2015 AUDI A8 child restraint

1 7 0 Airbag system
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and con help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who ore properly restrained.
Fi g. 1 72 Infla ted s ide airbags o n left side of ve hicle,
r ea r side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
fil led with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help prov ide
this additiona l prote ction, the side a irbag
must inf late within a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­
p lemental side a irbag co uld injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side a irbag expands . Th is applies
espec ially to childre n
c::> page 174, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplementa l s ide airbags inflate between
the occupant and the doo r pane l on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in ce rtain side col­
lision
c::> fig . 172.
A lthough they a re not a soft pillow, they can
" cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­ p loys. This is no rmal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags ore only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safe ty belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
The re is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accord ingly to help the
safe ty belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplementa l protect ion .
A WARNING
An inflating side ai rbag can cause serious
or fata l injury. Improperly weari ng safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used .
- In order to reduce the risk of inj ury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright posi tion and
never lea n aga inst the a rea whe re the
s u ppleme nta l side air bag is located .
- Never let a child or a nyone e lse rest
t h eir head aga inst the s ide trim pane l
in the area where the supplementa l
side airbag inflates.
-A lways make sure tha t safety be lts a re
worn correctly,
- Do no t let anyone s itting in the fron t
seat put t hei r hand or any ot her parts
of their body out of the win dow.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inf late without interference.
- Neve r install seat covers or rep lace ­
ment upholstery over th e front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Neve r use additional seat c ushions that
cove r the areas where the side a irbags
deploy.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or
to t he seam in the area of the si de a ir­
bag module mus t always be repaired
i mmediately by a n author ized Audi
dealer.

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When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­ der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very h igh speed and w ith
great force. The side curtain airbag cou ld in­
jure you if you r seat ing position is not proper
or upright o r if items are located in the area
where the supplementa l side curtain airbag
inflates. This applies espec ia lly to children
¢ page 174.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side c ur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they can he lp to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the head and the upper part of the
body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de ­
p loys . This is q uite normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags do the ir job to provide supplementa l
protection .
A WARNING
-
Improperly wear ing safety belts and im­
prope r seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and dea th when­
ever a veh icle is being used.
- Never let occ upants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the a rea from wh ich the
side curt ain airbags infla te.
- Always make sure that the side curta in
airbags can inflate w ithout interference.
Uns uitable accessories fitted inside the
expansion range of a side curta in airbag
can dangerously interfere with its func­
t ion. A deploying head a irbag deve lops
A irbag system 173
enough force to catapu lt any p iece of
add-on component o ut of its path of in­
flation and into the passenger compart­ ment. An occupant h it by such a projec­
tile can suffer serio us in ju ry or death
c:!;> page 293, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swive l the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them (for examp le pens). If the airbag should
deploy , you could be injured by these ob­
jects.
- Use the bu ilt-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clo thing. Never leave any he avy or
sharp-edge d objects in the pockets that
may interfere with ai rbag dep loyment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- Never use hangers to hang cloth ing from
the hooks.
- On ly use factory -installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
veh icle leaves the factory, only Audi roll­
up sunscreens may be used
¢ page 292,
Additional accessories and parts re­
placement .
-Always sit in proper seat ing pos ition and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side curtain airbags can he lp p rov ide
protection.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be rep laced by an au­
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Always have work involving the side cu r­
tain airbag system, removal and insta lla ­
tion of the air bag components, or other
re pairs per formed by a qualified dealer­
ship. Otherwise the airbag system may not work correct ly .
- Never attempt to mod ify any compo ­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
•
•

174 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 144, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate ch ild restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's size ~
page 177, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re- straints are on the front passenger seat
. Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str iking the i nterior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
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-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
Child Safety 175
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 the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "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 si ze. 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 ..,.
•
•

176 Child Saf ety
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of chi ld re­
straints and for the d ifferent 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 ch ild restrai nt is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi ­
cal 1 yea r-old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the in formation stor­
ed in the electronic contro l unit.
The ele ctron ic cont rol unit also registers the
tension on the front passenge r safety belt.
The tension on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be different for an ad ult
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.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measu res the
tension on the be lt . T he input from this sen­
sor is then used with the we ight to "dec ide",
whe ther there is a ch ild restraint w ith 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
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards a nd has been certified by its manu­
facture r fo r u se w ith an airbag . Always be s ure
that t he ch ild res traint is p rope rly insta lled at
one o f th e rear seat ing pos itions . If in excep­
tional c ircu mstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, caref ully read all of the
info rmation on c hild safety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed a ll of the applicable WARN­
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing mat
inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag stat us is a lways cor rect ly signa led
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child res traints
have been available over the 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 typically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and diff erent 'footpr ints,' the s ize and shape
of the bo ttom of the ch ild restra int that sits
o n t he seat, when they a re inst alled on a vehi­
cle sea t. Th ese d ifferences make i t vir tually
impossible to certify compliance with the re ­
quirements for advanced airbags with eac h
and every ch ild restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of the useful life of your veh icle.
For t his 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 mus t be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w ith 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
A ngel Guard A ngel September 25, 200 7
R ide AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ce ntury Smart Fit Decembe r 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base 22-999WHO
E venflo Discovery Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212

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Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
H igh 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 Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR 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.
Child Safety 177
-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 Airbag 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 180.
... Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety sea t .
... When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
t he convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 184.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with yo ur
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, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sens ing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 179.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hild ren, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for the ir age and size. ..,. •
•

178 Child Safety
&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil ­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat . -
Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag

as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
be ing moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a col lision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 143, Safety
belts,
c::> page 151, Airbag system and
c::> page 17 4, Child Safety.
A WARNING
T o reduce t he ris k of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas ­
senger seat and the ignition is switc hed
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he fro nt 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 authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 175 Schematic overv iew: keep un used safety belts
away from children in child safety seats.@-oute r rear
safety belt,
@ -center rear safety belt
Child S afety 1 79
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower 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 ad jacent seat
c::> fig. 175. When doing so, do not engage
the switchable locking retractor! You shou ld
not hear a "click ing" sound when wind ing up
the safety belt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat installed with
the LA TCH lower anc horages or with the
standa rd safety be lt or a child in a booster
se at o n the rea r seat co uld play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tang led . This cou ld cause the chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-A lways secure unused rear seat sa fe ty
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re­
tracto r when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restra int .