2014 AUDI A8 seats

Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. You r safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe t he information
a nd warn ings in th is se ct ion - for yo ur own
safety as well as that of your passengers .
The information in this se ction applies to all
model ve rsion s of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures descr ibed in th is sec tions may be
standa rd equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
st ruct ions and heed the WARNINGS i n
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the inte rest of you r passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owne r's Liter­
at ure in your Audi when you lend or sell
yo ur vehicle so that this important info r­
mation will always be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if you have
ques tion s.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint syst em and work togeth er to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
t echnology have made a var iety o f fea tures
avai lable to he lp red uce the risk of i njury in an
Dr iving Safel y 135
accident . The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in yo ur Audi :
- sophis tic ated s afety be lts fo r driver and a ll
passenger sea ting posit ions,
- s afety bel t prete nsio ners ,
- safety belt force lim ite rs fo r the front sea ts,
- safety belt he ight adjustment systems for
the front seats ,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats - side airbags in the front seats and outer rea r
seats,
- side c urtain airbags ,
- specia l LATCH anchorages for child re-
straints,
- he ad restr aints for each sea ting pos it ion,
- adj ustab le steeri ng colum n.
These ind iv idual safety features, can work to­
ge ther as a system to he lp protect you and
you r passenge rs in a wide rang e of accide nts .
T hese features canno t wo rk as a system if
they are not always cor re ct ly adjus ted and co r­
re ct ly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibil ity!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occu ­
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver .
For yo ur safety and the safety of your passen ­
gers,
before d riving always:
.. Make s ure that all lig hts and signa ls are op­
erating correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
.. Make s ure that all w indows are clean and a f­
ford good vis ibility to the outs ide .
.,. Se cure all luggage a nd o ther items caref ully
I::!) page 70, I::!) page 75 .
.. Ma ke s ure that no thing can inte rfere wi th
the peda ls .
.. Adj ust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height.
.. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re-
straints according to the ir height . .,.. •
•

~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c';> page 59.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per­
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple­
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision .
- Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are prop­
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect-
Driving Safely 137
ed ly and you could lose control of the ve­
hicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
c';> page 177. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat¢
page 153.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
~ Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
~ Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible¢
page 139.
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 148.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see ¢
page 58.
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
•
•

138 Driving Safely
-Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an eye.
-Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru­
ment panel.
-Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas­
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop­
erly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the win­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
~ page 177. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
~ page 153.
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas­
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.., Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible , try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible~
page 139 .
.., Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
.., Fasten and wear safety belts properly
~ page 148 .
.., Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their size and age~
page 177.
.&, WARNING ,.__
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Safety belts only
offer maximum protec­
tion when the safety belts are properly positioned on the body and securely
latched . By not sitting upright, a rear
seat passenger increases the risk of per­
sonal injury from improperly positioned
safety belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.

140 Driving Safely
The following bulletins list only some sample
positions that wi ll increase the risk of serious
in jury and death . Our hope is that these exam­
p les w ill make you more aware of seating po­
sitions that are dangerous.
The ref ore, whenever th e vehicle i s
moving :
- never stand up in the vehicle
-never stand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up aga inst the instrument panel
- never sit o n the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet o n the ins trumen t panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
.&, WARNING
Imprope r seat ing pos itions increase the
r isk of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occu-
pa nts stay in a p roper seating pos it io n
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
.&, WARNING
Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inf late w ithout interference. Objects be­
tween yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
-
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag dep loys, this
can result in ser ious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv­
er 's or passenge r's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, fo r example) can ha m­
pe r o r prev ent proper deployment of the
ai rbag. Small obje cts can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and in jure you or yo ur passenge rs .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mot
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats t hat leave t he pedal area
free and can be secu red with floor mat fasten­
ers.
If a brake circ uit fa ils, inc reased brake pedal
trave l is required to bring the vehicle to a f ull
stop .
.&, WARNING ,-
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
l oss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's
footwell. An object co uld get into the
pedal area and interfere with pedal func­
tion . In case of sudde n brak ing o r an ac­
cident, yo u wou ld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always make sure that no thing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l.

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more likely to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. In some
vehicles, there are four seat ing positions : two
in the front and two in the rear. Each seating
position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small chi ldren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child sitting on your lap.
Safety belts 145
-Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restraint.
~-Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig. 155 Safety bel t warning light in the instrument
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, always:
~ Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
~ Make sure that your passengers also buck le
up and properly wear their safety belts.
~ Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder
to fasten the safety belts. In addition, you will
hear a warning tone for a certain period of
time .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belts.
A WARNING
- Safety belts are the single most effect ive
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious inju ry and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving. •
•

occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield , or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 158. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
veh icle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed. Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and other passen­
gers
c::> fig. 159. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas ­
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
Fig. 160 Driv er is cor rect ly r est rain ed in a sudden brak­
ing ma neuve r
Safety belts 147
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also su bsta ntia l­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrained!

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 .,. •
•