2016 AUDI A8 Owners Manual

Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh mor e than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their si ze and weight¢
fig. 175 and
¢fig. 176 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a child to
ride . The front sea t is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat .
It is a
very dangerous place for an infa nt or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat , using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth ­
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inf lates.
A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the bac krest, center arm rest , door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust the rear
seat head restraint if it is diff icult to install
the ch ild seat with the head restraint in
Ch ild safety
place ¢ page 132. Driving with head re­
stra ints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck in­
jury dramat ically .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c> page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 168, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional c ircumstances req uire the use
of a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child 's sa fe ty and
well -being req uire that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-fac ing 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 instr uc­
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost pos ition of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possib le before
installing the ch ild restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost pos ition in its fore and aft ad­
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up ­
right position .
- Make sure that the
PAS SENGER AIR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen ­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
175

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 .,..

body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro­
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain frontal
collisions.
_&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­ properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer­
gency situat ion. To help red uce the risk of se­
rious personal injury and/or death:
- T he shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie f lat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and snug.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢page 138.
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust the rear
seat head restraint if it is difficu lt to install
the ch ild seat with the head restraint in
place
¢page 132. Driv ing with head re­
straints that are not properly adj usted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck in­
jury dramatically .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­ ward, sitting sideways or out of position in any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will result in ser ious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
Ch ild safety
circumstances the PASSEN GER AIR BAG
O FF
light must come on and stay on, when­
ever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OF F light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described¢
page 156, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
-Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER A IR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used¢
page 138, Safety belts,
¢ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 168, Important information .
Securing child seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas­ senger's seat safety belt have a convertible lock­
i ng retractor for child restra ints . The safety be lt
must be lo ck ed so that be lt webb ing cannot un­
ree l. The ret racto r can be activated to lock the
sa fety be lt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during norma l driving. A chi ld
safety seat can on ly be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the ch ild and
child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
shou ld always ride in the back seat proper ly re­
strained for their age and size.
_&. WARNING
-Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a co llision.
-
177

Child safety
-Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rear safety belt is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se­
cure a child restraint .
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger airbag in­
flates.
- 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 or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing child
safety seat on the rear seat.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used ¢
page 168. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 147, Child
restraints on the front seat- some impor­
tant things to know.
178
A WARNING , .
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described¢
page 156, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in­
jury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint up, against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
-

adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
- Make sure that the
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in­
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir­
cumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen­
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight-mat in the seat and register a heavi ­
er weight in the Advanced Airbag System .
The heavier weight registered can make the system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when
it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
sta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the child sa fety seat manuf actu rer 's
ins truc tions when ins talling a child restraint in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child rest raint on a seat, prefe rably
on the rear sea t.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path ¢,&. .
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into th e retractor un­
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat .
.. You should hear a ''cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con ­
vert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on the belt .
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertib le locking re­
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint or an improp­
e rly installed child restra int can cause se rious
personal injury or death in a crash .
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re­
tr actor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An un locked safety be lt retrac­
tor cannot hold the chi ld safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash. .,.
179

Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up­
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at­
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c:::> page 168 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 147, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible Locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way bock into the re­
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
Th@ belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position . The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac­
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un­
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature. If the
convertible lock ing retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re­ straints while the vehicle is moving . You
180
would not be restrained and could be seri­
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 168. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c:::> page 147, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
LATCH system (Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
' Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat, Federal regulations require special lower ancho­
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re­
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni­
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor­
age bars") are used to describe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per­
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility to
protect the child in a collision. Installing a child
restraint that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their child seats with hook-on or ...

push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps .
I n addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
child restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to h elp keep the child restraint
firm ly in place.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the child restra int you
intend to install in your veh icle.
- Never install a child restra int w ithout a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruct ions
requ ire the top tether strap to be used .
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH lower
anchorage po ints can lead to injury in a colli ­
sion. The LATCH lower anchorage points are designed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correc tly fit ted child res traints .
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchorage poin t.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
item to the LATCH lower anchorages .
Location
F ig. 178 Sche matic overv ie w : LA TCH an ch orag e point loc a­
t io ns
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which a re equipped with the lower
ancho rages system.
Ch ild sa fety
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig . 1 79 Rear seatbacks: loca tor bu tto ns for low er an cho­
r ages
Fi g. 180 Rea r seat s: lowe r anchorage bracket lo ca tion s
Att achment lo cator markers for lower
anchorages
:r
~ (
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback in­
dicate the lower anchorage locations on the rear
seating pos itions
Q fig . 179.
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo­
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat
cush ion
c::> fig. 180 .
Lower anchorages secu re the child res traint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts .
Anchorages provide a secure and easy -to -use at ­
tachment and min imize the possibility of improp­
er child restraint installat ion.
All child restra ints manufactured after Septem­
ber 1 , 2002, must have lower anchorage attach ­
ments fo r the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended for installation and attachment of .,_
181

Child safety
child restraints specifically certified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child restraints that
are not equipped with the lower anchorage at­
tachments can still be installed in compliance
with the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions on using vehicle safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the child restraints
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper in­
stallation of the child restra int and proper
use of the lower anchorages or safety belts
in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages.
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mation about child restra ints in this chapter
and WARNINGS ~page 168, Child safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven­
ience of the lower anchorages and are available
from your authorized Audi dealer .
Fig . 1 81 Outer rear seats: insta llin g the guidance fixt ure s
Fig. 182 Close -up : f itt ing t he gu idance fixtu re over the
l owe r an ch orage bracket
182
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo­
cated on the rear seats between the seatback and
the seat cushion . Special guidance fixtures in­
crease the conven ience of the lower anchorages
and help protect the seat material from possible
damage when installing child restraints .
Installin g the guidance fi xtur es
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the low ­
er anchorages are visible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part number
facing downward and push it in the direction of the arrow onto the anchorage ~ fig . 182.
.,. Make sure that each of the two gu idance fix­
tures per seat snaps into place.
Removing the guid ance fi xture s
.,. Remove the child restraint according the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions.
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the low ­
er anchorages are visible .
.,. Pull off the guida nee fixtures from the lower
anchorages .
.,. Always remove the g uidance fixtures and keep
them in a safe place when not in use.
You may find it easier to install child restra ints
equipped with hooks attached to str aps w ithout
the gu idance fixtures in place. If this is the case,
r emove the guidance f ixtures by pull ing them off
the anchorages . However, the gu idance fixtures
can help you to locate the LATCH anchorages.
A WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or lower
anchorages can cause ser ious personal injury
in a crash .
- Always carefully follow the ch ild restraint
manufacturer's instructions for proper i n­
stallation and use of child restraint systems .
- Never use the LATCH or tether anchorages
to attach safety belts or other kinds of occu­
pant restraints.
- Ch ild restraint tether attachments and low­
er attachments are only desig ned to secure
a child restraint that has been eq uipped to
use these an cho rages.