2011 AUDI S8 driver seat adjustment

Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. You r safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe t he information
a nd warn ings in th is sect ion - for yo ur own
safety as well as that of your passengers .
The information in this se ction applies to all
model ve rsions of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures descr ibed in this sec tions may be
standa rd equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others. If you are
not sure, ask yo ur authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
st ruct ions and heed the WARNINGS i n
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the inte rest of you r passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter­
at ure in your Audi when you lend or sell
yo ur vehicle so that this important info r­
mation will always be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner's lit erature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if you have
ques tion s.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
t echnology have made a var iety of fea tures
avai lable to he lp red uce the risk of in jury in an
Dr iving Safel y 127
accident . The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in yo ur Audi :
- sophis ticated s afety be lts fo r drive r and a ll
passenger sea ting posit ions,
- s afety bel t prete nsio ners ,
- safety belt force lim ite rs fo r the front seats,
- safety belt he ight adjustment systems for
the front seats ,
- head restra ints
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for th e front seats
- side airbags in the front seats and outer rear
seats,
- side c urtain ai rbags,
- s pecia l LATCH an cho rages for child re-
s t raints,
- head restra ints for each sea ting pos it ion,
- adj ustab le steer ing colum n.
These ind iv idual safety features, can work to­
gether as a system to help protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accide nts .
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always correctly adjusted and cor­
r e ct ly u sed .
Safety is everybody's r esponsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu­
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driv ing always:
.,. Ma ke su re that all lig hts and signa ls a re op­
erating correctly .
.,. Make su re that the tire pressure is correct.
.,. Make sure that all windows are clean and af­
ford good vis ibility to the outs ide .
.,. Secur e all luggage and other items caref ully
~ page 65, ~ page 70 .
.,. Ma ke s ure that nothing can in te rfere wi th
t he ped als .
.,. Adj ust front seat, head res traint and mirrors
correctly for your height.
.,. Inst ruct passengers to adjust the head re -
straints according to their height. ..,. •
•

Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restrain ts are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations.
Fig. 137 Head rest raint: viewed from t he front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection.
,.. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible.
Qfig. 137.
Adjusting head rest raints Q page 61.
Crash - active head restraints
In the event of a rear-end collision, it is possi­
ble that the crash-active head restraints on
the driver's seat and front passenger's seatU
are triggered. On head restraints that have been triggered, the padding protrudes for­
wards by several centimeters. Drive the vehi­
cle to your authorized Audi dealer without de­
lay and have the function of the active head
restraints restored .
A WARNING
-
Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad­
justed increases the risk of serious or fatal neck injury dramatically. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
l ) Ve hicl es w ith recl inin g rear seat: T his function is not
ava ilable for the front passe nger 's seat .
Driving Safely 131
-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve­
hicle properly adjusts their head re­
straint. Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible.
- 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 be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint.
- Children must always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and size
Q page 169.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seating 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
effectiveness of safety belts and will even in­
crease the r isk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to critica l areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air­
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children. Therefore:
,.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
Q ,& . .,.
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To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positio ned cor rectly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjus t the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 54, General recommenda­
tions .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even ­
ly across the chest and pelvis
c::> &,. .
""Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely
c::> fig. 144 .
""Pull on the belt to make su re that it is se-
c u rely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractor s
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is fea ­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may also lo ck when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve .
During normal driving the belt le ts you
move
freely.
Safety belt pretensione rs
The safety belts are equipped with a belt p re­
tensioner that helps to t igh ten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensione r is ac­
tivated
c::> page 143. The function of the pre ­
tensioner is monitored by a warning light
c::> page 18 .
Switchable locking f eature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchable locking fea­
ture that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
c:;,page 178.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
c::> page 141, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
-
Safety belts 141
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it
moves from the stron­
ge r parts of the body into critical ar eas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tracto r when you are secu ring a child
se at in the veh icle
c::>page 180.
@ Tips
For informat ion on safety belt pretension­
e rs, refer to
c::> page 143 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 14 S Head restra int and safety belt positio n as
see n from the side
Use the height adjustment to change the posi­
t ion of the shoulder belt of the front safety
belts.
A WARNING
-Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious perso na l inju ry in an a cc i­
dent.
- The s hou lde r belt port io n of the safety
be lt must be posi tioned over the midd le
of the occupant's shoulder and never
across the neck or throat.
-

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 al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 128,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 55,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 140,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren
r::::> page 169.
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
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 128,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 55.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r::::> page 169.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 145
dition 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 author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer
CARE at 1-800-822-2834 for possible modifi­
cations to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys , a gas gener ­
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the driver and between the instru­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter­ ruption.
A ll of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc­
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger 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 inf late in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the collision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a result of the collision . Vehicle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inf late or not . •
•

152 Airbag sys te m
- Always make su re the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front a nd side airbag .
- Never put the forward- facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­ ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lli ng
the fo rward-facing chi ld restraint. The
b ackres t must be adjusted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light co m es on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets , and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control unit mo nitors the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a ma lfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
ai rbag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged . Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a cra sh .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle ac celera tion/de ce le ra ti on
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System abo ut the severity of the crash . -
An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to fi re
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt prete nsioners shou ld be act ivated .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
th e front passenger .
- A we ight-sensing mat under the upho lstery
padding of the fro nt passenge r seat cushion
that measures the total weight o n the seat.
The info rma tion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elec troni c con trol un it to regu­
la te deployment o f the front Advanced Air ­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitor ing sys tem and indic ator
light in t he instr ument cluster ¢
page 15 6.
- A sensor in each front se at regis ters the dis ­
t ance between the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l o r instrument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent continuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adv a need A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel¢
page 156, fig. 151 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passe nger to measure the tension
on the safety be lt . The tension o n the safety
be lt and the we ight registered by t he
weigh t-sens ing ma t he lp the cont rol unit
" de cide " whe ther the fro nt airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not ~
page 147, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this information to the
electronic control un it .

