2010 AUDI S8 child restraint

& 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
positioning 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 Vehicle OP-eration
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 281,
"Safety belts". •
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 207 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 76 , "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. 207 .
- Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle. _.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

-Safety belts -----=-----------------------------------------
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every sa fe ty be lt is equipped wi th an au toma tic be lt r etrac tor on the
shoulder be lt. This feat ure locks t he belt whe n the belt is pull ed out
fast, during ha rd bra king an d in an acc ident . The belt may also loc k
w hen you dr ive up or dow n a s te ep h ill or throug h a sharp curve .
Dur ing norma l driv ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
Th e safety belts are e quipped w ith a belt p retensioner that hel ps to
t igh ten the saf ety be lt and remove slac k w he n the p re tensioner is
act ivated . The f unction of t he p retens ioner is monitore d by a warn ing
light=>
pag e 17.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety be lt except the one on the driver sea t is equipped with a
switchab le locking feature that
must b e used when the safety belt is
us ed to attach a c hild se at. B e s ure to rea d the i mporta nt info rmation
about th is feature =>
page 241.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious injury in an
accident =>
page 202, "Safety belt position ".
• Safety belt s 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
effe ctivene ss and can cause seriou s per sonal 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 243. •
Safety belt position
Corre ct b elt posi tion is the key t o getting maximum
p ro tec tion fro m sa fety belts .
Fig. 208 Head
restraint a nd safety
belt po sit ion as s een
from the side
Use the height adjustment to change the pos it io n of the s houl de r
be lt of the fron t sa fety be lts.
& WARNING
Improperly po sitioned safety belts can cau se serious per sonal
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. 208. Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
• The lap belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned a s
low as possible across pelvis and never over the abdomen . Make
sure the belt lies flat and snug => fig. 208. 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 .
~

ffl..,___A_ i_rb _ 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 safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
~ page 188,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 77,
- Wear safety belts properly~
page 200,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children~
page 231.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force. The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated properly. Therefore 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 keeping room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions =>
page 188, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 77.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 231.
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.
Proper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. If you have a physical impairment or condi­
tion that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat with
the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-800-822-
2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator will fill the airbags,
break open the padded covers, and inflate between the steering
wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel and the front
passenger . The airbags will deflate immediately after deployment so
that the front occupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they deploy. Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement.
Together 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 crash. In this way they help
to reduce the risk 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 will not inflate in all frontal collisions. The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehicle deceleration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the electronic control unit.
If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the control
unit, the airbags will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehicle damage, repair .,,,.

........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and heed the WARNINGS for important details about children and Advanced Airbags =:>
page 231.
Even though your veh icle is eq uipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that all children, especially those
12 years and
younger, a lways r ide in the back seat properly rest rained for the ir age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a
potentially dangerous place fo r a child to r ide. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a child in a forward-facing c hild seat . It can be a
very d angerous pla ce fo r an in fant or a ch ild in a rearwa rd-faci ng sea t.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been cert ified to
comply with the req uirements of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu­
factured .
T he S ta n dard requi res the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off ("suppressed") if a child up to about one year of age
restra ined in o ne of the rea r-facing or forward -fa cing in fant
restra ints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with
w hich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicl e was ce rtified has
been installed o n the front passenger seat . For a listing of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify compliance with the US Safety
Standard=>
page 233 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instrument panel tells you
w hen the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenge r side has been
turned off by the electronic control unit .
Eac h time you t urn on the ign ition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG 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 ch ild or child rest rai nt on the front
passenger seat, •
will go off if the front passenger seat is occup ied by an adult as
registe red by t he weigh t-sens ing ma t:::::>
page 217, "Moni toring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a tota l we igh t on the front passenger seat t hat req uires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total we ight on the front passenge r sea t is more than that of a
typical 1 year-old child but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front ai rbag on the passenger side can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
lig ht does not come on). If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the fro nt airbag on the passenger side has
not been tu rned off by the e lectro nic cont rol u nit and can deploy if
the cont rol unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
Fo r example , the a irbag may deploy if:
• a small child that is heavier than a typical 1 year-old child is on the
front passenge r seat (regard less of whet her the child is in one of the
child seats listed:::::>
page 233), or
• a chi ld who has outgrown ch ild restra ints is o n the front passenger
seat.
If the fron t passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
Th e front a irbag on the passenger side may
not dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not illum inate and stay lit) even
if a small ad ult o r teenage r, or a passenger who is not sitting upright
w it h th e ir back against a non-recli ned backrest w it h their feet on the
veh icle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=>
page 188, "Prope r seat ing pos ition for the dr ive r".
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires
t he airbag to meet the " low risk" deployment criteria to red uce the
r isk of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy­
ment occurs in those crashes that ta ke place a t lower decelerations as
defined in the elec tronic control unit:::::>
page 218, "PASS ENGER AIR
BAG O FF light".
liJ,

