2018 AUDI A8 light

u. co ..... N
" N ..... 0 0 :c ' his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined ¢
page 209, Correct
passenger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weig ht off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their we ight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
th ings that may cause an incorrect read ing or
impression on the weight-sens ing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenge r seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF or PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG ON
w ill br iefly appear in the instru­
ment cluster display . T his is to inform the dr iver
of the curre nt front passenge r airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator l ight¢
page 23
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by yo ur
au thori zed Au di dealer. It is possible that
the a irbag will in flate when it is not s up­
posed to, or will not inflate when it shou ld .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certain
that all ch ild ren, especially 12 years and
Airbag syste m
younger, always ride on the bac k seat prop­
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing child
seats on the rea r seat
-even w ith an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rea rward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because o f
except ional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
s tay on, immed iate ly ins tall the rea r-facing
child sea t in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rearward­
facing ch ild restraint attached to the front
p a ssenger se at c an put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat . The heav ier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serio us or even fatal injury to the child .
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the airbag as poss ible. The back res t
m ust be adjusted to an upr igh t position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
--
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after tak ing the steps
described above, make sure the adult is p roperly sea ted and restra ined a t one of the
rear sea ting posit ions.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r before transpo rting anyone on
the front passenge r seat.
239

Airbag syste m
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen ­
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air ­
bag on the passenger side w ill be turned off,
and the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light will
stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Install ing, remov­
i n g, servic ing o r repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a pa rt of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a co llision .
There are some important t hings yo u have to
know to make sure th at the effect iveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that dis carded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
-Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
i ng wheel horn pad or a irbag cover or the in­
strument pa ne l or mod ify them in any way.
-Never attach any objects such as cup holders
o r te lephone mount ings to the surfaces cov­
er ing the ai rbag units.
-For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use on ly a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners cou ld damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or st rengt h of the materia l so
t h at the airbag cannot dep loy and protect
properly.
-Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the stee ring wheel, i nstr ument
pane l, front seats or electrical system (in ­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
ce llular telephones and CB rad ios, etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
240
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
-F or any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
-Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
-Never install seat covers or replaceme nt
upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not bee n specific ally app roved by
A udi.
-Neve r use additional seat c ushi ons that
cover the areas where the side airbags in ­
flate.
-Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs o r to
t h e seam in the area of the s ide airb ag
module mus t always be repai red immedi ­
ate ly by an authorized Audi dealer.
-The airb ag sys tem can be act iv a ted only
once . A fter an airbag has in flated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qua lified tech nic ian who has the technical
information, train ing and spec ial equ ipment
necessary.
-The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new rep lacement
parts des igned and approved espec ially for
your Aud i model version. Replacement of
comp lete airbag systems or airbag compo­
nents must be perfo rmed by qualified work­
shops only. M ake sure that any a irb ag se rv ­
ice act ion is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE ­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
-For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
a lter nator and starter a re separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechnic circu it
interrupter.
-Wo rk on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inte rrupt­
e r must o nly be perfo rmed by a qua lified
dealer
-r isk of an a cciden t!
-If the vehicle or the c ircuit inte rr u pte r is
sc rapped, all appli cable safety p recau tions
mus t be followed.
..,.

Airbag system
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wearing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do
so c:> page 219, Gener ­
al information .
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain kinds of accidents
-your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
example when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts . Th erefore , always wear your
safety belts correctly.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental knee air bag system is des igned to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising and minor
abrasions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates .
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- The electronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollove rs
242
-in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
indicator light is
on) ¢ page 23 .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
r::;> page 235 .
- If the airbag indicator light c:> page 23
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags .
Fig. 234 Inflated a irbags protec ting in a fronta l co llis io n
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front passen­
ger dep loy in certain but not all fronta l collisions.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a
prope llant gas, and inflate between the lower
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower part of the instrument panel and the
front passenger
c:> page 235 , fig. 231.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of inj ury to the lower ex­
tremities.
All of this takes pla ce in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
.,,.

