2008 AUDI S8 child restraint

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Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are necessary, 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.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly 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 acci­
dents. For your protection and that of your passengers, always
correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
• Pregnant women, injured, or physically impaired persons must
also use safety belts . Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously 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
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions: two in the front and
three in the rear. Vehicles with power individual rear seats* have
seating for four: two in the front and two in the rear. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death .
• Never strap more than one person, including small children,
into any belt. It is especially dangerous to place a safety belt over
a child sitting on your lap.
• Never let more people ride in the vehicle than there are safety
belts available.
• Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is properly restrained
with a separate safety belt or child restraint. •
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.
Before driving off, always:
Fig . 219 Safety belt
warning light in the
instrument cluster -
enlarged
- Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are wearing it
properly.
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Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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-Make sure that your passengers also b uckle up and pro p­
erly wea r th eir sa fety be lts.
Protect children wit h a c hild restraint sys tem appropriate
for the size and age.
The warning light ~ in the instrument cluster lights up when the
ignition is switched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts. In
addition , you will hear a warning tone.
After the ignition is switched on, the warning light in the instrument cluster will a lways come on for about 6 seconds and if the driver has
not fastened the safety belt, a warning tone will also sound for
about 6 seconds . As soon as the driver has fastened the safety belt,
the warning tone will stop and the warning light will go out .
If the driver or front seat passenger have not buckled -up within
about 10 seconds after the warning tone has stopped and the
vehicle is moving faster than about 15 mph, the warning tone will
sound again for about 6 seconds and then s top for 24 seconds and
then repeat this reminder sequence for a maximum of 2 minutes. At
speeds be low 5 mph, the warning to ne will not sound.
Fa sten your safe ty belt and make su re that your p assengers al so
properl y put on their s afet y belts .
& WARNING
• Safety belts are the single mo st effective mean s available to
reduce th e risk of ser ious in jur y a nd death in aut omobile acci­
dent s. For your prote ction and that of your pas sengers , alway s
c orrectly wear safety belt s when t he v ehicle is moving .
• Failure t o pay attention to th e warning light that come on,
c ould lead to per sonal injur y.•
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal cras hes cre ate very strong forces for people ridi ng
in vehicles.
F ig . 22 0 Unbel te d
occ upants in a ve hicle
h ead ing for a w all
F ig . 22 1 The vehi cle
c ras hes in to th e wa ll
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen­
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body
we ight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic energy ."
T he higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehic le's
we ight, the more energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most signi fican t factor. If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
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fl::. WARNING (continued)
• 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 moving. Doing
so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
• Never wear belts twisted.
• Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your
clothing, such as eye glasses, pens, keys, etc. , as these may cause
injury.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught
in door or seat hardware.
• Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or
otherwise out of position.
• Several layers of heavy clothing may interfere with correct posi­
tioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of the system.
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the
buckle from latching securely.
• Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the
shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint systems .
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged belt hard­
ware can break in an accident. Inspect belts regularly .
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are damaged, 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
authorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be necessary even if
damage cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that were loaded
must also be inspected.
• Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try to repair the safety
belts yourself.
Safety belts
fl::. WARNING (continued)
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel
~ page 299, "Safety
belts" .•
Safety belts
Fastening safety be lts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig . 225 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver's seat
To prov ide maximum protection, safety belts must always
be positioned correctly on the wearer's body.
Adjust the front seat and head restraint properly
=> page 86, "General recommendations" .
Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and
pelvis =>& .
Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch
securely=> fig. 225.
Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
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Vehicle care I I irechnical data

