2008 AUDI S8 belt

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Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a min or c ollision . It's simply not true!
Fig . 22 4 Driv er is
c orr ectly r est rai ned in
a su dd en braki ng
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big difference. Sa fety belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy
levels app lied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the
uncontrolled movement that can cause serious injuries. In addition,
safety be lts re duce the danger of being thrown out of the vehic le .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit
of being s lowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other sa fety features engineered
into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the kinetic energy over a
longer pe riod of time, the sa fety belts make the forces on the body
more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury .
Altho ugh these examples are based on a frontal co llision, safety
belts can a lso substantially reduce the risk of injury in other kinds
of crashes . So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to the
corner store, a lways buckle up and make sure others do, too. Acci­
dent statistics show that vehicle occupants properly wearing safety
belts have a lower ris k of being injured and a much better chance of
surviving an accident. Properly using safety belts also greatly
increases the abi lity of the supplementa l airbags to do their job in a
collision . For th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally required in
most countries including much of the United States and Canada. Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you sti
ll have to wear
t he safety belts provided . Fron t air bags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front a irbags are not activated in
a ll fro ntal co llisions, in side and rear coll isions, in ro ll ove rs or in
cases where there is not enough dece leration through impact to the
front of the vehicle . The sa me goes for the other airbag systems in
you r Aud i. So, always wear your safety belt and make sure every ­
body in your vehic le is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi tio ned across
t he strongest bones of your body.
- Al ways wear safety belts as illust rated and described in
th is chapte r.
-Make s ure tha t yo ur sa fety be lts ar e always ready for us e
and are not damage d.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or w earing them improperl y increas es
the risk of serious per sonal injury and death . S afety belts ca n work
onl y when used corre ctl y.
• Alway s fa sten your s afety belt s correctly before driving off and
make sure all p assengers ar e correctly restrain ed.
• For ma ximum protect ion , safet y belts must always be po si­
tioned properly on the body .
• Never strap more than one person , including sm all ch ildren ,
into any belt.
• Never pla ce a safety belt ove r a child sitting on your lap .
• Alway s keep feet
in the footwell in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven .
.,_

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.
.,
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.
., N
8
~
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.
...

fl::. WARNING (continued)
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation
~ page 212. •
Pregnant women must also be correct ly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure that
expectant mothers always wear safety belts correctly
-
throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 227 Safety belt
position during preg­
nancy
To prov ide maximum protection, safety belts must always
be posi tioned correctly on the wearer's
body => page 214.
-Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
=> page 86 , "General recommendations".
- Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and
pelvis => fig. 227, => &.
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch
securely => page 213, fig. 225.
- Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
Safety belts
& 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 possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor ­
mation
~ & in "Fastening safety belts" on page 213. •
Unfastening safety be lts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 228 Releasing the
tongue from the buckle
Push the red release button on the buckle => fig. 228. The
belt tongue will spring out of the buckle
=> &.
Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt
tongue to its stowed pos it ion.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so
will increase your risk of being injured or killed. •
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

___ s_a _f _e _t -=-y _ b_ e_lt _s ______________________________________________ _
Adjusting safety belt height Use the safety belt height adjustment to change belt posi­
tion on the shoulder.
Fig . 229 Adjusting
shoulder belt height
The safety belt height adjustors for the front seats can be
used to adjust the height of the shoulder portion of the
safety belt so that it is positioned correctly.
- Push the
latch ~ fig. 229 up or down so that the shoulder
portion of the safety belt is positioned nearly midway
over the
shoulder ~ & in "Safety belt position" on
page 214.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important informa­
tion
~ page 212. •
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju­
ries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or
death. Safety belts can only work when they are correctly positioned on the body. Improper seating
positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body. Improper seating positions also increase
the risk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys
and strikes an occupant who is not in the correct seating position. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
- Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sitting posi­
tion in the vehicle while
traveling ~& .
& WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly
restrained and stay in a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation
~ page 212. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt pretensioners . The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rea r-end collisions
of great severity . This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack ~ &
in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner" on page 217.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupan t movement
during a collision.
•

