2008 AUDI S8 Owners Manual

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& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat , using the wrong child safety seat or
improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
• All vehicle occupants and especially children must always be
restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained child can be injured or killed by being thrown against the inside of the vehicle or by
being ejected from it during a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained child is at much
greater risk of injury or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
• Commercially available child safety seats are required to
comply with U .S . Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS l
213 (in Canada CMVSS 2131.
-When buying a child restraint , select one that fits your child
and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully contact the flat
portion of the seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side . Audi does not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like frames. They do not provide
adequate contact with the seat .
- Always heed all legal requirements pertaining to the installa ­
tion and use of child safety seats and carefully follow the
instructions provided by the manufacturer of the seat you are
using.
• Never allow children under 57 inches (1 .5 meters) to wear a
normal safety belt. They must always be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they could sustain injuries to
the abdomen and neck areas during sudden braking maneuvers or
accidents.
• Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat .
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
&, WARNING (continued)
• Never let babies or older children ride in a vehicle while sitting
on the lap of another passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a substitute for a child
restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold the child with the forces
that exist in an accident. The child will strike the interior of the
vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger .
- The child and the passenger can also injure each another in
an accident.
• Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the front passenger seat . A child will be seriously injured and can
be killed when the passenger airbag inflates - even with an
Advanced Airbag System .
• 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 , door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the rear seat .
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on the front
passenger's seat can interfere with the airbag when it inflates and
cause serious injury to the child. Always install forward -facing
child safety seats on the rear seat .
• If exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward ­
facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat , the child's
safety and well -being require that the following special precau­
tions be taken:
- 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.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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& WARNING (continued)
-Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost
position of the passenger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the front
passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in
its fore and aft adjustment range .
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright posi­
tion.
• Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a
child is not sitting in it. A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being
used => page 209, "Safety belts",
=> page 218, "Airbag system" and=> page 243, "Child Safety".
& 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. •
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and 22 lbs or
10 kg need special rearward-facing child restraints that
support the back, neck and head in a crash.
Fig . 240 Rearward­
facing infant seat,
properly installed on
the rear 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 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
- 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 cm).
Infants up to about one year (22 lbs. or 10 kg) are best protected in
special infant carriers and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and small children should
ride only in special restraints in which the child faces the back of the
vehicle. These infant seats support the baby's back, neck and head
in a crash . These child safety seats must never be used in the front
seat because of the risk of serious injury or death should the airbag
deploy in a
crash => fig. 240. liJ,

& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong child safety seat or
improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
• Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the front passenger seat
-even with an Advanced Airbag System.
A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the
inflating airbag hits the child safety seat or infant carrier with
great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against the
backrest, center arm rest, or
door=> page 220, "Child restraints on
the front seat
-some important things to know".
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the rear seat.
• Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing
direction. Such restraints are designed for the special needs of
infants and very small children and cannot protect them properly
if the seat is forward-facing.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety 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 safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used => page 209, "Safety belts",
=> page 218, "Airbag system" and=> page 243, "Important things
to know". •
Child Safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can help
protect toddlers and children over age one who weigh
between 20 and 40 lbs. (10 and 20 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 241 Rear seat:
smalle r child in a prop ­
er ly installed forward­
facing convertible child
safety seat
-When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety
seat, you must first activate the convertible locking
feature on the safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving :=>
page 253 or install the seat using the
LATCH attachment .
-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 cm)
=> page 253.
-If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether strap,
attach it to the tether anchors :=>
page 262.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an infant restraint if it is
more than one year old and weighs more than 22 lbs. (10 kgl.
Toddlers and children who are older than one year up to about 4
years old and weigh more than 22 lbs (10 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg)
should be properly restrained in a child safety seat certified for their
size and
weight=> fig . 241. tJ,
••
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

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The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in a rearward -facing
seat.
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong child safety seat or
improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or other emergency situa­
tion.
• 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 -even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• 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.
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats on the rear seat .
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety 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 safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used
=:> page 209, "Safety belts",
=> page 218, "Airbag system" and =:> page 243, "Important things
to know".
& WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special precautions be taken:
• Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certi­
fied by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with
the child safety seat or carrier.
• Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost posi­
tion of the passenger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before installing the child
restraint.
• Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's
seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore and aft
adjustment range.
• Always make sure the backrest is in 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.
• If the light does not stay on, perform the checks
=> 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 whenever the ignition is switched
on. •

Booster seats
Properly used booster seats can help protect children
weighing between about 40 lbs. and 80 lbs. (18 kg and 36
kg) who are less than
4 ft. 9 in. tall.
Fig. 242 Rear seat:
child properly
restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most children
until they are at least 4 ft. 9 in. tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kgl. Booster seats raise these children up so that the
safety belt will pass properly over the stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt can help protect them in a crash.
- Do not use the convertible locking retractor when using
the vehicle's safety belt to restrain a child on a booster
seat .
- Always position the shoulder portion of the safety belt
midway over the child's shoulder.
- Always make sure that the shoulder portion of the safety
belt never rests against or across the child's neck.
-Always make sure that the child can properly wear the
lap port ion of the belt low across the thighs or pelvis and
never over the stomach or abdomen.
Child Safety
Children up to about 40 lbs (18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Experts say that the skel ­
etal structure, particularly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they should not use the vehicle safety belts
=> page 251, fig. 242.
Children who weigh more than 40 lbs. (18 kg) may generally use the
available three point combination lap and shoulder belts when they
sit on an appropriate booster seat. Be sure the booster seat meets
all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the child and reposition
both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The routing of the belt
over the child's body is very important for the child's protection.
This applies whenever a child uses the vehicle's safety belts, even
when the child is big enough to use them without a booster seat.
Children age 12 and under should
always ride in the rear seat .
Children should not ride in the front seat unless no other seating
position is available because crash statistics show that children are
better protected in the rear seat.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of an eye and with
considerable force . In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to
inflate so that it will be there to protect the occupant as the occu ­
pant moves forward into the airbag.
A vehicle occupant including a child who is out of position and too
close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an
occupant is too close, he or she will be struck violently and will
receive serious or possibly even fatal injury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is important that all
vehicle occupants, especially any children, who must be in the front
seat in exceptional circumstances, be properly restrained and as far
away from the airbag as possible. By keeping room between the
child's or other occupant's body and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and completely and
provide supplemental protection in certain frontal crashes. _.,
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

