2015 AUDI A8 warning

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but less than the weight of a small adult, the
fro nt airbag on the passenger side may deploy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light does not
come on).
For example, the a irba g may deplo y if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
page 176),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the inst rument panel w il l come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the sea t is on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
duce the risk of inj ury through in terac tion
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de ­
celerations as defined in the electronic control unit
~ page 161.
Always remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much highe r.
A irbag system 157
-You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even w ith an Advanced A irbag
~page 151 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously in ju red and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advan ced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn
off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenge r seat, nobody can abso­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child aga inst
the backrest, center armrest, doo r, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger s eat
because of exceptional cir cumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear -facing child seat in a
rea r seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l 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 s ide a irbag.
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-

158 Airbag sys te m
- 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 installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit io n.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
electronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a malfunction in the system
components is de tected. The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l be low . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
con sis ts of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the seve rity of the c rash.
- An electron ic co ntro l unit, w ith integ rated
crash sensors for fron t and side impacts.
T he contro l unit "dec ides " whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors . The contro l unit also "decides" whether the sa
fety be lt
pretensioners shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generato r and
contro l valve for the driver inside the steer­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat under the upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion registered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­ late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster~
page 161 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance betwee n the respective seat a nd the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent cont inuous ly to
t he ele ctron ic contro l uni t to regula te de­
p loyment of the front Adva nced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and st ays on in the center of the instr u­
ment p anel
~page 162, fig. 168 and t ells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension
on t he safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or not
~ page 153, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch fo r the driv­
er and fo r the fro nt seat passenger that
senses whether that safety bel t is latched or
no t and transmi ts this information to t he
electronic control unit.
A WARNING ~ -
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.

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-Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- 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-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re-
Airbag system 159
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child seats
that has been certified under Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been recog­
nized on the seat. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
senger side has been turned off
c:> page 153,
Child restraints on the front seat-some im-
portant things to know. .,,.
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160 Airbag system
A WARNING
To reduce th e risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wea r safety b elts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher .
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could 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
~ page 151.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig. 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 prope rly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protect ion for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat could become dan ­
ge ro us projectiles, and be pushed i nto yo u if
the airbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle
. This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate skin.
It is impo rtant to remember th at w hile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injuries, other
i njur ies, for example swelling, br uising and
minor abrasions, can a lso happen when air­
bags inflate. A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front a irbags
supplement the t hree-po int safety belts only
in some fronta l collisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is high enough to deploy the air ­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occ urs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic contro l unit .
The front passenger airbag al so w ill 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 indicates that the front airbag on the passe nger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control un it (the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
-
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the r isk of se riou s injury i n crashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry whe n the air­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passenge rs
m ust alw ays sit in an upr igh t position,
m ust not lean aga inst or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located .
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-Occ upants who are unbelted, out of posi­
t ion 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
¢ page 153.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat i n­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflati ng a irbag w ill hit the child sea t
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear -facing child sea ts on
the rear seat .
- If you mus t install a rearward facin g
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi ·
ately install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the a irbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
A WARNING
Objects be tween you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of i njury in a crash by i n­
terfering wi th the way the air bag unfolds
or by being pushe d in to yo u as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ing s in your hand s or on
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never tran sport i tems on or in the are a
o f the front passenge r seat. Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air ­
bags during braking or other s udden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
t il es that can cause serious persona l in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bu lky ob­
jects) o n the doors, over or near the area
-
-
A irbag system 16 1
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat bac krests or be­
tween those areas and yo urself . These
objects could cause in ju ry in a crash, es­
pecia lly 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 a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring braking or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts near the air­
b ags can become projec tiles and c ause
in jur y, partic ula rly when the sea t is re ­
clined .
& WARNING
-=
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems fo r people
with a history of asthma or ot her breath­
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
conditions shou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting out of the veh icle or
ope ning windows or doors .
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy , was h your hands a nd face with
mild soap and water before eating .
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any c uts or sc ratches .
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
tli (USA models)/!f (Canada models)
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag System: the airbag
moni toring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Adva nced A irbag System ( in cl uding the
electron ic co ntro l u nit, se nsor circu its and sys­
t em wir ing) is mo nitore d con tinuously to
make su re that it is funct ion ing properly
•
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162 Airbag system
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each time you
switch on the ignition, the airbag monitoring
indicator light
II (USA models) ;fll (Canada
models) will come on for a few seconds (self
diagnostics).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
II (USA models)/E,I
(Canada models):
-does not come on when the ignition is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on wh ile driving.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected ,
the indicator light will first start flashing to catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
airbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on .
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
-If the airbag indicato r light ¢ page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by your aut horized Aud i dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it shou ld.
-
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight
Fig. 168 Sectio n fro m the instrument panel : PASSEN ­
G ER AIR BAG OFF lig ht
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
~fig. 168.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger sid e has been
turned off by the electronic control unit. Each
time you switch on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
-will go out if th e front passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing ch ild restra int has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- the weight reg istered on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
b ined weight of a typical 1 year-old restrain­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle was
cert ified.
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164 Airbag sys te m
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be seriously injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Ai rbag System, make
certain that a ll children , especially 12
years and younge r, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restra ined fo r their
age and size.
- Always install forwa rd or rea r-facing
c hild seats on the rea r seat- even w ith
an Adv anced Airb ag System.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing
c hild sea t on the front pas senge r seat
bec ause of except iona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
does not appea r and stay on, immediate ­
ly install the rea r-faci ng chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer.
- A tight tet her or other st rap on a rear ­
ward-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
we ight registe red can make the system
wor k as though an a dult were on the seat
-
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
m ust be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat i nto 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 mus t be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. M ake sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all t he time when ­
eve r the ignition 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 prope rly seated a nd restra ined at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r before t ransporting
a nyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front a irbag on the passe nger side wi ll be
turned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Pa rts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many different p laces on your Aud i. Insta lling,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a coll is io n.
There are some important t hings yo u have to
know to ma ke sure that the effectiveness of
the system w ill not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol-
lute the environment. .,,_

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& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
~r the instrument panel or modify them
in anyway .
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop .
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body .
- Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace ­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
Airbag system 165
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authori zed Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
t enance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separa ted
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech ­
nic circuit interrupter .
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer -risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped , all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc .ca. gov/hazard o u swaste/ per­
chlorate . When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
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.
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