2016 AUDI A8 ABS

-Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to persona l injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 154 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 155 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­ ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Veh icle speed is the most significant factor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts
¢fig. 154, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 155 .
Safety belts
The same p rinciples apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to the ir vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 156 A dr iver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig . 157 A rear passe nger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forwa rd and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam v iolently into the steering wheel,
Ill>-
139

Safe ty belts
instrument panel, windshield, or whatever else is
in the way
r:!> fig. 156. This impact with the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be­
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. A irbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in wh ic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed . Unbel ted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the veh icle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injuries can occur .
It is also important for the rear pass engers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers
i n t he re ar seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
~ fig . 157. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
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!
F ig . 1 58 Driver is co rrectly restrai ned in a sudde n brak ing
m aneu ver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap-
140
plied to the body in an accident , and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri­
ous injuries. In add ition, sa fety belts red uce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to cause inju ry .
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re ­
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes .
So, whethe r yo u're on a long trip or just goi ng to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t st at ist ics show that veh i­
cle o ccupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of being injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l­
li sions, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceler ation throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safe ty belts must always be correctly positioned
acros s the strongest bones of your body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de ­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd are not damaged .

Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 163 Location of dr iver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 164 Location of front passenger's airbag: in th e in­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System " in compliance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured. he safe­
ty belts for the seats have "pretensioners" that help to take s lack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety be lts also have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub<=>
fig . 163 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
<=>fig. 164. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
150
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detai led
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and ch ild
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
.&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old ch ild is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating pos ition.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.

Airbag syste m
-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright with
their back against a non -reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Feder ­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as def ined
in the electronic control unit¢
page 156.
Alway s remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat . Please be sure to read the important infor­
mat ion in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed a ll of the WARN INGS.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of inj ury when an ai rbag in­
fla tes, a lways wear safety bel ts p roperly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much h igher .
- Yo u will also re ceive serious injur ies and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag ¢
page 146.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the usef ul life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
152
-
smash the child seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child re ­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenge r seat because of
except ional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immed iate ly install the rear­
facing chi ld seat in a rear seating posit ion
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcums tances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
fron t passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fa cing sea t
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas ­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restrain t
up against or very near the instr ument pan ­
el.
-Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­ bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude t he weight­
sens ing mat, senso rs, wir ing, bracke ts, and
more. The funct ion of the sys tem in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electronic con ­
tro l unit when the ignition is on . The control unit
monitors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the airbag ind icator light on when a malfunction
i n the system components is detected. The func­
tion of the ai rbag ind icator light is described in
greater deta il be low. Because the front .,.

Airbag syste m
@ For the sake of the en vironment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules and
safety belts w ith pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regu lations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requirements and we recom­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
cha nge the way that the Advanced Airbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lower ing the
veh icle, chang ing the stiffness of the suspens ion,
including the spr ings, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and preven t the airbag from deploy­
ing when it should .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced A irbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac­
teristics as the components originally insta l­
led on your veh icle .
- Never use tire-rim comb inations that have
not been approved by Audi.
160
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt buckle
and the center console can cause the sensors in the buckle to send the wrong information
to the electronic contro l module and prevent
the Advanced A irbag System from wo rking
p roperly.
- Always make sure that noth ing can inte rfe re
w ith the safety belt buckles and that they
are not obst ructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 167 Driver's kn ee ai rbag
The driver knee airbag is in the inst rument panel
u nderneath the s teer ing whee l
~ fig. 16 7, the
airbag fo r the passenger is at about the same
height in the instrument panel underneath the
glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
the d river's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas and supp lements the protec ­
tion prov ided by the safety belts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags a lso
deploy in frontal coll is ions when the deployment
th reshold stored in the control unit is met
~ page 154, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In add ition to their normal safe ty f unct ion, safe-
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in ..,

Child safety
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall .
Fig. 177 Rear seat: ch ild proper ly restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chi ld ren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly
over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster seat.
• The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelv is and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
• If you must transport an older child in a boos­
te r seat on the front passenger seat, you can
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c> page 173.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
176
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro­
priate booste r seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt
over the chi ld's body is very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos­
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under m ust
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) ta ll can generally use the vehicle 's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regard less of how big the
c hi ld is. Always remember that children do not
have the p ronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the
ve­
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
c hi ld's safety absolutely requ ires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pe lvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerab le force . In order to do
i ts job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu­
pant
moves forward into the airbag.
A ve hicle occupant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury .
In order for the a irbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of exceptional c ircumstances, be properly
re stra ined and as far away from the a irbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's .,..