-
Child Safety ___ :;....____ ____________ _
& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster seat improperly, incor­
rectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety belt
improperly increases the risk of serious personal injury and death
in a collision or other emergency situation. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury and/or death:
• Always make sure to position the shoulder portion of the three­
point belt over the middle of child's shoulder .
• Never let the shoulder portion of the belt rest against or across
the neck, face, chin, or throat of the child.
• Always make sure the lap belt portion of the three-point belt is
worn snug and passes as low as possible across the child's pelvis.
Never let the belt pass over the soft abdomen.
• Failure to properly route safety belts over a child's body will
cause severe injuries in an accident or other emergency situation
=> page 209.
• 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.
• Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat, for example the
front seat.
• Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
• Always remember that a child leaning forward, sitting side­
ways or out of position in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will result in serious personal
injury or death.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come on and stay on, when­
ever the ignition is switched on .
& WARNING (continued)
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and 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 whenever the ignition is switched
on .
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used ::> page
209, "Safety belts",
=> page 218, "Airbag system" and::> page 243, "Important things
to know". •
Safety belts and older children
Properly worn three point lap and shoulder belt can help
protect children weighing more than 80 lbs. (36 kg) and
who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. tall.
Fig . 243 Child taller
than 4
ft . 9 in. properly
restrained on the rear
seat
Children who weigh more than about 80 lbs (36 kg) and are at least
4 ft. 9 in. tall can generally use the vehicle's three point lap and
shoulder belts. Children should use a lap belt only in
very excep­
tional situations and only if no child restraint system for the child's
size and weight or safer alternative means of transportation of the
tll-

Child Safety -
---------------''----
child is available . In these exceptional situations, the use of a lap
belt is better than permitting the child to remain totally unre ­
strained . But remember: a lap belt cannot provide the same level of
protection as a proper child restraint or a three -point lap and
shoulder belt if the child is big enough. Also, using a lap belt for
younger children, who should be using a child restraint, may violate
laws in your state or Province .
Never use a lap belt alone to restrain a child that weighs less than
about 80 lbs (36 kg) and who is less than 4'9" tall. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pelvic structure required
for the proper function of lap belts. If a lap belt is only restraint
system available, then the child's safety absolutely requires that the
lap belt be fastened snugly and as low as possible around the pelvis
let a lap belt pass over the child's stomach or abdomen .
& WARNING
Using wrong child restraints or improperly installed child
restraints can cause serious personal injury or death in a crash.
• Failure to properly route safety belts over a child's body will
cause severe injuries in a crash. The lap belt portion of the three
point belt as well as any lap belt alone must always pass as low as
possible across the pelvis, never over the stomach or abdomen.
• An improperly worn safety belt will not provide the best protec­
tion in a crash and may cause serious personal injury. Always make sure that children and other vehicle occupants properly
wear available restraint systems. Carefully follow the instructions provided by the manufacturers of child restraints. •
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Installing a child safety seat
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front passenger can
be locked with the convertible locking retractor to prop­
erly secure child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for the rear seats
safety belts and for the front passenger's seat safety belt have a
convertible locking retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot unreel. The retractor
can be activated to lock the safety belt and prevent the safety belt
webbing from loosening up during normal driving. A child safety
seat can only be properly installed when the safety belt is locked so
that the child and child safety seat will stay in place.
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.
& WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision.
• Always make sure that the safety belt retractor is locked when
installing a child safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retractor
cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or
in a crash.
• Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a
child is not sitting in it. A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision
• Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to which the
center rear safety belt is attached is securely latched whenever
the rear center safety belt is being used to secure a child restraint.
_,.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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&, WARNING (continued )
• If the backrest is not securely latched , the child and the child
restraint will be thrown forward together with the backrest and
will strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child can be seriously
injured or killed.
• Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the front passenger seat . A child will be seriously injured and can
be killed when the passenger 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, door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the rear seat.
• Forward-facing child safety seats or infant carriers installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the child .
• It is safer to install a forward -facing child safety seat on the rear
seat.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used
=> page 243 . Special precau­
tions apply when installing a child safety seat on the front
passenger seat
=> page 220 , "Child restraints on the front seat -
some important things to know ".
& WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must install a forward or
rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat in
exceptional situations:
• Whenever a forward or rearward -facing child restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat , the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light must come on and stay on whenever the ignition is
switched on .
&, WARNING (continued )
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and 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 whenever the ignition is switched
on .
• Improper installation of child restraints can reduce their effec­
tiveness or even prevent them from providing any protection .
• An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the
airbag as it deploys and seriously injure or even kill the child.
• Always carefully follow the manufa cturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier .
• Never place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight registered by the weight-sensing mat and can cause injury in a crash.
& WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
• Always make sure the forward -fa cing 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.
..,_