2008 AUDI S8 Owners Manual

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& WARNING (continued)
• In order to reduce the risk of injury when the supplemental side
airbag inflates:
-Always sit in an upright position and never lean against the
area where the supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest their head against the
side trim panel in the area where the supplemental side airbag
inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat put their hand or any other parts of their body out of the window.
• Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without inter­
ference.
-Never install seat covers or replacement upholstery over the
front seat backs that have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that cover the areas
where the side airbags deploy .
- Damage to the original seat covers or to the seam in the area
of the side airbag module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
• Objects between you and the airbag can increase the risk of
injury in an accident by interfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup holders, telephone brackets, or even large, bulky objects}
on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the
seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can become dangerous projec­
tiles and cause injury when the supplemental side airbag
deploys.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
-Never carry any objects or pets in the deployment space
between them and the airbags or allow children or other
passengers to travel in this position .
• Always use the built -in coat hooks only for lightweight
clothing. Never leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in an accident.
• Always prevent the side airbags from being damaged by heavy
objects knocking against or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
• The airbag system can only be triggered once. If the airbag has
been triggered, the system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealership.
• Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.} to the original seat covers
or to the seam in the area of the side airbag module must always
be repaired immediately by an authorized Audi dealer.
• If children are seated improperly, their risk of injury increases
in the case of an
accident => page 243, "Child Safety".
• Never attempt to modify any components of the airbag system
in any way.
• In a side collision , side airbags will not function properly if
sensors cannot correctly measure increasing air pressure inside
the doors when air escapes through larger, unclosed openings in
the door panel.
-Never drive with interior door trim panels removed.
- Never drive when parts have been removed from the inside
door panel and the openings they leave have not been properly
closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the doors have been
removed unless the speaker holes have been properly closed .
- Always make certain that openings are covered or filled if
additional speakers or other equipment is installed in the
inside door panels .
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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& WARN ING (c ontinued)
- Alwa ys hav e w ork on the do ors done by an auth ori zed Audi
de ale r or qualified work shop . •
Side curtain airbags (SIDEGUARD™)
Description of SIDEGUARD™ airbags
The SIDEGUARD™ airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection t o properly restrained occupants.
Fig . 23 8 SIDEG UARD ™
s y st em , dri ve r's si de:
s id e c urt a in airb ag
l oca tio n
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides of the interior
above the front and rear side
windows=> fig. 238 . They are identi ­
fied by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield frame and the center
roof pillar .
The side curtain airbag system supplements the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupan ts' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a s ide collision. The
side curtain airbag inflates only in side impacts and on ly when the
vehic le acceleration registered by the control unit is high enough . If
this rate is below the reference value programmed into the con trol
unit, the side airbags wi ll not be triggered , even though the car may
be badly damaged as a result of the collision . It is not possib le to
define an airbag triggering range that will cover every possible angle of impact, since the circumstances will vary considerab
ly
be tween one collision and another . Important factors include, for
example, the nature (hard or soft) of the impacting object, the ang le
of impact, vehicle speed,
etc .=> page 241 , "How side curtain airbags
work" .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety belts work to help keep the dr iver or front passenger in position in the event of a colli ­
sion so tha t the side curtain airbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is not a substitute for you r safety belt. Rathe r, it
is part of the overa ll occupant restrain t system in your vehicle .
A lways remember that the airbag system can only help to protect
you if you are wearing your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear your safety belts, not
just because the law requires you to do
so => page 209, "General
notes".
I t is important to remember that while the side curtain airbag
system is designed to he lp reduce the like lihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for examp le, swelling, bruising, and minor abrasions
can a lso be associated with these airbags. Remember too, these
airbags will deploy only once and only in certain kinds of accidents
-your safety belts are a lways there to offer protection.
The side curta in airbag system ba sically con sist s of:
• The electronic control module and externa l side impact sensors
• The side curtain airbags above the front and rear side windows
• T he airbag indicator light in the instrument panel
The airbag system is mo nitored elec tronica lly to make certain it is
functioning proper ly at all times . Each time you turn on the ignition,
the airbag system indicator light wi ll come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics).
T he sid e curtain airbag i s not act ivated:
• if the ignition is turned off,
• in side collisions when the acce leration measured by the sensor
is too low ,
.,_

