2013 AUDI S8 belt

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 157
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 178, 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 178,
-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-
•
•

-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint. T he
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advance d Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
compo nents is detected . The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 159
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The info rmat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu ­
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air ­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tor ing sys tem and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster
¢ page 163.
-A sen sor in each fron t seat regis ters the dis ­
t ance betwee n the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f the instr u­
ment panel¢
page 163, fig. 168 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passe nger side has been tu rned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure t he tension
on the safety belt. The tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight regis tered by the
weigh t-sensi ng mat he lp the cont rol uni t
"de cide" whe ther the front airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
~ page 154, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r the d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses w hethe r th at safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit.
•
•

160 Airbag sys te m
_& 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 wi ll pre­
vent the Advanced A irbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by q ualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle.
- 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-se nsing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­ senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r­
bag System under the passenge r seat
c ou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the a irbag sys tem from working proper ­
ly .
- N ever place sea t covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by A udi on the fron t seats.
- Seat covers can preven t th e Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re ­
st raints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
er ly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat. The add itiona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the c hild restra int
-
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing p roperly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to prope rly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re­
straint is installed on the front passen ­
ge r seat .
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi ­
ately insta ll child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your Audi dea ler.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
T he front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide a irbags supp lem ent the p rotection of­
fered by the front three-po int safety belts
with pre tensione rs and load lim iters and the
adjustable head res train ts to help redu ce the
risk of in jury in a wide ra nge of accident and
crash situations . Be s ure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in th is chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and t he activation of the safety belt preten ­
s ioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic co ntrol unit. The amount of infla­
t ion of t he front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front seat pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and t he steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
regis tered by sensors in the seats. C rash se ­
verity depends on speed and dece leration as
well as the mass and st iffness of t he vehicle
or object involved in the crash .
On t he passenger side, rega rdless of sa fe ty
belt use, the airbag w ill be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the ..,.

amount prog rammed in the e lec tronic control
u nit. The front airbag on the passe nger side
will also be turned off if one of the ch ild seats
that has been certified u nder Fede ral Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been recog­ n ized o n the seat. The
PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF li gh t comes on and stays on to tell you
when the front Advanced A irbag on the pas­
se nger side has been tu rned off
Q page 154,
Child restraints on the front seat -some im­
portant things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way , yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll 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
Qpage 152.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 167 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 properly and pro­
v ide supplemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when :
- safety be lts are worn properly,
A irba g sy stem 161
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occ upant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from the airbag,
- and the head restrai nts have been properly
adjusted .
Beca use ai rb ags infl ate i n t he bli nk o f an eye
wi th great fo rce, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan­
gerous p ro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased .
T his is norma l and is not ca used by a fi re in
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 remember that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies , other
injuries, for example swelling, bru is ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags i nflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
suppleme nt the th ree-point safety be lts only
i n some fronta l colli sions in which the vehicle
deceler ation is high e nough to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash
o ccur s,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end coll is ions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measu red by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electro nic contro l unit .
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
-when the front passenger seat is not occu­
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
passenger side has to be turned off by the
II>

162 Airbag sys tem
electronic contro l uni t (the PAS SENGER 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 position,
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 blink of an eye
~page 154.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward -facing child sea t 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 ai rbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
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 except iona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately i nstall the rea r-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the ai rbag
system inspected by your Au di dealer.
A WARNING
Objects be tween you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of in jury in a c rash by in ­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into yo u as the a irbag
inf lates. -
Never hold things in you r hands o r on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on or in t he a rea
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 dangero us projec ­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury if the a irbags inf late .
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth ­
er objects (such as cup hold ers, te le­
phone b ra ck ets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, ove r o r ne ar the are a
marked "AIRBAG" on the s teer ing whee l,
instr ument panel, sea t bac krests o r be ­
tween those areas and yourself. T hese
objects could ca use in jury 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 front a irbag during braki ng or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y, partic ularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dus t create d when air bags deploy
c a n cause breathing p rob lems fo r people
wi th a history of as thma or other breath ­
i ng cond itions.
- T o reduce the risk of breath ing pro blems,
those with asthma or othe r respiratory
conditions s hou 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 res id ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith water.

164 Airbag sys te m
- the weight regis tered on the front passen­
ger seat is equa l to or less tha n the com ­
bined weight of a ty pical 1 year-old restrain­
ed 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 .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PA S­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill stay on. Nev­
e r i nsta ll a rearwa rd-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any kin d of child restraint is at o ne
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 154, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 176, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one o f the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuo usly whenever the
ignit io n is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- react ivate the system by switc hing the igni­
t ion off and then switch ing it on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt fo r the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
r o uted throug h the child rest raint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restrai nt ma nufactu rer's i n­
stru ct ions;
- make su re that the convertible locking fea­
t u re on the sa fe ty be lt for the front p assen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 186.
- ma ke sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child seat are not be­
ing transported on the front passenger seat; -
make sure that the sa fety belt tension sen ­
sor is not blocked. S hake the safety be lt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- 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-sensi ng mat to measure more
weight than is actually on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con­
t in uous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your 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 restra int that is appropriate for
its s ize and age.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when t he ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on o r
flashes fo r about 5 seconds w hile d riving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure tha t:
- the adult on the front passenge r seat is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the sea t
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not re cli ned
¢ page 135, Proper occupan t seating posi­
tions,
- t he adult is not tak ing we ight off the sea t by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the front passenger door or s upport­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- t he sa fety belt is being properly worn and
that the re is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect 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 be lt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
I n addition to the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PA SSENGE R AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AI R BAG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . Th is is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Aud i deale r. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, always ride on the
back seat properly restrained fo r their
age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rea r seat -even w ith
an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l igh t
does not appea r and s tay on, immediate-
A irbag system 165
ly insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too
much pressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and reg ister more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as tho ugh an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
m ust be suppressed causing serious or
even fata l injury to the chi ld .
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-facing child 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 sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on a ll t he time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
=
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i 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
PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many diffe rent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta lling, .,.
•
•

and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service for you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­ ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular collision, it is possible that an airbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the safety belt is being used but will inflate at the
position where the safety belt is not being
used . It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per-
Airbag system 167
formance and increase the risk of serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi­nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter­
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig . 169 Driver 's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
¢ fig . 169, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan­
el underneath the glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
Ill-