2015 AUDI A8 ignition

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 .
II>

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.
II>-

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If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OF F
light will stay on. Nev­
er insta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 153, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 174, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c omes
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
O FF
ligh t stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by switc hing the igni­
tion off and then switching it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
insta lled and that the sa fety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
ro uted th roug h the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint manufacturer 's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen ­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled t ight . The belt
mus t not be loose o r have loops of slack so
that the senso r below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job ¢
page 184.
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of t he ch ild and child sea t are no t be­
ing transported on the front passenger sea t;
- make su re that the safety be lt tension sen­
so r is not b locked . Shake the safety be lt
latch on the front passenger seatbac k and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
child seat to the front passenger seat , make
s ur e that it is not so tig ht that it ca uses the
weight-sensing mat to meas ure more
weight than is actually on the seat.
A irbag system 163
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con­
ti nu ous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restra int off the front passen -
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur Audi dealer immed iate ly .
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make s ure that the c hild is properly restrain­
ed in a ch ild rest ra int that is appropriate for
its si ze and age.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht sho uld
NOT come on when t he ignitio n is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes fo r about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ poge 134, Prope r occupant seating posi­
tions,
-the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
a bove the fron t passenger door o r su pport­
ing their weight on the armres t,
- the safe ty be lt is be ing properly wo rn and
t ha t the re is no t a lot o f sla ck in the safety
be lt webb ing ,
- acce sso ry sea t covers or cushions or other
t hings tha t may cause an in correct reading
or imp ression on the weight-sensing mat
unde r th e upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not bee n left in
the safety be lt latch for the front passenger
seat.
I n add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
a irbag status.
•
•

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. .,,_

17 2 Airbag system
in a side collision. The side curtain airbag in­
f lates in side impacts and on ly when the vehi­
cle acce lerat ion reg istered by the contro l unit
is high enough. If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision .
It is not possible to de­
fine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact , since the c ir­
cumstances w ill vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
vehicle speed, etc.
c:> page 172, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a co lli­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide p rotection .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety be lt and wear ing it prope rly . T his
i s ano ther reason why you sho uld always wear
your safety be lts, not jus t be ca use the law re­
qu ires you to do soc;,
page 143, General
notes.
It
is impor tant to remember that whi le the
side curta in ai rbag sys tem is designed to he lp
reduce the like lihood o f serious injuries, other
inj uries, for example, swelling, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated wit h
these airbags upon deployment . Remember
too, these airbags w ill deploy only once and
only in certain kinds of accidents - your safety belts are a lways there to offer p rotection .
The side curtain airb ag system basic ally
consists of:
- The electronic control module and externa l
s ide impact senso rs
- The side curtai n airbags above the front and
rear side w indows - The airbag indicator light in the
instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
to make certain i t is func tioning properly at all
t imes . Each time yo u sw itch on the ign ition,
t h e ai rbag system indicator light will come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignition is sw itched off,
- in side co llisions whe n the accele ration
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end col lisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts a nd the airbag system will
only provide pro te ction when occup ant s
are i n the proper seating posi tion
c:> page 58, General recommendations.
- If th e airb ag ind ic a tor light~ page 18
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system ins pected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained .
Fig. 174 Illust rat ion of p rincip le : I n flated side curtai n
airbags o n th e left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows in a side co llisi on
u, N g
± .. 03
c:> fig . 174 . ..,_

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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 ..,.
•
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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. ..,. •
•

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 .