Airbag system
-the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- two rear side airbags
- the airbag warnin g light in the inst rument clus -
ter.
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you sw itch on the ign ition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The sid e airbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
t he dr iver's, front and rear passenger's upper tor­
so on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a
side co llision . The airbag dep loys only in side im­
pacts and on ly when the ve hicle acceleration reg ­
istered by the control unit is high enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in­
to the control un it, the side curta in a irbag w ill
not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision.
It is
not poss ib le to define an airbag triggering range
that will cover eve ry poss ible angle of impact,
since the circumstances will vary considerab ly be ­
tween one collision and another . Important fac­
tors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the impacting object, the ang le of im­
pact, vehicle speed, etc .
c> page 245, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in pos it ion in the event of a s ide collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu ­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the s ide airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wearing your safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you s hou ld always wear you r safety
be lts, not just because the law requ ires you to do
so c> page 219, General information .
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental s ide a irbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelih ood of se rious injur ies, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising, and minor
244
abrasions can also be associated with deployed
side airbags . Remember too, side airbags wi ll de­
ploy only once and only in certain kinds of acci­
dents - your safety belts are always there to offer
protect ion.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over-sens itive or fa iled airbag activat ion. In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may
i nflate . Remember too, that air bags w ill deploy
o nl y once and only in certain kinds of collisions -
your safety be lts are always there to offer protec­
t ion in those accidents in wh ich airbags a re not
s uppo sed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when t he ign ition is switched off
- in side collisions whe n the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end coll is ions
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents th e front airbags, side
curtain airbags and sid e airbags may be trigg ered
together.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seat ing position
c> page 245.
-If the airbag indicator light c> page 23
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate w hen it should.

Airb ag syste m
by being pushed into you as the airbag in­
flates.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone brackets, or even Large, bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de­ ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de­ ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passen­
gers to travel in this position.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only for
Lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere w ith side airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side a irbag mod ule m ust always
be repa ired immed iately by an authorized
Audi dealer .
- If children are seated imp roperly, their risk
of injury increases in the case of an acc ident
¢ page 249, Child safety.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag system in any way.
- In a side collision, side a irbags w il l not func­
t ion properly if sensors cannot correctly
measure increasing air pressure ins ide the
doors when air escapes through larger, un­
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive with inter ior door tr im panels
removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door panel and the
open ings they leave have not been proper­
ly closed.
2 4 6
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers or
other equipment is installed in the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dea ler or qualified work­
shop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide sup­
plemental protection to properly restrained oc ­
cupants.
Fig. 237 S id e curt ain airbags, driver's sid e: side curtain air­
bag location
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the interior above the front and rear side win­
dows¢
fig. 237. They are identified by the word
"AIRBAG" on the windshield frame and the cen­
ter roof p illar .
The side curtain airbag system supplements the
safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso on the
s ide of the vehicle that is struck in a side colli­
sion. The side curtain airbag inflates in side im­
pacts and only when the vehicle acceleration reg­
istered by the control unit is high enough. If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in­
to the control unit, the side airbags will not be
triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision .
It is not pos­
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possible angle of impact, since
..,.