170 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a re ar seating posit ion and have the air­
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad ­
vanced A irbag System" in compliance wit h
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as app licab le at the
time your veh icle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the " low-risk" re­
qu irements for 3- and 6-year old ch ildren on
the passenger s ide and small adults on the
driver side . The low risk deployment criter ia are intended
to red uce the risk of in jury
thro ugh interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for examp le, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup ­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front a irbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenge r seat in child restra ints that are list­
ed in the Standard .
Even though your veh icle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, a ll children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly res trained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a child in a for­
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-fac ing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in you r vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us ­
ing the weight-sens ing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tens ion on the safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat and a ch ild blanket on the front passenger
seat. The we ight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the ch ild restraint
and its "footp rint", the s ize and shape of the
bottom of the child res traint as it sit s on the
seat. The weight of a ch ild restra int and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re­
straints and for the different mode ls of the
same kind of chi ld restraint offered by ch ild
restraint manufacturers.
T he weight ranges fo r the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the .,._

Remote control Garag e door open er (Homelink ®) .. .. . 124
Massage funct ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Unlock ing and locking ........... .. .. 32
Remote rear lid release ............... 35
Repair manuals ................... .. 283
Repairs Airbag system .................... 158
Replacing Fu ses . ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. ... 268
Light bulbs ... ... ..... ... .. .. .. ... 272
Tires and whee ls . ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 250
Windshield wiper blades ... .. .. .. .. .. 50
Report ing Safety Defects .......... .. . 135
Reset button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Retractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Reverse . .. .. ........ ......... .. .. . 112
R ims (cleaning) ..................... 211
Roof rack .... .... ...... ... .. .. .. .... 67
L oading .... .. .... .... ... .. .. .. .... 68
Roof weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
s
SAFE . .. .. .. ... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... 26
Safe driving hab its ...... ... .. .. .. .. . 127
Safety belt position ........ .. .. .. .. . 141
Safety belts worn by pregnant women . 142
Safety belt pretens ioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Service and disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 44
Safety belt pretens ioners
P re sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Adjusting .. .. .. ............ ... .. . 142
cleaning ......................... 216
D anger to passengers who do not wea r a
safety be lt . .. .. ......... .. .. .. .. . 138
F asten ing .. ............. .... .. ... 1 40
I mproperly wor n .................. 14 3
N ot wo rn . .... .. ..... ... .. .. .. ... 138
Safety belt position .... ... .. .. .. .. . 14 1
Safety instructions ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 140
Secur ing child safety seats . .. .. .. .. . 178
Special considerations for pregnant
women .. ... ............. ... ... .. 142
Unfasten ing .... ............ ... ... 142
War ning/ indicato r light .. .. .. .. .. .. . 137
Inde x 295
Warning light . ...... .. .. ..... ... .. . 16
Why YOU MUST wea r them ...... .. .. 137
Worn properly ... .. . .. ..... ... .. .. 139
Safety be lt tens ioner
drive selec t .. .. .. ................. 106
Safety be lt warning light ............ . 137
Safety compliance sticker ..... ... .. .. 279
Safe ty eq uipme nt .. ............. .... 12 7
Safety features for occupant restraint and
protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 7
Safety gui delines
Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Safety instr uctions
E ngine compar tment ........... .... 2 22
f or side cu rtain airbags . ..... ... .. .. 167
for using child safety seats ... ... .. .. 172
for using safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Monito ring the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem ............................. 158
Safety sys tems
Warning/ind icator lights ..... ... .. .. . 18
Seat adjustment Co ntrols (front seats) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
C o ntrols (re ar seats) ........... .. .. . 57
Drive r's sea t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
F ront passenger's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 131
Reclining rear seat .... ............. . 58
Safety gu idelines . ... ... .... ... .. .. . 54
Seat belts Why YOU MUST wea r them ... ... .. .. 137
Seat heating/ventila tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Seating position Driver ....... .... ........... ..... 128
Front passenger ... ........... .... . 129
How to ad just the front seats ........ 129
Incor re ct sea t position .......... .. .. 131
Oc cupan ts . .. .. .. .. . .. .......... .. 128
Rear passengers .. .. .. ...... ... .. .. 130
Seat memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Seats (n umber) . ... .. .. ... ..... ... .. 137
Se lective unlo ck feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Se lector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Service and disposa l
Safety be lt pretensioner . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Se rv ice interval display .. ......... .. .. . 26
•
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