2016 AUDI A8 child seat

Driving safety
-Never leave your vehicle unattended espe­
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug­
gage compartment and close the rear lid be­
coming trapped and unable to get out . Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi­
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage compartment. Vehicle occupants must al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve­
hicle's seating positions.
- Air circulation helps to reduce window fog­
ging . Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel, on the left
side of the luggage compartment. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo­
cated on the driver's side B·pillar. The tire pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capacity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man­
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap­
ter ¢
page 247.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-dow ns to secure your cargo properly
¢ page 135, Loading the luggage compartment .
In a coll ision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in­
jury . Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10 -lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
136
weight of the item. This means that the weight
of the item would suddenly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision like th is.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail during hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent items from shifting or flying forward as dan­
gerous missiles.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
-
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in­
form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com­plaints, it may open an investiga­
tion, and if it finds that a safety
defects exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
11>

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protect ion and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrectly wear safety be lts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must a lso use safety belts.
L ik e all vehicle occ upants, they are mo re
likely to be serio usly injured i f they do not
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. In some
veh icles, there are four seating positions: two in
the front and two in the rear . Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly incre ases the risk of ser io us personal
injury and dea th.
- Never st rap more tha n one person, includ­
ing small ch ild ren, into any be lt .
It is espe­
c ia lly da ngerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap .
138
-Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available .
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up .
F ig. 153 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in the instrument clus·
ter -en larged
Befor e dri ving off , al way s;
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' N .,, 0
"' .. m
.. Make sure that your passengers a lso buckle up
and properly wear the ir safety belts.
.. Protect children with a c hild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ign ition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition, you will hear
a war ning tone for a certain period of time.
Faste n your safety belt and make su re that your
passenge rs al so properl y put on thei r safety
b e lts .
&_ WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to red uce the risk of ser io us
inj ury and death in a utomobile accidents.
For your protection and that of yo ur passen­
gers, a lways correct ly wear safety belts
when t he vehicle is moving . ..,.

A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correct ly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are cor rect ly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat .
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard­
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder be lt . However, spe­
cial clips may be requ ired for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i­
dent. Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors are dam-
Safet y bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thor ized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inert ia reel~
table Cleaning inte­
rior on page 208 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 159 Be lt buckle and tongue on the driver 's seat
To provide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢
page 58, General information.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis
¢ /J:::.. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il yo u hear i t latch secu rely
¢ fig. 159 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is secure ly
latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retra ctors
E ve ry safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt ret ractor on the shoulder belt. This feat ure .,..
141

Safe ty belts
locks the belt when the belt is pu lled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt p reten sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c> page 144. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::> page 18.
Con vertibl e loc king r etracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
c>page 177.
_&. WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c::> page 142,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
prope rly positioned on the body.
- Never a ttach the safety belt to the buck le
for ano ther seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uck le wi ll reduce safe ty belt effec­
t iveness and can cause ser ious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not p roper ly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convert ible lock ing retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c::> page 179.
@ Tips
For information on safety be lt pretensioners,
refer to
c::> page 144.
142
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 160 Safety belt position
Use the height adjustment to change the positio n
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts.
_&. WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it s its as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdome n. T he belt sho uld a lways fit
snug ly
c::> fig. 160. Pu ll on the bel t to tigh ten
if necess ary.
- A loose-fit ting safety belt can ca use serious
in ju ries by s hifting its posi tion on yo ur body
from the strong bones to mo re v ulnerab le,
so ft tissue and cause serious in jury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS an d
other impor tan t information
c::> page 140 .

Safety belts
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important informat ion
c:> page 140 .
(D Tips
You can also adjust the height of the front
seats to change the position of the safety
belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly posit ioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effective­
ness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body . Improper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
... Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle whi le traveling
c:> & .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seat ing pos ition whenever the veh icle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> page 140.
144
Belt tensioners
' How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts
are tensioned automatically.
Rever sible safety belt tensioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversible tensioners. The following
functions are available when the driver's/front
passenger 's safety belts are fastened:
- Automatic tensioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or vehicle
speed. To switch the automatic tensioners off,
select the following in the MMI:
!CARI function
button
> Car systems > Vehicle settings >
Seats > Driver's seat or Passenger's seat > Au­
tomatic belt tensioner
> Off.
-In certa in driving situations , the safety belts
may tighten with a reve rsib le tensioning func­
tion
c:> page 187.
- Th e safety be lts may also tighten with this re-
vers ible tensioning funct ion in minor collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped w ith safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end collisions of great se­
verity and in a rollover. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt slack
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 145.
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrectly.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
nic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced.
(1) Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners can
only deploy once. ..,_

