2013 AUDI A8 warning

Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly .
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correc tly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit ­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv­
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion .
Safety belts 147
-Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
tha t may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web­
bing , bindings, buckles , or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­ shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer . Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the bel ts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel
c::> page 225, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everbody buckle up!
Fig. 161 B el t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's se at

148 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 57, 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 . 161.
.,. 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.
Safety belt pretensioners
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 150. The function of the pre ­
tensioner is monitored by a warning light
c:;, page 18 .
Switchable locking feature
Every 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 186.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause-se rious injury in an accident
¢ page 148, 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 t he veh icle
¢page 188.
(D Tips
For informa tion on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to¢
page 150.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
F ig . 16 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 alwaysfitsnugly¢fig.162. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 147.
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.
Fig. 163 Safety belt pos it io n during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 148.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 5 7, General recommenda­
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig . 163, ¢ &_ .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 147, fig. 161.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle.
Safety belts 149
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury 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 148.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 164 Releas ing the tong ue fro m the buckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
o:::> fig. 164. The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
¢ .&_ .
0 .... N 9 I ;&
.,. Let the belt wind 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 moving . Doing so will increase your
risk of being injured or 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
shoulder portion of the safety belt so that it is
positioned correctly . .,,..

150 Safety belts
The s hou lder 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 148.
P ower saf ety 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 59.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion¢
page 147.
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 serious 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 driver 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 vehicle 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 correctly 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 147.
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 ilab le when the driv ­
er's/front passenger's safety belts are fas­
tened :
- Automatic tens ioners : at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to the
passenger after 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 196.
-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
pretensioners . 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 151.
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 151
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. •
•

Since the circums tances will vary considerab ly
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 t hat w ill always t rig ger the a irbags .
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or so ft) 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 co llisions.
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 144.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will dec rease 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 153
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 147, 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 inju red 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 back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 13S.
-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
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts near the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i an d 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 . •
•

154 Airbag sys te m
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the impo rtant in formation
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 176.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld seat.
It can be a
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
c> page 178.
The PASS ENGE R AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied ,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat, -
will go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat
c::> page 163, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off .
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
child b ut less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, th e airbag ma y deplo y if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whether the child is in one of
the child seats listed
c> page 178), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- re cli ned ba ck rest w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::> page 135, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l St andard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interaction wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,_

as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 163, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld seat or inf ant ca rri­
e r i nsta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in­
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli­
sion. The airbag could greatly red uce the ef­
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se­ riously injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children -when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and si ze -we
strongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat¢
page 176, Child Safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
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 mus t install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious pe rsonal injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 15 5
-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 s ide a irbag.
- 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 fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mus t be ad justed to an upright
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed ¢
page 163, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld restraint off the front 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 Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in­
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
ins tall a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's se at:
- Imp roper install ation of ch ild restrai nts
can reduce their effec tiveness o r even
preven t them from providing any protec­
tion. •
•