2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER Owners Manual

-Children must always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and size
c:> page 130.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the
body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and will even in­
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to critical areas of the body .
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air­
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children. Therefore:
.,. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
c:> ,&. .
The following bullets list only some sample
positions that wi ll increase the risk of serious
injury and death . Our hope is that these exam ­
ples will make you more aware of seating po­
sitions that are dangerous.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
Driving Safely 95
-never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Sitting incorrectly places occupants at
risk of being critically injured if the air­
bags deploy and strike them.
- Before you start driving, seat yourself
properly and always maintain this seat­
ing position during the trip. Before each
trip, instruct your passengers to seat
themselves properly and to maintain this
seating position during the trip
c:> page 59, Seats and storage.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
A lways make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be­
tween yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag deploys or by
being pushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys .
- No persons (children) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat . If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv­
er 's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham­
per or prevent proper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and injure you or your passengers .
•
•
-

96 Driving Safely
Pedal area
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
• Make sure tha t all pedals move freely with­
out interference.
• Make sure that nothing prevents all pedals
from returning to their original positions.
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop .
A WARNING ,_
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver's
footwell. An object could get into the
pedal area and interfere with pedal func ­
tion. In case of sudden braking or an ac­
cident, you would not be able to brake or
accelerate!
-Always make sure that nothing can fall or move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
• Make sure that the floor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals
q .&_ .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot slip out of position. You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author­
ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of vehicle control and increase the
risk of serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering with
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already instal­
led floor mats. Additional floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the driver footwell while the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­ erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.

For example, in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10- lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
t he we ight of the item would suddenly be
about 200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the
in juries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flyi ng
freely through the passenge r compartment
could cause in a collision like t his.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle ca us ing se rious
personal inj ury in the event of hard b rak ­
ing or an acc ident. To help reduce the r is k
of serious personal injury :
- Always put objects, for examp le, luggage
o r othe r heavy items in the luggage com­
partment .
_& WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve­
hicle handles. To help reduce the r isk of a
loss of control leading to ser ious personal
injury:
- Always keep in m ind whe n transporting
heavy objects, t hat a change in t he cen ­
ter of g ravity can also cause changes in
vehicl e handling.
- Never exceed the G ross Ax le Weight Rat­
ing or t he Gross Veh icle We ight Rating
spe cified on t he safety compliance stic k­
er on the left door jamb. Exc eeding pe r­
missib le we igh t standa rds can cause the
vehicle to s lide and handle differently.
- Please observe info rm ation on s afe driv­
ing
~ page 91.
_& WARNING ,~ ~
Always make su re that the doors, all win ­
dows and the front lid are securely closed
an d locked to red uce the risk of in jury
when the veh icle is not being used .
- After closing the front lid, a lways make
s u re that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave you r vehicle unatten ded es­
pecially with the front lid left open . A
Dr iving S afel y 97
child cou ld craw l into the luggage com­
pa rtment and close the front lid becom­
ing trapped and unable to get out. Be ing
trapped in a veh icle can lead to serious
pe rsonal injury .
- Never let ch ildren play i n or around the
veh icle .
- Never let passengers ride in t he luggage
compartment . Vehicle occupants must
always be prope rly restra ined in one of
the vehicle 's seating pos it ions .
(D Tips
The t ire pressure must correspond to the
l oad . The t ire press ure is shown on the tire
p ressure label. The tire pressure label is lo­
cated on the d river 's s ide B-pillar. The t ire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at
it s m aximum c apac ity we igh t a nd the tires
that we re on your vehicle at the t ime it
was manufacture d. For recommended tire
pressures fo r normal load cond it ions,
pleas@ s@@ chapter c::> page 187.
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehi cle
ha s a defect which could cau se
a crash or could caus e injury or
death, you should immediately inform the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to notify­
ing Audi of Amer ica , Inc .
If NHTSA recei ves similar com­
plaints, it may open an investi­
gation , and if it finds that a
s afet y defect s exists in a group .,.
•
•

98 Driving Safely
of vehicles, it may order a recall
and remedy campaign. Howev­
er, NHTSA cannot become in­
volved in individual problems
between you, your dealer, or
Audi of America, Inc.
To contact NHTSA, you may call
the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll­
free at:
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY:
1-800-424 -9153) or
1-800-424-9393
or you may write to:
Administrator NHTSA
1200 New Jersey Avenue , SE
Washington, D .C . 20590
You can also obtain other infor­ mation about motor vehicle
safety from:
http://www.safercar.gov
Applicable to Canada
If you live in Canada and you
believe that your vehicle has a
defect that could cause a crash,
injury or death, you should im­
mediately inform Transport
Canada, Defect Investigations
and Recalls. You should also no­
tify Volkswagen Group Canada, Inc. Canadian customers who wish
to report a safety-related de­
fect to Transport Canada, De­
fect Investigations and Recalls ,
may either call Transport Cana ­
da toll-free at:
Tel. : 1-800-333-0510 or
Tel. : 1-819-994-3328 (Ottawa
region and from other coun­
tries)
TTY for hearing impaired: Tel.:
1-888-67 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
Transport Canada
Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga­
tions Laboratory
80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al
For additional road safety infor­
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at:
http:/ /www.tc.gc.ca/eng/
roadsafety/menu. htm

