2010 AUDI S8 airbag

______________________________________________ D_ ri_v _ i_n _,,g ,c.._ S_a_ f_ e_ l..:: y __ _
& WARNING (continued)
• Always adjust the driver's seat and the steering wheel so that
there are at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the
lower part of the instrument panel.
• Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering
wheel rim with your hands at the
9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions
to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
• Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with
your hands at other positions inside the steering wheel rim or on
the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the
driver's airbag inflates
• Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the
ability of the supplemental driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
• Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or
place any part of your body too close to the area where the airbags
are located.
• Before driving, always adjust the front seats and head
restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are properly
restrained.
• Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving. Your seat
may move unexpectedly and you could lose control of the vehicle .
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury
due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride
in child seats ::::;, page 231. Special
precautions apply when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat ::::;,
page 206. •
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The
proper front passenger seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of injury in the
event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the seat
for the front passenger to the following position:
- Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in an upright
position and your back comes in full contact with it when­
ever the vehicle is moving.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as even
with the top of your head as possible but not lower than
eye level and so that it is as close to the back of your head
as possible =>
page 191.
-Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the front
passenger seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts correctly=>
page 201.
For detailed information on how to adjust the front passenger's seat,
see::::;,
page 76 .
& WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too
close to the airbag can be seriously injured or killed by the airbag
as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
• Passengers must always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Passengers 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. ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Driving Safely -----~ ~'-----------------------------
& WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the front passenger's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
• Always make sure that there are at least 4 inches (10 cm)
between the front passenger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
• Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
• Before driving, always adjust the front passenger seat and
head restraint properly.
• Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat. Never
rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the window, etc.
The airbag system and safety belt will not be able to protect you
properly and can even increase the risk of injury in a crash.
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child seats ~
page 231. Special
precautions apply when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat~
page 206. •
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both feet on
the floor consistent with their physical size and be prop­
erly restrained whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect seating
position in the event of a sudden braking maneuver or an
accident, your passengers on the rear bench seat must
always observe the following : -
Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as even
with the top of your head as possible but no lower than eye
level=>
page 191.
- Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of the rear seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts properly=>
page 201.
- Make sure that children are always properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for their size and age
=>
page 2 31.
& WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the rear seat can be seri·
ously injured in a crash.
• Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and
properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
• Safety belts only offer maximum protection when the safety
belts are properly positioned on the body and securely latched. By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger increases the risk of
personal injury from improperly positioned safety belts!
• Always adjust the head restraint properly so that it can give
maximum protection. •

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Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an important part
of your vehicle 's occupant restraint system and can help
to reduce the risk of injuries in accident situations .
Fig. 200 Correctly
adjusted head
restraint viewed from
the side
The head restra ints must be correctly adjusted to achieve the
best protection.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge of the
restraint is level with the top of your head, but no lower
than eye level and so it is as close to the back of your head
as possible ~ fig. 200.
Adjusting head restraints=> page 81.
& WARNING
Driving without head restraints or with improperly adjusted head
restraints increases the risk of serious injuries in a collision. To
help reduce the risk of injury:
• Always drive with the head restraints in place and properly
adjusted.
• Every person in the vehicle must have a properly adjusted head
restraint.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
•
Always make sure each person in the vehicle properly adjusts
their head restraint. Each head restraint must be adjusted
according to occupants' size so that the upper edge is as even with
the top of the person's head, but no lower than eye level and so it
is as close to the back of to the head as possible.
• Never attempt to adjust head restraint while driving. If you
have driven off and must adjust the driver headrest for any reason,
first stop the vehicle safely before attempting to adjust the head
restraint.
• Children must always be properly restrained in a child restraint
that is appropriate for their age and size =>
page 231. •
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce the risk of
injury if vehicle occupants are properly seated.
Improper seat ing positions can cause serious injury or death.
Safety belts can only work when they are properly positioned
on the body . Improper seating positions reduce the effective­
ness 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 proper seating position. A
driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occupants
and especially for children. Therefore:
- Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect seating posi­
tion when the vehicle is being used~& .
The following bulletins list only some sample positions that will
i ncrease the risk of ser iou s injury and death . Our hope is that these .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

• ....__D_ r_iv _i_ n_, g=-- S_ a _ f_e _,Ly _ ______________________________________________ _
examples will make you more aware o f seat ing pos itions that are
d ang erou s.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
• never s tand u p in the ve hicle
• never stand on the seats
• nev er knee l on the seats
• never ride with t he se atb ack reclined
• never lie dow n on the rear seat
• neve r lean up agains t th e i nstr ument pane l
• never sit on the edge of the seat
• never sit s ideways
• never le an out the w indow
• never p ut your feet o ut the window
• never p ut your fe e t on th e ins trumen t panel
• never rest your feet on t he se at cushio n or back of the se at
• never ride in t he footwell
• neve r ride in t he cargo area
& WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all veh icle occupants stay
in a proper
seating position and are properly re strained whenever the vehicle
is being used. •
Driver and passenger side footwell
Important safety instructions
& WARNING
Always make sure that the knee airbag can inflate without inter­
ference. Objects between yourself and the airbag can increase the
risk of injury in an accident by interfering w ith the way the airbag
deploys or by being pushed into you as the airbag deploys .
• No persons (children) or animals should ride in the footwell in
front of the passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this can result in serious or fatal injuries.
• No objects of any kind should be carried in the footwell area in
front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can hamper or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be thrown through the vehicle if the
airbag deploys and injure you or your passengers. •
Pedal area
Pedals
The peda ls must a lway s be free to move an d must n ever
be interfered with by a floor mat or a ny othe r o bj e ct.
M ake sure that all pedals move freely without interference and that
no thing preven ts them from re tu rning to the ir original pos it io ns.
On ly use floor mats that leave the pedal area free and can be secured
w ith floor mat fas tene rs .
If a brake circu it fails, inc reas ed b rak e pedal trav el is req uired to b rin g
the vehicle to a f ull stop. ...

Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=> page 198, fig. 202, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops them
- here, the wall =>
page 198, fig. 203.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is
involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30
to SO km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000
lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course,
the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they deter­
mine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions.•
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig. 204 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is violently thrown
forward
Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Fig. 205 A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=> fig. 204. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not supposed
to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is equipped
with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver, must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of severe injury or
death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the vehicle
where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly . Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers=> fig . 205. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

__ _:::S:.::a :..:f...:e :.:t::1y ~ 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 n ot true!
F ig. 2 06 Dri ver is
correct ly re str ain ed in
a s udden b rakin g
m ane uver
Safe ty belts used properly can make a big d ifference. Safe ty belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, an d help prevent the uncon trolled
movement that can cause serious injuries. In add it ion, safety belts
red uce the danger of be ing t hrown ou t of the vehicle .
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit of
being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in the
safety belts, crush zones and othe r saf ety features engine ered into
today's vehicles. By "absorb ing" the kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of time , the safety belts m ake the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Altho ugh these examples are based on a fronta l collision, safety belts
can also s ubstant ially red uce the risk of injury in other ki nds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to the corner
sto re, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Acc ident statis­
tics show that vehicle occupants properly wear ing safety belts have a
lower ris k of bei ng inj ured and a mu ch better cha nce of s urviv ing an
acc ident . Properly using safety belts also greatly increases the ability
of the supp lemen tal air bags to do the ir job in a coll is ion. For this
reason, wearing a safety bel t is lega lly requ ired in most coun tries
including muc h of the Un ited States and Canada. Altho
ugh your Audi is equ ipped with a irbags, you still have to wear
t he safe ty belts provided. Fron t air bags, for ex ample, are a ctiv ate d
only in some frontal collisions . T he front a irbags are not act ivated in
all frontal co llisions, in s ide and rear coll isio ns, in roll overs or in cases
where there is not enough decelerat ion thro ugh impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other airbag systems in yo ur
Audi. So, always wea r your safety be lt and make su re everybody in
your vehicle is properly restrained!
Important safety Instructions about safety
belts
Safety b elts must always be correctly positioned across
the strongest bones of your body .
-Always wear safety belts as illustrated and described in
this chapter .
- Make sure that your safety belts are always ready for use and are not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts o r wearing them improperly inc reases
the risk of s eriou s personal injury and death . Safety belts can work
only when u sed correctl y.
• Alway s fasten your safety belts correctly bef ore driving off and
make sure all passengers are corre ctly restrained.
• For ma ximum protection , safety belts must alw ays be posi ­
ti oned properly on the body.
• Never strap more than one person , including small children ,
into any belt .
• Never place a safety belt o ver a ch ild sitting on you r lap .
• Alway s keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven.
~

Ill Safety belts
---=-------------------------------
Adjusting safety belt height
Use the safety belt height adjustment to change belt
position on the shoulder.
Fig. 211 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. 211 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 202.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation =>
page 200. •
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 posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­ pants 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
information =>
page 200. •
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 rear-end collisions of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt slack~
& in
" Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner" on
page 205 .
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement
during a collision. ..

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[I) Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once.
• In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear-end collisions, in a ro ll­
over and in acc idents involving very little impact force, the safety belt
pretensioner are not activated.
• When the safety belt pretensioner is activated, a fine dust is
re leased . This is norma l and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• The relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehicle or components of the system are scrapped. A qualified deal­
ersh ip is familiar with these regulat ions and will be pleased to pass on
the information to you.
• Be sure to observe all safety, environmental and other regulations
if the vehicl e or individual parts of the system, particularly the safety
belt or a irbag, are to be disposed. We recommend you have your
authorized Audi dea ler perform this service for you .•
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
Th e safety belt pretensioners are parts of the safety belts on your
Audi. Installing, removing, servicing or repairing of belt preten­
sioners can damage the safety belt system and prevent it from
work ing correctly in a collision.
Th ere are some important things you have to know to make s ure that
the effectiveness of the system w ill not be impaired and that
discarded components do not cause injury or pollute the environ­
ment.
& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair procedures can increase the
risk of personal injury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner 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 activated only once. If belt
pretensioners have been activated, the system must be replaced.
• Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of the safety belt
system.
• Safety belt systems including safety belt pretensioners cannot
be repaired. Special procedures are required for removal, installa ­
tion and disposal of this system.
• For any work on the safety belt system, we strongly recom ­
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified tech­
nician who has an Audi approved repair manual, training and
special equipment necessary.
~ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretensioners might be classified as
Perchlorate Material -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. When the vehicle or
parts of the restraint system including air bag modu les safety belts
with pretensioners are scrapped, all app licab le laws and regu lations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar with these
requirements and we recommend that you have your dealer perform
th is service for you. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data