Smart Technology
shared, please see your contract with the
wireless te lecommunications provider and the
"About Audi connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI:
! MENUI button> Audi connect> About
Audi connect.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of skid­
ding and loss of vehicle control. It works only
when the engine is running. ESC detects certain
difficult dr iving situations, including when the
veh icle is beginn ing to spin (yaw) out of contro l
and helps you to get the vehicle back under con­
trol by se lectively braking the wheels, and/or re­
ducing engine power and providing steering as­
sistance to help hold the vehicle on the driver's
intended course. The indicator light
GI in the in­
strument cluster blinks when ESC is taking action
to help you control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations. It is important to remember
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not always be able to help out under all con­
ditions you may come up against . For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
situations where there is a sudden change in the
coefficient of friction of the road surface. When
there is a section of dry road that is suddenly cov­
ered with water, slush o r snow , ESC cannot per­
form the same way it wou ld on the dry surface. If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa­
ter instead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
able to he lp you steer the vehicle because contact
with the pavement has been interrupted and the
vehicle cannot be braked or steered. During fast cornering, part icularly on w inding roads, ESC
cannot always deal as effective ly w ith difficult
driving situat ions than at lower speeds . When
towing a trailer, ESC is not able to help you re­
ga in control as it would if you were not towing a
trai ler.
Always adjust your speed and driving sty le to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC cannot
override the vehicle's physical limits, increase the
190
available traction, or keep a vehicle on the road if
road departure is a result of driver inattention.
Instead, ESC improves the possib ility of keeping
the vehicle under control and on the road during extreme maneuvers by using the driver's steering
inputs to help keep the vehicle going in the in­
tended direction . If you are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC
can provide any assistance, you may not exper i­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certa in s itua­
tions when you need less traction, you can sw itch
off ASR by press ing the button above
~ page 192, fig. 186 the selector lever. Be sure
to switch ASR on again when you no longer need
l ess traction.
The following systems are integrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up when
braking. The vehicle can still be steered even dur ­
i ng hard braking . Apply steady pressure to the
brake pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A pulsing in
the brake pedal indicates that the system is help ­
i ng you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking dis­
tance. It increases braking power when the dr iver
presses the brake pedal quickly in emergency sit­
uations. You must press and hold the brake pedal
u nt il the situation is over. In vehicles with adap ­
tive cruise control*, the brake assist system is
more sensitive if the d ista nee detected to the ve­
hicle ahead is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine powe r when the dr ive wheels
begin to spin and adapts the force to the road
cond itions. This makes it easier to start, acceler­
ate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other wheels.
This function is not available at higher speeds .

In extreme cases, EDL automatically switches off
to help keep the brake on the braked wheel from
overheating. EDL w ill switch on aga in a utomati­
cally when conditions have returned to normal.
Ste ering recommendat ion
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by chang ing
the s teering torque .
I n vehicles with dynamic steering*, ESC also
h e lps to s tabilize the stee ring in critical s itua­
tions.
Selective wh eel torqu e control
Select ive whee l torque control is used when driv­
in g on curves . T he front wheel on the inside of
the cu rve or both wheels o n the inside of the
curve are br aked selec tively as needed . This al ­
l ows more precise driv ing in curves . The applica­
b le system may not activate when driving in wet
or snowy conditions.
Automatic post-collision braking system
The "Automatic post-co llision bra king system"
can help to reduce the ris k of slid ing and of other
coll is ions after an accident. If the airbag contro l
module detects a col lision above a certain vehicle
speed, the vehicle is b raked by t he ESC.
The vehicle does not b rake automatica lly if :
- the driver p resses the accelerator pedal, or
- the braking force generated by the pressed
brake pedal is greate r than the brak ing force
that wou ld be initiated by the system, or
- the ESC, the brake system or the vehicle electri ­
ca l system are not f unction ing .
Sma rt Technology
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems cannot
overcome the limits posed by natural physi­
cal laws . This is especia lly important on s lip­
pe ry o r we t roads .
If the systems beg in act­
i n g to stab iliz e your ve hicle, yo u should im­
mediately change yo ur speed to ma tch the
road and traffic con dit ions . Do not let the
increased safety provided by these systems
tempt you to take r isks. Do ing so will in­
crease the r isk of a loss of vehicle contro l,
coll is ion and serious pe rsonal in juries.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions. The risk of losing con­
trol of the vehicle increases when driving too fast, especially through curves and on
slippery or wet roads, and when driving too
close to vehi cles up ahead. The ESC and its
i n teg ra ted systems ca nnot alw ays preven t
coll is io ns -the re is s till a risk of accide nts!
- Always accelerate w ith specia l care on even,
smooth s urfaces su ch as those that are wet
or covere d wi th ice and snow. The d rive
whee ls can spin eve n wit h these assistance
systems that cannot always help to reduce
the risk of loss of vehicle contro l.
(D Tips
-ABS a nd ASR only wo rk cor rec tly when all
four wheels a re equipped wi th identi cal
tires. Diffe rent tire s izes can lead to a red uc­
tion i n engine power .
- You may hear noises when the systems de ­
scribed are working .
191