2018 AUDI A8 airbag off

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' To restore the balance of energy, components
that require large amounts of energy are tempo­
rari ly scaled back or switched
off. Heating sys­
tems in particular require a great deal of energy .
If you notice, for example, that the seat heating*
or rear window defogger is not working, then it
has been temporar ily reduced or switched
off .
These systems are available again as soon as the
e n ergy supp ly has been restored.
In addition, you may notice that the idle speed
has slightly increased. That is normal and no
cause for concern . By increasing the idling speed,
the add itiona l required e ne rgy w ill be generated
and the vehicle battery w ill be charged.
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
Event Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data Re­
corde r (EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa ­
tions, such as an airbag deployment or hitting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand ­
ing how a vehicle 's systems performed. The EDR
is designed to record data re lated to vehicle dy ­
namics and safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this
vehicle is designed to record such data as :
- How various systems in your vehicle were oper­
ating;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety
belts were buckled/fastened;
- How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
acce lerator and/or brake pedal; and,
- How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can he lp prov ide a better understand­
ing of the circumstances in which crashes and in­
ju ries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your
vehicle only if a non-trivia l crash situation occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal data (e.g.,
name, gender, age, and crash location) are re­
corded. However, other parties, such as law en-
Intelligent Technology
forcement, could combine the EDR data with the
type of personally identifying data routinely ac­
quired during a crash investigation.
T o read data recorded by an EDR, special equip­
ment is required, and access to the vehicle or the
EDR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manu­
facturer, other parties, such as law enforcement,
that have the special equipment, can read the in ­
formation if they have access to the vehicle or the
EDR .
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down­
loading of data stored by ED Rs installed in a vehi­
cle for the express purpose of retrieving data af­
ter an accident or crash event without the own ­
er's consent .
Audi will not access the EDR and/or simi lar data
or give it to others -
- un less the vehicle owner (or lessee if the vehi ­
cle has been leased) agrees; or
- upon the official request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court of law o r a govern-
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit through the judicial
discovery process.
- Aud i may also use the data for resea rch about
veh icle operation and safety performance or
provide the data to a third party for research
purposes without identifying the specific vehi­
cle or information about the identity of its own­
er or lessee and only after the recorded vehicle
data has been accessed.
Vehicle control modules
Your vehicle is also equipped with a number of
electronic control modules for various vehicle
systems, such as engine management, emission
control, airbags, and safety belts .
These electronic control modu les record data
during normal vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained technicians for diagnostic and
repair purposes. The recording capability of these
modules is limited to data (no sound is record­
ed) . Only a small amount of data is actually re­
corded over a very lim ited period of time, or stor­
ed when a system fault is detected by a control
module . Some of the data stored may relate to
.,.
133

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' -Destination setup in your MMI using your
my Audi Account <=> page 168 or on line map
view
<=> page 17 2.
- Traffic information (Sirius): receive informa­
tion about accidents, road construction and other incidents
c;,page 176
Audi connect services on the phone
Applies to: vehicles with Audi connect
The follow ing Audi connect serv ices are currently
ava ilable:
- Storing contacts on yo ur computer using your
myAudi Account and loading the contacts into
the MMI directory
c:;, page 154
Wi-Fi hotspot
Applies to: vehicles with Audi connect
You can use the MMI as a Wi-Fi hotspot to con­
nect up to eight wireless devices to the Internet. While driving , restricted use of non-secured,
light, small wireless devices is only possible from the rear of the vehicle.
.,. Select : the IT EL! button > Settings control but-
ton
> Wi-Fi settings .
The following settings can be modified in the Wi­
Fi settings
menu:
Wi-Fi active
The MMI Wi-Fi hotspot is deactivated at the fac­
tory. Your Wi-Fi hotspot must be activated and
visible to establish a connection between your ve­ hicle and your w ireless device .
-Off : the MMI Wi-Fi hotspot is deactivated. An
Internet connection is not poss ible.
- Visible : th e MMI Wi-Fi hotspot is active and can
be used to connect to the Internet.
-Invisible : the MMI Wi-Fi hotspot is active but
not visib le to other devices. A connection can ­
not be established with a new w ireless device.
The Wi-Fi connection between your vehicle and
your wire less device (laptop, cell phone) is en ­
crypted. To establish a connection, yo u must en ­
ter the following settings when setting up your
wire less device. You can change them if necessa­
ry.
Audi connect
- Network ID (SSID) :
name of the Wi-Fi net­
work .
-Encryption type : WEP , WPA or WPA2
-Password : depending on the encrypt ion type, a
passwo rd may be generated in the MMI that is
used to encrypt the wireless connection. The
password can be changed. Be sure to se lect a
secure password. For t he WEP encryption type,
the password must be exactly 13 characters.
For the WPA or the WPA2 encrypt ion types, the
password must be at least
8 (maximum of 63)
characters.
- Apply settings : the modified settings are ap­
plied to the MMI. You must then update the
changes in your mobile wirel ess device .
A WARNING
-
-As the driver, do not allow usage of the Wi­
Fi hotspot to distract you from driv in g, as
this could increase the risk of an accident.
-It is only safe to use laptops and similar mo­
b ile devices when the vehicl e is stationary
beca use, like all loose objects, they could be
thrown around the inside of the vehicle in a
cras h and cause serious injuries . Store these
types of devices securely while driving.
- Do not use any wireless devices on the front
seats within range of the airbags whi le driv­
ing. Also read the warnings in the chapter
c:;, page 208.
@ Note
-Under some conditions, certain mobile devi­
ces and operating systems may automati ­
cally sw itch from your vehicle's Wi-Fi hot­
spot to the device's mobile data connection.
In that event, standard text and data usage
rates would apply wh ile the device's mobile
data connect ion is in use. Please refer to
documentation provided by your mobile de­
vice's manufacture and your data carrier for
details, rela ted terms and privacy state­
ment .
- You are respons ible for all precautions tak­
en for data protection, anti-virus protection
and protection against loss of data on mo­
bile devices th at are used to access the In­
ternet through the Wi-Fi hotspot.
161

