2017 AUDI A8 window

Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar­
ized here what you need to know about safety
belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1. Al­
ways observe the information and warnings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the fea­
tures descr ibed in this sections may be standard
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in­
terest of your passengers .
-
-Always keep the complete Owner's Litera­
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the driver and
passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques­
tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re­
straint system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit­
uations.
~ Your safety and the safety of your passengers
~ should not be left to chance. Advances in tech-,..._
~ nology have made a var iety of features available 0
~ to help reduce the risk of injury in an accident. ' Driving safety
The following is a list of just a few of the safety
features in your Audi:
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all pas-
senger seat ing pos itions,
- safety belt pretensioners,
- safety belt force limiters for the front seats,
- safety belt height adjustment systems for the
front seats,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats
- side airbags in the front seats and outer rear
seats,
- side curtain airbags,
- special LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- head restraints for each seating position,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features, can work to­ gether as a system to help protect you and your
passengers in a w ide range of accidents . These
features cannot work as a system if they are not
always correctly adjusted and correctly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and signals are operat­
ing correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
.,. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside .
.,. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
c:c.> page 65, c:c.> page 63 .
.,. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals.
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height.
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height.
.,. Make sure to use the right child restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
¢ page 248, Child
safety. ..,.
207

Driving safety
-Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas­
senger 's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen­
ger's knees and the lower part of the instru ­
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas­
senger seat and head restraint properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument panel, out of the window, etc . The
airbag system and safety be lt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash.
- Never dr ive with the backrest reclined or
ti lted far back! The farther the backrests are
ti lted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢
page 248. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat ¢
page 226.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must si t upright with both
feet on the floor consi sten t with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve ­
hicle is in use .
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow­
ing:
.,. For adjustable head restraints: Adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi ­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
s ib le, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
~page 210.
210
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
q page 221.
.,. Make sure tha t children are always properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age
q page 248 .
A WARNING
Passengers who are imprope rly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety be lts are properly posi­
tioned on the body and secure ly latched . By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger in­
creases the risk of personal injury from im­
properly positioned safety belts!
-Always ad just the head restraint properly so
that it can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an impor­
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys­
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations .
Fig. 219 Head rest raint : viewed from the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection .
.,. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi-
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it .,._

0 co .... N ,..._
N .... 0 0 :c ' is as close to this position as possible.
¢fig. 219 .
Adjusting head restraints ¢page 58.
Crash -active head restraints
In the event of a rear -end collision, it is possible
that the crash-active head restraints on the driv­
er's seat and front passenger's seat
1> are trig­
gered. On head restraints that have been trig­
gered, the padding protrudes forwards by several
centimeters. Drive the vehicle to your authorized
Audi dealer without delay and have the function
of the active head restraints restored.
_& WARNING
Driving without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck injury
dramatically. To help reduce the r isk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted .
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraint so the upper edge is as
even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not possib le, try to adjust the head
restra int so that it is as close to this position
as possible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
wh ile driving. If you have dr iven off and
must adjust the driver head rest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to adjust the head restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size¢
page 248.
-
l) Ve hicles w ith recl inin g rear seat: This functio n is not avai l­
able fo r th e fro nt passenger's seat .
Driving safety
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or death . Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im­
proper seat ing positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to cr it­
ical 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 proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
.,. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
¢ .,& .
The following bulletins list only some sample po ­
sitions that will increase the risk of serious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback recl ined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
211

0 co .... N ,..._
N .... 0 0 :c ' -Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving . Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus­ ing a loss of veh icle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment.
L oose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac­
teristics. Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden vehicle ma­
neuver or in a collision.
.. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com­
partment.
.. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as far forward as
possible.
.,. Secure luggage items using the tie-downs pro­
vided
¢ page 65.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per­ sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage com­
partment using the tie-down hooks and
suitable straps .
Driving safety
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles. To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control lead ing to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in m ind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible .
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driving
¢page 207.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
f itting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation
,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the power roof and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the r isk of
in jury when the vehicle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
-
213

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 294.
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 213, 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
214
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>

Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith Audi p re se nse
Pre sense can initiate steps to protect vehicle oc­
cupants in certain dangerous situations. The
fu nctions described a re available depending on
ve hicle equi pment:
Audi pre sense basic
The fo llow ing funct ions can be triggered in cer­
tain driving situations:
- Tighten ing of the safety belts (for examp le,
during heavy braking): the front safety belts
have reversible belt tensioners. If a coll is ion
does not occur, the safety belts loosen slightly
and are ready to trigger again.
- Closing the w indows and the sunroof*
The function of the pre sense basic is activated at
a speed of 20 mp h (30 km/h) or higher. The de ­
p loyment time is adapted in the drive select dy­
namic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with adaptive
cru ise control*)
Pre sense front contains the f unctions of pre
sense basic. In add ition, the likelihood of a rear­
end collis ion with the vehicle ahead is also calcu­
lated, withi n the limits of the system. If the risk
of a collision is detected, the following functions
can t rigge r:
- Audi braking gua rd¢
page 99
- Tensioning of the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof *
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with side
a ss ist* )
Pre sense rear contains the functions of p re sense
basic. In addition, the li ke lihood of a rear-end
col lision from the vehicle be hind is a lso ca lculat­
ed, w ith in the lim its of the system .
If the risk of a
collis ion is detected, the following functions can
tr igger:
- Tens ioning of the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof *
216
- Adjusting the seats: the settings for the powe r
head restrains, the upper sections of the backr­
ests and the pne umatic side bolsters* change
on the front seats and the outer rear seats*. If
a collision does not occur, the seat sett ings
that were previously used are restored .
Audi pre sen se plus
Pre sense plus contains the f unctions of p re
sense front and pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense : Unavailable
Preventative passenger protection is not ava ila­
ble. Drive to yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r o r au­
t h ori zed Aud i Service Facility immedia tely to have
t h e malfunct ion corre cte d.
.&_ WARNING
Pr e sense canno t overcome natura l phys ica l
l aws . It is a system designed to assist and it
cannot prevent a co llision. Do not let t he in­
creased sa fety provided tempt you into tak ing
risks . T his could inc rease your ris k of a colli ­
sion.
- The system can dep loy inco rrectly.
- Please note that the sensors do not always
detect a ll objects. Th is increases the r is k of
a co llision.
- Pre sense does not react to peop le or ani­
mals or objects that a re c rossing the vehi­
cle's path or are difficu lt to detect
¢page 94.
- Ref lective objects such as gua rd ra ils o r the
entrance to a tunne l, heavy rain and ice can
affect the funct io n of the radar sensors a nd
t he system 's ability to de tect a collision risk.
(D Note
The sensors can be d isplaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper , wheel housing a nd
underbody . Pre sense can be impaired by this .
Have an autho rized Aud i deale r or autho rized
A udi Service Fac ility ch eck their f unct io n. .,..

C) C0 ....
"' " "' .... 0 0 :r 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
q table Interior
cleaning on page 308.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everbody buckle up!
Fig. 226 Belt 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 54, Seats and storage.
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis
¢ fig . 226, ¢ ,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il yo u hear i t latch secu rely .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
Aut omatic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the sho ulder belt. This feat ure
locks the belt when the bel t is pulled out fast, .,..
221

Airbag syste m
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side airbags may be triggered
together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position¢
page 244.
-If the airbag indicator light¢ page 23
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Aud i dealer .
It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig. 237 In flated side airbags o n left s ide of vehicle , rear
side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the a irbag is filled
wi th propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG".
It ex­
pands between the side trim pane l and the pas­
senger. In orde r to help provide this additional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fraction of a second at very high speed and with great force . The supplemental side airbag could
injure you if your seating position is not proper or
upright or if items are located in the area where
the supplemental side airbag expands . This ap­
plies especially to children ¢
page 248, Child
safety.
Supplemental side a irbags inf late be­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
coll ision ¢
fig. 23 7.
244 Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag dep loys.
This is norma l and does not mean there is a fire
i n the veh icle.
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemen tal restrain ts . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act accordingly to help the safety belts
and airbags do their job to prov ide supplemental
protect ion.
A WARNING
An inflating side a irbag can cause se rious or
fata l injury. Imp roperly weari ng safety be lts
and improper seating posit ions increase the
risk of serious persona l injury and dea th
whenever a vehicle is being used .
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the s upplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always s it in an upright position and never
l ean against the area where the supp le­
mental s ide airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest their
head against the side tr im panel in the
area where the supplemental side airbag i nflates .
- Always make sure that safety be lts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone s itting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window .
-Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interfe rence .
- Never insta ll sea t covers or replacement
u pholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi .