2014 AUDI A8 height

150 S afet y belt s
should a lways fit snugly ¢ fig. 162. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety be lt can cause seri ­
ous injuries by shifting 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 important informat ion
¢ page 148.
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 posit ion duri ng pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body¢
page 149.
• Adjust the front seat and head restra int cor­
rect ly ¢
page 58, General recommenda­
tions.
• Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig. 163,
¢Li). .
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢page 148, fig. 161.
•Pullon the be lt to make su re that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING ,-
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious personal 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 149.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 164 Releas ing the tongue from the buck le
• Push the red release b utton on the buckle
¢ fig . 164. The be lt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
¢ _& .
0
" N 0 ±
~
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehi­
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase you r
risk of being inj ured or k illed .
Adjusting safety belt height
You can adjust the height of the driver's and
front passenger's safety belts.
The safety belt height adjusters for the front
seats can be used to adjust the height of the
shoulder portion of the safety belt so that it is
pos itioned correctly .
1J>-

The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le an d
should fit well on the body¢
A in Saf ety belt
position on page 149.
Power safety belt h eight adjustment*
You can ad just the height of the safety belts
using the mu lti function b utton on the driver
or fro nt passenge r seat ¢
page 60.
&_ WARNING
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion¢
page 148.
You can also a djust 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 sa fe ty be lts imprope rly can cause se ­
rio us in jury or death. Safety be lts can only
wo rk when they are correct ly positioned on
the body. Improper seating positions reduce
the effect iveness of safety belts and w ill eve n
increase the r isk of injury and death by mov­
in g the safety belt to cr itical a reas of the
body. Imprope r seat ing pos itions also in­
crease the risk of serio us in jury and death
when an air bag deploys and strikes an occu ­
p a nt who is not in the cor re ct seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsib le for the sa fe ty of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chi l­
dren . Therefore:
""N ever permit anyone to ass ume an inco rrec t
s itting position in the veh icle w hile traveling
¢.&, .
&_ WARNING
Imprope rly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
Safety belts 151
- Always ma ke s ure that all ve hicle occu­
pants are co rrectly restrained and stay in
a co rrect seating position whenever the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
o ther impo rtant inf ormation
¢page 148.
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 s afety belts o n the fro nt seats ar e eq uip­
ped with powe r reversi ble tensioners. The fo l­
l ow ing functions a re ava ila bl e when the driv­
er 's/fro nt passenge r's safety belts are fas­
tened :
- Au tomatic tens ioners : at the star t of a drive,
the safety be lts automat ica lly adjust to the
passenger afte r a certain time period or ve­
hicle speed. To switch the automatic ten ­
sioners off, select the following in t he M MI:
!CARI fu nction button > Car systems > Vehi­
cle settings > Seats > Driver's seat or Pas­
senger's seat > Automatic belt tensioner
>
Off .
-In ce rtain dr iv ing s ituations , the safety b elts
may tight en with a reve rs ible tens ion ing
fu nction
¢ page 197.
-The safety be lts m ay a lso tighten with th is
reve rsible te nsion ing functio n in m inor co ll i­
s ion s.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with safety be lt
pre tensioners . The system is act ivated by se n­
so rs in front, s id e and r ear-end co llisions of
great seve rity and in a rollover. T his tig hte ns
t he be lt and t akes up belt slack ¢.&.
in Service
and disposal of s afe ty belt pretensioner on
page 152.
Tak in g up the s lack helps to reduce .,. •
•

168 Airbag system
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, al l applicable laws and regula·
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dea ler 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, chang ing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the spring s, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
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-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 origi­ nally 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 con 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 lowe r th igh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts. ..,.

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. ...

-Never mount more than one child re­
straint to a sing le tether or to a lower an­
chorage point. Attaching two child re­
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se­
rious persona l injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fo lding the rear seatback to prevent
damag ing the seat cushion .
- To attach the child restraint secure ly, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear pos ition, the seat height set to the low­
est posit ion and the head restraint must
be adjusted to the vertical position
¢page 61.
-If you leave the guidance fixtu res instal ­
l ed for seve ral days, they could leave a
mark on the upholstery on the seat cush ­
i on and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled . The up­
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guidance fixtures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
Fig . 18 5 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
.,. Make su re the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and sec urely
latched in place.
Child S afety 193
.,. Attach both hook -on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place¢
fig. 185.
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are proper ly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child restraint
manufac ture r's instruct ions .
Releasing
.,. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restra int manufacturer's inst ruc ­
tions.
.,. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower ancho rag­
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c hi ld restra int firmly in place.
.&, WARNING
I mproper use of the LATCH system can i n­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a n accide nt.
- These an chors were deve loped on ly for
child safety seats using the " LA T CH" sys ­
tem .
- Never at tach o ther ch ild safety sea ts,
be lts or o ther objects to these anchors.
- Always ma ke s ure that you hear a click
when latch ing the sea t in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not sec ure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be e jected from the vehi­
cle.
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci­
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper
installation of the ch ild restra int system
and p roper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your veh icle.
~