_______________________________________________ A_ ir_ b_ a_,,,g ::...-- s~y _s _t_ e _ m ___ _
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 -----------------=--=---
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn
safety belts .
• Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained .
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, especially infants and small
children, will receive serious injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the airbag when it inflates .
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front pa ssenger seat, nobody can absolutely
guarantee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
• The Advanced Airbag Sy stem can deploy in accordance with the
" low risk " option under the U .S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front
pas senger seat and the other condition s for airbag deployment
are met.
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position.
• For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and
younger, should alway s ride in the back properly re strained for
their age and size. •
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
compliance wi th Uni ted States Feder al Motor Vehicle Safe ty Standar d
208 as app licab le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
T
he front Advanced A irbag System supp lements the safety belts to
prov ide add itional p rote ction for the dr ive r's and fr ont pa ssenge r's
heads a nd upper bodies in fro ntal crashes. The airbags inflate on ly in
fronta l im pacts w he n the vehicle dece le ration is high enoug h.
Th e front Adv anced Airbag Sys te m f or the fron t se at oc cupan ts is no t
a s ubstitute for your safety be lts. Rathe r, it is part o f the overa ll occu­
p a nt res tra in t system in y our ve hicl e. Alway s remembe r th at the
airbag system can on ly help to protect you, if yo u are s itting upr ight,
we aring yo ur sa fety be lt and wear ing it prope rly. This i s why you and
your passengers must always be p roperly restra ined, not just beca use
t he law requires you to be.
The Adva nce d A irbag System in your vehicl e has b een cert ified to
meet the " low ris k" requirements fo r 3 and 6 year-old c hildren on the
p as senge r side an d very sma ll adults on the d river side. The low r isk
deployment criter ia a re intended to he lp red uce the risk of in jury
t hroug h in ter action wi th the fr ont air bag t hat can oc cur, fo r exam ple,
by being too close to the steering wheel and instr ument panel when
t he ai rbag inf lates.
I n addit ion, the system has bee n certified to comply wi th t he
"sup pression" requirements of the Safety Sta nda rd, to turn
off the
front airbag for infants 12 mont hs old and you nger w ho are
restra ined o n the front passenger seat in child restraints that are
listed i n the Standard::::>
pag e 233, "Child restraints a nd Advanced
Airbags".
"Supp ression" re quires the fron t airb ag on the passenger side to be
t urn ed
off if:
• a ch ild up to about one yea r of age is restrained on the front
passenger s eat in one o f the re ar-fa cing o r forwar d-fac ing infant
restra ints listed i n Federal Moto r Vehicle Safety Stan dard 208 with
w hich the A dvanc ed Air bag System in y our ve hicle w as certi fied . For a
list ing of the child rest raints t hat were used to ce rtify your vehicle's
co mplia nce wi th th e US Safety St and ard
=> page 2 33,
• weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the contro l unit is
de te cted on t he fr ont passenge r sea t.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag system
----
--=----------------
When a perso n is detected on the fro nt passenger seat, we ig hi ng
mo re t han t he total we ight of a chi ld t hat i s ab out 1 year old
restra ined in o ne of the rear -facing or forward -fac ing infant
restraints (listed in Fed eral Moto r Vehicle Safety Sta ndard
208 with
w hich the Advanced A irbag System in you r veh icle was cert ified), the
front airbag on the passenge r side may or may not dep loy.
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t co mes on when the ele ct ronic
control un it detects a tota l weight on t he front passenger seat t hat
re qu ires the fron t air bag to be turned of f. If the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght does not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been tu rned of f by the con trol unit and can dep loy i f the
cont rol un it senses an impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory.
If the tota l weig ht o n th e fron t passenger seat is more than that of a
typical
1 year-old, but less than the weight of a small adult, the front
a ir bag o n the p assenge r sid e m ay deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
lig ht does not come on).
For example , the airbag may deploy if:
• a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typ ica l 1 year-o ld child is on the
front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the chi ld is in one of the
c hild se ats liste d=>
page 23 3),
• a child who has outgrown chi ld rest rai nts is on t he front passenger
se at.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
lig ht in the cen ter of t he ins trume nt panel w ill come on and stay
on.
T he front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light do es not illum inate and s tay lit) if:
• a small a dult or teenager is on the front passenger seat
• a passenger w ho i s not sit ting up rig ht w ith their back against a
non -reclined bac krest with the ir feet on the ve hicle floor in front of
th e seat is o n the fr ont pas senge r seat.
If the front passenge r a irbag dep loys, the Federal Standard requires
t he airbag to mee t the "low risk" deployment c rit er ia to help reduce the risk of in
jury t hrough interaction with the a irbag. "Low r isk"
de ploymen t oc cur s in th o se cra shes that take plac e at l owe r de celer ­
ations as defined in the elect ronic contro l unit=>
page 217 .
Always remember: Even t hough your ve hicle is eq uipped with
Adv anced Airbags, the safes t pla ce for child ren is prope rly re st rai ned
on the back seat. Please be sure to read the important in formation in
th e sections t hat foll ow and be su re t o hee d all of the WA RNINGS .
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflate s, always wear
safety belts properly.
• 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 =>
page 206.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat installed on the front
pa ssenger seat will be seriou sly injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front airbag when a rearward-facing child
restraint has been installed on the front passenger seat, nobody
can absolutely guarantee that deployment is impossible in all
conceivable situation s that may happen during the useful life of
your vehicle .
• 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 armre st, door , or roof .
• Always install rearward-facing child restraints on the rea r seat .
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the

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