2018 AUDI A8 warning

any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying air bag. This will result in ser ious
persona l injury or deat h.
- If you mus t install a boos ter seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
c ircumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light must com e on and stay on, wh en­
e v er th e ignition is switch ed o n.
- If the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does
not com e on and stay on, perform t he
c hecks d escribed
¢ page 237, Monitoring
t he A dvanced Airbag Syste m.
-Take the ch ild restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child res trained in a veh icle is
being used ¢
page 219, Safety belts,
¢ page 22 7, Airbag system and
¢ page 249, Important information.
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats.
The safe ty be lts eme rgency locking ret racto rs fo r
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas ­
senger's seat safety belt have a convertib le lock ­
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un­
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loose ning up du ring normal driving . A child
safety seat can only be p roperly installed w hen
the safety belt is locked so that the child and
chi ld safety seat w ill stay in pla ce.
A lways remember: Even though yo ur vehicle is
~ equ ipped w it h an Advanced A irbag system, all
~ chi ld ren, espe cially those 12 years and younge r,
g should always r ide in t he back se at prope rly re -
~ stra ined fo r their age and size .
Child s af ety
_& WARNING
= -
Imp roperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a co llision .
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An un locked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold t he ch ild safety seat in p lace
du ring normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a ch ild is not si tting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round dur ing
a sudden s top or in a co llision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rear safety belt is
at tached is securely lat ched whenever the
rear center safety belt is bein g used to se­
cure a child restra int .
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the ch ild restraint will be thrown
forward togethe r with the backrest and w ill
strike parts of the veh icle inter io r. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant car riers on the front passenger
seat . A child w ill be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger a irbag in­
flates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat o r infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, cente r arm res t, door
o r roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
or infant c arriers on t he rear se at.
- Forward-facing child safety seats o r infant
car riers installed on the front passenger's
se at m ay interfere w ith the deployment of
the airbag and ca use serio us in jury to the
child.
- I t is sa fer to install a forw ard- facing child
safety sea t on the rear seat.
- Always read and hee d all WARNINGS when­
eve r using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 249 . Special p recautions
apply when install ing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat ¢
page 228, Child ~
259

Child sa fety
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know .
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas ­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AI R BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on , perform the
checks descr ibed
~page 237, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the ch ild restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
B A G OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of chi ld restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improper ly installed chi ld restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in­
jury in a crash .
A WARNING
Forward-facing ch ild restraints:
- 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 .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan ­
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up and down
ad-
2 6 0
-
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing child restraint .
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi­
tioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing chi ld restraints:
- A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
serious ly injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially carefu l if you must in­
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptiona l cir­
cumstances .
- A t ight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen­
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight-mat in the seat and reg ister a heav i­
er weight in the Advanced Airbag System .
The heavier weight reg istered can make the
system work as though an ad ult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced A irbag when
it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fata l injury to the child.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer 's
instructions when installing a child restraint in
your veh icle . T o act ivate the convertible locking
retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferab ly
on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt all the wa y out .
.,. Route it around or through the ch ild restraint
belt path
~ ,&. .
.,. Push the child safety seat dow n with your fu ll
we ight to get the s afety be lt rea lly t ight.
.,. Inse rt the belt tongue into the buckle for t hat
seating position .
.,. Guide the safety be lt back into the retractor un ­
ti l the belt lies flat and snug on the chi ld safety
seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" no ise as the belt
winds back into the inert ia reel. Test the con ­
vertib le locking retracto r by pu lling on the belt .
You should no longer be ab le to p ull the belt
o ut of the ret ractor. The co nve rtible locking re ­
t racto r is now act ivated .
.,. Make s ure that the red release button is facing
away from the chi ld restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quick ly.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tig ht and fastened so that the se at
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restra int or an improp­
erly installed ch ild rest raint can cause ser ious
personal inj ury o r dea th in a cr ash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re­
t rac to r i s loc ke d when ins tall ing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re trac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during norma l driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safe ty seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around d uring
a sudden stop or in a crash.
Ch ild saf ety
- Always make sure the seat back rest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up­
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherw ise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at­
tached to it could fly fo rwa rd in the event of
an accident o r othe r emergency s ituation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing
u sed ~ page 249. Special p recautions
apply when ins tall ing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ~ page 228, Child
restraints on the front seat
-some impor­
tant things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be dea ctivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way back into the re­
tractor .
.,. Press the red button on the safety be lt buck le.
The belt tongue will pop out of the buck le.
.,. Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed posit ion .
Always let the safety be lt retract completely into
its stowed posit ion. The safety be lt can now be
used as an ord inary safety belt without the con­
vertible locking retractor for ch ild restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac­
t ivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un­
fastened and guided complete ly back into its
stowed pos ition to deactivate th is feature . If the
co nve rtible locking retractor is not deactivated,
t h e safety be lt will g radually become t ighter and
u ncomfortab le to wear.
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk o f serious personal injury and
death in a co llision.
-
- Never unfasten the safety bel t to deactivate
the convertible locking retracto r for chil d re-
straints while the vehicle is moving. You
~
261