194 Child Safety
-Always read and heed the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re­
straint systems ~
page 177, Child Safe­
ty.
d) Note
On vehicles with power adjustable rear
seats* some criteria must be observed
when attaching the child restraint using
the
LATCH system:
- To attach the child restraint securely, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear
position, the seat height set to the low­
est position and the head restraint must be adjusted to the vertical position
~ page 61.
-If a child safety seat is attached to one of
the rear seats, this seat must not be ad­
justed using the power controls under
any circumstances . The
Entry assistance
for this seat must a lso be deactivated in
the MMI
r¢ page 64. The child safety seat
as well as the rear seat can be damaged by the adjustment process.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 186 Tet her ancho rs: r ece ss fla ps b ehin d th e re ar
sea tback s
The tether anchors for the two* /three rear
seating positions are located in recesses in the
rear window shelf~
fig. 186. Vehicles with
two rear seating positions* are equipped with two tether anchors .
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that attaches the top part of a child restraint to
special anchorage points in the vehicle. The
purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by st riking the ve­
hicle in ter ior.
Forwa rd facing child restra ints manufactured
after September 1 , 1999, are required by U.S .
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats .
_&. WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de ­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho ­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at­
tach a child restraint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sensing mat to measure more weight than is ac­
tually on the seat .
- The heavier weight registered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as though an adult were on the seat and de -
-
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must ~

Trailer load distribution Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ .&. in Driving instructions on page 214.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work hard ­
er . It is important that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load .
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid.
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains Be sure trailer safety chains are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle . Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners . When you install safety
chains, make sure they will not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch .
Adjusting the Audi drive select Make sure the vehicle is on a level surface
be­
fore
hitching up the trailer and before adjust ­
ing the tongue weight. The vehicle must be in
auto or comfort driving mode and not raised
¢page 110, ~CD .
Make sure that the vehicle is lowered. In Info ­
tainment, select:
ICARI function button> low­
er control button .
Trailer towing 213
If you must drive under poor road conditions,
you can raise the vehicle
after coupling the
trailer or
after adjusting the tongue weight
¢ page 112.
@ Note
- Changes in temperature or load can af­
fect the height of the vehicle.
- Always select auto or comfort mode.
Otherwise, the tongue load specified for
your vehicle will no longer be applicable.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
core and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded .
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
vehicles.
.,. Observe speed limits.
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed .
.,. Always apply brakes early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the circumstances . Whenever possi­
ble , transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not .,.
•
•

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when d riving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age .
(D Note
Please note that summe r and wi nte r tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic transmission, power steer ing ,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that these
items are availab le as factory-installed equip­
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the rat io o f the height to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re­
sponse and better overa ll handling on dry
pavement .
Bead
means the part of the t ire t hat is made o f
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead .
Cord means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Tire s an d wheel s 249
typica l in those seasons . Aud i recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
dec rease the e lasticity of summer t ires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer t ires are used i n very co ld tem ­
peratures, cracks ca n form o n the tread
bars , res ulting in perma nen t tire damage
that can cause loud driving noise and un­
bala nced ti re s. Audi i s not respon sible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the t ire p ress ure recommended by t he
vehicle manufacture r fo r a tire o f a des ignated
s ize t hat has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le o f miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire press ure
is m easured or adjusted.
Curb weight
me ans the we ight of a motor ve hicle with
st andard equipmen t incl ud ing the max imum
capacity of fuel, oi l, and coolant, air condi ­
tioning and additional weig ht of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
means a t ire design to oper ate a t higher load s
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standa rd tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l", "EXTRA LOAD", o r
"RF" on the sidewal l.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
me ans the load-ca rry ing capac ity of a single
axle system , measured at the tire -ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
the ve hicl e. .,..
•
•