265

Safetybelts

Adjustingsafetybeltheight
Withtheaidofthe safetybeltheightadjust-
ment,thethreepointsafetybeltstraprouting
canbefittedtotheshoulderarea,accordingto
body
size.
SB
Z|
==a

Fig.233Safetybeltheightadjustment-loop-aroundfit-
tings
Theshoulderbeltshouldlieasclosetothecenter
ofthecollarboneas possibleandshouldfitwell
onthebody>A\inSafetybeltpositionon
page264.
>Pushtheloop-aroundfittingsup>fig.233@,
or
>squeezetogetherthe(@)button,andpushthe
loop-aroundfittingsdown(2).
>Pullthebelttomakesurethattheupperat-
tachmentisproperlyengaged.

/Z\WARNING
AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSandoth-

erimportantinformation>page263.


Withthefrontseats,theheightadjustment
oftheseatcanalsobe usedtoadjustthepo-
sitionofthesafetybelts.
Improperlywornsafetybelts
Incorrectlypositionedsafetybeltscancausese-
vereinjuries.
Wearingsafetybeltsimproperly cancauseseri-
ousinjuryordeath.Safetybeltscanonlywork
whentheyarecorrectlypositionedonthebody.
Improperseatingpositionsreducetheeffective-
nessofsafetybeltsandwillevenincreasetherisk
266
ofinjuryanddeathbymovingthesafetybelt to
criticalareasofthebody.Improperseatingposi-
tionsalsoincreasetheriskof seriousinjuryand
deathwhenanairbagdeploysandstrikesanoc-
cupantwhoisnotinthecorrectseatingposition.
Adriverisresponsibleforthesafetyofallvehicle
occupantsandespeciallyfor children.Therefore:
>Neverpermitanyonetoassumeanincorrectsit-
tingpositioninthevehiclewhiletraveling
>.

Z\WARNING
Improperlywornsafetybeltsincreasetherisk
ofseriouspersonalinjuryanddeathwhenever
avehicleisbeingused.
—Alwaysmakesurethatallvehicleoccupants
arecorrectlyrestrainedandstayinacorrect
seatingpositionwhenever thevehicleisbe-
ingused.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand

otherimportantinformation>page263.

Belttensioners
Howsafetybeltpretensionerswork
Reversiblesafetybeltpretensioners
Thefollowingfunctionsare availablewhensafety
beltswithreversiblesafetybelttensionersare
fastened:
—Automatictensioners:atthestartofadrive,
thesafetybeltsautomaticallyadjusttothe
passengerafteracertaintimeperiodorvehicle
speed.Toswitchtheautomatictensionersoff,
selectthefollowingintheInfotainmentsys-
tem:[MENU]button>Car>leftcontrolbutton
>Vehiclesettings>Seats>Driver'sseator
Passenger'sseat>Automaticbelttensioner.
—Incertaindrivingsituations,thesafetybelts
maytightenwithareversibletensioningfunc-
tion>page111.
—Thesafetybeltsmayalsotightenwiththisre-
versibletensioningfunctioninminorcollisions.


Pyrotechnicsafetybeltpretensioners
Seatbeltswithpyrotechnicsafetybeltpreten-
sioners aretensionedautomaticallyinsevere>

4M0012721BG
Safetybelts

collisions,dependingonthecircumstances.This
helpstoreducetheforwardmotionoftheoccu-
pants.


ZAWARNING
—Itispossibleforthepretensionerstodeploy
incorrectly.
—Anyworkonthe tensionersystemorremov-
alandinstallationofsystemcomponents
forotherrepairsmustbeperformedbya
qualifiedworkshop.
—Thepyrotechnicsystemcanonlyprovide
protectionforonecollision.Ifthepyrotech-
nicpretensionersdeploy,thepretensioning

systemmustbereplaced.

@Tips
—Afinedustisreleasedwhenthepyrotechnic
safetybeltpretensionersdeploy.Thisisnor-
malandisnotcausedbyafireinthevehi-
cle.
—Therelevantsafetyrequirementsmustbe
observedwhenthevehicleorcomponents
ofthesystemarescrapped.Aqualified
dealershipisfamiliarwiththeseregulations
andwillbepleasedtopassontheinforma-
tiontoyou.
Serviceanddisposalofsafetybeltpreten-
SCT
Thesafetybeltpretensionersareparts ofthe
safetybeltsonyourAudi.Installing,removing,
servicingorrepairingofbeltpretensionerscan
damagethesafetybeltsystemandpreventit
fromworkingcorrectlyinacollision.
Therearesomeimportantthingsyouhaveto
knowtomakesurethattheeffectivenessofthe
systemwillnot beimpairedandthatdiscarded
componentsdonotcauseinjuryorpollutethe
environment.