Child safety
would not be restrained and could be
seriously injured in an accident .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢ page 249 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c> page 228, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
LATCH system (Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat,
Federal regul ations require special lower ancho­
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re­
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages.
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni­
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor­
age bars") are used to describe the system.
In other countries the term "ISO F IX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter Sep tember 1 , 1999, are required by U .S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per­
formance of the child restraint and its ability to
protect the child in a collision . Installing a child
restraint that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a vio lation of state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their ch ild seats with hook-on or
262
push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
child restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to help keep the child restraint
firmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash.
-Always follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the child restraint you intend to install in your vehicle.
-Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
-Improper use of child restraint LATCH lower
anchorage points can lead to injury in a colli ­
sion . The LATCH lower anchorage points are
designed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restra ints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
item to the LATCH lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 244 Schema tic ove rview: LATCH anchorage poi nt loc a­
t ions
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system.

lL t:0 ....
'"" " '"" .... 0 0 :c ' Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig. 2 4 5 Rear seatbacks: locator buttons for lower ancho­
rages
i r
F ig. 2 46 Rear seats: lower a nchorage bracket locations
Attachment lo ca tor marker s for lower
a nchorages
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback in­
d icate the lower anchorage locations on the rear
seating positions
<> fig. 245.
Lowe r an chorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo­
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat
cushion
~ fig . 246.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to-use at­
tachment and m inim ize the possibility of improp­
er chi ld restraint insta llation.
All child restraints manufactured after Septem­
ber
1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach­
ments for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended for installation and attachment of
Child s afe ty
child restraints specifically certified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child restraints that
are not equ ipped w ith the lower anchorage at­
tachments can still be installed in compliance
with the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instruc­
t ions on us ing vehicle safety belts.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause ser ious personal inju ry in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild rest raints
manufacture r's instructions fo r proper in­
stallat ion of t he chi ld restraint and proper
use of the lower ancho rages or safety belts
in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage o r othe r
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages.
- Always read and heed the important info r­
mat ion about ch ild rest raints in this chapter
and
WARNINGS~ page 249, Child safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven­
ience of the lower an chorages and are available
from your authorized Audi dealer.
Fig. 24 7 Outer rear seats: installing the guidance fixtures
F ig . 2 48 Close-up: fitting the guidance fixture over the
l ower anchorage bracket
263