• in front -end collisions,
• in rear-end collisions,
• in rollovers.
& WARNING
• Safety belts and the airbag system will only provide protection
when occupants are in the proper seating position
=> page 86,
"General recommendations" .
• If the airbag indicator light comes on when the vehicle is being
used , have the system inspected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer . The side curtain airbag may not work properly even
when the vehicle acceleration in a side collision is high enough to
activate the airbag. •
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side airbags
to help reduce the risk of head and upper torso injuries for
occupants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 239 Illustration of
principle: Inflated side
curtain airbags on the
left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the occupant and the
windows on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side coll ision
=>fig. 239 .
Airbag system
When the system is triggered, the side curtain airbag is filled with
propellant gas and breaks through a seam above the front and rear
s ide windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order to help
provide this additional protection, the side curtain airbag must
inflate within the blink of an eye at very high speed and with great
force . The side curtain airbag could injure you if your seating posi­
tion is not proper or upright or if items are located in the area where
the supplementa l side curtain airbag inflates . This applies espe ­
cially to
children=> page 243.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain airbags can
"cushion" the imp act and in this way they can help to reduce the risk
of injury to the head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys. This is quite
normal and does not mean there is a fire in the vehic le. •
Important safety Instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always prop­
erly wear safety belts and ride in a proper seating posi­
tion .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to
help the safety belts and airbags do their job to provide supple­
mental protection.
& WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper seating positions
increase the risk of serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used .
• Never let occupants place any parts of their bodies in the area
from which the side curtain airbags inflate.
• Always make sure that the side curtain airbags can inflate
without interference . Unsuitable accessories fitted inside the
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

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&, WARNING (continued)
expansion range of a SIDEGUARD head airbag can dangerously
interfere with its function. A deploying head airbag develops
enough force to catapult any piece of add-on component out of its
path of inflation and into the passenger compartment. An occu­
pant hit by such a projectile can suffer serious injury or death
=> page 383 , "Technical Modifications".
• Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if you have any objects
clipped onto them (for example pensl.
If the airbag should deploy,
you could be injured by these objects .
• Use the built-in coat hooks only for lightweight clothing. Never
leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with airbag deployment and can cause personal injury in
an accident .
• Never use hangers to hang clothing from the hooks. • Only use factory-installed sun shades or , in the case of shades
installed after the vehicle leaves the factory, only Audi roll -up
sunscreens may be used => page 382, "Additional accessories and
parts replacement".
• Always sit in proper seating position and wear safety belts
while traveling so that the side curtain airbags can help provide protection .
• The airbag system can only be triggered once. If the airbag has
been triggered, the system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
• Always have work involving the side curtain airbag system,
removal and installation of the airbag components, or other
repairs performed by a qualified dealership . Otherwise the airbag
system may not work correctly.
• Never attempt to modify any components of the airbag system
in any way .•

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Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a collision.
The physical principles of what happens when your vehicle is in a
crash apply also to children
=> page 211, "What happens to occu­
pants not wearing safety belts?". But unlike adults and teenagers,
their muscles and bones are not fully developed. In many respects
children are at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully developed, they require
restraint systems especially designed for their size, weight, and
body structure. Many countries and all states of the United States
and provinces of Canada have laws requiring the use of approved
child restraint systems for infants and small children.
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph (30-56 km/h) the forces
acting on a 13-pound (6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would
suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these condi ­
tions , only an appropriate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury. Child restraints, like adult safety belts,
must be used properly to be effective. Used improperly, they can
increase the risk of serious injury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions to be sure
the seat is right for your child's
size=> page 246, " Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats". Please be sure to read and
heed all of the important information and WARNINGS about child
safety, Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restraints in
this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Advanced Airbags in your
vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child
restraints are on the front passenger seat. Because of the large
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
amount of
important information, we cannot repeat it all here. We
urg e you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual
about airbags and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and
the very important information about transporting children on the
front passenger seat. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extreme ly important for your safety and the safety of your
passengers, especially infants and small children.
& WARNING
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position. Always
restrain any child age 12 and under in the rear.
• All vehicle occupants and especially children must be
restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained child could be injured by striking the inte­
rior or by being ejected from the vehicle during a sudden
maneuver or impact . An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death through contact with
an inflating airbag.
• A suitable child restraint properly installed and used at one of
the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of protec­
tion for infants and small children in most accident situations.
& WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with Advanced Airbags
can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag inflates . A
child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center arm rest, or door. ..,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

11111 Child Safety
------!....------------------------------
&, W ARNING (continued )
• Alway s inst all rear-facing child safety seats on the rear seat .
• If you mu st in sta ll a rear ward f acing child safet y seat on the
front pa ssenger seat in exceptional circum stan ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light doe s not come on and stay on,
immediately inst all the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
s eating po sition and ha ve the airbag sy stem inspe cted immedi ­
atel y by your Audi de aler .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstance s, you mu st in stall a forward -facing
c hild re straint o n the fr ont p assenger 's seat:
• Alway s make sure the forward -fa cing s eat ha s been de signed
a nd cert ified by it s m anufa cturer for use on a front seat w ith a
pa ssenger front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instruct ions provided with
the child safety seat or carrier.
• Alway s move the pa ssenger seat into it s re armost position in
the seat' s fore and aft adju stment range , as far aw ay from the
ai rbag as possibl e befo re installing the ch ild restr aint . The ba ck­
rest mu st be adjusted to an upright po sition.
• Alway s m ake sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight
c ome s on and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is
sw it c hed on . •
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Airbag System" in
compl iance with U nited States Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Stan­
dard { FMVSSl 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu ­
factured. T
he Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has been certified to
meet the " low -risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year -old chi ldre n on
the passenger side and smal l adults on the driver side . The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to reduce the risk of injury through
interaction with the 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 up to 12 months who are restra ined on
the front passenger seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard.
Even though your vehic le is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
system, al l ch ildren, especially those 12 years and you nger, should
a lways ride in the back seat properly restrained for their age and
size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a poten­
tia lly dangerous p lace for a ch ild to ride. The front seat is not the
safest p lace for a child in a forward -facing child safety seat . It can be
a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a larger ch ild in a rearward ­
facing seat. •
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag Sys tem in your vehicle detects the presence
of an infant or child in a chi ld restra int on the front passenger seat
using the weight -sensing mat in the seat cushion and the sensor
below the safety belt latch on the front passenger seat that measures the tension on the safety belt.
T he weigh t-sensing mat measures total weight o f the chi ld and the
child safety seat and a child blanket on the front passenger seat . T he
weig ht o n the fr ont passenger seat is rela ted to the desig n of the
chi ld restraint and its "footprint", the size and shape of the bottom
of the child restraint as it sits on the seat . The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child
~

