warning AUDI A8 2016 Owners Manual

Safety belt s
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.
&_ 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 automobile accidents.
For your protect ion and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrectly wear safety be lts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must a lso use safety belts.
L ik e all vehicle occ upants, they are mo re
likely to be serio usly injured i f they do not
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. In some
veh icles, there are four seating positions: two in
the front and two in the rear . Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly incre ases the risk of ser io us personal
injury and dea th.
- Never st rap more tha n one person, includ­
ing small ch ild ren, into any be lt .
It is espe­
c ia lly da ngerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap .
138
-Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available .
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
~ 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. 153 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in the instrument clus·
ter -en larged
Befor e dri ving off , al way s;
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' N .,, 0
"' .. m
.. Make sure that your passengers a lso buckle up
and properly wear the ir safety belts.
.. Protect children with a c hild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ign ition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition, you will hear
a war ning tone for a certain period of time.
Faste n your safety belt and make su re that your
passenge rs al so properl y put on thei r safety
b e lts .
&_ WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to red uce the risk of ser io us
inj ury and death in a utomobile accidents.
For your protection and that of yo ur passen­
gers, a lways correct ly wear safety belts
when t he vehicle is moving . ..,.

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 correct ly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are cor rect ly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, 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 wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith 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 . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- 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 be lt . However, spe­
cial clips may be requ ired for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i­
dent. Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors are dam-
Safet y bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler 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
thor ized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inert ia reel~
table Cleaning inte­
rior on page 208 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 159 Be lt buckle and tongue on the driver 's seat
To provide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢
page 58, General information.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis
¢ /J:::.. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il yo u hear i t latch secu rely
¢ fig. 159 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is secure ly
latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retra ctors
E ve ry safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt ret ractor on the shoulder belt. This feat ure .,..
141

Safe ty belts
locks the belt when the belt is pu lled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt p reten sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c> page 144. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::> page 18.
Con vertibl e loc king r etracto r
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 177.
_&. WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c::> page 142,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
prope rly positioned on the body.
- Never a ttach the safety belt to the buck le
for ano ther seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uck le wi ll reduce safe ty belt effec­
t iveness and can cause ser ious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not p roper ly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety be lt it­
self 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 securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c::> page 179.
@ Tips
For information on safety be lt pretensioners,
refer to
c::> page 144.
142
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 160 Safety belt position
Use the height adjustment to change the positio n
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts.
_&. WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it s its as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdome n. T he belt sho uld a lways fit
snug ly
c::> fig. 160. Pu ll on the bel t to tigh ten
if necess ary.
- A loose-fit ting safety belt can ca use serious
in ju ries by s hifting its posi tion on yo ur body
from the strong bones to mo re v ulnerab le,
so ft tissue and cause serious in jury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS an d
other impor tan t information
c::> page 140 .

Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
corre ctly -throughout the pregnan cy.
F ig. 161 Safety belt pos itio n dur ing pregnancy
To provide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body
¢ page 142.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly
c> page 58, General information .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis
c> fig. 161, c> ,&. .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch secure ly
c> page 141, fig . 159.
.,. Pull on the be lt to ma ke sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
serious personal inju ry in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­
ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 142.
Safet y bel ts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle hos stopped .
J-L
Fig . 1 62 Re leasing t he tong ue from the buckle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
¢ fig . 162. The belt tongue w ill spring out of
the buck le¢ ,&..
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
_& WARNING ,-
Never unfasten safety belt wh ile the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
in g injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
You con adjust the height of the driver's and
front passenger's safety belts .
The safety belt height adjusters for the front
seats can be used to adjust the height of the
shoulder portion of the safety belt so that it is
pos itioned correctly .
0 ..... N
0
:i:
"' CD
The shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possible and s hou ld fit well
on the body
¢ .&. in Safety belt position on
page 142 .
Power safety belt height adjustment*
You can adjust the he ight of the safety be lts us­
ing the multifunction button on the driver or
front passenger seat¢
page 60 .
143

Safety belts
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important informat ion
c:> page 140 .
(D Tips
You can also adjust the height of the front
seats to change the position of the safety
belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly posit ioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effective­
ness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body . Improper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
... Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle whi le traveling
c:> & .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seat ing pos ition whenever the veh icle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> page 140.
144
Belt tensioners
' How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts
are tensioned automatically.
Rever sible safety belt tensioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversible tensioners. The following
functions are available when the driver's/front
passenger 's safety belts are fastened:
- Automatic tensioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or vehicle
speed. To switch the automatic tensioners off,
select the following in the MMI:
!CARI function
button
> Car systems > Vehicle settings >
Seats > Driver's seat or Passenger's seat > Au­
tomatic belt tensioner
> Off.
-In certa in driving situations , the safety belts
may tighten with a reve rsib le tensioning func­
tion
c:> page 187.
- Th e safety be lts may also tighten with this re-
vers ible tensioning funct ion in minor collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped w ith safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end collisions of great se­
verity and in a rollover. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt slack
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 145.
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrectly.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
nic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced.
(1) Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners can
only deploy once. ..,_