Child sa fet y
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo ­
cated on the rear seats between th e seatback and
the seat cushion. Special guidance fixtures in­
crease the convenience of the lower anchorages
and help protect the seat material from possible
damage when instal ling ch ild restraints.
In stall ing the guidance fi xtu re s
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the low ­
er anchorages are visible .
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part number
facing downward and push it in the d irection of
the arrow onto the anchorage
c> fig . 248 .
.,. Make su re that each of the two guida nce fix­
tures per seat snaps i nto place.
Remo ving th e guidance fixtures
.,. Remove the ch ild restraint acco rding the ch ild
restra int manufacturer's instructions.
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the low­
er anchorages a re v is ible .
.,. Pull off the g uidance fixtures from the lower
an chorages.
.,. A lways remove the guidan ce fix tures and keep
them in a safe p lace when not in use .
You may find it easier to install ch ild restrain ts
eq uipped w ith hooks a ttached to straps withou t
the guidance f ix tu res in place . If th is is the case,
remove the g uidance fixtures by pu lling them off
the anchorages . However, the guidance f ixtures
can help you to locate the
LA TCH anchorages.
A WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or lower
anchorages can cause serious personal injury
in a crash .
- Always carefully follow the child restra int
manufacturer's instruct io ns for proper in­
stallation and use of child restra int systems .
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorages
to attach safety belts or other kinds of occu ­
pant restrai nts .
- Child restra int tether attachments and low­
er attachments are only des igned to secure
a c hild restraint that has been equ ipped to
use these anchorages .
264
"
-Tet her anchorages a nd lower anchorages
are designed to withstand only those loads imposed by correct ly fitted child restraints.
Under no circumstances can they be used
safe ly for adult or ch ild safety bel ts or har­
nesses .
- Never mount more than one child restraint to a sing le tet her or to a lower anchorage
point . Attaching two child restra ints to a
sing le anchorage poin t ca n cause the a n­
chorage to fail and c ause ser io us perso nal
in jury in a crash .
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixt ures before fold­
ing the re ar seatba ck to preven t damag ing
the seat c ushion .
- T o attach the c hild rest raint se curely, the
s ea t must be moved to the farthest rea r po­
sit io n, the sea t height se t to t he lowest po­
sitio n and the hea d rest raint must be a d­
justed to the vertical position.
-I f you leave t he gu idance fixture s installed
for several days, they could leave a mark on
the u pholstery on the seat cushion and
backrest in the area that the guidance fix­
t u res were insta lled. T he upholstery wo uld
also be perma nently st retched around the
guidance fixt ures. This applies especially to
leather seats .
Installing a child restra int w ith LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol­
low the child res traint manufa cturer's instru c­
tions.
Fig. 249 Lower ancho rages : pro per m ount ing

lL t:0 ....
"' ......
"' .... 0 0 :c ' Mounting
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upright position and securely latched
in place .
... Attach both hook -on connectors with the spring
catch release on the child safety seat onto the
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢ fig. 249.
... Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LA TC H
l ower anchorage.
.,. Pull straps tight fo llowing the child restra int
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
... Loosen the tension on the straps following the
child restraint manufacturer's instruct ions .
.,. Depress the spring cat ches to release the an­
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
chi ld restraint firm ly in place .
.&, WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH sys tem can in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an acc ident .
- T hese anchors were deve loped only for child
safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attac h other child safety seats, belts
o r othe r ob jects to these anchors.
- Always ma ke sure that you hear a click when
latch ing the seat in place.
If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
f orward and hit the interior o f the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle .
.&, WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the r isk of injury in an acc ident.
- Always follow the child restra int system
man ufactu rer's instruct ions for proper in­
sta llation of the child restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety be lts in your ve­
hicle .
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mation and WARNINGS about child safety
Ch ild s afe ty
and the installat ion of child restraint sys­
tems
¢ page 249, Child safety .
(D Note
On vehicles with power adjustable rear seats*
some criteria must be observed when attach­ ing the child restraint using the
LATCH sys­
tem:
- To attach the child restraint securely, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear po­
sition, the seat height set to the lowest po­
sition and the head restraint must be ad­
justed to the vertical position.
- If a child safety seat is attached to one of
the rear seats, th is seat must not be adjust­
ed using the power controls under any c ir­
cumstances. The
Entry as sis tance for this
sea t must also be deactivated in the MM I
¢ page 58. The child safety seat as well as
the rear seat can be damaged by the adjust­ ment process.
Tether anchors and tether straps
F ig. 250 Tether ancho rs: recess flaps behin d the rear seat­
backs
The tether anchors for the two* /three rear seat­
ing pos it ions are located in recesses in the rear
window
shelf ¢ fig. 250. Vehicles with two rear
seating pos itions* are equipped with two tether
anchors .
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
taches the top part of a ch ild restraint to special
anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the chi ld restraint in a crash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
..,_
265

Child safety
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte­
rior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U .S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in ­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision . The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor­ rectly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu­ pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to attach a
child restraint to the front passenger seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
- The heavier weight registered can make the
Advanced Airbag System work as though an
adult were on the seat and deploy the Ad­
vanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing serious or even fatal injury to the
child.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
266
'
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 251 Tet her s trap: pro per routing an d mo unting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head
restraint ~ fig. 251 (raise the head re­
straint if necessary). For child restraints with V­
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint guide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap .
.,. Center seating position*: Guide the upper teth­
er strap over the rear head restraint.
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor bracket .
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.