2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER child restraint

128 Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
I Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System (includ ing the
electronic control unit, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each time you
turn on the ignition, the airbag monitoring in­
dicator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driving.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator light will first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
-If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in­
flate when it should.
-
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your authorized Audi dea ler.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 125 Sect ion from the instrument panel: PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG O FF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
<=> fig . 125.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
turned off by the electron ic control unit. Each
t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- w ill stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing chi ld restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight reg istered on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
bined weight of a typical 1 year-o ld restrain­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac-
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor ..,.

Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
I f the front passenger seat is not occ upied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PA S­
SENGER A IR BAG OF F
light will stay on. Nev­
er insta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat
c:> page 119, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and c:> page 138, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PA SS ENG ER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuously whenever the
ign it ion is on. If the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
l ight does not appear on and stay on a ll
the t ime, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then tu rning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
insta lled and that the safety be lt fo r the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
ro uted through the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint man ufacturer's in ­
structions;
- make su re that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen ­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt must not be loose or have loops of slack so
t h at the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
c:> page 146;
- make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenge r seatbac k and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
c hild safety seat to t he fro nt passenger
seat, make s ure t hat i t is no t so tight that it
A irbag system 129
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght s till
d oes not come on
and does not stay on con ­
tin uous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child rest ra int off the front passen-
ge r seat and have the a irb ag sys tem inspect ­
ed by yo ur authorized Aud i dealer. Do not
transport children witho ut a c hil d safety
seat.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht sho uld
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
c:> page 100, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an inco rrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under t he upho ls tery of the sea t have been
removed from the front passenger sea t,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the sa fe ty belt latch for the fron t passenger
seat.
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
l igh t in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
•
•

130 Airbag sys te m
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly ca nnot provide supp lemental pro ­
tect ion in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced A irbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when i t should.
- Have the airbag system i nspected imme ­
diately by your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearwa rd-fac ing
child sa fety seat, or in a forward- facing
child restraint that has not been prope rly
installed will be serious ly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your ve hicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride proper ly
restrained for their age and s ize .
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS ·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay, on the inflating airbag
wi ll hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier with great fo rce and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
-A tight tether or other st rap on a rear­
ward-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on t he weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register mo re weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
we ight registe red can make the system
-
wo rk as though an adult we re on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed, causing serious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild .
- If, i n exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing c hild re·
straint on the front passenger seat, al ­
ways move the seat i nto its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
a s poss ible. The b ackrest mus t be ad just­
e d t o an upright pos ition . Make s ure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when ­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
=
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitt ing
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, have the ai r­
bag system inspected by yo ur autho rized
Aud i deale r before t ransporti ng anyone
on the front passenger sea t.
(D Tips
If the weight -sensing mat in t he front pas ­
senger seat de tects an empty seat, the
front ai rbag on the passe nger side wi ll be
t urned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
w ill stay on.
-
Care, service and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Audi . Insta lling,
removing, se rv icing or repa ir ing a pa rt in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag sys tem a nd prevent that sys tem from
working properly in a coll is ion .
T here are some important things you have to
know to make sure that t he effec tiveness of
the system w ill not be impaired and tha t dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol -
l u te the environment . ..,.

134 Airbag system
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area is reduced by
fully deployed knee airbags .
Fig. 127 Inflated airbags protecting in a frontal coll i­
sion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger are deployed in certain but not all
frontal collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also deploy in frontal collisions above acer­
tain severity .
When the system is deployed, the airbags
start to fill with a propellant gas, and inflate
between the lower part of the instrument
panel and the driver and the lower part of the
instrument panel and the front passenger
¢ page 126, fig. 124.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremities.
All this takes place instantaneously, so fast
that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also in­
flate with a great deal of force and it is impor­
tant for occupant safety that nothing should be in their way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk. Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only
supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags to provide supplemental protection.
A WARNING ~
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The airbag system cannot protect you
properly if you are seated too close to
any of the airbag locations. When adjust­
ing their seat positions, it is important
that both the driver and the front pas­
senger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- 10 inches (25 cm) between the chest
and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees
and the lower part of the instrument
panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are not wearing your safety belt . The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­ ploy .
- Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between yourself and the airbag can in­
crease the risk of injury in an accident by
interfering with the way the airbag de­
ploys or by being pushed into you as the
airbag deploys.
- No persons (children) or animals
should ride in the footwell in front of

Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used .
- 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 interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace ­
ment 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 air­ bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
Airbag system 137
- Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
deploys or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates.
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cup holders, tel­ ephone 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 be­ come dangerous projectiles and cause injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys.
- 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 prevent the side airbags from be ­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­ backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must
always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly , their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
c:> page 138, Child Safety.
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .
•
•

138 Child Safety
Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The physical princip les of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash app ly also to children
¢ page 112. But unlike adu lts and teenagers,
their muscles and bones are not fully devel­
oped. In many respects children are at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than adults.
Because children 's bod ies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­ ly designed for their s ize, weight, and body
structure . Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
l aws requ iring the use of approved ch ild re­
straint systems fo r infants and small child ren.
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. Thi s means the weight of
the child would s uddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions,
only an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of serious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of ser ious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's s ize
c> page 141 , Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats .
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the impo rtant informat io n and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
wo rk when infants and children in chi ld re­
straints are on the front passenger seat. Be­
cause o f the large amount of important info r­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here. We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport ­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
.&, WARNING
-
A ll vehicle occupants and especially chi l­
dren must be restrained properly whenev­
er riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child could be in­
jur ed by str ik ing the interior or by being
ejected from the vehicle dur ing a sudden
maneuver or impact. An unrestra ined or
i mproperly restra ined child is also at great­
er risk of injury or death through contact
with an inflat ing airbag.
.&, WARNING
--Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-fac ing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, door or
roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on . If the PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not
come on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier w ith great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer.

A WARNING ,~
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install 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 manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6- year-old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn
off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Child Safety 139
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, a child should al­
ways ride in the seat properly restrained for
its age and si ze. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dan­
gerous place for a child to ride . The front seat
is not the safest place for a child in a forward­
facing child safety seat . It can be a very dan­
gerous place for an infant or a larger child in a
rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below 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 child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re­
straints 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 typical in­
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced Air­
bag System. When a child restraint is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi­
cal 1 year-old child, the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem compares the weight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor­
ed in the electronic control unit.
The electronic control unit also registers the
tension on the front passenger safety belt. ..,. •
•

140 Child Safety
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 com­
pared to the tension on the be lt 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
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint t hat you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag . If in excep­
tional c ircumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, caref ully read all of the
information on c hild safety and Advanced A ir­
bags and heed all of the applicable WARN­
INGS . Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing mat i nside the front passenge r seat, that the
fro nt passenger airbag is turned off and that
the airbag status is a lways correctly signaled
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light.
M any types and models of child restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod ­
e ls are in troduced regularly incorporating new
and improved designs and older models are
taken out of prod uction. Child restraints are
Subpart A -Car bed child restraints
Model
Ange l Guard Ange l Ride AA2403 FOF
Subpart B -Rear-facing child restraints
Model
C en tury SmartFit 4543
Cosco Arriva 22-013PAW and base 22-999WHO
Evenflo D iscovery Adjust Right 2 12
Evenflo First Cho ice 204
Graco Infant 8457
Graco Snugride
Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP IMUN00US tension on the belt. The input from th
is sen­
sor is then used with the weight to "decide",
whether there is a child restra int with a typical
1 year-old chi ld on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
not standard ized . Child rest raints of the same
type typ ically have different weights and sizes
and different 'foo tpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the chi ld restra int tha t sits
on the seat, when they are insta lled on a vehi­
cle seat. These diffe rences make it virtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re­
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of the useful l ife of your veh icle .
For t his reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of chi ld restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208. These chi ld restraints are:
Manufactured on or after
September 25, 2007
Manufactured on or after
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007 December 1, 1999
December 1, 1999
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007