2012 AUDI A8 warning

164 Airbag system
are in the proper seating posit ion
c:> page 54, General recommendations.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The side curta in
airbag may not work prope rly even when
the vehicle acceleration in a side coll is ion
is h igh enough to act ivate the airbag.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained.
Fig . 154 Illustrat ion of principle: Inflated side curtain
a ir bags on the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side co llision
~fig. 154.
When the system is tr iggered, the side curtain
a ir bag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the A IRBAG label. In or­
der to help provide this additional p rotection,
the side c urtain airbag must inflate within the
b link of an eye at very high speed and with
great force. The side c urtain airbag cou ld in­
jure you if your seating position is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the supplementa l side curtain airbag
inflates . This applies espec ial ly to children
~page 166.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they can he lp to reduce the r isk of in - jury to the head and the upper part of the
body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is qui te normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al ­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to he lp the safety belts and
airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection .
A WARNING ........
Improperly wearing safety belts and im­
proper seating posit ions increase the risk
of ser ious personal inju ry and death when­
ever a vehicle is bei ng used.
- Never let occupants place any parts of
their bod ies in the area from which the
side curta in a irbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the s ide curtain
a ir bags can inflate without interference.
Unsuitable accessor ies fitted inside the
exp ansion range of a s ide cur tain airbag
can dangero usly inter fere w ith its f unc ­
tion. A deploying head airbag develops
enough force to catapu lt any piece of
add-on component out of its path of in­
flation and into the passenger compart­
ment. A n occupant h it by suc h a projec­
tile can suffer serio us injury or death
~ page 283, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them
(for examp le pens) .
If the airbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob­
jects.
- Use the bu ilt -in coat hooks only for light·
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy o r
sha rp-edged objects in the pockets that
-
may interfere with airbag dep loyment ~

166 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 135, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate ch ild restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's size ~
page 169, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re- straints are on the front passenger seat
. Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str iking the i nterior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
II>-

-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 exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions 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 airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright 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.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Child Safety 167
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag 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 airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•

-Model Manufactured on or
a fter
Evenflo First Choic e December 1, 1999
1204
Gra co Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snug ride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi -September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C -Forward -fa cing and
c on vert ible child restraint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
2 2-262
! Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
E venflo Tribu te V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat posi tions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay o n.
Child Sa fet y 169
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by A udi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the r ight chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢ page 171 .
... Always carefully fo llow the child safety seat
manufactu rer's inst ruct io ns on how to route
th e safety belt properly through the child
safety sea t .
... When usi ng the vehicle safe ty belt to install
a child safety se at, you m ust first activate
t he conve rtible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
¢ page 175.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
... If a strap o r tethe r is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , make sure tha t it is not so tigh t that it
causes the weigh t-sens ing ma t to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
Always remember: Even tho ugh you r vehicle is
equippe d wi th an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, s hou ld always ride in the back seat prope r-
l y restrained for thei r age and size.
ll>
•
•

1 70 Child Safety
&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil ­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat . -
Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag

as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger 's seat from
be ing moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a col lision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 134, Safety
belts ,
c::> page 142, Airbag system and
c::> page 166, Child Safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed o n the front pas ­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he fro nt pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
A WARNING
A child in a child restraint installed w ith
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play wi th unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled res ulting in ser ious per­
sonal inj ury and even dea th.
- Always bu ckle unused rea r seat safety
bel ts out of re ach of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts and properly a ctivate the converti­
ble locking retrac tor so that the child
cannot un reel the safety belt from the
retractor .
-
Child S afety 1 71
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac ­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash .
Fig . 1 55 Schem atic ove rv ie w : re arward-fac ing in fan t
se at, p roper ly inst a lle d on t he re ar seat
... When usi ng the veh icle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locki ng retractor on the
safety belt to p revent the child safety seat
from mov ing
c::> page 175 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachmen ts .
... Push the chi ld safety seat down with your
full weig ht to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
Infants up to about one year
(20 l bs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in specia l infant car riers
and child safety sea ts designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infan ts and
small chi ldren should r ide on ly in special re ­
stra ints in wh ich the child faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba­
by 's back, ne ck and head in a crash
c::> fig . 155.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
ch ild to ride . The front seat is not t he safest
pla ce for a child in a fo rward-facing child sea t.
It is a very dangerous place fo r an in fant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat. .._

172 Child Safety
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof
c:> page 144, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction. Such re­
straints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:> page 134, Safety
belts,
c:> page 142, Airbag system and
c:> page 166, Important things to know.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and
40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 156 Schematic overview: installat ion of th e at ­
tachments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 157 Schematic overview: installat ion of the seat
using the vehicl e's safety belt system
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c:> page 175 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
., Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:> page 175.
.,. If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:> page 182.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more ..,.

than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for the ir s ize and weight
¢fig.156and ¢fig.157.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fro nt seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide. The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong chi ld safety seat or improper ly in­
stalli ng a child restraint in creases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
co llision or othe r eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advance d Airbags, can be seri­
o usly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates . A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat w ill be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infa nt carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
arm rest, door o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
sea ts on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat be cause of ex cep tional cir cums tan­
c es and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear -facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rea r side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the veh icle seat. Ad­
just the rear seat head restraint if it is
difficult to ins tall the child seat w ith the
Child Sa fet y 173
head restra int in place ¢ page 128. Driv­
ing with head restraints that are not
properly adjusted increases the r isk of
serious or fatal neck inju ry dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 134, Safety
b elts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circ umstances require the
use of a fo rward-facing child res traint on
the front passenge r's sea t, the child's s afe­
ty an d we ll - being req uire that the follow ­
ing spec ial precautions be taken:
- Ma ke s ure the forward- facing seat has
been designed and cert ified by its man u­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions p rov ided with the ch ild safety
seat or in fant carr ier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in ·
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­ ble before installing the ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore an d aft ad justment ra nge.
- Always ma ke sure the backrest is in an
up right pos ition.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perfo rm the
checks ¢
page 153, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take t he chi ld restraint off the fron t pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of t he rear sea t posi tions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ig ht does not stay on
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on . •
•