Safety b elts -
----------------=--
[ i ] Tip s
The sa fet y belt pretens ioner can on ly be activated once.
• I n minor frontal and side col lisions, in rear -end collisions, in a
rollover and in accidents involving very litt le impact force, the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated .
• When the safety be lt pretensioner is activated, a fine dust is
released . This is normal and is not caused by a fire i n the vehicle.
• T he relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehic le or c om po n en ts of the system are scrapped . A qua lifi ed deal ­
ership is fami liar with these regulations and wil l be p leased to pass
on the info rmation to you .
• Be sure to observe al l safety, environmenta l and other regula ­
t ions if the veh ic le or indiv idual parts of the sys tem, particu larly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We recommend you have
your au thorized A udi dea ler perform this service for you .•
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretens io ners are parts of the sa fety be lts on your
Audi. Installing, removing, servicing or repairing of belt preten­
s ioners can damage the sa fe ty be lt system and prevent it from
working correctly in a collision.
There a re some important things yo u have to know to make su re
t hat t he effec tive ness o f the system w ill not be impaired and that
discarded compone nts do not cause injury or po llute the environ ­
ment.
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair pro cedures can increase the
ri sk of personal injury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretension er from activating when needed or activating it unex­
pectedly:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
&, WARNING (continued )
• The belt pretensioner system can be a ctivated only once. If belt
preten sioner s ha ve been activated, the system mu st be repla ced .
• Never repair , adju st, or change any part s of the safety belt
s ystem .
• Safety belt sy stems including safety belt pretensioners cannot
be repaired. Speci al pro cedures are required for removal , in stalla ­
tion and di sposal of this system .
• For any work on the safety belt system , we strongly re com ­
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified techni ­
c ian who ha s an Audi approved repair m anual , training and spe cial
equipment nece ssary .
~ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretensioners might be c lassif ied
as Perchlorate Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate . When the vehicle or
parts of the restraint system including airbag modules safety be lts
with pretensioners are scrapped, a ll applicable laws and regu la ­
tions must be observed . Your authorized Au di dealer is fa mi liar with
these requirements and we recommend that you have your dea ler
perfor m this service for y ou.•
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ A_ ir_b _ a_ g=- s-a. y_s _t _e _m _________________________________________________ _
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their jo b, occu pants must always properly we ar their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
Fo r your safe ty a nd the safety o f your passen gers, before
dr iving o ff, a lways:
- Adjust the driver 's seat and steering wheel proper ly
=> page 200,
- Adjust the front passenger's seat properly=> page 87,
-Wear safety be lts proper ly=> page 212,
- Always properly use the proper chi ld restrain t to pro tect
ch ildren
=> page 243 .
In a collision airbags mus t inflate with in t he blink of an eye and with
considerable force . The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
t he driver or the fron t seat passenger is not seated properly. There ­
fore in order to help the airbag to do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as a passenger to sit properly at a ll ti mes.
By keep ing room between your body and t he steer ing wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fu lly and
comp letely and prov ide supplementa l protection in certain frontal
collisions => page 200, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
deta ils on the operation of t he seat adjustment
controls => page 87.
It's especia lly important that chi ldren are proper ly restrained
=> page 243 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system.
P roper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side ca n do its job. I f yo u have a physical impairment or
condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat
wi th the safety belt p roperly fastened and reaching the pedals, o r if
you have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, p lease contact your authorized Audi
dea ler or qua lif ied workshop, or call Audi Customer CAR E at 1 -800-
822 -2834 for possib le modifications to your vehicle .
When the a irbag system deploys, a gas generator wi ll fil l the
airbags, break open the padded covers, and inflate between the
steer ing wheel and the dr iver and between the inst rume nt panel
and the front passenger. The airbags wi ll deflate immediate ly after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind ­
shield again without interruption .
A ll of this takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so fast that many people
do n't even rea lize that the a irbags have dep loyed . T he airbags also
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing should be in their way
when they dep loy. Fron t airbags in combinati on wi th properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement.
Together t hey help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside the vehicle while reducing the forces act ing on the occupant during the crash . In this way they he lp to
reduce the r isk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash .
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower parts of the body .
Both front a irbags w ill not in flate i n all fro ntal col lis io ns. The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehic le dece lerat ion
r ate caused by the co llision and registe red by the electr onic c ontro l
unit . If this rate is be low the reference value programmed into the
co ntrol unit, the ai rbags w il l not be t riggered, even tho ug h the car
may be bad ly damaged as a result of the collision . Vehicle damage,
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__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a-' g=- s_ y=- s_t _e _m __ lfflll
r ep air costs or ev e n the lac k of veh icle dama ge is not necessari ly an
indicati on of w heth e r an air b ag s houl d infla te or not .
I t is not poss ib le to def in e a ran ge of v ehicle sp ee ds t hat w il l cover
eve ry po ssible kind and ang le of impact that wil l a lway s trigger the
a ir b ags , s in ce t he cir cum stanc es w ill vary c onsid era bly be tw een
one co llision and another . Important factors inc lude , for example,
th e nat ure ( hard or soft) of the o bject w hic h the car h its, the a ng le
of impact, ve hicle speed, etc. The front airbags wi ll also not inflate
in side or rea r co lli s io ns, or i n ro ll-ov ers .
Always remember : Airbags w ill d eploy only onc e, an d on ly in c ertain
k inds of coll isi ons. Your s afe ty b elt s a re a lway s the re to o ffer prot ec­
t ion in th ose s ituat io ns in whi ch airba gs are not su pposed to deplo y,
or whe n th ey hav e a lready dep lo yed; for ex am ple, wh en your v ehi cle
s tr ik es or i s struc k by another a ft e r th e fir st c ollis ion .
T his is just one of the reasons why a n airbag is a su pple mentary
r es traint and is not a sub stitut e for a sa fe ty b elt. T he ai rbag s ystem
w ork s most eff ect ively wh en us ed w ith the saf ety be lts . T herefore,
alw ay s pr operly w ea r y ou r safe ty b e lts ~ page 2 09.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to held you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward, sitting sideways or out
of position in any way, your risk of injury is much higher .
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
&, WARNING (continued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts
properly ~ page 213, "Safety belts ".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat . If children are not properly restrained , they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle . Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never ride with the backrest reclined .
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel
~ page 200.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat .
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates .
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly repla ce any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash .
• Never permit salvaged or recy cled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data