2009 AUDI S8 child seat

-S
afe ty b elts ----=-----------------
- Make sure that your passengers also b uckle up and prop­
erly wea r th eir sa fety belts.
Protect children wit h a child restraint system appropriate
for the size and age.
The warning light i 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 stop for 24 seconds and
then repeat this reminder sequence for a maximum of 2 minutes. At
speeds be low 5 mph, the warning tone will not sound.
Fa sten your safe ty belt and m ake su re that your p assengers also
properl y put on th eir s afet y belts .
& WARNING
• Safety belt s are the single mo st effective mean s available to
reduce th e risk of ser ious injur y and death in a utomobile acci­
dent s. For your prote ction and th at of your pas senger s, alwa ys
c orre ctl y we ar safety belt s when t he vehicle is moving .
• Failure t o pay att ention to th e warning light that co me on,
c ould lead to per sonal injury .•
Why safety belts?
Frontal co11isions and the law of physics
Front al crashes create very strong forces for pe ople riding
in vehicles.
F ig. 222 U nbel ted
o cc up ants i n a ve hicle
he ading for a wa ll
Fi g. 223 T he vehicle
c ras hes in to t he 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 cal l 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 significan t factor. If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times! .,

llffl_....::S~a ~f ~e ~ty ~ b~ e~ l~ t ~s ____________________________________________ _
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a minor collision. It's simply not true!
Fig . 22 6 Driv er is
cor rec tly r estrai ned in
a su dden b raking
m an euver
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 reduce 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 safety features engineered
into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer period of time, the safety belts make the forces on the body
more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury .
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 o f 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
the safety belts provided . Fron t airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . T he front airbags are not activated in
a ll frontal col lisions, in side and rear collisions, in roll ove rs or in
cases where there is not enough dece leration through impact to the
front of the vehicle . The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt and make sure every ­
body in your vehic le is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be co rrectly positioned across
t he strongest bones of your body.
Always wear safety belts as illustrated and described in
th is chapter.
Make s ure tha t your safe ty belts ar e always ready for use
and are not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or w earing them improperl y increase s
the risk of seriou s per sonal injury and death . S afe ty belt s can work
onl y when used corre ctl y.
• Alway s fa sten your s afety belt s correctl y before dri ving off and
make sure all p assenger s ar e correctly restrain ed.
• For m aximum protect ion , safet y belt s must always be po si­
ti oned properly on the body .
• Never strap more th an one person , includi ng sm all children ,
into any belt.
• Never pla ce a s afety belt ove r a child sitting on your lap .
• Alway s keep feet in t he foot well
in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven .
~

& 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 first
Safety belts
& WARNING !continued)
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel~
page 301, "Safety
belts" .•
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 227 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver's seat
To provide 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=>& .
Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch securely=> fig. 227.
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 bel t. This featu re locks the bel t 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 bel t 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 safe ty belt excep t 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
255.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious injury in an
accident=>
page 216, "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
257. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maximum
protection from safety belts.
Fig . 228 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. 228. 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. 228. 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.
~

___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
Adjusting safety belt height
Use the safety belt height adjustment to change belt posi ­
tion on the shoulder.
Fig . 231 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. 231 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 216.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important informa­
tion
=> page 214. •
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 214. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensloners 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 th e belt and takes up belt slack=>
&
in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner" on page 219.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupan t movement
during a collision. _.,

___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_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 job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safe ty a nd the safety of your passengers, before
driving o ff, a lways:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
~ page 202,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 87,
- Wear safety belts properly~ page 214,
-Always properly use the proper child restraint to pro tect
children~
page 245 .
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and w ith
considerable force. The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front 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 all times.
By keep ing room between your body and the steering 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 202, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
detai ls on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 87.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 245 .
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 can do its job. I f you have a physical impairment or
condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat
with the safety belt properly 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 CARE at 1-800-
822 -2834 for possib le modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator wi ll fill the
airbags, break open the padded covers, and inflate between the
steering wheel and the driver and be tween the instrument panel
and the front passenger. The airbags wil l 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
don't even rea lize that the airbags have dep loyed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they dep loy. Fron t airbags in combination wi th properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement.
T ogether they help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside of the vehicle while reducing the
forces acting on the occupant during the c rash. 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 airbags w ill not in flate in al l fro ntal col lisions . The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehic le decelerat ion
r ate caused by the colli sion and registe red by the electronic contro l
unit. If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the
cont rol unit, the airbags w ill not be t riggered, even though the car
may be bad ly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehicle damage, .,,,.

