2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER Owners Manual

-Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF
light comes on and stays on . If the PA S­
SEN GER AI R BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat o r infant car­
r ie 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 authorized Audi dealer .
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to abou t 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.
Fig . 128 Re arwar d-fa cing in fan t sea t, pr operly instal ­
l e d on t he p asseng er se at
"' 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 ch ild safety seat
from moving
r::!v page 138 .
"' Push the child safety seat down wit h your
full weight to get the safety bel t rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
I nfants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best prot ected in special infant carriers
and chi ld safety seats design ed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
sm all ch ildren should ride only in spec ia l re­
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
Child S afety 13 5
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba­
by 's back, neck and head in a crash
~ fig. 128.
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward -facing d irect ion . Such re ­
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small chi ld ren
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety sea t on the fron t passenger seat
un less t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS·
SENGER A IR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inf lating a irbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier w ith great f orce 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.
- Always read and heed al l WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
r::!v page 101, Safety
belts, r::!vpage 109, Airbag system
and
r::!v page 130, Important things to know .

136 Child Safet y
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety s eats
can h elp protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 129 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the seat
usin g the vehicle'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
Q page 138.
~ 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 138.
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 ch ildren 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
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certi fied for the ir size and weight
Q fig. 129.
&_ WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, us ing the
w rong ch ild safety seat or improperly in­
stal ling a child restraint increases the risk
o f se rious persona l injury and death 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 seriously 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, door o r
roof .
- Neve r install a rearward facing child
safety sea t on the fron t passenger seat
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 101, Safety
belts,
Q page 109, Airbag system and
Q page 130, 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 the 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 .

-Always make sure the backrest 1s in an
upr ight position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
O FF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the checks¢
page 120, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- If the PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on have the
airbag system inspected immed iately by
your authorized Aud i dealer.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall .
Fig. 130 Passenger seat : child proper ly rest ra in ed in a
booster seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tal l and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil­
d ren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly over the stronger parts of their bod ies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash .
• Do no t use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re ­
strain a child on a booster seat.
• The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child · s collar bone as possible
and must lie and snug on the upper body.
It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
Child S afety 13 7
across the stomach or abdomen . Make s ure
the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on the belt
to tighten if necessary.
Children up to at least 8 yea rs old (over 40
lbs. or 18 kg) are best protected in child safe­
ty seats des igned for their age and weight. Ex­
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable ch ild restra int .
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the ch ild's body in the r ight places . The
rout ing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protect ion, whether
o r not a booster seat is used.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt port ion of the vehicle's
safety belt alo ne to rest ra in any ch ild, regard­
l ess of how big the ch ild is. Always remember
that children do not have the prono unced pel­
vic structure required for the prope r funct ion
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point lap and shou lder belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as poss ible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
c hi ld's stoma ch or abdomen.
In a crash, a irbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force . In order
to do its job, the a irbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be the re to protect the occupant
as the o ccupant moves forwa rd into the a ir ­
bag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of posit io n and
too close to the a irbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag . When an occ upant is too
cl ose, he or she will be struck violently and
Ill>

138 Child Saf ety
will receive serious or possibly even fata l
injury .
I n o rder for the airbag to offe r protection, it is
important that all vehicle occ upants, especia l­
l y any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circ umstances, 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 ­
p letely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal col lisions.
_& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
t er sea t imprope rly, incorre ct ly ins talling a
booste r seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of se ri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other eme rgency s ituation. To help re­
duce the risk of ser ious persona l injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child 's collar bone as poss i­
ble and must lie and snug on the upper
body. It mus t never lie across the throat
o r neck . The lap belt must lie across the
pelvis and never across the stomach o r
abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat
and snug. Pull on the be lt to t igh ten if
necessary.
- F ailure to properly route sa fety belts
over a ch ild' s body will cause severe inju­
ries in an acc ident or other emergency
situation
<:!;,page 101.
- 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 a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on the
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
yo ur vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident 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 o f excep­
tional circ umstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght must 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 ch ecks descr ibed ¢
page 120, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
the ig nit ion is switched on the infla ting
ai rb ag w ill hi t the child sa fe ty seat or in­
fant car rier with g reat force an d will
smash the child sa fety 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 NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
¢ page 101, Safety
belts,
¢ page 109 , Airbag system and
r:!;, page 130, 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 retracto rs
for the front passenger's seat safety belt have
a convertible locking retracto r for child re ­
stra ints . The safety be lt must be loc ked so
that be lt webb ing cannot unree l. The r etrac­
tor can be a ctivated to lock the safety belt and
prevent the s afety be lt webb ing from loosen­
ing up d uring norma l dr iv ing. A child safety
seat can only be properly insta lled when t he
safety belt is locked so that the chi ld and child
safety seat will stay in place. ..,.

Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
child should always ride in the seat properly
restrained for its age and size.
_&. WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­ ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:::;, page 130. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:::;, page 111, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
_&. WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing child restra int is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Child Safety 139
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
c:::;, page 120, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on the inflating
airbag will hit the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier 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 Audi dealer.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
_&. WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- 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.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­ straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- 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 forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position. •
•

140 Child Saf ety
- Make sure that 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 c hild 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 carrier 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 tet her strap 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 injury to the child .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever 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 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 immedia tely 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 child res traint o n a seat .
" Slowly pu ll the belt
all the way out .
" Route it a round or throug h the child re­
s train t belt pa th
~ ,& .
" Push the ch ild safety sea t down wi th yo ur
full weight to get t he safety be lt really tight.
" Insert the belt tong ue into the b uckl e for
that seating position .
" Guide the safety be lt back into the retractor
until the be lt lies flat and snug o n the child
safety seat.
" You 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 .
" Ma ke s ure that the red release b utton is fac ­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quick ly.
" Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
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. ~

A loose chi ld safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
wh ich the child restraint is installed is in
an upr ight position . Otherwise, the seat­
back with the child safety seat attached
to it could fly forward in the event of an
acc ident or other emergency situat ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rain ed in ave­
hicle is being used
~page 130. Spec ial
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
sa fety sea t on the fron t passenge r sea t
~ page 111, Child restrain ts on the fron t
seat -some impor tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re ­
straints will be deactivated automatically
when the belt is wound all the way back into the retractor.
~ P ress the red button on the safety be lt
buck le . The belt tongue will pop out of the
buck le.
~ G ui de the safety belt all the way back into
i ts stowed posit ion.
A lways let the safety belt retract comp lete ly
into its stowed posit ion. The safety belt can
now be used as an ord inary safety belt with­
out the convert ible lock ing retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
If the convert ible locking retractor s hou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided completely back in ­
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea­
ture . If the convertib le loc king retractor is not
deactivated, the safe ty belt will g radua lly be­
come tighter and uncomfo rt a b le to wear .
A WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child sa fe ty seats in ­
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision .
Child Safet y 141
-Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convertible locking retracto r for
child restraints while the vehicle is mov ­
ing. You would not be restrained and
could be serious ly inju red in an accide nt.
- Always read a nd heed a ll WARNI NGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
Q page 130 . Special
prec autions app ly wh en insta lling a child
safety sea t on the fro nt passe nger seat
Q page 111, Child restraints on the fron t
seat -some important things to know.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re a re a number of sources of additiona l
in forma tion a bout child re st ra in t se lec tion, in­
stalla tion and use:
N HTSA advises that the best ch ild safety seat
i s the one t hat fits you r ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle, and that yo u will u se correc tly and
c onsistently.
Try before you buy!
U .S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1 -800 -424 -9153)
www . n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www .safe kids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span is h)
www .carseat .org
T ransport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 (800) 333-03 71 or call
1 (613) 998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa
area
www .tc .gc.ca/ roadsafe ty
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
•

142 Intelligent technology
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 res trict 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 vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electron ic control modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repa ir purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic 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 sys tem fault or other
condition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment .
Electronic Stability
Control (ESC)
The Electronic Stability Control increases driv­
ing stability.
F ig . 1 31 Center console with~ button
Intent and purpose
The Anti-Lock B ra ke System (ABS), Elec tronic
Differential Lo ck (EDL) and Anti-Slip Regula­
tion System (ASR) are integrated i n the Elec­
tronic Stability Control (ESC). It increases con­
tro l over the vehicle in handling conditions
close to the limit of "grip", such as when ac­
celerating and corner ing. It reduces the risk of
skidding under all road condit ions and at all
speeds and improves veh icle stability. When
road cond itions are poor, ESC makes it easier
to sta rt from a comp lete s top as we ll as accel­
era te and drive up hills. ESC sw itches on auto­
matically when yo u start the engine . It should
norma lly be activated at all times because this
ensures optimum vehicle stability .
Critical driving situations
With an overs teering vehicle ( the vehicle
tu rns too s harply and the rear wheels slide to­
ward the o utsi de of a curve), ESC primarily
brakes the outside 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 much
relat ive to vehicle speed while braking and it
starts to lock, brake pressure to this whee l is
reduced . This adjustment process can be felt ..,.