Active rollover protection system
Function
The active rollover protection system helps
protect vehicle occupants in the event of a
rollover.
I ~
l
I
~
l
t1
! t
Fig . 106 Rollbar deployment range
Fig. 107 Rollbar deployed
The active rollover protection system cons ists
of:
- two rollbars
- the safety belts with belt tens ioners
- the windshield frame
- the rollover sensors .
The active rollover protection system provides
additional safety in the event of a rollover.
W ith in mill iseconds, sensors deploy two roll­
bars located behind the headrests
¢fig . 107.
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect vehicle occupants
in the event of a rollover.
The rollover protection system functions
when the convertible top is both open and
closed.
Dr ivin g Sa fely 99
A WARNING
Do not use the area behind the headrests
¢ fig. 106 as a storage area . This is the
area where the rollbars deploy .
If the roll­
over protection system is triggered, ob­
jects placed there can be prope lled
through the vehicle and make it more diffi­
cult for the rollbars to dep loy. This inc reas­
es the risk for serious or life -threatening
i njuries.
When is rollover protection deployed?
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or
rollover .
Depending on the colli sion, sensors through­
out the vehicle a nd the contro l module trigge r
the rollover system to deploy.
For safety reasons, rollover protection also de­
ploys during front, side a nd rear co llisions
above a certa in level of sever ity.
Retracting rollover protection
Fig . 1 08 Dep loyed rollbar with release loop
Fig. 109 Deployed rollbar with convert ible top frame
facing upward
If t he ro llbars deployed but the vehicle was
not involved in a collision or rollover, you can
Ill-

100 Driving Saf ely
retract them without specia l tools . The sys­
tem is ready for use again once they are re­
tracted.
"" Remove the w ind deflector, if necessary
¢ page 42.
"" Lower the rear window, if necessary
¢page 43.
"" Pull the loop upward in the direction of the
arrow and hold it in place
(D ¢ fig. 108.
"" Slide the rollbar down@¢&, .
"" Release the loop just before the rollbar
reaches its end position 1-2 in. (3-5 cm) .
"" Press the rollbar dow n firm ly until it stops.
"" Make sure the rollbar is secure before re­
leasing it .
"" Close the cover@¢
fig. 109.
"" Repeat the procedure on the other rollbar.
A WARNING
-
- Make sure your head or other parts of
your body are not located in the area above the rollbar when pressing the roll­
bar down. If the rollbar is not secured
co rrectly, it could dep loy again as soon as
yo u r elease it and ca use i nju ries.
- Have the rollover protection system
checked by your au thorized Audi dealer if
i t malfunct ions. Otherwise the system
may not deploy co rrec tly in a co llision.
- Modifying the ro llover p rotection system
o r individ ua l components is not permi t­
ted.
- Work on t he rollover pro tect io n sys tem
sho uld only be performed by your au­
thori zed Aud i dea le r. Othe rwise the sys ­
tem may not function correct ly in a colli­
sion or it could dep loy unexpected ly .
- Have the system inspected at service in ­
tervals. This ens ures the system will a l­
ways be ready for use. Have yo ur autho r­
ized Audi dea ler check the rollover pro­
tection system every two years at the lat­
est.
If the rollbars dep loy when the convert ib le
top is closed, do not open the top. Doing so cou
ld result in damage to the vehicle.
P lease see your authorized A udi dealer for
ass istance.

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read all the information that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se­
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci­
de nts . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
imp aired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi R8 has two seating posit ions in the
front. Each seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
im proper ly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in ju ry and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, in­
clu ding small ch ild ren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in t he ve hicle
t h an t he re are safety be lts ava ilable.
Sa fety belts 1 O 1
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe­
ty belt or child restra int.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling up .
Fig. 1 10 Safety be lt warn ing lig ht in the instr ume nt
cl uster -enla rged
Before driv ing off, always :
~ Fasten your safe ty be lt and make su re you
wear it p roperly.
~ Ma ke s ure that yo ur passengers a lso buck le
up and wear their safety belts properly.
~ Protect children w it h a child restraint sys-
tem app ropriate for the size and age .
The wa rning light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up w hen t he ig nit ion is switched on as a
rem inder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
tion , you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also put on the ir safety
belts properly .
A WARNING
-Safety belts are the s ingle most effect ive
means ava ilable to reduce t he risk of se­
rio us i nju ry and death in au tomobile a cci­
dents. Fo r yo ur pro tection and tha t of
your passen gers, a lways wear safety
be lts cor rectly when the vehicle is mov­
ing . •
•

102 Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that comes on could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 111 Driver is properly restrained in a sudden brak ­
i ng maneuve r.
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "softly " through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron ­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­ ed . Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . The front a ir­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi­ tioned across the strongest bones of your
body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter .
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
_&. WARNING
Not wear ing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the r isk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on
the body.
- Never strap more than one person, in­ cluding small children, into any single
safety belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a chi ld sit­
ting on your lap.