2017 AUDI A8 Owners Manual

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc­
cupant and the windows in a side collision
c::>fig. 239.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protection, the
side cur tain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force.
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple­
mental side curtain airbag inflates . This applies
especially to children
c::> page 248.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion " the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys .
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
do their job to provide supplemental protection.
.&, WARNING
-
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating positions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used .
- Never let occupants place any parts of their
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
tain airbags inflate .
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate without interference. Un­
suitable accessories fitted inside the expan­
sion range of a side curtain airbag can dan­
gerously interfere with its function. A de-
Airbag system
ploying head airbag develops enough force
to catapult any piece of add-on component
out of its path of inflation and into the pas­
senger compartment. An occupant hit by
such a projectile can suffer serious injury or
death
c::> page 338, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them (for example pens). If the airbag should deploy,
you could be injured by these objects.
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in an accident.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or, in
the case of shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, only Audi roll-up
sunscreens may be used
c::> page 338, Addi­
tional accessories and parts replacement.
-Always sit in proper seating position and
wear safety belts while traveling so that the
side curtain airbags can help provide protec­
tion .
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side curtain
airbag system, removal and installation of
the airbag components, or other repairs
performed by a qualified dealership . Other­
wise the airbag system may not work cor­ rectly.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the airbag system in any way.
247

Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 219, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
g reater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fully devel­
oped, they require restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, weight, and body struc­
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 -pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adu lt safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an acc ident.
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er must always ride in the back seat properly re­
stra ined for their age and size. If you must insta ll
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
¢
page 22 7. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re­
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air­
bags provide in some kinds of crashes .
For more information please see information
provided by the:
248
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe­
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc.gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right fo r
your chi ld's size ¢
page 251, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion , we cannot re­
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
-All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restra ined prope rly whenever rid ing
in a vehicle. An un restrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag.
-A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acc i­
dent situat ions.

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' A WARNING
Child ren on the front seat of any car even w ith
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. 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 in­
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- 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 in
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear ­
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po­
sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward- facing child restra int .
- Always ma ke sure that the s afety bel t upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
t ioned.
Ch ild safety
-Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
@ Tips
A lways replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle du ring a c rash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not v is ible could cause
i t to fai l in another co llision situat ion.
Advanced front airbag system and children
You r vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd (FMVSS)
208, as we ll as Canada Moto r Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as app licab le a t the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
T he Advanced A irbag system in yo ur vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require­
ments fo r 3- and 6-year old ch ild ren on the pas­
senger side and sma ll adu lts on the driver side.
T he low risk deployment criter ia are intended to
red uce the risk of inju ry t hrough interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by be ing
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been cert ified to comply with the
"supp ression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front a irbag fo r infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in c hild res traints t hat are lis ted in
t h e Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, especially
those 12 yea rs and you nger, sho uld a lways ride
in the back seat proper ly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentia lly dange rous p lace for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place fo r an infant o r a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
249

Child safety
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de­
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight -sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the child and the child safety seat and a child blanket on the front passenger seat . The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de­
sign of the child restraint and its "footprint ", the
size and shape of the bottom of the child re­
straint as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for different
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of­
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard to­
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants
and typical 1 year-old child have been stored in
the control unit of the Advanced Airbag System .
When a child restraint is being used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old child, the
Advanced Airbag System compares the weight
measured by the weight sensing mat with the in­
formation stored in the electronic control unit.
The electronic control unit also registers the ten­
sion on the front passenger safety belt. The ten­
sion on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat will be different for an adult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to the tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a child re­
straint to the seat. The sensor below the latch for
the safety belt for the front seat passenger
measures the tension on the belt. The input from
this sensor is then used with the weight to "de­
cide" , whether there is a child restraint with a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenger
seat and whether or not the airbag must be
turned off.
250
· Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe­
ty Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions . If in exception­
al circumstances you must use it on the front passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa­
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the applicable WARNINGS. Make cer­
tain that the child restraint is correctly recog­
nized by the weight-sensing mat inside the front
passenger seat, that the front passenger airbag
is turned off and that the airbag status is always
correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light.
Many types and models of child restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in­
troduced regularly incorporating new and im­
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
differen t weights and si zes and different 'foot­
prints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with
each and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your vehicle.
For this reason, the United States National High­
way Traffic Safety Administration has published a
list of specific type, makes and models of child
restraints that must be used to certify compli­
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle with the suppression requirements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 25, 2007 Ride AA2403FOF