Airbag syste m
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop ­
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
ge rs , before driving off, always :
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 130,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 59,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 140,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
¢ page 168.
In a coll is io n, airbags mus t inflate within the
blink of an eye and wi th considerab le force. The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driv er or th e front s eat passeng er is not s eated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all t imes.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal collisions¢
page 130, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment con trols
¢ page 59.
It's especially important that children are proper ­
ly restra ined
¢ page 168 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the drive r side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
146
reaching the peda ls, or if yo u have concerns w ith
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your a u­
thori zed Audi dea ler or qua lified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ib le modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and infla te between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
t h e front passenger . The airbags w il l deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see t hrou gh the windsh ie ld again
without i nterruption.
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even rea lize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso infla te
with a g re at deal of force and nothing should be
i n the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant 's forward move­
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting pa rts of
the ins ide of the vehicle while reduc ing the fo rces
acting on the occupant dur ing the cras h. In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and uppe r body i n the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower pa rts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle decelerat ion rate caused by
t h e coll is io n and regis tered by the ele ctroni c con­
tro l unit . If this ra te is be low the refe rence value
programmed in to the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be trigge red, even tho ugh the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the collision. Vehi­
cle damage, rep air costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not .
Since the circumstances will vary cons iderab ly
between one co llision and another, it is not possi ­
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always t rigger t he a irbags . Important
factors i nclude, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or
soft) of the object which the ca r hits, the angle of
i mp act , vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will .,.

also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
A lwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in certain kinds of coll is ions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have a lready deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 138.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steering wheel, inves ti­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrest rained, leaning forward, s it­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of in jury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts p roperly
i=> page 141, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­ dren are not properly restra ined, they may
be severe ly injured o r kill ed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­ prope rly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
fro nt sea ts properly.
-
Airb ag sys tem
-Never ride with the back rest recl ined.
-Always sit as fa r as possible from the steer-
ing wheel o r the instrument panel
c::> page 130.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transpo rt objects. Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects nea r the airbags can become
p roje ct il es and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags tha t h ave deployed in a cr ash m ust be
r e p laced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment airbags ap ­
p roved by A udi a nd insta lled by a trained
technici an who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effect iveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important i nformat ion and
heed the WARNINGS for important deta ils
about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 168 .
Even though your veh icle is equipped wit h an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System, make certa in that a ll chil­
dre n, espec ia lly those 1 2 yea rs and yo unger, al­
ways r ide in the back se at prope rly res train ed fo r
their age and size. The ai rbag on t he p asse nger
s ide makes t he fron t seat a potentia lly dange rous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
sa fest p lace for a child in a forward-facing child .,.
147

Airbag syste m
seat. It can be a very dangerous place fo r an
infant or a child in a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been ce rt ified to comp ly with the requirements
of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard (CMVSS)
208 as applica ­
b le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger s ide has been
certified for "suppression " for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
p loyment " for children aged
3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard).
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been tu rned off
by the ele ct roni c con trol unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ign it ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on fo r a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small c hild or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight ­
sensing mat¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l we ight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
a ir bag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a ir bag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does not come
on) .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been turned
off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the condit ions stor ­
ed in its memory.
For e xample, the airbag may deploy if:
148
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed ¢
page 170), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned
off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nstrument cluster and stays on.
The fro nt airbag on the passenge r side m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up­
right with their back against a non-recl ined back­
rest with the ir fee t on the vehicle floor in front of
the sea t is on the front passenger seat
<=> page 130, Proper seating position for the driv ­
er .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in ­
j ury th rough interaction w ith the airbag . "low
risk" deployment occurs in th ose crashes that
take place at lowe r decele rations as defi ned in
the e lec tronic co ntro l unit
¢ page 156, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF light.
Always remembe r, a ch ild seat or i nfant ca rr ie r
i nsta lled on the fron t seat may be s truck a nd
k nocked o ut of pos it ion by the rapid ly inflat ing
passenger 's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag cou ld great ly reduce the effectiveness of the
c hi ld rest raint and even seriously injure the child
during in flat ion.
Fo r th is reason, and beca use the back seat is the
safest place for children - when proper ly restrain ­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c> page 168, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.