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.

Audi pre sense
(D Tips
-Certain pre sense front functions switch off
when sport mode is swi tc h ed off or when
driving in reverse .
- The pre sense functions may not be availa­
b le if there is a malfuncti on in the ESC sys­
tem or the airbag contro l module.
- The pre sense front/plus funct ions are not
available if the re is a ma lf u nction in t he
adaptive c ruise contro l" system
c::;, page 102.
-The pre sense rear/plus f unctions are no t
available if the re is a ma lf u nction in the s ide
assist " system
c::;, pag e 102.
218

lL t:0 ....
"" ......
"" .... 0 0 :c ' instrument pane l, windshield , or whatever e lse is
in the way ¢
fig. 222. This impact w ith the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be­
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone fo r protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide on ly additiona l
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equ ipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the dr iver , must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, tha t airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protec tion in those acc idents in w hich
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbel ted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the vehi cle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
It is also important for the rear passenge rs to
wear s afety bel ts corre ctly . U nbel ted passengers
in the re ar seats endanger no t onl y themse lves
but also the driver and ot her passengers
¢ fig . 223. In a fronta l collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brac e the body in a minor collision . It 's simply
not true!
F ig . 2 24 Drive r is correctly rest ra ined in a sudde n brak ing
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big d iffer­
ence. Safety belts he lp to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy leve ls ap-
Safet y bel ts
plied to the bo dy i n an accident, and help prevent
t h e uncontrolled movement that can cause seri­
ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of be ing th rown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of be ing s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" th rough the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inetic ene rgy over a longer period of t ime, the
sa fe ty belts make the fo rces on the body more
"tolerab le " and less likely to ca use in jury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts can also substa ntia lly re ­
duce the r is k of injury in ot her k inds of crashes .
So, whethe r you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
t h e cor ner store , a lways b uck le up and make sure
othe rs do, too. A cciden t st atis tic s show tha t ve hi­
cl e occupan ts properly wea ring safety bel ts have
a lower risk of be ing injured and a muc h better
chance of surviving an acci dent . Properly using
sa fety belts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lis ion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most count ries includ ing much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airb ags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags a re not ac ti­
vated in a ll frontal collisions , in side and rear co l­
li sio ns, in roll overs or i n cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceleration throug h impact to the front
of the veh icle. The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained !
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safe ty belts must always be correctly posi tioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter .
.. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
221

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­er important
i nformation¢ page 221.
(D Tips
You can a lso adjust the height of the front
seats to change the position of the safety
be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se ­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety be lts improperly can cause seri ­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can on ly work
when they are correctly pos itioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Improper seating
positions also increase the r isk of serious i njur y
a n d death when an airbag deploys a nd str ikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating pos i­
tion . A driver is responsible for the safety of a ll
ve hicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
.. Never permit anyone to ass ume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle w hil e trave ling
¢A .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety be lts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always ma ke sure that a ll vehicle occupants
are correctly restra ined and stay i n a correct
sea ting pos it ion whenever the ve hicle is be­
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
ot her important information
¢ page 221.
Safet y be lts
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Rev ersible safety belt tension ers
T he following fu nctions a re available when safety
belts w it h reversib le safety belt tensione rs a re
faste ned:
- Automatic tens ioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically ad just to the
passenger after a certain time period or veh icle
speed. To switch the a utomat ic tens ioners off,
select the following in t he M MI:
!CARI fu nction
button
> Car systems > Vehicle settings >
Seat s > Driver 's seat or Passenger 's seat > Au­
tomatic belt tensioner
> Off .
- In ce rtain driving situations, the safety belts
may tighten wit h a reve rsib le tensioning func ­
tion
r=;, page 217.
- The safety be lts may also tighten with this re -
versible tensioning function in minor collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
Seat be lts wi th py ro technic s afety be lt preten ­
s io ners are tensioned au toma tically i n seve re col ­
li sions, depending on t he circumstances . This
helps to reduce the forward motion of the occu ­
pants .
A WARNING
= -
- It is poss ib le for the pretensioners to dep loy
incor rectly.
- Any work on the tens ioner system or remov­
al and installation of system components
for other repairs m ust be performed by a
qualified workshop.
- The pyrotechnic system can only p rovide
protection fo r one collision. If the py rotech­
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be rep laced.
(D Tips
- A fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. Th is is no r­
ma l and is not caused by a f ire in t he ve hi­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or componen ts
225