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restraints and for the different models of the same kind of child
restraint offered by child restraint manufacturers .
The weight ranges for the individual types , makes and mode ls of
child restraints that the NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typ ical infants and typica l 1 year­
old child have been stored in the control unit of the Advanced
Airbag System. When a ch ild restra int is being used on the front
passenger sea t wi th a typical 1 y ear-old child, the Advanced Airbag
System compares the weight measured by the weight sensing mat
with the information stored in the e lectronic control unit .
The electronic contro l unit also registers the tension on the front
passenger safety be lt . The tens ion on the safety belt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult who is properly using
the safety belt as compared to the tension on the belt when it is used to attach a chi ld restraint to the seat. The sensor below the
latch for the safety belt for the front seat passenger measures the
t e nsion on th e be lt . The input from this sensor is then used with the
weight to "decide" , w hether there is a child restraint with a typical 1
year-o ld child on the front passenger seat and whether or not the
airbag must be turned off .•
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less of the child restraint that you use, make sure that i t has
been certified to meet United States Federa l Motor Vehic le Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manufacturer for use with
an airbag . Always be sure that the chi ld restraint is properly
insta lled at one of the rear seating positions . If in exceptiona l
circumstances you must use it on the front passenger seat, carefully
read all of the information on child safety and Advanced Airbags
and heed a ll of the app licable WARNINGS. Make certain that the
child restraint is correct ly recognized by the weight -sensing mat
inside the front passenger seat, that the front passenger airbag is
turned off and that the airbag status is always correct ly signa led by
t he
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light .
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Many types and mode
ls of chi ld restraints have been available over
t he years, new mode ls are introduced regular ly incorpora ting new
and improved designs and older models are taken out of produc­
tion. Child rest raints are not standardized . Child restraints of the
same type typically have different weights and sizes and different
'footprints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the chi ld restra int
that sits on the seat, when they are insta lled on a veh ic le seat. These
differences make it virtua lly impossible to certify comp liance with
the requirements for advanced airbags with each and every child restraint that has ever b een sold in th e past or will b e sold over the
course of the usefu l life of your veh ic le .
For this reason, the Uni ted S tates National Highway Traffic Safety
Admin istration has pub lished a lis t of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restra ints that must be used to cert ify compl iance
of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle with the suppression
requ irements of Federa l Motor Veh ic le Safety Standard 208. These
child restraints are:
A. Ca r beds, man ufac tured on or afte r Sept ember 1 ,
20 0 4:
• Cosco Dream R ide 02-719
B . Rea r fa cin g c hild re straint syste ms, manu factured
o n or aft er Se ptemb er 1 , 20 04:
(When the restraint system comes equipped with a removab le base,
compliance has to be certified with or without the base) .
• Britax Handle with Care 191
• Century Assura 4553
• Century Smart F it 4543
• Cosco Arriva 02727
• E venflo Discovery Adjust R ig ht 212
• Evenflo First Choice 204
• Graco lnfant8457
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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C . Forward-facing convertible child restraint systems,
manufactured on or after September 1, 2004:
• Britax Roundabout 161
• Britax Expressway
• Century Encore 4612
• CenturySTE10004416
• Cosco Olympian 02803
• Cosco Touriva 02519
• Evenflo Horizon V 425
• Evenflo Medallion 254
• Safety First Comfort Ride 22-400
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on whenever a child restraint is installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition
is switched on.
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer immediately.
[ i] Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been tested by Audi
only for the Advanced Airbag function. •
Important safety instructions for using child
safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially reduces the
risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety of every ­
body in the vehicle, especially children:
- Always use the right child safety seat for each child and
always use it
properly =:> page 248.
-Always carefully follow the child safety seat manufac­
turer's instructions on how to route the safety belt prop­
erly through the child safety seat.
- When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety
seat, you must first activate the convertible locking
retractor on the safety belt to prevent the child safety
seat from
moving =:> page 253.
- Push the child safety seat down with your full weight to
get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot
move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cml.
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child safety
seat to the front passenger seat, make sure that it is not
so tight that it causes the weight-sensing mat to
measure more weight than is actually on the seat.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, should always ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size.
.,