2017 AUDI A8 airbag

Driving sa fe ty
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the r isk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
stay in a proper seat ing position and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
being used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
Always ma ke sure that the knee airbag can in­
flate without inter ference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an acc ident by interfering with the
way the airbag deploys or by being pushed in­
to you as the airbag deploys.
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat. If the airbag dep loys, th is can result in
serious or fatal injuries .
- No objects of any k ind shou ld be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat . Bulky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can hamper or p revent
prope r deployment of the airbag. Small ob­
jects can be th rown through the vehicle if
the a irbag deploys and injure you or your
passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any o ther object.
Make sure that all peda ls move freely without in­
terference and that noth ing prevents them from
returning to the ir origina l positions.
O nly use floor mats that leave the peda l area free
and can be secured w it h floor mat fasteners.
212
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav ­
el is required to bring the vehicle to a fu ll stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle contro l and increase the r isk of seri­
ous injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal area
and interfere with pedal funct ion. In case of
sudden braking or an acc ident , you would
not be able to b rake o r acce le rate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall or
move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely a t­
tached to the floor mat fas teners and do not in­
terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
.,. Make sure that the floor mats are properly se­
cured and cannot move and in terfere w ith the
pedals ¢_& .
Use only floor mats that leave the peda l area un­
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they can not s lip out of position . You can obtai n
su itable floor mats from your author ized Audi
Dealer .
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Aud i.
Floor mats used in yo ur vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly secur ing the floor
mats will prevent them from sliding into posi­
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im­
pair safe operat ion of your vehicle in other ways .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a
loss of vehicle contro l and increase the r is k of
serious pe rsonal injury.
- Always make sure that floo r mats are prop­
erly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in place to preven t them
from s lipping and interfer ing wi th the ped­
als or the ab ility to cont rol the vehicle .

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' @ Tips
-Certain pre sense f ront functions switch off
when sport mode is swi tch ed of f or when
driving in reverse .
- The pre sense functions may not be avai la­
ble if there is a malfunction in the ESC sys­
tem or the airbag contro l modu le.
- The pre sense front/plus funct ions are not
available if the re is a ma lf u nction in the
adaptive c ruise contro l* system ¢page 101.
- The pre sense rear/plus f unctions are not
available if the re is a ma lf u nction in the s ide
ass ist* system ¢page 101.
Audi pre sense
217

Safe ty belts
instrument panel, windshield, or whatever else is
in the way
r:!> fig. 223. 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 . 224. 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 . 22 5 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-
220
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 .

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' -The safety belt pretensioners do not dep loy
in minor fronta l, side and rear-end co lli­
s ions .
- A fine dust is released when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners deploy. This is nor­
mal and is not caused by a fire in the vehi­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the veh icle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualified
dealersh ip is familiar w ith these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the informa­
tion to you .
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regu lations if the veh icle or indi­
v idual parts of the system, particularly the
safety be lt o r airbag, a re to be disposed . We
recommend yo u have your author ized Audi
dealer perform this serv ice for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Insta lling, removing,
servic ing or repa iring of belt p retensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wor king cor rect ly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
sys tem w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
e nvironment.
_& WARNING
-
Improper care, serv icing and repa ir proce­
dures can increase the risk o f personal injury
and death by preventing a safety be lt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly:
- The be lt pretensioner system can be activat­
ed only once. If belt pretensioners have
been activated, the system must be re­
placed .
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system .
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Specia l
Safet y be lts
procedures are required fo r removal, instal­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any wo rk on the safety belt system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualified techn ician
who has an Audi approved repa ir manual,
tra ining and special equipment necessary .
(® For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
r ate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
strain t system including ai rbag modu les safe­
ty belts with p re tensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regu lations mus t be ob­
se rved . Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.
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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 208,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 54,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 220,
"' Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢
page 248.
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 208, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment con trols
¢ page 54.
It's especially important that children are proper ­
ly restra ined
¢ page 248 .
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
226
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 co llision. 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 .,.

0 co .... N ,..._
N .... 0 0 :c ' 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
r:::;,page 218.
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 221, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ildren 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
r:::;,page208.
- 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
r:::;, page248 .
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 .,.
227

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 236, 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:
228
- 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 250), 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 208 , 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 23 7, 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 248, 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.

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' -The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's seat may in terfere with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
,&. WARNING
I=
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must i;-
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward -facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjus tment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
wa rd-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure tha t the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restrain t and
not next to or in front of the chi ld res train t
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
tioned.
- Make sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
Airbag sys tem
,&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isplayed whenever a child restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
i gnition is switched on .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on , perform t he checks described
~ page 236, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off t he front passen­
ge r seat an d install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the air bag system inspec ted by your
Aud i dealer immediately.
- Always c are fully follow ins tructions from
child restrain t manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restraints .
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in ­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Imp roper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them f rom providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the chi ld -even
with an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always care fully follow the manufacturer 's
instr uctions provided with the child seat or
car rier.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in ­
jury in a crash.
229