2010 AUDI S8 ignition

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-Make sure that your passengers also buckle up a nd prop ­
erly wear their safety belts .
- Protect c hildren with a child rest raint system appropria te
fo r the size and ag e.
The warn ing light ~ in the instrument cluster lights up when the igni­
tion is sw itched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
tion, you will hear a warn ing to ne .
After the ignition is switched on, the warn ing light in the instrument
clu ster will alw ays come on fo r a bout 6 seconds and i f the driver has
not fastened the safety belt, a warning tone will also sound for about
6 seconds. As soon as the d rive r has fastened the safety belt, the
warning tone will stop and the war ning light w ill go out.
If the driver or front seat passenger have not buck led-up within about
1 0 se conds afte r th e war ning tone has stopped and the veh icle is
moving faster than about 15 mph, the warning tone will sound again
for a bout 6 se conds and then s to p for 24 seco nds and the n re pea t
this rem inder sequence for a max imum of 2 m inutes . At speeds
below 5 mph, the w arning tone will not sou nd.
Fa sten your safety belt and make sure that your passenger s also
properly put on their safety belts.
& WARNING
• Safety belt s are the single most effe ctiv e mean s available to
reduce the risk of serious injury and death in automobile a cci­
dents . For your protection and that of your pa ssenger s, always
c orrectly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
• Failure to pay attention to the warning light that come on,
could lead to person al injury .•
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal cr ashes cre ate very stron g forc es for people
riding i n vehi cles.
Fig . 202 Unbe lted
o ccupa nts in a vehicle
h eading f or a w all
Fig. 203 Th e vehicle
cr as hes int o t he wall
The p hys ica l pr inc iples are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen­
gers possess energy which var ies wit h veh icle speed and body weight.
E nginee rs ca ll t his ene rgy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the veh icle and t he greater the vehicle's
we ight, the more energy that has to be "abso rbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most sig nifican t fa ctor. If t he speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times! .,

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Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier insta lled on the front
sea t m ay be s truck and kno cked o ut o f p osition by the rapidl y
inflating passenge r's airbag in a frontal coll is io n. The a irbag cou ld
great ly reduce the effect iveness of the c hild restraint and even seri­
ously i njure the child dur ing inflat io n.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the safest place for chil­
dren -whe n pro perly restra ined a ccording to their age an d siz e -we
strongly recommend that childre n always sit in the back seat
=> page 23 1, "Child S afety".
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
• Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger 's
seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause
serious personal injury to the child.
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-f acing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Never put the forward -facing child restraint up aga inst 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 ad justed to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of seriou s injury, make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child re straint is installed on the front pas senger seat and the ignition
is switched on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on, perform
the checks described=>
page 217, "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System ".
• Take the child restra int 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 th e airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer immedi ·
ately.
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu·
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward or
rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat :
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Airbag system Ill
----------------=--=---
& WARNING (co ntinued )
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
imm ediately ins tall the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating
position and have the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you mu st install a forward-facing
c hild restraint on the front passenger 's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and cert ified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
pa ssenger front and side airbag .
• Never put the forward-facing child re straint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Alway s move the passenger seat into it s rearmost po sition in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible , befo re installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright pos ition.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on .•
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat i n your veh icle has a lot of very important
parts o f th e A dva nced A irbag System in it. These parts include t he
we ight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, bracke ts, and more . The func­
ti on of the system in the front p assenger seat is chec ke d by the e lec ­
tr on ic contro l u ni t whe n the ig ni tion is on . T he contro l unit monitors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag indicator light on
when a mal function in the system compone nts is detected. The func­
tion of the a irbag indicator light is described in g reater detail be low.
Be ca u se the fron t passenge r seat con tains import ant parts of the
Advanced Ai rbag System, you must take care to prevent it from being
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
damaged
. Damage to the seat may prevent t he Adva nced A irbag for
t he fro nt pa ssenge r se at from d oin g its jo b in a cra sh.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists of the
following:
• Cras h sensors in the front of the vehicle t hat measure vehicle
acc ele rat ion/d ece le rat ion to prov ide info rma tion t o the Adv anced
Airbag System about t he severity of the crash .
