2018 AUDI A8 belt

lL t:0 ....
'"" ......
'"" .... 0 0 :c ' Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
fee t on the fl oor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve­
hicle is in use .
To reduce the r isk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden b raking
maneuver or a n accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must a lways observe the follow ­
ing:
• For adjustable head restraints: Adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as poss i­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos ­
sibl e, try to adjust the h ead restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possib le
c> page 211.
• Keep bo th feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
• Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c>page222 .
• Make sure that child ren are always properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age
c> page 249.
8_ WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger m ust always sit on a seat of
their own and proper ly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum p rotection
when the safety belts are properly posi­
t ioned on the body and securely latched. By
not sitt ing upright, a rear seat passenger in­
c reases the risk of personal injury from im ­
properly pos itioned safety belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly so
that it can g ive maximum protection .
1l Vehicl es with re clin in g re ar seat: This fun ction is not avail·
abl e fo r the front passe ng er 's s eat.
Dri ving safety
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an impor­
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys­
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
F ig . 218 H ead restrain t: v ie wed from t he front
The head r est raints must be correct ly adjusted to
a chieve the best p rotection.
• For adj ustab le head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
bl e wi th th e top of your he ad . If that is not pos­
s ible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this posit ion as possible.
¢ fig . 218 .
Adjusting head restraints c> page 58.
Crash - active head restraints
In the event of a re ar-end co llision, i t is poss ible
that the c rash -active head restra ints on the driv ­
er 's seat and front passenger's
seat1
) are trig­
gered . On head restraints that have been trig­
gered, the padding protrudes forwards by several
cent imeters. Drive the vehicle to your authori zed
Audi dealer w ithout delay and have the funct ion
of the act ive head restra ints restored .
8_ WARNING
-Driving without head restraints or w ith head
r est rai nts that are not prope rly a dju sted in­
creases the ris k of serious or fata l neck injury
dramat ica lly . To help reduce the risk of injury:
- Always d rive with the head restra ints in
p lace and properly adjus ted .
211

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 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,,

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

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,
..,.

lL t:0 ....
"' ......
"' .... 0 0 :c ' during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a ste ep
h ill or through a sharp curve . Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety belt pretension ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre ten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and remove slack when the pretens ioner is activated
c:> page 225. The function of the p retensioner is
monitored by a warn ing light
c:> page 23.
Conv ert ible loc king retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
c:> page 259 .
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety belts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c:> page 223 ,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat . Attaching the belt to the
wrong bu ckle w ill reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury .
- A passenger who is not p roperly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety be lt it­
sel f when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convert ible lock ing retractor
when you are secur ing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c> page 261.
@ Tips
For information on safety be lt pretensione rs,
refer to
c:> page 225.
Safet y bel ts
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig . 2 26 Safet y be lt po sit ion
U se the height adjustment to change the position
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts.
.&_ WARNING ~
Improperly positioned safety belts can ca use
serious personal injury in an acc ident.
- The shou lder belt should l ie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways fit
snug ly
c:> fig. 226. Pu ll on the bel t to tighten
if necessary.
- A loose-fit ting safety belt can cause serious
in jur ies by shi fting its position on your body
from the strong bones to mo re v ulnerable,
soft tissue and cause se rious in jury.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
o ther impor tant informat ion
c:> page 221.
223