2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER ESP

A WARNING
1
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, o r change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instr ument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
s u rfaces covering the airbag units .
- For cleaning the ho rn pad or ins trumen t
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain water . Solvents or
cl eaners cou ld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repai r, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, instru­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipmen t necessa ry.
- For any work on the ai rbag system, we
st rongly recommend that you se e you r
au thori zed Aud i dealer o r qualified wo rk­
shop.
- Never mod ify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate witho ut interferen ce:
- Never insta ll seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use add itiona l seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the origina l seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­ bag module must always be repa ired
A irbag system 13 1
immediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activate d only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it m ust be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified technician who has
the technical info rmation , training and
special equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
men t pa rts designed and approved espe­
cially fo r you r A udi model versi on. Re­
placemen t of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r­
formed by qualified wo rkshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are sepa rated
from the veh icle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Wor k on the pyrotechnic c ircui t inte r­
rupter m ust only be performed by a
qualified dea le r - risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
is scrapped, a ll applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be cl assified as Perchlorate
Materia l - specia l hand ling may a pply, see
www .dtsc .ca. gov/hazard o u swaste/ per-
ch [orate. When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety be lts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all app licab le laws and regu la­
tions must be obse rved. Your authorized
A udi dealer is familia r with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer per form this service for you .
•
•
• •

136 Airbag system
o ther injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
side airbags wi ll deploy only once and on ly in
certain kinds of accidents - your safety belts
are a lways there to offer protect ion .
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion . In some co llisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety be lts a re al­
ways there to offer protec tion in those acci­
dents in wh ic h ai rbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignition is turned off
- in s ide collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers.
I n some types of acc idents the front a irbags
and side a irbags may be triggered together.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and t he ai rbag system will
only provide protection when occ upants
are in the proper seating posit ion
¢page 137.
-If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the veh icle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The a irbag may
not work p roperly when the vehicl e ac­
celeration in a side co llision is h igh
enough to activa te the airbag.
-
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig . 1 29 Inflated s ide a irbags on left s ide of veh icle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and b reaks through
a seam in the seat surface area ma rked "AIR ­
BAG".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
t hi s additional protection, the side airbag
must inflate w ithin a fraction of a second at
very h igh speed and with great force . The sup­
pleme nta l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos it ion is not proper or upright or if
items are loca ted in the area where the s up­
pleme nta l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children ¢
page 138, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occ upant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lis ion ¢
fig. 129.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.

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.

Child Safety 141
Subpart
C -Forward-facing and convertible child restraints
Model
Britax Roundabout E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519
Cosco Summit Deluxe High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Booster 22-209
Manufactured on or after
September 25, 2007
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Evenflo Tribute V 379xxxx
E venflo Medallion 254
----------
Evenflo Generations 352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport
----~-,
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo
-------
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on .
- 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
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier with 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
authorized Audi dealer .
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function. September 25, 2007
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
.., Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 143.
.., Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
.., When using the vehicle sa fety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 146.
.., Push the ch ild 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).
"'If a strap or tethe r is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a .,..
•
•

142 Child Safety
child should a lways ride in the seat properly
restrained for its age and size.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong ch ild safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
- All veh icle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle .
- An unrestra ined or improperly rest rain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve ­
hicle or by being ejected from it d uring
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflat ing
airbag.
- Commercially ava ilable child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a ch ild restra int, sele ct
one that fits yo ur child and the veh icle .
- Only use child restrain t sys tems tha t
fu lly contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion . The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side . Aud i does
not recommend using ch ild safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact w ith the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions p rov ided by the manu­
facture r of the seat you are using .
- Never let mo re than one child occupy a
child safety seat .
- Never let babies or older chi ld ren ride in
a vehicle while s itting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Ho lding a chi ld in your arms is neve r a
substitute for a child restraint system. -
The st rongest pe rson could not hold
the child w ith the forces that ex ist in
an accident. The child will str ike the in­
terior of the veh icle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each another in an acc ident.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
un less 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 infl ating a irbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­ rier w ith great force and w ill smash the
child safety seat and child against the backrest, door or roof. Have the a irbag
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing child safety seats insta l­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere w ith the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the chi ld .
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the ch ild 's
safety and we ll-being require that the
following specia l precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-fac ing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat w ith a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufac­ turer's instructions provided w ith the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
i nto the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat 's fore and aft adjustment
range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the ch ild
r est raint.
- Always make sure that nothing p re­
vents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rea rmost position
i n its fore and aft adjus tment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
i n the upright pos ition.

