2012 AUDI A8 belt

138 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 54, General recommenda­
t ions .
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢
_&..
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ fig . 141.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
cu rely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is fea ­
ture locks the be lt 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 throug h a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safet y belt pretensioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt p re­
tensione r that helps to t ighten the safety bel t
and remove s lack when the pretensio ner is ac­
tivated ¢
page 140. The function of the pre ­
tensioner is monitored by a warning light
c:;, page 18 .
Switchable locking feature
E very safe ty belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a swit chab le locking fea ­
ture that
mus t be used when the safety bel t is
used to attach a child seat . Be s ure to read the
important information abo ut this feat ure
¢ page 175.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause-se rious injury in an accident
¢ page 138, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum pr otection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are prope rly positioned on the
body.
-
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause serio us 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 cr itica l ar eas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the conve rtible locking re­
t ra cto r when you are se cu ring a c hild
s eat in the veh icle ¢
page 177.
(D Tips
For i nforma tion on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to¢
page 140.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
F ig . 14 2 Safety bel t pos it ion
U se the heig ht adjus tme nt to ch ange the posi­
tio n of the shoulder belt of the front sa fety
belts.
A WARNING
'-
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious personal inju ry in an acc i­
dent.
-
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on t he body. Hold the
be lt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as low as possib le on the pelv is an d th ere is
no pressure o n the abdomen. The belt ..,.

should a lways fit snugly¢ fig. 142. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety be lt ca n cause seri­
o us injuries by s hifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more vulnerab le , soft tissue and cause serious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other impo rtant information
¢ page 137.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
F ig . 14 3 Safety belt pos it io n during p regna ncy
To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 138.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restra int cor­
rect ly ¢
page 54, General recommenda­
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly ac ross the chest and pelvis
¢ fig . 143, ¢ &_ .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢page 137, fig. 141.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se­
c u rely latched in the buckle.
Safety belts 139
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious perso nal inju ry in an acc i­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢
& in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 138.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
Fig . 144 Re leas ing the tong ue fro m the bu ckle
.,. Push the red release b utton on the buckle
o:::> fig. 144. T he be lt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
¢ .&_ .
0 .... N 9 I ;&
.,. Let the belt w ind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
=
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi-
cle is mov ing . Doing so will increase your
risk of being inj ured o r killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
You can adjust the height of the driver's and
front passenger 's safety belts.
The safety belt height adjustors for the front
seats can be used to adjust the height of the
shou lder portion of the safety belt so that it is
pos itioned correctly . .,,..

140 Safety belts
The s houl der belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body¢
A in Safety belt
position on page 138.
P ower safety belt h eight adju stment *
You can ad just the height of the safety belts
using the mu ltifunction button on the driver
or front passenge r seat ¢
page 56.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
¢page 137.
You can also adjust the height of the front
seats to change the position of the safety
be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wear ing safety be lts imprope rly can cause se ­
rio us inj ury or death. Safety be lts can on ly
wo rk when they are correct ly positioned on
the body. Improper seating positions reduce
the effect iveness of safety belts and will even
increase the r isk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety belt to cr itical areas of the
body. Imprope r seat ing pos it ions also in­
crease the risk of serio us in jury and death
when an air bag deploys and str ikes a n occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion . A d river is responsib le for the sa fety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chi l­
dren. Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to ass ume an incorrect
sitting position in the veh icle w hile traveling
¢&_ .
A WARNING
Imprope rly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used. -
Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants are co rrectly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS and
other important information
¢ page 137.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover , safety
belts are tensioned automatically.
Reversible safety belt tensioners
T he safety belts on the fro nt sea ts ar e e qui p­
ped with powe r reversib le tensioners . The fo l­
lowing functions a re ava ila bl e when the driv­
er's/front passenger's safety belts are fas­
tened :
- Automatic tens ioners : at the star t of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to the
passe nger afte r a certain time period or ve ­
hicle speed. To switch the automatic ten­
sioners off, select the following in the MMI:
! CARI function button> Car systems > Vehi­
cle settings > Seats > Driver's seat or Pas­
s enger's seat
> Automatic belt t ensioner >
Off .
-In certain dr iv ing s ituations, the safety belts
may tighten w ith a revers ible tens ion ing
fu nction
¢ page 185.
-The safety be lts may a lso t ighten with th is
reve rsible tensioning function in minor co lli­
sion s.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equ ipped with safety belt
pre tensioners . The system is act ivated by se n­
sors i n front, s ide and rear-end co llisions of
great severity and in a rollover. This tig htens
t h e belt and t akes up belt slack¢.&.
in Service
and disposal of safety belt pretensi oner on
page 141.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce 1111>

forward occupant movement during a colli­
sion.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to de­
ploy incorrectly.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision . If the pyro­
technic pretensioners deploy, the preten­
sioning system must be replaced.
(D Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
can only deploy once.
- The safety belt pretensioners do not de­
ploy in minor frontal and side collisions,
in rear-end collisions, in rollovers and in
collisions involving very little impact
force .
- A fine dust is released when the pyro­
technic safety belt pretensioners deploy.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire
i n the veh icle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped . A
qualified dea lership is familiar with
these regulations and will be pleased to
pass on the information to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
mental and other regulations if the vehi­
cle or individual parts of the system, par­
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this
service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, remov­
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
sion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
Safety belts 141
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti­ vated only once .
If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe­
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re­
pair manual, training and special equip­
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is fami liar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you. •
•

142 Airbag sys te m
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 125,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=;page 55,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=; page 13 7,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 166.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenger to sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions¢
page 125,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 55.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 166.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A udi work to­
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do i ts
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , 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 Re­
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
ficat ions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener ­
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad­
ded cove rs, and i nflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
t h rough the windshie ld again witho ut inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
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
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from hitting pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-

Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another , it is not
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact that will always trigger the airbags .
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alw ays rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tect ion in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed ; for example , when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af­
ter the first co llision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti ­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 134.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
ga te whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries 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.
A irbag system 143
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 137, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the backrest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 12S.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts near the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in ju ry when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle . •
•

146 Airbag system
-An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de ­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­ tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system con provide supplemental
protect ion to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 145 Location of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig. 146 Locat ion of front passenger's airbag: in the in­
s trument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r
vehicle was manufactured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending on
the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­ sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretensioners are also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag
system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
c::;, fig. 145 and the airbag for the
front passenge r is in the instrument panel
c::;, fig . 146 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of you r passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protection .
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , es­
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee ..,.

that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S . Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met .
- Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured .
T he front Advanced Airbag System supple­
ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes .
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle .
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up­
right , wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained , not just
because the law requires you to be.
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 very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite-
Airbag system 147
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the front 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 "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
¢ page 168, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 168,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re­
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen ­
ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to­
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re ­
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control
unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
11-
•
•