Z\WARNING
Impropercare,servicingandrepairproce-
durescanincreasetheriskofpersonalinjury
anddeathbypreventingasafetybeltpreten-


sionerfromactivatingwhenneededoracti-
vatingitunexpectedly:
—Thepyrotechnicsafetybeltpretensioners
canonlybeactivatedonce.Ifpyrotechnic
safetybeltpretensionershavebeenactivat-
ed,thesystemmustbereplaced.
—Neverrepair,adjust,orchangeanyparts of
thesafetybeltsystem.
—Safetybeltsystemsincludingsafetybelt
pretensionerscannotberepaired.Special
proceduresarerequiredforremoval,instal-
lationanddisposalofthissystem.
—Foranyworkonthesafetybeltsystem,we
stronglyrecommendthatyouseeyourau-
thorizedAudidealerorqualifiedtechnician
whohasanAudiapprovedrepairmanual,
trainingandspecialequipmentnecessary.

267

Airbagsystem

Airbagsystem
Importantinformation
Importanceofwearingsafetybeltsand
sittingproperly
Airbagsareonlysupplementalrestraints.For
airbagstodotheirjob,occupantsmustalways
properlyweartheirsafetybeltsandbeina prop-
erseatingposition.
Foryoursafetyandthesafetyofyourpassen-
gers,beforedrivingoff,always:
>Adjustthedriver'sseatandsteeringwheel
properly>page255,
>Adjustthefrontpassenger'sseatproperly
=>page256,
>Wearsafetybeltsproperly>page263,
>Alwaysproperlyuse theproperchildrestraint
toprotectchildren>page290.
Inacollision,airbagsmustinflatewithinthe
blinkofaneyeandwithconsiderableforce.The
supplementalairbagscancauseinjuriesifthe
driverorthefrontseatpassengerisnotseated
properly.Thereforeinordertohelptheairbagto
doitsjob,itisimportant,bothasadriverandas
apassengertositproperlyatalltimes.
By keepingroombetweenyourbodyandthe
steeringwheelandthefrontofthepassenger
compartment,theairbagcaninflatefullyand
completelyandprovidesupplementalprotection
incertainfrontalcollisions>page255,Correct
passengerseatingpositions.Fordetailsonthe
operationoftheseatadjustmentcontrols
=>page53.
It'sespeciallyimportantthatchildrenareproper-
lyrestrained>page290.
Thereisalotthatthedriverandthepassengers
canandmustdotohelptheindividualsafetyfea-
turesinstalledinyourAudiworktogetherasa
system.
Properseatingpositionisimportantso thatthe
frontairbagonthedriver sidecandoitsjob.If
youhaveaphysicalimpairmentorconditionthat
preventsyoufromsittingproperlyonthedriver
seatwiththesafetybeltproperlyfastenedand
268
reachingthepedals,orifyouhaveconcernswith
regardtothefunctionoroperationoftheAd-
vancedAirbagSystem,pleasecontactyourau-
thorizedAudidealerorqualifiedworkshop,or
callAudi CustomerRelationsat1-800-822-2834
forpossiblemodificationstoyourvehicle.
Whentheairbagsystemdeploys,agas generator
willfilltheairbags,breakopenthepaddedcov-
ers,andinflatebetweenthesteeringwheeland
thedriverandbetweentheinstrumentpaneland
thefrontpassenger.Theairbagswilldeflateim-
mediatelyafterdeploymentsothatthefrontoc-
cupantscan seethroughthewindshieldagain
withoutinterruption.
Allofthistakesplaceintheblinkofaneye,so
fastthatmanypeopledon'tevenrealizethatthe
airbagshavedeployed.Theairbagsalsoinflate
withagreatdeal offorceandnothingshouldbe
intheirwaywhentheydeploy.Frontairbagsin
combinationwithproperlywornsafetybeltsslow
downandlimittheoccupant'sforwardmove-
ment.Togethertheyhelptopreventthedriver
andfrontseatpassengerfromhittingparts of
theinsideofthevehiclewhilereducingtheforces
actingontheoccupantduringthecrash.Inthis
waytheyhelptoreducetheriskofinjurytothe
headandupperbodyinthecrash.Airbagsdonot
protectthearmsorthelowerpartsofthebody.
Bothfrontairbagswillnotinflateinallfrontal
collisions.Thetriggeringoftheairbagsystemde-
pendsonthevehicledecelerationratecausedby
thecollisionandregisteredbytheelectroniccon-
trolunit.Ifthisrateisbelowthereferencevalue
programmedintothecontrolunit,theairbags
willnot betriggered,eventhoughthecarmaybe
badlydamagedasaresultofthecollision.Vehi-
cledamage,repaircostsoreventhelackofvehi-
cledamageisnotnecessarilyanindicationof
whetheranairbagshouldinflateornot.
Sincethecircumstanceswillvaryconsiderably
betweenonecollisionandanother,itisnotpossi-
bletodefinearangeofvehiclespeedsthatwill
cover everypossiblekindandangleofimpact
thatwillalwaystriggertheairbags.Important
factorsinclude,forexample,thenature(hardor
soft)oftheobjectwhichthecarhits,theangleof
impact,vehiclespeed,etc.Thefrontairbagswill>