Audi A8 2018 Owner's Manual page 238

Airb a g syste m
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro -
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in-
flates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irr itate sk in .
It is important to remember that whi le the sup -
plemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injur ies, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and m inor abra -
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate . Air-
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front a irbags supplement the th ree-
point safety belts only in some fronta l collisions
in which the veh icle decelerat ion is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ign it ion is switched off when a crash oc-
cur s,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear -end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh-
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control unit .
The front passenger airbag als o will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi-
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the electronic con-
trol unit (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on).
_&
WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase t he
ris k of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry when the airbags
inflate, the d river an d passengers must al-
236
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be serious ly
inj ured by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
force in the blink of an eye
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page 228.
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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
System.
- The infla t ing air bag will hit the ch ild seat or
infan t ca rrier wit h great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -fac ing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rea rwar d facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
except ional circumstances and the PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immed iate ly install the rear-
facing chi ld seat in a rear seating posit ion
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r.
_&
WARNING
Objects between you and t he airbag will in-
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfe r-
ing wit h the way the airbag unfolds or by be-
ing pushed into you as t he air bag infla t es.
- Never hold things in you r hands or on your
lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the a rea of
the front passenge r seat. Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur-
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or othe r
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
-