Airbag syst em -----------------=~-
repair costs or even the lack of vehicle damage is not necessari ly an
indication of whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one colli­
sion and another, it is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and angle of impact that
will a lways trigger the airbags . Important factors inc lude, for
exa mple, the nature (hard or so ft) of the object which the car h its,
the angle of impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will also
n ot inflate in side or rear collisions, or in roll -overs .
Al way s rem ember : Airbags wi ll deploy only once, and on ly in certain
kinds of coll isions . Your safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those situat ions in wh ich airbags are not supposed to deploy,
or when they have already deployed; for example, when your vehic le
strikes or is struck by a nother vehicle a fter the first collision.
T his is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a supplementary
restraint and is not a substitute for a sa fety be lt. The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts. Therefore ,
always prope rly wea r your safety belt s => page 211 .
& WARNING
Sitting too clo se to the steering wheel or in strument panel will
de crease the effect ivene ss of the airbags and will incr ease the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 in ches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
in strument panel.
• If you c annot sit more than 10 in ches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , inve stiga te whether adaptive equipment may be available
to help you reach the pedal s and in crease your se ating dist ance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestra ined , leaning forward , sittin g side ways or out
of position in any way , your risk of injury i s much higher .
• You will also receive serious injur ies and could even be killed if
you are up again st the airba g or too clo se to it when it infl ates -
ev en with an Advanced Airbag .
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WAR N IN G ( continued )
• To reduce the ri sk of injury when an airbag inflate s, alw ays
wear safety belt s prope rly~
page 21 5, "S afet y belt s".
• Always make certain that ch ildren age 12 or younger alway s
ride in the rear seat. If children are not p rope rly re str ained , they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflate s.
• Never let children ride unre str ained or impr operly rest rained in
the vehicl e. Adju st the front seat s pr operly .
• Never ride with the b ackrest r eclined .
• Alway s sit a s far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument p anel
~ pag e 202.
• Alway s sit upright with your back again st the backre st of your
seat .
• Ne ver pla ce 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 seriou s injurie s to the leg s and hips if the airbag inflate s.
• Nev er r ecline th e front passenger 's seat to transpo rt obje cts .
Item s can al so mo ve into the area of the side a irbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden m aneuver . Obje cts near the
a irbags can become pro je ctile s and cau se injury when an airbag
inflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be repla ced.
• U se only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
in stalled by a trained technician who ha s the neces sary tool s and
diagnostic equipment to properly r epla ce any airb ag in your
vehicle and as sure sy stem effectivenes s in a crash .
• Never perm it salvag ed or re cy cled airb ag s to be i nstall ed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag s yste m P'll:f _______________ _
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
-Be sure to read t he important information and heed the
WARNINGS for important details about ch ildren and
Advanced Airbags~
page 245.
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 , always 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 child seat . It can be a
very dangerous place for an infant or a child in a rearward -facing
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
turned off ("suppressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of age
restrained in one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant res traints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
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 compliance with the US Safety
Standard =>
page 247.
The PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instrument pane l tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t urned off by the electronic control unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSE NGER AIR BA G OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occupied, •
will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front
passenger seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
registered by the weight-sensing mat=>
page 231, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is more than tha t of
a typica l 1 year -old child but less than the weight of a small adult,
the front airbag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PA SSE NGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PAS SEN GER AIR BA G
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on the passenger s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic control unit and can
deploy if the control unit senses an impact that meets the condi ­
tions stored in its memory.
For e xample , the air b ag ma y dep loy i f:
• a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1 year -o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child seats listed
=> page 247), or
• a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on the front
passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
The fron t airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light does not illuminate and stay lit) even
if a small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is no t sitting upright
with their back against a non -reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehic le floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=> page 202, "Proper seating position for the driver".
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires
t he airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment criteria 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 .,.