2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER airbag

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

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.

-Always buc kle the c hild safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it.
A loose ch il d safety seat can fly ar ound
dur ing a su dden stop or in a col lisio n.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=> page 109, Safety
belts,
c> page 117, Airbag system and
¢ page 138, Child Safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whe never a
child rest rain t 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
PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come o n and stay on the inflating airbag
w ill hit the child safety seat o r infant car­
rier with great fo rce and will smash the
child safety seat and child again st the
backrest, door or roo f. Have the airb ag
system inspected immedia tely by your
authorized Audi dea ler.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
.
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
Fi g. 1 30 Rearward -fac ing infa nt seat , prope rly in sta l­
le d on t he p asse nger seat
Child S afety 143
.. When using the vehicle sa fet y belt to install
a child safety seat , you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
c> page 146.
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r
full weig ht to get t he safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd o r
sideways mo re tha n one inch ( 2.5 cm).
Infants up to about one year
(20 lbs . or 9 kg)
are best protec ted in spec ial infant carriers
and ch ild safety seats designed for thei r age
gro up. Ma ny exper ts believe that infants and
sm all chi ld ren s hou ld r ide o nly in speci al re­
stra ints in which the child faces the back of
the ve hicle . These infant seats sup port the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a c rash
c> fig . 130 .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a ch ild restrai nt increases the risk
of ser ious personal inju ry and death in a
crash.
- Never i nstall a rear -fac ing ch ild restrai nt
in the forward-facing d irect ion . Such re­
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small chi ldren
and cannot pro te ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
-
- Never install a rearward facing child
safe ty sea t on the fron t passenger sea t
unless t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not
come on and stay on the inf lating a irbag
wi ll hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier w ith great f orce and w ill smash the
child safety seat and child agai nst t he
backrest, door or roof. Hav e the a irbag
sy stem in spected immediately by your
a uthor ized A udi de aler.
- Always rea d and heed all WAR NIN GS
wheneve r us ing a child res traine d in ave­
hicle is be ing used
c> p age 109, Safety
belts, ¢page 117, Airbag system
and
c> page 138, Important things to know .

144 Child Safet y
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 13 1 Schematic overv iew: in stallat ion of t he seat
us ing the ve hicle's safety belt system
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the safety belt to prevent the c hild safety seat
from movi ng
Qpage 146.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
Qpage 146.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
Toddlers and c hildren who are o lder than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
Qfig. 131 .
&_ WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, us ing the
w rong ch ild safety seat or improperly in­
stal ling a child re straint increases the risk
o f se rious persona l injury and de ath in a
co llision or othe r eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on t he front seat of a ny car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an air -bag inflates. A chi
ld in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
for ce and will smash the child saf ety seat
and child aga inst the ba ckrest, doo r or
roof.
- Neve r install a rearward facing child
safety sea t on the fron t passenger sea t
un less t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OF F
light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immediately by your au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
¢ page 109, Safety
belts,
Q page 117, Airbag system and
Q page 138, Important things to know .
&_ WARNING
--
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a fo rward-facing child restraint on
the front pa ssenger 's sea t, the child's safe­
ty and we ll-bei ng req uire t hat the fo llow­
i ng spec ial precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward- facing seat has
been designed and cert ified by its man u­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer 's in ­
structions p rovided with the chi ld safety
seat or carrie r.
- A lways move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­ ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­b le before installing t he ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger 's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range .