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4543 December 1, 1999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Grace Snug ride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Viag- September 25, 2007
gio S IP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and convertible
child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Tour iva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Boos-
September 25, 200 7
ter 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion 2S4 December 1, 1999
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Grace ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Grace Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Grace Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
Child safety
- 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immed iately.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categor ies A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
.,. Always use the right child safety seat for each
child and always use it properly ¢
page 254 .
.,. Always carefully follow the chi ld safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe­ ty seat .
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking r etractor on the safety belt
to prevent the chi ld safety seat from moving
~page 258.
.,. Push the chi ld safety seat down with yo ur full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
.,. If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so tight that it causes the
weight-sensing mat to measu re more weight
than is actually on the seat.
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
~page 253.
Always remember: Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especia lly those 12 years and younger,
shou ld a lways ride in the back seat proper ly re-
strained for their age and s ize.
liJJ..
251

Child safety
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.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must always be restrained properly whenev­
er riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child can be injured or killed by being
thrown against the inside of the vehicle or
by being ejected from it during a sudden
maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is at much greater risk of injury or
death by being struck by an inflating air­
bag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select one
that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­ ion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequate contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of child
safety seats and carefully follow the in­
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety belt.
They must always be restrained by a proper child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger .
252
-Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold the
child with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also in­
jure each other in an accident.
- 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 -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem.
- 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.
- Make sure there is enough space in front of
the child in the child seat.
If necessary, ad­
just the angle and position of the seat in
front of the child seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. Always install for­
ward-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require that the following
special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
~

C) C0 ....
"' " "' .... 0 0 :r aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt up­
per anchorage is behind the child restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re­
stra int so that the safety belt will be prop­
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from be ing
moved to the rearmost posit ion in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is in the upr ight position.
-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 du ring
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child res tra ined in a veh i. cl e is
being used~
page 218, Safety belts,
~ page 226, Airbag system and
~ page 248, Child safety.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make s ure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is sw itched on.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSEN GER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Ch ild sa fety
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
F ig. 2 40 Sc hema tic overv iew: keep unused safety belts
away from children in ch ild safety seats.@· ou ter rear
safety belt ,@ -center rear safety belt
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restra int cannot reach
them ~.&. -
- Guide the safety belt webbing behind the head
restraint of the adjacent seat~
fig. 240 . When
doing so, do no t engage the conve rt ible lock ing
ret ractor ! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when wind ing up the safety belt.
- Le t the bel t re tracto r wind up the safety belt
webbing.
& WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with the
L ATCH lower anchorages o r with the s tandard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety be lts and become entangled. Th is
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death .
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly ro uting them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convert ible lock ing re­
tractor when rout ing the safety belts a round
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been ro uted a ro u nd a rear head restra int.
253

Child safety
Child seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward -facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 241 Schema tic overv iew: rearwa rd -facing infan t sea t,
properly installe d on the rea r seat
• When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢ page 258 or install the seat using the LA TCH
attachments.
• Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 253.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats des igned for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in spec ial restraints in which the
chi ld faces the back of the veh icle. These infant
seats support the baby 's back, neck and head in a
crash
¢ fig . 241 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward-facing seat.
254
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death in a crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even w ith an Advanced Airbag System .
A ch ild will be serio usly inju red and can be
killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof ¢
page 22 7, Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in
the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and very small children and cannot p rotect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately i nstall
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used<=)
page 218, Safety belts,
¢ page 226, Airbag system and
¢ page 248, Important information.