2018 AUDI A8 warning

Drivin g saf ety
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restra int so the upper edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of your head.
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restra int so that it is as close to th is position
as possib le.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint wh ile driving.
If you have dr iven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, fi rst s top the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to ad just the head restra int.
- Children must always be p roperly restrained
in a chi ld restrain t that is appropria te fo r
their age and size
q page 249.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore properly
sea ted.
I mp roper seating posit ions can cause se rious in­
ju ry or deat h. Safety belts can only wo rk when
t hey are p roper ly posit ioned o n the body . Im ­
p roper seating posi tions reduce t he effect iveness
of safety belts and wi ll even increase the risk of
inj ury and death by moving the safety be lt to crit­
ical areas of the body. Improper seating posit ions
also increase the risk of ser ious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and str ikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seat ing position . A driver
is responsible for the safety of a ll vehicle occu­
pants and especially fo r ch ildre n. Therefo re :
"' Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos ition w hen the ve hicle is being used
q& .
The fo llow ing bulletins list only some sample po­
sitions that wi ll increase the risk of ser ious injury
a nd death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seat ing pos it ions that
are dangero us.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
- never stand up in the ve hicle
- never stand on the seats
212 -
neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w it h the sea tback re clined
- neve r lie down on the seats
- never lean up aga inst the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never s it sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- neve r put your feet on the instr ument panel
- neve r rest you r feet on the seat c ushion or bac k
of t he se at
- neve r ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imp roper seating posi tions inc rease the risk
of ser ious personal inju ry and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
s tay in a proper sea ting posit ion and a re
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used .
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
A lways make su re that the knee airbag can in­
flate w ithout interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can inc rease the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the airbag dep loys o r by being pushed in­
to you as the airbag dep loys .
- No persons (ch ild ren) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat . If the airbag deploys, this can res ult in
serious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried in
the footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's se at. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for examp le) can ham per or prevent
proper dep loymen t of the airbag . Sma ll ob ­
jects can be thrown thro ugh the vehicle if
the air bag deploys and in jure 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 other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in­
terference and that noth ing prevents them from
return ing to the ir original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l trav­
e l is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop.
A WARNING
Peda ls that cannot move free ly can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of seri­
ous injury .
- Never place any objects in the driver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal area and interfere w ith pedal function . In case of
sudden braking o r an accident, you would
not be able to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall or
move into the dr iver's footwe ll.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners 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 interfere with the
pedals ~,&. .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un­
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of pos it ion . You can obtain
suitab le floo r mats from your autho rized Aud i
Dea le r.
F loor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Fl oor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
u. ~ to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor
~ mats w ill prevent them from sliding into posi-N ...... 0 0 :c ' Dri ving saf ety
tions that could interfe re with the pedals or im ­
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
--
Pedals that cannot move freely can res ult in a
l oss of vehicle contro l and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop­ erly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats o r othe r
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfer ing with the ped­
als o r the ab ility to cont rol the vehicle .
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of al ready installed
floor mats . Additional floor mats and other
cover ings will reduce the si ze of the pedal
a rea and in terfere with the pedals.
- Always p roperly re insta ll and secure floor
mats tha t have been ta ken ou t fo r clean ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the d river footwe ll whi le the vehicle is
mov ing.
Objects can become trapped under
the brake pe dal and accelerator pedal caus­
ing a loss o f vehicle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac­
teristics. Loose items can a lso increase the risk of
serious persona l injury i n a sudden veh icle ma­
neuver or in a collision .
.. Distribute the load even ly 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. ..,
213

Drivin g saf ety
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 .
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles. To help reduce the r isk of a loss
of control leading to serious pe rsonal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects, that a change in the center of
grav ity can also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- Always distribute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as poss ible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
o r the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
doo r jamb. Exceed ing permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and
hand le differently .
- Please observe information on safe driving
c> page 208.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being d rawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed whi le driving.
- Never transport objec ts larger than those
fi tt ing complete ly into the luggage a rea be­
ca use the rear l id cannot be fully closed.
- If you absolutely mus t drive w ith the rea r lid
open, obse rve the follow ing notes to reduce
t h e risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof,
214
-
- Open all a ir outlets in the instrument pan­
el,
- Switch off the air reci rculat ion
'
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING -
Always make su re that the doo rs, all win ­
dows, the powe r roof and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to re duce the risk of
in jury when the veh icle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always ma ke sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your veh icle unattended espe­
cially with the rear lid left open . A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug­
gage compartment and close the rea r lid be­
coming trapped and unab le to get o ut. Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to ser ious
pe rsonal injury.
- Never let ch ildren play in o r around the vehi­
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compa rtment . Vehicle occupants mus t al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve­ hicle's seat ing pos itions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce w indow fog­
ging . Stale ai r esca pes to the outs ide
through vents in the trim panel, on the left
side of the luggage compartment. Be sure
to keep t hese s lo ts free and open.
- T he tire p ressure must correspond to the
load. The t ire pressure is shown on t he tire
press ure label. The ti re pre ssure label is lo­
c ated on the drive r's side B- pilla r. The tire
pressu re label lists the recommen ded cold
t ire inflation pressures fo r the veh icle at its
maximum capac ity we ight and the tires that
we re on your veh icle at the time it was man­
ufactured . For recommended t ire pressures
for normal load conditions, p lease see chap­
ter
c> page 294.

Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
¢ page 213, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
sma ller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in­
jury . Items in the ve hicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignif ica nt factor .
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
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
t hat a 200 lbs. (9 0 kg) item flying freely throug h
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail during hard
brak ing or in a col lision and cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- Always use suitab le 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
' Driving safety
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com­
plaints, 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,
your dealer, or Audi of America,
Inc.
To contact the NHTSA, you may
either call:
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY:
1-800-424-9153) or
1-800-424-9393
or you may write to:
NHTSA
U.S. Department of Transporta ­
tion 1200 New Jersey Ave ., S.E.
West Building
Washington , DC 20590
You can also obtain other infor­
mation about motor vehicle safe­
ty from:
http:/ /www.safercar.gov
215

Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
Applies to: ve hicles with Audi pre sense
Pre sense can initiate steps to protect vehicle oc­
cupants in certain dangerous situations. The
functions descr ibed are available depending on
veh icle equ ipment:
Audi pre sense ba sic
The fo llowing functions can be triggered in cer­
tain driving situat ions:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for examp le,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt tensioners. If a collision
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 mph (30 km/h) or hig her . The de­
p loyment time is adapted in the drive select dy ­
namic mode .
Audi pre se ns e front ( vehicl es with adapti ve
cruise contr ol* }
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, within the limits of the system . If the risk
of a collision is detected, t he following functions
can t rigger:
- Audi braking guard
¢page 100
-Tensioning of the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof *
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with side
a ss is t*)
Pre sense rear contains t he functions of pre sense
basic. In addition, the like lihood of a rear-end
col lision from t he vehicle behind 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 :
.... N
~ -Tensioning of the safety belts
g -Closing the windows and the sunroof *
:c ' Audi pre sense
-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 co llision 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 pre
sense front and pre sense rear .
Error messag e
Audi pre sens e: Unavailable
Preventative passenger protect ion is not ava ila­
ble. Drive to an autho rized Aud i deale r or author­
ized Audi Se rvice Facility immed iately to have the
malfunction corrected.
& WARNING
--
Pr e sense cannot overcome natural p hys ica l
l aws .
It is a system designed to assist and it
cannot prevent a co llision. Do not let the in­
creased safety provided tempt you into tak ing
risks. This could inc rease your r isk of a colli ­
sion.
- The system can dep loy incorrectly.
- Please note that t he sensors do not a lways
detect a ll objects. T his increases the r isk of
a co llision.
- Pre sense does not react to peop le or ani­
mals or objects that are cross ing the vehi­
cle's path or are difficu lt to detect
¢page 95.
- Reflective objects such as gua rd ra ils or the
entrance to a tunnel, heavy ra in and ice can
affect the funct io n of the radar sensors and
the system's ab ility to detect a collision risk.
@ Note
The sensors can be d isplaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housi ng and
underbody. Pre sense can be impaired by this .
Have an autho rized Aud i deale r or au tho rized
A udi Se rvice Fac ility check the ir funct io n.
.,.
217

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobi le accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrect ly wea r safety be lts
w hen the veh icle is mov ing.
- Pregnant wome n, in ju red, o r physically im­
paired persons mus t also use safety be lts.
Lik e al l vehicle oc cupan ts, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injured i f th ey do no t
wear safety be lts . The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r -throug hout
the ent ire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Aud i has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in t he rear. In some
veh icles, there are four seat ing positions: two in
the fro nt and two in the rear . Each seati ng posi­
tion has a safety belt.
A WARNING
N ot we aring safety bel ts or wear ing them im­
pro perly in cre ases the risk of ser io us pe rsonal
inju ry and dea th.
- Never st rap more th an one pe rso n, includ ­
ing sm all c hildr en, in to any be lt.
It is espe ­
c ially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap .
Safet y be lts
- Never let more peop le r ide in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained w ith a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
,ff. Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about
the importance of buckling-up.
F ig. 21 9 Safety belt warnin g lig ht in t he inst rument clus·
te r -en larged
Befor e dr ivi ng off , always :
~ Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' 0 N
~
~ Make sure that your passengers a lso buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts.
~ Protect ch ildren with a c hild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning lig ht . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts . In addition, you will hear
a war ning tone for a certai n period of time .
Fasten your safet y belt and make su re that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
b e lts .
A WARNING
-
-Safety bel ts are the sing le m ost effec tive
means available to red uce the risk of ser io u s
i njur y and death in a utomob ile accidents.
F or your p rotection and that of yo ur passen ­
ge rs, always correc tly wear safety bel ts
when the vehicle is moving .
~
219

Safe ty belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles.
F ig. 220 Unbe lted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig . 221 The veh icle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinet ic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle 's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant fac tor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to SO
km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of th is veh icle are not us­
ing safety
belts<=> fig. 220, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the ve hicle was moving just
before the crash, u nti l something stops them -
here, the wall<=>
fig. 221.
220
The same principles apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is involved in a fronta l collision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal coll is ion
they will also keep mov ing forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just befo re the crash.
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
i n a ll kinds of accide nts and co lli sions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 222 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
F ig. 223 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forwa rd a nd strike the driver
Unbelted occ upants are not ab le to res ist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
braci ng themselves . Without the benefit of safe ­
ty restraint systems, the unrestra ined occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel,
liJJ,,

Safety belts
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 correctly .
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are correctly restrained.
-For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, 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 while the vehicle is being driven .
-Never let any person ride with 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 . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- 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 belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
-Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts regularly .
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
222
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer 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
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
-Never remove, modify , d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia
reel¢ table Interior
cleaning on page 308.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 225 Be lt buckle and tongue on the drive r's seat
To provide maximum protection, 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
Q fig . 225, Q _&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
..,.