• An e lec tron ic con trol uni t, w ith i ntegr ated cr ash sen sors fo r front
and side impacts. The contro l unit "dec ides" w het her to fire the front
air bag s base d on th e inf ormati on re ceived from t he cr ash sensors.
T he control unit also "decides" whether the saf ety b elt pret ensio ners
sh ould be ac tiva ted.
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the dr ive r inside the
stee ring w hee l hub .
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside the inst rument
p ane l for the fron t passenge r.
• A weig ht-sensing mat under the upholste ry padd ing of the front
passenge r seat cushi on th at m easures the tota l we ig ht on t he seat.
The informat ion registe red is se nt co ntinuo us ly to the electronic
contr ol un it to r egulat e dep lo ym en t of th e fr ont Adv anced A irbag on
the passenger side .
• An a irbag moni to ring system a nd ind icator light in the inst rume nt
cl uster =>
page 217.
• The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on an d stays o n in the
center o f the instr ument panel =>
page 218, fig. 215 an d tells you
whe n the fr ont Ad van ced Air bag on the p assenge r sid e has bee n
t ur ned off.
• A senso r bel ow th e saf ety b elt la tch fo r the front s eat pa ss e ng er
to meas ure the tension on the safety be lt . Th e tens io n on the safety
bel t an d t he we ight regi stered by the we ig ht- se ns ing mat he lp t he
cont rol un it "dec ide" whether the front airbag fo r th e front
pa ssenger se at sh o uld be tur ned o ff o r no t =>
p age 20 8, "Ch ild
restraints on t he front seat -some important thi ngs to know". ...
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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lower parts of the body . Front airbags supplement the th ree-point
sa fety belts o nly in some fron tal co llis io ns in whi ch the vehicl e decel­
eratio n is h igh enough to d eploy the a irbags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
• if the ignition is sw itched off when a cras h occ urs,
• in s ide collisions,
• in rea r-end collisions,
• in rollovers,
• when the cras h deceler ati on me asured by t he airba g sy st em is le ss
than t he m in imum thres hold needed for airbag dep loyment as regis­
t ere d by the e lectro nic cont rol uni t.
The front passenger airbag also will not deploy:
• when the front pas se ng er s eat is not occupi ed,
• when the we ight on the front passenge r seat as sense d by the
Adv anced Air bag Sy stem indicat es th at t he fron t a irbag on the
passenger s ide has to be turned off by the e lec tron ic cont rol u nit (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t com es o n an d st ay s on ).
& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the risk of serious injury
in crashes .
• To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate, the driver
and passengers must always sit in an upright position, must not lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Occupants who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye=>
page 208 .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat .
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing ch ild seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
& WARNING
Objects between you and the airb ag will increase the risk of injury
in a crash by interfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
• Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the vehicle
is in use.
• Never transport items on or in the area of the front passenger
seat . Objects could move into the area of the front airbags during
braking or other sudden maneuvers and become dangerous
projectiles that can cause se rious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
• Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup
holders, telephone brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects ) on the
doors , over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering
wheel, instrument panel, seat backrests or between those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a crash , especially
when the airbags inflate. ..,.

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& WARNING (co nti nued )
• Never recline the front p assenger 's seat to transport objects.
It em s can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbag s can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly when
the seat is reclined.
& WARNING
The fine dust created when airbag s deploy can cause breathing
problem s for people with a hi story of asthma or other breathing
conditions .
• To reduce the risk of br eathing problems, those with asthma or
other re spiratory conditions should get fre sh air right away b y
getting out of the vehicle
or opening windows or doors .
• If you are
in a collision in which airbags deploy , wa sh your
hands and face with mild soap and water before eating.
• Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes, or into any cuts or
scratches.
• If the residue should get into your eyes, flush them with
water .•
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light~~
Two sep arate indic ato rs m onito r the fu nctio n of the
Adva nce d A irbag Syst em: the ai rbag monito ring in di cator
light and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
The Advanced A irbag System ( including the elect ronic contro l unit,
senso r cir cuits and syst em wi ring) is monitored co ntinu ously to make
sure that it is f unction ing p roperly w henever the ignition is on. Eac h
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
time you t
urn on the ign ition , the airbag mo nitoring ind icator lig ht ti
w ill come on fo r a few seconds (se lf di agnos tics).
