technical data AUDI S8 2009 Owner's Manual

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& WARNING (continued)
• In order to reduce the risk of injury when the supplemental side
airbag inflates:
-Always sit in an upright position and never lean against the
area where the supplemental side airbag is located .
- Never let a child or anyone else rest their head against the
side trim panel in the area where the supplemental side airbag
inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat put their hand or any other parts of their body out of the window.
• Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without inter ­
ference.
-Never install seat covers or replacement upholstery over the
front seat backs that have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that cover the areas
where the side airbags deploy .
- Damage to the original seat covers or to the seam in the area
of the side airbag module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
• Objects between you and the airbag can increase the risk of
injury in an accident by interfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as
cup holders, telephone brackets, or even large, bulky objects)
on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the
seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can become dangerous projec­
tiles and cause injury when the supplemental side airbag deploys.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
-Never carry any objects or pets in the deployment space
between them and the airbags or allow children or other
passengers to travel in this position .
• Always use the built -in coat hooks only for lightweight
clothing. Never leave any heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in an accident .
• Always prevent the side airbags from being damaged by heavy
objects knocking against or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
• The airbag system can only be triggered once. If the airbag has
been triggered, the system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealership.
• Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.I to the original seat covers
or to the seam in the area of the side airbag module must always
be repaired immediately by an authorized Audi dealer.
• If children are seated improperly, their risk of injury increases
in the case of an accident=>
page 245, "Child Safety".
• Never attempt to modify any components of the airbag system
in any way.
• In a side collision, side airbags will not function properly if
sensors cannot correctly measure increasing air pressure inside
the doors when air escapes through larger, unclosed openings in
the door panel.
-Never drive with interior door trim panels removed.
- Never drive when parts have been removed from the inside
door panel and the openings they leave have not been properly
closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the doors have been
removed unless the speaker holes have been properly closed .
- Always make certain that openings are covered or filled if
additional speakers or other equipment is installed in the
inside door panels.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safes t place in a collision.
The p hysica l pr inciples of what happens when you r veh ic le is in a
crash apply also to children=>
page 213, "What happens to occu ­
pa nts not wearing safety bel ts?" . But un like adults and teenagers,
their musc les and bones are not fully developed. In many respects
children a re a t greater ris k of serious injury in cras hes than a dults .
B ecause chi ldren's bodies are no t fully deve loped, they require
restraint systems especial ly designed for their size, weight, and
body structu re. Ma ny countries and al l sta tes of the U nited States
and provinces of Canada have laws requiring the use of approved
chil d restraint sys te m s for infa nts and smal l children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph (30 -56 km/h) the forces
acting on a 13-pou nd (6 kg) infant wi ll be mo re than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would
suddenly be more than 260 pounds ( 120 kg). Under these condi ­
t ions, only an appropriate child restraint proper ly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury. Child restraints, like adult safety belts,
must be used properly t o be effective. Used impro perly, they can
increase the risk of serious injury in an accident.
Co nsul t the c hild safety seat man ufacture r's ins truc tions to be su re
the seat is right for your child's size=>
page 248, "Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats" . Please be sure to read and
heed a ll of the important information and WARNI NGS about child
safety, Advanced Airbags, and the insta llation of child restraints in
this chapter.
T here is a lot you need to know about the Advanced Airbags in your
veh ic le and how they work whe n inf an ts and ch ild ren in c hild
restraints are on the front passenger seat. Because of the large
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation amoun
t of important informat ion, we cannot repeat it all here. We
urge you to read the detai led information in this owner's manua l
about a irbags and the Advanced Airbag Sys tem in your ve hic le and
the very important information about transporting children on the
fr ont passenger sea t. Please b e sure to hee d th e WAR NINGS -th ey
are extreme ly important for your safety and the safety of your
p asse ngers, es pecia lly inf ant s and s mall ch ildren .
& WARNING
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position . Always
restrain any child age 12 and under in the rear.
• All vehicle o ccupants and especially children must be
restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained child could be injured by striking the inte­
rior or by being ejected from the vehicle during a sudden
maneuver o r impact . An unrestrained or improperly restrained
c hild is also at greater risk of injury or death through conta ct with
an inflating a irbag .
• A suitable child restraint properly installed and used at one of
the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of protec­
tion for infants and small children in most ac cident situations .
& WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with Advanced Airb ag s
c an be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag inflates . A
child in a rearward -fa cing child safety seat installed on the front
pas senger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates.
• The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will sma sh the child safety seat and
child against the backrest , center arm rest , or door. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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restraints and for the different models of the same kind of child
restraint offered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and models of
child restraints that the NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typ ical infants and typical 1 year­
old child have been stored in the control unit of the Advanced
Airbag System. When a child restraint is being used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year -old child, the Advanced Airbag
System compares the weight measured by the weight sensing mat
with the information stored in the electronic control unit.
The electronic control unit also registers the tension on the front
passenger safety belt. The tension on the safety belt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult who is properly using
the safety belt as compared to the tension on the belt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat. The sensor below the
latch for the safety belt for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the belt . The input from this sensor is then used with the
weight to "decide" , whether there is a child restraint with a typical 1
year-old child on the front passenger seat and whether or not the airbag must be turned off.•
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use, make sure that it has
been certified to meet United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manufacturer for use with
an airbag. Always be sure that the chi ld restraint is properly
installed at one of the rear seating positions. If in exceptiona l
circumstances you must use it on the front passenger seat, carefully
read all of the information on child safety and Advanced Airbags
and heed a ll of the applicable WARNINGS. Make certain that the
child restraint is correctly recognized by the weight -sensing mat
inside the front passenger seat, that the front passenger airbag is
turned off and that the airbag status is always correctly signaled by
th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Many
types and models of child restraints have been available over
the years, new mode ls are introduced regularly incorporating new
and improved designs and older mode ls are taken out of produc­
tion. Child restraints are not standardized . Child restraints of the
same type typically have different weights and sizes and different
'footprints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the chi ld restraint
that sits on the seat, when they are installed on a vehicle sea t. These
differences make it virtual ly impossible to certify comp liance with
the requirements for advanced airbags with each and every child
restraint that has ever been sold in the past or will be sold over the
course of the usefu l life of your vehic le.
For this reason, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has pub lished a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used to certify compliance
of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These
child restraints are:
A. Car beds, manufactured on or after September 1,
2004:
• Cosco Dream Ride 02-719
B. Rear facing child restraint systems, manufactured
on or after September 1, 2004:
(When the restraint system comes equipped with a removable base,
compliance has to be certified with or without the base) .
• Britax Handle with Care 191
• Century Assura 4553
• Century Smart Fit 4543
• Cosco Arriva 02727
• Evenflo Discovery Adjust Right 212
• Evenflo First Choice 204
• Graco lnfant8457
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& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong child safety seat or
improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
• All vehicle occupants and especially children must always be
restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained child can be injured or killed by being thrown against the inside of the vehicle or by
being ejected from it during a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained child is at much
greater risk of injury or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
• Commercially available child safety seats are required to
comply with U .S . Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS l
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
-When buying a child restraint , select one that fits your child
and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully contact the flat
portion of the seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side . Audi does not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like frames . They do not provide
adequate contact with the seat .
- Always heed all legal requirements pertaining to the installa ­
tion and use of child safety seats and carefully follow the
instructions provided by the manufacturer of the seat you are
us ing .
• Never allow children under 57 inches {1 .5 meters) to wear a
normal safety belt . They must always be restrained by a proper
child restraint system . Otherwise , they could sustain injuries to
the abdomen and neck areas dur ing sudden braking maneuvers or
accidents.
• Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat .
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued )
• Never let babies or older children ride in a vehicle while sitting
on the lap of another passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a substitute for a child
restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold the child with the forces
that exist in an ac cident. The child will strike the interior of the
vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger .
- The child and the passenger can also injure each another in
an accident.
• Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the front passenger seat . A child will be seriously injured and can
be killed when the passenger airbag inflates - even with an
Advanced Airbag System .
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest , center arm rest , door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the rear seat .
• Forward -facing child safety seats installed on the front
passenger 's seat can interfere with the airbag when it inflates and
cause serious injury to the child. Always install forward -facing
child safety seats on the rear seat .
• If exceptional circumstances require the use of a forward­
facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat , the child's
safety and well-being require that the following special precau ­
tions be taken :
- Make sure the forward -facing seat has been designed and
c ertified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong child safety seat or
improperly installing a child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a cr ash .
• Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the front passenger seat -even with an Advanced Airbag System .
A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the
inflating airbag hits the child safety seat or infant carrier with
great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against the
backrest , center arm rest, or door=>
page 222, "Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to know" .
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on
the rear seat.
• Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing
direction. Such restraints are designed for the special needs of
infants and very small children and cannot protect them properly
if the seat is forward-facing.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the 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 .
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used
=> page 211 , "Safety belts",
=> page 220, "Airbag system" and => page 245, "Important things
to know". •
Safety first
Child Safety
Convertible ch ild safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can help
protect toddlers and children over age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (10 and 20 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 243 Rear seat:
smaller child in a prop ­
erly installed forward­
facing convertible child safety seat
-When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety
seat, you must first activate the convertible locking
feature on the safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving :::;,
page 255 or install the seat using the
LATCH attachment.
- Push the child safety seat down with your full weight to
get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot
move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
:::;, page 255.
- If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether strap,
attach it to the tether anchors :::;,
page 264.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an infant restraint if it is
more than one year old and weighs more than 22 lbs. (10 kgl.
Toddlers and children who are older than one year up to about 4
years old and weigh more than 22 lbs (10 kg) up to 40 lbs . (18 kg)
should be properly restrained in a child safety seat certified for their
size and weight=> fig. 243. .,
Vehicle care I I Technical data

Child Safety -
--------------------''---
child is available. In these exceptional situations, the use of a lap
belt is better than perm it t ing the chi ld to remain totally unre ­
strained . But remember: a lap be lt cannot provide the same level of
protection as a proper child restraint or a three -point lap and
shoulder belt if the child is big enough . Also, using a lap belt for
younger child ren, who should be using a chi ld restraint, may vio late
laws in your state o r Province .
Never use a lap belt a lone to res train a chi ld tha t weighs less than
about 80 lbs (36 kg) a nd who is less than 4'9" tall. A lways remember
that children do not have the pronounced pelvic structure required
for the pro per func tion of lap belts . If a lap bel t is only restrain t
system available, then the chi ld's safety absolutely requires that the
lap be lt be fas tened snugly a nd as low as possible arou nd the pe lvis
let a lap belt pass over the chi ld's stomach or abdomen .
& WARNING
Using wrong child rest raints or improperly installed child
restr aint s can cau se seriou s personal injury or death in a crash.
• Fa ilu re to properly ro ute safety belts over a child's body will
c au se severe injuries in a cra sh. The lap belt portion of the three
point belt a s well a s an y lap belt alone mu st always pas s as low a s
possible acros s the pelvi s, never over the stomach or abdomen .
• An improperly worn safet y belt will not pro vide the best protec ­
tion in a cra sh and may cause seriou s personal injury . Always
ma ke sure that children and other vehi cle occupants p rope rly
wear available restraint systems . C arefully follow the instructions
provided by the manufacturers of child re straints . •
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Installing a child safety seat
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Sa fety belts for the r ear seats an d the fr ont passenger con
be locked with the convertible locking retractor to prop­
erly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts eme rgency locking retractors for the rear seats
safety belts and for the front passenger's seat safety belt have a
convertible locking ret ractor for child rest raints . The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot unreel. T he ret ractor
can be activated to lock the safety be lt and prevent the safety be lt
webbi ng fro m loosen ing up dur ing norma l driving . A child sa fety
seat can on ly be properly installed when the safety belt is locked so
that the child a nd ch ild safety seat will s tay i n place .
A lways remember: Even though your vehic le is equipped with an
Advanced A irbag system, all child ren, espec ially those 12 years and
younger , should a lways ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size.
& WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seat s increase the risk of serious
pe rsonal injury and death i n a collision.
• Always make sure that the safety belt retractor i s locked when
in stalling a child safety seat. An unlocked safety b elt retracto r
cannot hold the child safety seat in pla ce during normal driving or
in a cr ash.
• Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a
c hild i s not sitting in it . A loo se ch ild safety seat can fly around
durin g a sudden stop or in a collision
• Always make su re that the re ar se at ba ckrest to which the
center rear safety belt is atta ched is se curely latched wh enever
the re ar center safety belt is being u sed to se cur e a child re stra int .
9)1,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data