2011 AUDI S8 child seat

& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­ straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
-
Airbag system 153
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. The amount of infla­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front seat position, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel as registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
Iii>'
•
•

154 Airbag sy stem
amoun t pr og rammed in the e lec tronic control
un it . The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child seats
that has been certifie d under Fede ral Motor
V ehicle Safety Standard 208 has been recog­
n ized on the seat . The
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on to tell you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
senger side has been turned off¢
page 147,
Child restraints on the front seat -some im­
portant things to know.
8_ WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u wi ll also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 145.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 50 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro­
vide supplemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front airbags are designed to provide ad­ d itiona l protect ion for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when :
- sa fety belts are worn properly, -
the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi­
b le from the airbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
ad justed .
B ec au se airb ags infla te in the blin k of an eye
with great force, th ing s you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous pro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dus t is re leased .
This is no rma l and is not caused by a fire i n
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for example swelling, bruising and
minor ab rasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lowe r parts of the body . Front a irbags
supplement the th ree-point safety be lts only
i n some fronta l co llisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceler ation is h igh eno ugh to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash
o ccu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
registered by the electronic contro l unit .
The front pa ssenger airbag also will not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occ u­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem ind icates that the front a irbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the ..,.

electronic control unit (the PA SS ENGE R AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright posit ion,
must not lean against or place any part
of the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi ­
t ion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blin k of an eye
¢page 147.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
-The inflating airbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and wi ll
smash the ch ild 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 exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rea r-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer.
A WARNING
Objects be tween you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of inj ury in a crash by in ­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
-
A irbag system 15 5
-Never hold things in you r hands o r on
your lap when the veh icle 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 air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury if the a irbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories o r oth ­
er objects (such as cup holders, te le­
phone b rac kets, large, heavy or bulky ob ­
jects) on the doors, ove r o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be ­
tween those areas and yo urself. These
objects could cause in ju ry in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide airbag or
the fron t airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­ bags can become projectiles and cause
in ju ry, partic ula rly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
T he fine dus t created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems fo r people
with a history of asthma or other breat h­
ing conditions.
- T o reduce the ri sk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
conditions shou ld get fresh air right
away by getting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors .
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any c uts or scratches .
-If the resi due should get into your eyes,
f lush them with water.
•
•

156 Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
I (USA models)/!f (Canada models )
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (includ ing the
e lectronic control u nit, sensor circuits and sys ­
tem w iring) is mon itor ed cont inuo usly to
make sure that it is functioni ng p roperly
wheneve r the igni tion is on. Each time yo u
sw itch on t he ign it io n, the air bag moni to ring
indicator light
mJ ( U SA mode ls)/ m (C anada
models) will come on for a few seconds (se lf
d iagnost ics).
The system must be inspected when the
indicato r light
fl (USA models)/EJ
(Canada models ):
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds afte r yo u
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driving.
If an airbag sys tem malf unct ion is de te cte d,
the ind icator light will firs t start flash ing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to se rve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a mal function occurs that turns the fron t
a ir bag on t he passenger side
off, the PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
prope rly ca nnot provide supplemental pro­
t ect ion in a fron tal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light comes on, it
means that t he re may be somet hing
wrong with the Advanc ed Ai rbag System .
It is possib le t hat the airbag will inflate
-
when it is not supposed to, or will not in­
f late when it sho uld.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diate ly by yo ur Audi dealer.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fi g. 151 Sect io n fr om the instru men t pa nel: PASS EN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF lig ht
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
<=> fig. 151.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
turned
off by the electron ic contro l unit . Each
t ime you sw itch on the ig nition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flas h for a few
se conds a nd:
- will stay on if the fro nt passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small c hild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing ma t.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearwa rd -facing child rest raint has been
installed o n the front passenger seat, o r
- a forwar d-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- t he weigh t reg iste red on the fron t passen­
ge r seat is equal to or less t han the com-
bined weig ht of a typical 1 year -o ld .,..

restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restraints listed in Feder­ al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS ·
S ENGER AIR BA G OFF
light will stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any k ind of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 169, Child Safety.
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c ome s
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BA G
OF F
light stays on continuous ly whenever the
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F
light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by switc hing the igni­
t ion off and then sw itch ing it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
insta lled and that the safety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly
routed through the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint manufacturer's in ­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety belt fo r the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety be lt has been pulled tight. The belt
mus t not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 178 .
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child seat a re not be­
ing transported on the front passenger seat;
- make su re that the safety bel t tension sen ­
sor is not b locked . Shake t he safety belt
l atch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
A irbag system 157
-If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so t ight that it causes the
weight-sensing mat to measure more
weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con ­
tin uously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it proper ly at o ne of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the child is properly restra in­
ed in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age.
The
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes fo r about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these cir cumstances, make sure that;
-the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or he r back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 128, Proper o ccupant seating posi ­
tions,
- t he adult is not tak ing weight off the sea t by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the fron t passenger door or s upport ­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- t he safe ty be lt is be ing proper ly wo rn and
tha t the re is not a lot o f slack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accesso ry sea t covers or cushions or o ther
things tha t may cause an incorrec t reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety be lt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght in the center of the instrument panel, ll-
•
•

158 Airbag sys te m
the message PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display. Th is is to in ­
form the driver of the current front passenger
a irbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced A irbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­ diately by your Aud i dealer.
& WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, or in a rearwa rd-fac ing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restrain t that h as not been properly
installed will be serious ly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your ve hicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for t heir
age and size.
- Always insta ll forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even w ith
an Advanced Airbag System .
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of except iona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appea r and stay on, immediate­
ly install the rea r-faci ng chi ld seat in a
re ar se ating position and have the ai rbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer.
-
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rea r­
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too muc h pressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and reg iste r more weight
than is actually on the seat . The heav ie r
weight regis tered can make the system
wo rk as tho ugh an adult we re on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
m ust be suppressed causing serious or
even fata l injury to t he ch ild .
- If , in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-facing c hild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­ sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
as poss ible . The backrest must be ad just ­
ed to an upright pos ition . Make s ure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stay s on all the time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on.
& WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an a dult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
ad ult is prope rly seated and restra ined at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dea ler before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
{D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas ­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be
turned off , and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system a re i nstalled at
many d ifferent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta lling,
removing, servicing or repa iring a p art i n a n
area o f the veh icle can damage a par t of an .,..

-Always mak e sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag deploys or by being pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
or animals ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat.
If the airbag de­
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries .
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop ­
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air­
bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If children are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
Q page 169, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
T he airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 154 Side airbag location in t he d river 's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
Q fig. 154 and the rear
Airbag system 163
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
- the electron ic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the front backrests
- two rear side airbags
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you switch on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
T he side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the driver's, front and rear passenger's
upper torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a s ide collision . The airbag deploys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
accelerat ion reg iste red by the control unit is
high enough.
If this rate is be low the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the co llision . It is not possib le to de­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances will vary considerably between
one collis ion and another . Important factors
include, for example , the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed , etc.
¢ page 165, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. A l-
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
Ill>

164 Airbag system
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­ quires you to do so~
page 137, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags . Remember too,
side airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are always there to offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion. In some collisions, both front and side
airbags may inflate . Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al­
ways there to offer protection in those acci­
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignition is switched off
- in side collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
side curtain airbags and side airbags may be
tr iggered together.
A WARNING ,.
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only prov ide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
~page 165.
-If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The airbag may
not work properly when the vehicle ac­
celeration in a side collision is high
enough to activate the airbag.
-
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 155 Inflated side airbags on left side of veh icle,
rear side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG ".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
this addit ional protection, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­
plemental side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
q page 169, Child Safe­
ty . Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lision
q fig. 155.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can "cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.