2014 AUDI A8 light

176 Airbag sys te m
expansion range of a side curtain airbag
can dangerously interfere with its func­
tion. A deploying head airbag develops enough force to catapult any piece of
add-on component out of its path of in­
flation and into the passenger compart­
ment. An occupant hit by such a projec­
t il e can suffer serious injury or death
9 page 295, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
yo u have any objects clipped onto them
(for example pens) . If the ai rbag should
deploy, you could be inj ured by these ob­
jects.
- Use the built -in coat hoo ks only for light­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the poc kets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
vehicle leaves the factory, only Audi roll­ up sunsc reens may be used
9 page 294,
Additional accessories and parts re­ pla cement.
- Always s it in proper seating position and
wea r safety belts while t raveling so that
the side curtain airbags can help provide
pro tection.
- T he ai rbag system can only be t rigge red
once.
If the a irbag has been triggered,
the system m ust be replaced by an au­
thorized Aud i dealer o r qualified work ­
shop .
- Alw ays have work involving the side cur­
tain airbag system, removal and installa­
tion of the airbag components, or other
repa irs performed by a qualified dealer­
ship. Otherwise the airbag system may
not work cor rectly.
- Never attempt to modify any compo­ nents of the airbag system in anyway.

178 Child Safety
-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 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 th e
driver side. The low ris k deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interact ion with the airbag t hat 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 .,..

seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re­
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child restra int manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the we ight ranges of typical in­
fants and typical 1 year -old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir­
bag System . When a chi ld restraint is being
used on the front passenge r seat with a typi­
cal 1 year -old ch ild, the A dvanced Airbag Sys­
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor­
ed in the electronic control unit.
The electron ic contro l unit al so registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com­
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
T he sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the belt . T he input from this sen­
sor is t hen used w ith the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restraint with a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag . Always be sure
that the chi ld restraint is p roperly instal led at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions . If in excep­
tional ci rcumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefu lly read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN­
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing
Child Sa fet y 1 79
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag status is always correct ly signaled
by the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over t he years, new mod­
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restrai nt that sits
o n the seat, when they a re insta lled on a veh i­
cle seat. These diffe rences make it v irtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re­
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 25, 2007 R ide AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century Smart Fit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007 22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
E venflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
•
•

180 Child Saf ety
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo F irst Cho ice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi -September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward-facin g and
con vert ible c hild re stra int s
Model Manuf actured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007 Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco Comfo rtSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco P latinum Ca rgo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF
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 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 author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi 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 driver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
.. Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 183.
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the ch ild
safety seat .
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first a ctivate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 187.
.. Push the ch ild 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) .
.,. If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , m ake sure tha t it is not so tight that i t
causes the weight-sensing ma t to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
.. Sec ure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 182.
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size . .,.

182 Child Safet y
as possible before insta lling the child
restra int.
- Always make sure t hat nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright 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 ca n fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 145, Safety
belts,
c::> page 153, Airbag system and
c::> page 177, 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 whe never a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas ­
senge r seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he front pas ­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN­
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­ ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
Fig . 175 Sche matic ove rview: keep un use d safety be lts
away from c hildre n in chil d safe ty seats. @· oute r rear
sa fety be lt, @ · ce nter rear sa fet y b elt
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal low er ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se­
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c::> & .
-Guide the safety belt webbing behind the
head restra int of the adjacent seat
c::> fig. 175 . When doing so, do not engage
the switchable locking retractor! You should not hear a "click ing" sound when wind ing up
the safety belt .
- Let the bel t re tractor wind up the safe ty belt
webbing.
A WARNING ,-
A child in a chi ld safety sea t in stalled with
the LA TCH lower a nchorages or with the
standa rd safety be lt or a child in a boos ter
se at on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en ­
tang led . This co uld cause the chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat sa fety
be lts out of reac h of children in c hild
seats such as by proper ly routing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re­
tractor whe n routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint .

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 . 176 Sche matic overv iew: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 187 or install the seat
using the LA T CH attachments.
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 182.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infan t carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re­
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 176.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a po tentially 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 seat.
It is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
l arger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
Child Safety 183
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in ­
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas­
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air ­
bag Sys tem. A ch ild will be ser iously in­
jured and ca n 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 ¢
page 155, Child restraints on the
front seat- some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re­
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
and cannot prote ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward fac ing
child sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 145 , Safety
belts, ¢ page 153, Airbag system
and
¢ page 177, Important things to know.

184 Child Safet y
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 . 177 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the at­
t a chments appl icable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 178 Schematic overview: in stalla tion of t he sea t
using the vehicle's safety be lt system
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::> page 187 or insta ll the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c::>page 187.
.. If the child safety seat is eq uipped w ith a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 194.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 182.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restra int if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) . T
oddlers 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 their size and weight
c::> fig. 177 and c::> fig . 178 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat . It is a very dangerous place for a n in­
fant or a larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
No t using a child safety seat, us ing t he
wrong child safety seat o r imprope rly in­
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situat ion .
- Chi ld ren on the front seat of any ca r,
-
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates . A ch ild in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in­
f lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the back rest, center
a rm rest, door or roo f.
- Always ins tall rear-fa cing ch ild safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd fa cing
child safe ty seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le ..,.

to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just the rear seat head restraint if it is
difficult to install the child seat with the
head restraint in place
c::> page 139. Driv­
ing with head restraints that are not
properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 145, Safety
belts,
c::> page 153, Airbag system and
c::> page 177, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- 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 child restraint.
-A lways make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
c::> page 164, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASS EN-
Child Safety 185
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) toll.
l!! N 0 ± i,l;
Fig. 179 Rear seat: c hild properly restrained in a boos ­
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop ­
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­ strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body.
It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­ ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>poge 182. ...