AUDI Q7 2018 Owner´s Manual

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::r ' For examp le, in a frontal collision at a s peed o f
30 mph (48 km/ h), the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
(4. 5 k g) object are abo ut 20 times the no rma l
weight of the item. Th is means that the weight
of t he item would suddenly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imagi ne the injuries
that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing free ly throug h
the passenge r compart men t could ca use in a col ­
lision like this.
_& WARNING
-
W eak , da maged or improper stra ps us ed to
s e cu re i te m s to t ie-downs can fail during hard
brak in g or i n a co llision and cau se seriou s per­
sonal injury .
- Alw ays use su it a ble mounting str aps and
prope rly secure item s to the tie-downs in
t h e lu gg age compartment t o help prevent
items from s hifting or f lying fo rwa rd as dan­
gerous missiles.
- When th e rea r seat backrest is folde d down,
always use su itab le mounting stra ps an d
prope rly secure items t o th e tie -d owns in
t he l ugg age compartmen t to he lp pre ven t
it em s from flyi ng fo rw ar d as dang erou s
mi ssiles into t he pass eng er com partment .
- N ev er attac h a chi ld saf ety se at t ether s trap
t o a tie-do wn.
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-
Driving safety
tion, and if it find s 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 NHTSA, you may either call:
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or
1-800-424-9393
or you may write to: NHTSA
U .S. Department of Transporta­
tion
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E .
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
You can al so 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 . ..,.
259

Driving safety
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 :
1-888-6
7 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
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/menu.htm
260

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::r ' Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts 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 s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobi le accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrect ly wea r safety be lts
w hen the veh icle is mov ing.
- Pregnant wome n, in ju red, o r physically im­
paired persons mus t also use safety be lts.
Lik e al l vehicle oc cupan ts, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injured i f th ey do no t
wear safety be lts . The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r - thro ughout
the ent ire pregnancy.
Number of seats
App lies to: Ve hicles w ith five seats: Your vehicle
has two front seats and three rear seats. Each
seating position has a safety belt .
App lies to: Ve hicles w ith seven seats: Your
ve hicles 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 wea ring safety bel ts or wear ing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser io us pe rsonal
inju ry and death.
- Never st rap more tha n one person, i nclud­
ing small c hildre n, into any be lt.
It is espe-
Safet y be lts
cially dangero us to p lace a safety be lt over a
child sitting on yo ur lap.
- Never let more peop le ride in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained with a separate safety
be lt o r ch ild rest raint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
F ig . 222 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in t he inst rume nt clus ­
ter - en larged
Before dr iving off , always :
~ Fasten your safety belt and ma ke sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' 0 ,:.
;?;
~ Make sure that you r passengers also b uckl e up
and properly wear their safety belts.
~ Protect children with a c hild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning lig ht . in the instrument cluster
lights up when t he ignit ion is switched on as a re­
minder to fasten the safety be lts. In addition,
you w ill hear a warn ing tone for a certain period
of time.
Fasten your safet y belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
b e lts .
A WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the sing le m ost effect ive
means available to red uce the risk of se riou s
i njur y and death in a utomo bile acci dents.
F or your p rotection and tha t of yo ur
261

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. 223 Unbe lted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 22 4 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical princip les are simple . Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies with vehicle speed and body we ight . Engi­
neers call this energy "kinet ic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater 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 times!
Because the passengers of th is veh icle are not us­
i n g safety bel ts
¢fig. 223, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the ve hicle was moving j ust
262
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall ¢
fig. 224.
The same principles apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l 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!
Fig. 225 A drive r not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
F ig . 22 6 A rear passe nger not wea ring a safety belt w ill fly
forwa rd and strike the driver
Unbelted occ upants a re not ab le to res ist the tre-
mendous forces of impac t by holdi ng tight o r
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:E ' bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems , the unr estrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in ­
strument panel, windshield , or whatever else is
in the way
c:;, fig. 225 . This impact with the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be ­
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy , airbags provide only additional
protection . Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rectly in order 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 protection in those accidents in which
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown out of the vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
c:;, fig. 226 . 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!
Fig. 227 Drive r is co rr ectly restrained in a sudden b rak ing
maneuver
Safety belts
Safety belts 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 seri­ ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of be ing thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantia lly re­
duce the risk of injury in other kinds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Accident statistics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supplemental a irbags to do their job in a col­
lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions, in rollovers or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
263

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.
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 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.
264
- 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 353.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 228 Belt bu ckle and tongue 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 54, Front seats. ..,.

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:E ' • Make sure the seatback of the rear sea t bench
is in an upright position and secure ly latched in
place before using the belt¢.&_ .
• Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis ¢
fig. 228, ¢ .&_ .
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
• Pullon the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buck le.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
locks the belt when the belt is pu lled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident . T he belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or thr ough a s harp curve. Dur ing normal dr iv­
ing the bel t lets you move freely.
Safet y belt pretensioners
Safety belts wit h pretensioners he lp to tighte n
the safety belt and remove s lack when the pre­
tensione rs a re activate d¢
page 267 . T he fu nc­
t ion of the pretensioner is moni to red by a warn­
ing light
q page 25.
Convertible locking retractor
E very safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a co nvertible locking ret rac­
tor that
must be used when the safety bel t is
used to attach a child safe ty seat. Be sure to read
the impo rtant i nfo rmat ion about this feature
¢ page 302.
.&._ WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
q page 265,
Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
-Always ma ke sure that the rear seat bac k­
rest to wh ich the center rear safety be lt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used .
If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur-
Safet y bel ts
ing sudden braking, in a s udden ma neuver
and espec ia lly in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attach ing the be lt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt effec­
tiveness and can cause serio us personal i n­
jury .
- A passenger who is not properly rest rai ned
can be seriously injured by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the st ronge r parts
of the body into c ritical areas like the abdo­
men .
- Always loc k the convertible locking retractor
when yo u are s ecu ring a c hild safety seat in
the vehicle
q page 304.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi ­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 22 9 Safet y belt pos it ion
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to matc h your body
s ize .
- be lt height adjus tment for the front seats,
- he igh t-a djust able fro nt seat s.
.&_ WARNING
Im properly posi tioned sa fe ty belts can ca use
se rious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident .
- Th e shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of t he collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch tongue 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 ..,.
265

Safety belts
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snugly
~ fig. 229. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c> fig . 229. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its pos ition on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
Q page 264.
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 pregnancy.
Fig. 230 Safety belt pos ition during preg nan cy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
i=> page 265.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly
c> page 54, Front seats .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelvis and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
Q fig. 230, QA .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
266
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious 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 and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c> .& in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page
265 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 231 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
Q fig. 231. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
Q .&, .
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Doing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or killed.

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:E ' Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
F ig . 2 32 Safety belt height adjustment -loop -around fit­
t ings
The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the body
¢ .&. in Safety belt position on
page 265.
~ Push the loop-a round fitt ings up ¢ fig. 232 @,
or
~ squeeze together the(!) button, and push the
l oop-arou nd fittings
down @.
~ 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 important informat ion¢
page 264.
(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 be lts improperly can cause seri ­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can on ly work
when they are co rrectly positioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effective­
ness of safety belts and will even increase the
Safet y bel ts
risk of in jury and death by moving the safety be lt
to critical areas of the body. Improper seating
pos itions also increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag dep loys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi­
t ion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especially for ch ildren.
Therefore:
~ Never perm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ .&_ .
.&, WARNING
Imp roperly wo rn safety belts increase the risk
of ser ious personal inj ury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all ve hicle occupants
are cor rec tly rest rained and stay in a corre ct
seating posi tion whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other impor tant informat ion¢
page 264.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Rever sible safety belt pretensioners
The following functions are available when safety
belts w ith reversible safety belt tensioners are
fastened:
-Automatic tensioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or veh icle
speed. To switch the automatic tensioners off,
select the following in the Infotainment sys­
tem:
! ME NUI button> Car > left control b utton
> Vehicle setting s> Seat s > Driver' s seat or
Pa ssenger' s seat > Automati c be lt ten sion er.
- I n ce rta in driving situations, the safety bel ts
may tighten wit h a reversib le tensioning func­
tion
¢ page 112.
-The safety be lts may also tighten with this re­
versible te nsion ing funct ion in m inor collisions . .,._
267

Safe ty belt s
Py rot echni c safety belt pr eten sion ers
Seat belts w ith pyrotechn ic safety belt preten­
sioners are tensioned automatica lly in severe co l­
lisions , depending on the circumstances. This
he lps to reduce the forward motion of the occu­
pants.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrectly .
- Any work on the tensioner system or remov­
al and installation of system components
for other repairs must be performed by a qualified workshop .
- The pyrotechnic system can only prov ide
protect ion for one collision. If the pyrotech­
nic pretensioners deploy, the pretens ion ing
system must be replaced.
(0 Tips
- A fine dust is released when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretens ioners deploy. This is nor­
mal and is not caused by a fire in the vehi­
cle.
- The relevant safety requ irements must be
observed when the veh icle or components
of the system are sc rapped. A qualified
dealersh ip is famil iar with these regu lations
and will be p leased to pass on the informa­
tion to you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repa iring of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from work ing cor rectly in a collision .
There are some important th ings you have to
know to make sure that the effect iveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not ca use inj ury or poll ute the
env ironment.
26 8
A WARNING -
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or act i­
vating it unexpected ly:
- The pyrotechnic safety be lt pretens ioners
can only be activated once. If pyrotechnic
safety belt p retensioners have been activat­
ed, the system must be replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system .
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repai red. Spec ial
procedures are required fo r remova l, ins tal­
lation and disposal of this system .
- For any wo rk on the safety be lt system, we
s trong ly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manua l,
tra ining and special equipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p retension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
a l -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modu les safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob­
served . Your autho rized Aud i dealer is familiar
wi th these requirements and we recommend
that yo u have your dealer perfo rm this se rvice
for you .