-Safety belts
---=---------------------------------
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic belt retractor on the
shoulder belt. This feature locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident. The belt may also lock
when you drive up or down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pretensioner that helps to
tighten the safety belt and remove slack when the pretensioner is
activated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a
warning
light=> page 19.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver seat is equipped with
a switchable locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt
is used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important informa­
tion about this
feature => page 253.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious injury in an
accident=> page 214, "Safety belt position" .
• Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat back
is upright and belts are properly positioned on the body.
• Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat.
Attaching the belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious personal injury.
• A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously
injured by the safety belt itself when it moves from the stronger
parts of the body into critical areas like the abdomen.
• Always lock the convertible locking retractor when you are
securing a child seat in the vehicle
=> page 255. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maximum
protection from safety belts.
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8
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Fig . 226 Head restraint
and safety belt
posi­
tion as seen from the
side
Use the height adjustment to change the position of the shoulder
belt of the front safety belts.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal
injury in an accident .
• The shoulder belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned
over the middle of the occupant's shoulder and never across the
neck or throat.
• The safety belt must lie flat and snug on the occupant's upper
body
=> fig. 226. Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
• The lap belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned as
low as possible across pelvis and never over the abdomen. Make
sure the belt lies flat and snug
=> fig. 226. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
• A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious injuries by shifting
its position on your body from the strong bones to more vulner-
able, soft tissue and cause serious injury.
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Child restraints on the front seat - some important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and head the WARNINGS for important details about c hildren and
Advanced
Airbags=> page 243.
Even though your vehic le is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that a ll children, especia lly those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for their
age and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat
a potentia lly dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a child in a forward -facing chi ld seat. It can be a
very dangerous place for an infant or a child in a rearward -fac ing
seat.
The Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle has been certified to
comply with the Requirements of United States Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle
was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
t urned off ("suppressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of age
restrained in one of the rear -facing or forward -facing infant
restraints l isted in Federa l Motor Vehic le Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified has
been insta lled on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify compl iance with the US Safety
Standard
=> page 245.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight in the instrument pane l te lls you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t urned off by the electronic co ntrol unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and :
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occup ied, •
will stay on if there is a small child or chi ld restraint on the front
passenge r seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
r egis tered by the weight-sensi ng
m at => page 229, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the contro l unit
detects a tota l weight on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
I f the to tal weight on the front passe nger seat is m ore than tha t of
a typ ica l 1 year -old child but less than the weight of a small adult,
t he fron t airbag on the passe nger side can dep loy (the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on t he passe nger s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic contro l unit and can
deploy if the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the condi­
tions stored in its memory.
For example , the airb ag m ay deploy if :
• a small ch ild that is heavier tha n a typ ical 1 yea r-o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child seats
l isted => page 245), or
• a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on the front
p asse nger seat.
I f the front passe nger airbag is turned o ff, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
T he front a irbag o n th e passenger s ide may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight does not illuminate and stay lit) even
if a smal l adult or teenage r, o r a passenger wh o is n ot sitting uprigh t
with their back against a non -reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehic le floor in front of the seat is o n the front passenge r seat
=> page 200, "Proper seating pos it ion for the driver".
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federa l Standard requires
the airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the
risk of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy­
ment occu rs in those crashes that take place at lower decelerations
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as defined in the elec tronic control unit~ page 230 , "PA SSENGER
AI R BAG OFF ligh t".
A lways r em ember, a ch ild seat or infant carrier install ed on th e front
seat may be st ruck and knocked out of position by the rap idly
i n fl ating pass enger's airbag in a fr ontal co llisio n. T he airb ag co uld
greatly reduce the effectivenes s of the chi ld restraint and even seri ­
ously inju re t he c hild duri ng i nflatio n .
F or this reason, and because the bac k seat is the safest place for
chi ldr en -w hen pro perly res traine d acc ording to th eir age an d size
- w e stron gly recomm end that c hildren a lways sit in th e bac k seat
~ page 243, "C hil d Safe ty" .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant car rier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest , center arm rest, door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
• Forward -facing child seats installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause
serious personal injury to the child .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Airbag system
&, WARNING (continued )
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel .
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on , perform
the checks described
~ page 229 , "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System" .
• 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 Audi dealer immedi ­
ately .
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu­
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward or
rearward -facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag system P'll:1-~--------------
& WAR N IN G ( continued )
• Improper in stallation of child restraints can reduce their effec­
tiveness or even prevent them from p roviding any protection .
• An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the
airbag as it deploys and seriously injure or even kill the child -
even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Always carefully follow the manufa cturer's instruction s
provided with the child seat or carrier .
• Never pl ace additional items on the seat that can in crease the
total weight registered by the weight -sensing mat and can cause
injury in a crash . •
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
Th e air bag s ystem c an provide su ppleme ntal pro te cti on
t o prop erl y restra ined fr ont seat occu pants.
Fig. 2 30 Location of
driver airbag: in
s teering wheel
r I.. • ............ .
-= I
J
Fig . 231 Locat ion of
front pa ssenger' s
airbag : in the in stru ­
ment pa nel
Y our vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Airbag System" in
complia nce with United States Federal M otor Vehicle Sa fe ty Sta n­
dard (FMVSS) 2 08 as applicable at t he time your vehicle was manu ­
f actured. The safe ty bel ts for the front seat s have "pretensione rs"
t h at help to ta ke slack out of the be lt sys tem . Th e p retensio ners are
a lso activated by the e lectronic control unit for the airbag system .
T he fron t sa fe ty be lts als o have loa d lim iters to hel p red uce the
forces applied to the body in a crash.
T he ai rbag f or the driver is in t he stee ring wheel
hub ~ fig. 230 and
th e ai rbag for the front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 23 1. T he genera l location of the airbags is marked "A IRBAG".
There is a lo t yo u ne ed to know ab out the a irbags in y our vehicle. We
urge you to read the detailed informa tion about airbags, safety belts
and child s afety in t his an d th e other cha pters tha t make u p the
owner's literature . P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS
-the y are
e xtr em ely im po rt ant for y our safety and the safe ty of y our passen ­
gers , especia lly infants and small children .
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection .

Airbag system -
--------------=---=--
& WARNING (continued)
• Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn
safety belts.
• Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained.
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, especially infants and small
children, will receive serious injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the airbag when it inflates.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger seat, nobody can absolutely
guarantee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
• The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with
the
"low risk" option under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that
is heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front
passenger seat and the other conditions for airbag deployment
are met.
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position.
• For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and
younger, should always ride in the back properly restrained for
their age and size. •
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan ­
dard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
The
front Advanced Airbag System supplements the safety belts to
provide additional protection for the driver's and front passenger's
heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags inflate only
in frontal impacts when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is
not a substitute for your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the overall
occupant restraint system in your vehicle. Always remember that
the airbag system can only help to protect you, if you are sitting
upright, wearing your safety belt and wearing it properly. This is why
you and your passengers must always be properly restrained, not
just because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to
meet the "low risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year -old children on the
passenger side and very small adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to help reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Standard, to turn off the
front airbag for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are
listed in the
Standard=> page 245, "Child restraints and Advanced
Airbags".
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off if:
• a child up to about one year of age is restrained on the front
passenger seat in one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified. For
a listing of the child restraints that were used to certify your
vehicle's compliance with the US Safety
Standard => page 245,
• weight less than a threshold level stored in the control unit is
detected on the front passenger seat.
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Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data