146 Child Safety
will receive serious or possibly even fata l in­
jury.
I n o rder for the airbag to offe r protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especia l­
l y any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
a irbag as poss ible. By keep ing room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
_& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the boos­
ter sea t imprope rly, incorre ct ly ins talling a
booste r seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency s ituation. To help re­
duce the risk of ser ious persona l injury
and/or death:
-Always make sure to position the should­
er port ion of the three-po int belt over
the midd le of ch ild's shou lder .
- Never let the shoulder port ion of the belt
rest against or across the neck, face,
chin , or throat of the child .
- Always make sure the lap belt portion of
the three-po int be lt is worn snug and
passes as low as possib le across the
child's pelvis. Neve r let the belt pass over
the soft abdomen .
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a ch ild 's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an ac ciden t or other emergency
situa tion
9 page 109 .
-Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly injured or even killed when an air­
bag inf lates .
- Never le t a child sta nd or knee l on the
sea t.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
yo ur vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, si tting s ideways or out of posi-
.
tion in any way d uring an accident can be
struck by a dep loying a irbag. This will re­
sult in ser ious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght m ust come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, pe rform
the che cks descr ibed
9 page 128, Moni­
toring the Advan ced Airbag System.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
does not come on and stay on whenever
the igni tion is switched on the infla ting
a ir bag w ill hi t the child sa fety seat or in­
fant car rier with g reat force an d will
smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door or roof. Have
the airbag system inspected immed iately
by your Audi dea ler.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
¢ page 109, Safety
belts, ~page 117, Airbag system
and
~ page 138, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
' Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the front passenger con be
locked with the convertible locking retractor
to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the front passenger's seat safety belt have
a convertible locking retracto r fo r ch ild re­
st ra ints . The safety be lt must be loc ked so
that be lt webb ing ca nnot unree l. The retrac­
tor can be act ivated to lock the safety belt and
prevent the safety be lt webb ing from loosen­
ing up during norma l dr iv ing. A chi ld safety
seat can only be properly insta lled when t he
safety belt is locked so that the child and child
safety seat will stay in place. .,.

148 Child Safety
-Make sure t hat the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
Rearward -fac ing ch ild restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be ser iously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates - even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carri er wit h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the b ackrest, door or
roof.
- Alway s be espe cially caref ul if you must
ins tall a re arwa rd fa cing child s afety seat
on the front passenge r seat in exception ­
al circumstances .
- A tight tether st rap on a rearward-facing
child rest raint attached to the front pas ­
senger seat can put too much pressu re
on the weight-mat in the seat and reg is­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced A ir­
bag System. The heav ier we ight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Ai rbag when it must
be s uppressed causing ser ious o r even
f a tal inj ury to the child .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whe never the ignition i s switched
on.
- 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 t he PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rie r 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
au thori zed Au di d ealer .
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cu re a child re strain t.
Always heed the ch ild safety sea t manufactur­
er's instr uctions when installing a child re­
st ra in t in your veh icle . To a ctivate the conve r­
t ible lo cking re tractor:
.,. Place t he ch ild restraint on a seat .
.,. Slowly pu ll the belt
all the way out .
.,. Route i t around or th roug h the child re­
s train t belt pa th
~ .&, .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Guide the safety belt back i nto the retractor
until the be lt lies flat and snug o n the child
safety seat.
"" Yo u should hear a "cl icking " noise as the
be lt winds back into the inertia ree l. Test the
convert ible lo cki ng re tr actor by pulling on
t he belt. You s hould no longer be ab le to
pull t he be lt out of the retrac to r. T he con ­
vertible locking retracto r is now activated .
.,. Make s ure that the red release button is fac ­
ing away from the child rest raint so that it
can be unbuckled quick ly.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety be lt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
s e at ca nnot move forwa rd or sideways more
than one inch ( 2.S cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child res traint o r an i m­
pr operly ins talled chi ld restraint can cause
se rious pe rsonal injury or deat h in a c rash.
- Always ma ke sure tha t t he safe ty belt re-
trac to r i s loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An un locke d safety belt re­
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
-
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it. ~

150 Intelligent te chn olog y
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose o f capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down­ loading of data stored by EDR 's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of elect ron­
ic control modules for various v ehicl e systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
sa fety belts .
These electron ic co ntrol modules also record
vehicle-re lated data du ring norma l vehicle op­
er ation for diagno stic and repa ir purposes .
T he recording capacity of the elec tronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re ­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other condition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data t hen stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
syst em use and performanc e in the event of a
c rash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment .
Electronic Stabilization
Program (ESP)
The Electronic Stabilization Program increas­
es driving stability .
Fig . 1 33 Ce nt er conso le wi th~ bu tto n
Intent and purpose
T he Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Elec tronic
D ifferential Lock (EDL) a nd Anti-Slip Regula ­
tion System (ASR) are integrated i n the Elec­
tronic Stabilization Program (ES P).
It increas ­
es control over the vehicle in handling condi­
tions close to the limit of "grip", such as when
acce lerat ing and cornering .
It reduces the r isk
of skidd ing under all road conditions and at
all speeds and improves vehicle stability .
When road condit ions are poor, ES P makes it
easier to start from a complete stop as well as
acce le rate a nd d rive up hills . E S P s witches o n
automatica lly when you start the engine. It
shou ld normally be activated at a ll t imes be ­
cause this ensures optimum veh icle stability .
Critical driving situations
Wi th an oversteering vehi cle ( the vehicle
tu rns too sharply and the rear wheels slide to­
ward the o utside of a cu rve), ESP primari ly
brakes the o utside front wheel, with an
un­
dersteering vehicle (the vehicle does not turn
sharp ly enough and pushes out of a curve) it
brakes the inside rear whee l or other addition­
al wheels. This brake inte rvent ion is accompa­
nied by noises .
If the speed of a wheel s lows down too m uch
rela tive to vehicle speed while braking and i t
starts to lock, brake pressure to this whee l is
reduced . This adjustment process can be felt ..,.