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Airbag system Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only suppl em ental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­
er seating position .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
ge rs, before dr iving off, always:
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steer ing wheel
prope rly~ page 209,
.,. Adjust the fro nt passenge r's seat prope rly
~page 54,
.,. We ar safety bel ts p roperly~ page 221,
.. Always properly use the proper c hild restraint
to protect chi ld ren
r=>page 249.
In a coll is io n, a irbags mus t infla te wi thin t he
b link of an eye and with consi derab le force . The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
d river or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at a ll times.
By keeping room between yo ur body and t he
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compa rtment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and prov ide supplemental protect io n
in certa in frontal coll is ions
r=> page 209, Correct
passenger seating positions.
Fo r de tails on the
operat ion of the seat ad justment cont rols
r=>page5 4.
It's especially important that children a re proper­
ly restra ined
r=>page 249.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind ividual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work togethe r as a
sys tem.
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment o r cond it ion that
p revents yo u from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt prope rly fastened and
Airbag syste m
reaching the peda ls, o r if yo u have concerns w it h
r egard to the functio n or operatio n of the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System, please co ntact you r au­
thorized Audi dea le r or q ua lified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ible modifications to your vehicle .
When the a irbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and inflate betwee n the stee ring wheel and
the driver and between the inst rument panel and
the fron t passenger . The a irbags w il l deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
c u pants can see t hrough the winds hield aga in
wi thou t interru ption.
All of t his takes place in the bl ink of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even real ize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso infla te
wi th a g re at deal of for ce and n othing should be
i n the ir way when t hey dep loy . Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move ­
ment. Together they he lp to prevent t he driver
and front seat passenger from hitting pa rts of
the ins ide of the vehicle whi le red ucing the forces
acting on the occupa nt dur ing the crash. In th is
way they help to red uce the risk of in jury to the
head and uppe r body in the crash. Airbags do no t
pro te ct the arms or the lower pa rts of t he bo dy.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The t rigge ring of t he a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle decelerat ion rate caused by
t h e coll is io n an d regis tered by the ele ct ronic con ­
t ro l unit. If this rate is be low the refe re nc e v alue
programmed in to the co ntro l unit, t he a irbags
will not be t riggered, even tho ugh t he car may be
badly damaged as a res ult of the co llision. Vehi ­
cle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessari ly an indication of
whethe r an a irbag should inflate o r not.
S ince the circumstances will vary cons iderably
between one co llision and another, it is not possi ­
ble to define a range of ve hicle speeds that will
cove r every poss ible kind and angle of impact
t h at w ill always trigge r th e a irbags. Importa nt
factors include, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or
soft) of the object which t he ca r hits, t he angle of
im pact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will
.,.
227

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
ro ll- overs.
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supplementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r;:;, page 219 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in­
st rument panel will decrease the effective­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 1 0 inches ( 25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i­
gate whether adap tive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly
c> page 222, Safety belts .
- Always make certain that chi ldren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­ dren are not properly restra ined, they may
be severe ly injured or k illed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­ prope rly restrained in the vehicle . Adjust the
front seats properly.
228
-
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
-Always sit as far as possible from the steer -
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c>page209.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag during brak ing or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects nea r the airbags can become
pro jecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags tha t have deployed in a cr ash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and insta lled by
a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to prope rly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
"' Be sure to read the important informat ion and
heed the WARNINGS fo r important deta ils
about ch ild ren and Advanced A irbags
r;:;, page 249 .
Even thoug h your veh icle is equ ipped w it h an Ad ­
vanced Airbag Sys tem, make certa in that a ll chil­
dre n, espec ia lly those 12 yea rs and younger, al­
ways ride i n the b ack seat prope rly res train ed fo r
t h eir age and size. The ai rbag on the passenger
s ide makes t he front seat a potentia lly dange rous
place for a child to ride . The front seat is not the
safest p lace for a c hild in a forward-fac ing c hild
.,.