Audi A8 2018 Owner's Manual page 253

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Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de -
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor be low the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the ch ild and the child safety seat and a ch ild
blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de-
sign of the ch ild restraint and its "footprint", the
size and shape of t he bottom of t he chi ld re-
str ai nt as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for d ifferent
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of-
fered by child restraint manufact urers.
The weight ranges for the individua l types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard to-
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants
and typical 1 year-o ld 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 typ ical 1 year-old child, the
Advanced Airbag System compares the we ight
measured by the we ight sensi ng mat with the in-
formation stored in the electronic contro l uni t .
The electron ic control unit also registers the ten-
sion on the front passenger safety belt. The ten-
sion on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat will be d iffe ren t fo r an ad ult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to t he tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a child re -
straint to the seat . The sensor below the latch for
the safety belt for the front seat passenger
measures the tens ion on the belt. The input from
this sensor is then used w ith the weight to "de-
cide", whether there is a child restra int w ith a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenge r
seat and w hethe r or not the airbag must be
turned off.
Ch ild s af e t y
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint t hat yo u use,
make sur e t ha t it has been cert ified to mee t Safe -
ty Standards an d has been cert ified by its man u-
fact urer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
t hat the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exception-
al circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, careful ly read all of the informa-
t ion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and
heed all of the applicable WARNINGS. Make cer-
ta in that the ch ild restraint is co rrectly recog-
nized by the weight-sensing mat ins ide the front
passenge r seat, that t he front passenge r airbag
is turned off and that the a irbag sta t us is always
correctly signaled by the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light .
Ma ny types and models of child restra int s have
been avai lab le over t he years, new models are in-
t roduced regu larly incorporating new and im-
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restra ints of the same type typically have
different weights and sizes and different 'foot-
prints,' the size and shape of the bottom of the
ch ild rest raint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These d iffe rences
make it virt ua lly imposs ible to cert ify comp lian ce
wit h t he requi rements for adva nced air bags w it h
each and every child restra int tha t has ever been
sold in the past or wi ll be so ld over the course of
the usef ul life of your vehicle .
For t his reason, the Unit ed Sta t es Nation al High -
way Traffic Safety Admin istrat ion has published a
list of specific type, makes and mode ls of chi ld
restraints that must be used to certify compli -
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your ve hi-
cle w it h the suppress ion requirements of Federa l
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. These chi ld
restra ints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 2S, 2007
Ride AA2403FOF
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