-The safety belt pretensioners do not dep loy
in minor fronta l, side and rear -end co lli­
s ions .
- A fine dust is released when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners deploy. This is nor­
mal and is not caused by a fire in the vehi­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the veh icle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualified
dealersh ip is familiar w ith these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the informa­
tion to you .
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regu lations if the veh icle or indi­
v idual parts of the system, particularly the
safety be lt o r airbag, a re to be disposed . We
recommend yo u have your author ized Audi
dealer perform this serv ice for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Insta lling, removing,
servic ing or repa iring of belt p retensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wor king cor rect ly in a collision .
T here are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
sys tem w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
e nvironment.
_& WARNING
-
Improper care, serv icing and repa ir proce­
dures can increase the risk o f personal injury
and death by preventing a safety be lt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly :
- The be lt pretensioner system can be activat­
ed only once . If belt pretensioners have
been activated, the system must be re­
placed .
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Specia l
Safet y be lts
procedures are required fo r removal, instal­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any wo rk on the safety belt system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualified techn ician
who has an Audi approved repa ir manual,
tra ining and special equipment necessary .
(® For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc .ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo ­
r ate . When the vehicle or parts of the re­
strain t system including ai rbag modu les safe­
ty belts with p re tensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regu lations mus t be ob­
se rved . Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.
145

also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
A lwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in certain kinds of coll is ions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have a lready deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 138.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 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, inves ti­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrest rained, leaning forward, s it­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of in jury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts p roperly
i=> page 141, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­ dren are not properly restra ined, they may
be severe ly injured o r kill ed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­ prope rly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
fro nt sea ts properly.
-
Airb ag sys tem
-Never ride with the back rest recl ined.
-Always sit as fa r as possible from the steer-
ing wheel o r the instrument panel
c::> page 130.
- 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 ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transpo rt objects. Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects nea r the airbags can become
p roje ct il es and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags tha t h ave deployed in a cr ash m ust be
r e p laced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment airbags ap ­
p roved by A udi a nd insta lled by a trained
technici an who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effect iveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important i nformat ion and
heed the WARNINGS for important deta ils
about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 168 .
Even though your veh icle is equipped wit h an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System, make certa in that a ll chil­
dre n, espec ia lly those 1 2 yea rs and yo unger, al­
ways r ide in the back se at prope rly res train ed fo r
their age and size. The ai rbag on t he p asse nger
s ide makes t he fron t seat a potentia lly dange rous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
sa fest p lace for a child in a forward-facing child .,.
147

Airbag syste m
seat. It can be a very dangerous place fo r an
infant or a child in a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been ce rt ified to comp ly with the requirements
of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard (CMVSS)
208 as applica ­
b le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger s ide has been
certified for "suppression " for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
p loyment " for children aged
3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard).
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been tu rned off
by the ele ct roni c con trol unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ign it ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on fo r a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small c hild or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight ­
sensing mat¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l we ight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
a ir bag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a ir bag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does not come
on) .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been turned
off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the condit ions stor ­
ed in its memory.
For e xample, the airbag may deploy if:
148
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed ¢
page 170), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned
off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nstrument cluster and stays on.
The fro nt airbag on the passenge r side m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up­
right with their back against a non-recl ined back­
rest with the ir fee t on the vehicle floor in front of
the sea t is on the front passenger seat
<=> page 130, Proper seating position for the driv ­
er .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in ­
j ury th rough interaction w ith the airbag . "low
risk" deployment occurs in th ose crashes that
take place at lowe r decele rations as defi ned in
the e lec tronic co ntro l unit
¢ page 156, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF light.
Always remembe r, a ch ild seat or i nfant ca rr ie r
i nsta lled on the fron t seat may be s truck a nd
k nocked o ut of pos it ion by the rapid ly inflat ing
passenger 's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag cou ld great ly reduce the effectiveness of the
c hi ld rest raint and even seriously injure the child
during in flat ion.
Fo r th is reason, and beca use the back seat is the
safest place for children - when proper ly restrain ­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c> page 168, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.

-The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger's seat may interfere with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­ rious personal injury to the child.
,&. WARNING ,..__ -
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward -facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air ­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
,&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be displayed whenever a child restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
ignition is switched on.
Airbag system
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 156, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer immediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal ­
ling child restraints .
,&. WARNING
-If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in-
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
-An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child 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.
149

Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 163 Location of dr iver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 164 Location of front passenger's airbag: in th e in­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System " in compliance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured. he safe­
ty belts for the seats have "pretensioners" that help to take s lack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety be lts also have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub<=>
fig . 163 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
<=>fig. 164. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
150
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detai led
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and ch ild
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
.&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old ch ild is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating pos ition.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.