The system must be inspected when the indicator light ~:
• does not come on when t he ignit ion is switched on,
• does not go out a few seconds after you hav e switched on the igni­
tion, or
• comes o n wh ile d riving.
If an a irbag system malfunction is detected, the ind icator light will
fir st s tar t flashing to ca tch t he dr ive r's a tten tion and then st ay on
cont inuous ly to serve as a constant rem inder to have the system
inspec ted immed ia tely .
If a ma lfunct io n occ urs t hat t urns the front a irbag on the passenger
side o ff, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght will come on and stay on
w henever the igni tion is on .
& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning properly cannot provide
supplemental protection in a frontal crash.
• If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it means that there may
be something wrong with the Advanced Airbag System. It is
possible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or
will not inflate when it should .
• Have the airbag system inspected immediately by your Audi
dealer. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
( ~ I :."!l.t.~A I ~
1~ J,
i
)
Fig . 215 Section from
the in strume nt panel :
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t is located in the center of t he
ins trumen t panel => fig. 2 15 .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t will com e on and stay on to te ll
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t u rn ed off by the ele ct ronic contro l uni t. Each t ime you t urn on t he
ignition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will flash fo r a few
se conds and:
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occupied,
• will s tay on if t here is a small ch ild or child res trai nt on the fron t
passenger seat,
• will go out if t he front passenger seat is oc cupied by a n ad ult as
registered by the weight-sensing mat .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st come on and stay on if the
ignition is o n and
• a ca r bed has been installed o n the front seat, or
• a rearward -facing child restraint has been insta lled on t he front
passenger seat, o r
• a forward-fac ing ch ild restraint has bee n installed on the front
passenge r seat, o r
• the weight registered on t he front passe nger seat is equal to o r
less th a n the co mb ined we ight of a typic al 1 year-o ld rest rained in one of the rear-faci
ng or forward-facing infant restraints listed in
F e d era l Mo tor Ve hicle Safe ty St anda rd 2 08 w ith which th e Adv anced
Airbag System in your vehicle was cert ified.
If the front passen ger seat is not occupied, the front airbag will not
dep loy, and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t will stay on. Never
install a rearward -facing c hild rest raint on the f ront passenger seat,
t he s afest pl ace fo r a child in any k ind of child re stra in t is a t one o f th e
seating pos it ions on the rear seat::::;,
page 208, "Child restraints on
t he fro nt sea t - so me im port an t things to kno w" and =>
page 231,
"Ch ild Safety" .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when one of the
c onditions lis ted above is met, be sure to check the lig ht reg ularly to
ma ke certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht stays on
c ont inuo usly whenever the ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear on and does not stay on all the t ime, stop
as so on a s it is safe to do so and
• reactivate the system by turn ing the ig nition off and then tur ning
it on again ;
• remove and reinstall the child restraint. Make sure that the c hild
restrain t is properly inst alled and that the sa fety belt for the fron t
passenger seat has been correct ly routed th rough the chi ld restra int
as desc ribe d in the ch ild restrain t manufacture r's ins tructions;
• make su re that the convertib le lock ing feature on t he safety belt
f or the front passenger sea t has been act ivate d an d that the safe ty
belt has bee n pulled tight. The belt m ust not be loose or have loops
of slac k so that t he senso r be low the safety belt latc h on the seat can
do its job::::;,
page 241.
• make s ure tha t things tha t may in crease the weight o f the chi ld
and c hild seat a re not be ing transported o n the front passe nger seat;
• mak e s ure th at th e s afety bel t tension se nso r is not blocked.
Shake the safety belt latch o n the front passenger seat back and
f orth;
• If a strap or tether is being used to t ie the child seat to the front
pass en ge r sea t, mak e sure that it is not s o tight t hat it cau ses t he ...

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weight-sens ing mat to measure mo re weig ht than is actually on t he
se at.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does not come on and
does not stay on cont in uou sly (when the ignition is sw itched on),
• t ake the child re st raint o ff the fr ont pa ssenge r seat and in stall i t
prope rly at one of t he rear seat pos itions. Have t he a irbag system
i n sp ec ted by you r A udi d eal er i mmedi ately.
• move the child to a rear seat posit io n and make sure that the child
is prop erly restra ined in a chi ld restr aint t hat is a ppropr iate f or its
size and age .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light sho uld NOT come on when t he
ign ition is on and an adult is sitt ing in a proper seating pos it io n on the
front passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on or flashes for abou t 5 seco nds w hile driving, under these
circumstances, make sure that:
• t he adult on t he fr on t p asse nger sea t is prope rly se ate d on the
center of the seat cushion with his or her back up against the backrest
and the bac krest is not recline d=> page 188, "Proper occ upant
seating posit ions",
• t he adult is n ot tak ing weig ht off t he se at by h olding on to t he
passenger assist handle above the fro nt passenger doo r or
s u pp orting their weight on the armrest,
• the safety belt is be ing properly worn and t hat there is not a lot of
s la ck in t he safe ty be lt webb ing ,
• accessory seat cove rs or cushions o r othe r th ings that may cause
an in cor rect re adin g or impress io n o n the weight -sen sing m at under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed from the front
pas senge r sea t,
• a safety be lt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch fo r
t he fr ont p asse n ge r se at.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in t he center of the
instrument pa nel, the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill b riefly appear in th e inst rume nt clus ter
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
display. This
is to inform the dr iver of the current front passenger
a ir bag s tatus. •
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning properly cannot provide
supplemental protection in a frontal crash.
• If the airbag indicator light comes on, it means that there may
be something wrong with the Advanced Airbag System. It is possible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or
will not inflate when it should .
• Have the airbag system inspected immediately by your Audi
dealer.
& WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a child restraint, or in
a rearward-facing child safety seat, or in a forward-facing child
restraint that has not been properly installed will be seriously
injured and can be killed .
• Even though your vehicle i s equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that all children, especially 12 years and
younger , always ride on the back seat properly restrained for their
age and size .
• Always install forward or rear-facing child seats on the rear
seat -even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• If you must install a rearward-facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not appear and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nued)
position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deal er.
• A tight tether or othe r strap on a rearward-facing child
restraint attached to the front passenger seat can put too much
pressure on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and register more
weight than i s actually on the seat. The heav ier weight registered
can make the system work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed
causing serious or even fatal injury to the child .
• If, in ex ceptional circumstances, you must install a forward·
facing child restraint on the front passenger seat, always move
the seat into i ts rearmo st po sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust ·
ment range, as far away from the airbag as possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position. Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light do es not go out when an
adult is sitting on the front passenger seat after taking the steps
de scribed above, make sure the adult i s properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating positions.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer before
transporting anyone on the front passenger seat .
[ i ] Tips
If the we ight-sens ing mat in the front passenger seat detects an
empty seat, the front a irbag on the passenger side w ill be t urne d off,
and the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light w ill stay on .•
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts o f the a irbag system are installed at many different p laces on
your Audi. Install ing, remov ing, servic ing or repa iring a part in an
area of the ve hicle can damage a part of an airbag system and preve nt
t ha t system from working pro perl y in a coll is ion.
T here are some important thi ngs you have to know to make sure that
the effectiveness of the system will not be impa ired and that
discarded components do no t cause injury or poll ute the enviro n­
ment .
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair procedures can increase the
risk of personal injury and death by preventing an airbag from
deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
• Never cover, obstruct , or change the steering wheel horn pad or
airbag cover or the instrument panel or modify them in any way.
• Never attach any objects such as cup holders or telephone
mountings to the surfaces covering the airbag unit s.
• For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft,
dry cloth or one moistened with plain water. Solvent s or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change the stiffness or strength
of the material so that the airbag cannot deploy and protect prop·
erly .
• Never repair, adjust, or change any part s of the airbag system .
• All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel , front seats
or electrical sy stem (including the installation of audio equip·
ment , cellular telephones and CB radios, etc .) must be performed
by a qualified technician who ha s the training and special equip ·
ment necessary .
• For any work on the airbag system, we strongly re commend
that you see your autho rized Audi dealer o r qualified workshop.
• Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicle body.
liJ,,