lL t:0 ....
'"" " '"" .... 0 0 :c ' the circumstances will vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
c> page 247, How side curtain air­
bags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in posit ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curta in airbags can provide protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your veh icle . Always re ­
member t hat the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wea ring your safety belt
and wear ing it properly . T his is anothe r reason
why you should always wear your safety be lts,
not just because the law requi res you to do so
¢ page 219, General information.
It is important to remember that while the s ide
curta in a irbag system is des igned to he lp reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injur ies, other injuries,
for example, swe lling, bruising, and minor abra ­
sions can a lso be associated with these airbags
upon dep loyment. Remember too, these airbags
will deploy only once and only in certa in kinds of
accidents
-your safety belts are a lways there to
offer protect ion.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The electronic contro l module and external side
impact senso rs
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear s ide windows
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument panel
The airbag system is monitored e lectronically to
make certain it is funct ioning properly at all
times. Each time you switch on the ign ition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side curtain a irbag is not a ctivated:
- if the ignition is switched off,
Airbag system
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration meas­
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear -end co llisions .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
c> page 54,
Seats and storage.
- If the airbag ind icator light i=> page 23
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inf late when it should .
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re­
strained.
F ig . 2 38 Illus trat io n of pr incip le: Inflated side curta in a ir­
bags o n the left s ide
T he side cu rtain airbags inflate between the oc­
c u pant and the w indows in a side coll is ion
¢fig. 238.
When the system is triggered, the s ide curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
th rough a seam above the front a nd rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional pro tect io n, the
s ide curtain airbag must inflate w ithin the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force.
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos ition is not proper or upright or if
247

Airbag syste m
items are located in the area where the supp le­
mental side curtai n airbag inflates . This applies
especia lly to
children ¢ page 249 .
Although they a re not a soft p illow, s ide c urtain
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 dus t may deve lop 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 be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supp lemental protect ion.
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating posit ions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used .
- Never let occ upants place any parts of the ir
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
ta in a irbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate witho ut interference. Un­
s u itable accessories fit ted inside the expan­
sion range o f a side curtain airbag can dan­
gerously interfere with its function. A de ­
ploying head airbag develops enough force
to catapult any piece o f add-on component
o ut of its path of inflat ion and into the pas­
senger compartment. An occupant hit by
s u ch a projectile can suffer ser ious injury or
death ¢ page 339, Technical Modifications .
-Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
yo u 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 on ly for light­
weight cloth ing . Neve r leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in t he pockets that may
248
inter fere with a irbag deployment and can
cause persona l injury in an accident.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- On ly use factory-insta lled sun shades or, in
the case of shades installed after the vehicle leaves the factory, only Audi roll-up
sunscreens may be
used¢ page 338, Addi­
tional accessories and parts replacement .
-Always sit in p roper seating position and
wear safety belts while traveling so that the
side curtain airbags can help p rovide protec­
tion .
- The a irbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an autho rized
Aud i dea le r o r qualified workshop.
- Always have wo rk involv ing the side curtain
airbag system, remova l and installat ion of
the airbag components, or other repairs pe rformed by a qualified dealers hip . Other­
wise the airbag system may not work cor­
rectly.
- Never attem pt to mod ify any com ponen ts of
the airbag system in any way .

Child sa fety
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
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 child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, o r
doo r.
- 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
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN­
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-facing seat
has been designed and cert ified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
t ions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
earner.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest 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
adjus tment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward- facing child restraint .
- Always make sure tha t the s afety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi­
tioned.
250
- Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
(D Tips
A lways replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during 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
Your vehicle is equ ipped with a front "Advanced
A irbag System" in compl iance with U nited States
Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as we ll as Canada Moto r Vehicle Safety
Standa rd ( CMVSS) 208 as applicab le a t the t ime
you r vehicle was manufactured.
The Adva nced A irbag system in yo ur vehicle has
been certified to mee t the "low- risk" require­
ments fo r
3-and 6 -yea r old chi ld ren on the pas ­
senger side and sma ll adu lts on the driver s ide.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of inj ury t hrough interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by be ing
too close to the steering wheel and instrument panel whe n the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been cert ified to comply with the
"supp ression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
a rd, to tur n off the front a irbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on t he fro nt pas ­
senger seat in c hild restraints t hat are lis ted in
t h e Standard.
E ven thoug h your veh icle is eq uipped w it h an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, especially
t h ose 12 yea rs and younger, sho uld always ride
i n the back seat proper ly restrained for their age
and size. The airbag on the passenger side makes
t h e front seat a potentially dange rous p lace for a
ch ild to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a ch ild in a forward-facing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .