2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER ESP

Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, child restraints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe the information
and warnings in this section - for your own
safety as well as for that of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle . Some of the
features described in this sections may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others. If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Make certain that you follow the instruc­
tions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the
interest of your passengers.
- Always keep the complete owner's litera­
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell
your vehicle so that this important infor­
mation will always be available to the
driver and passengers.
- Always keep the owner's literature handy
so that you can find it easily if you have
questions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a variety of features
available to help reduce the risk of injury in an
Driving Safely 91
accident. The following is a listing of just a
few of the safety features in your Audi:
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all
passenger seating positions,
- safety belt pretensioners ,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags,
- side airbags in the seats
- adjustable head restraints,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features can work to­
gether as a system to help protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always properly adjusted and
properly used!
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu­
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
~ Make sure that all lights and signals are op­
erating correctly .
~ Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
~ Make sure that all windows are clean and
afford good visibility to the outside.
~ Secure all luggage and other items carefully
c::>page 62.
~ Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
~ Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir­
rors correctly for your height .
~ Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height .
~ Make sure to use the right child restraint
correctly to protect children¢
page 130,
Child Safety.
~ Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page 59,
Seats and storage. .,..
•
•

92 Driving Safel y
• Fasten your safety belt and wear it proper ly.
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts proper ly
¢ page 101.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi­
tion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver's ability to concentrate on the rood
without being distracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the
vehicle and all of its occupants. If your ability
to drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road
¢ .&, .
Therefore:
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passen­
gers or by using a cellular telephone.
• NEVER drive when your dr iving ability is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, drugs, etc.) .
• Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense .
• ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traff ic
and weather condit ions.
• Take frequent breaks on long trips . Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch .
• Do NOT drive when you are tired , under
pressure or when you are stressed.
A WARNING , .
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used .
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor­
tant for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 104 Correct seat ing posit ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
following position:
• Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween the steering wheel and your breast
bone¢
fig . 104 .
• Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
while keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
¢.&, .
• Grasp the top of the steer ing whee l with
your elbow(s) slightly bent.
• Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible .
• Adjust the steering wheel so that the steer­
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face.
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position so that your back
comes in full contact with it when yo u drive.
• Fasten and wear safety be lts correctly
¢ page 102.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times .

-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 .
•
•
-

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 .,.
•
•

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 . •
•

when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu­pant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil­
dren. Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
s itting position in the vehicle while traveling
c:>& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used .
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> page 102.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear end collisions and in a
rollover above a particular severity , safety
belts in use are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts for the front seating positions are equipped with safety belt pretensioners.
T he system is activated by sensors in front,
side and rear-end collisions and in a rollover of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes
up belt slack
c:> &. in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 107.
Taking
up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision .
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated once .
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear-end collisions and in accidents in­
volving very little impact force, the safe­
ty belt pretensioners are not activated.
Safety belts 107
-When the safety belt pretensioner is ac­
tivated, a fine dust is released. This is
normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped. An au­
thorized Audi dealer is familiar with
these regulations and will be pleased to
pass on the information to you .
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
mental and other regulations if the vehi­
cle or individual parts of the system, par­
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this
service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, remov ­
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
s ion.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment .
A WARNING r----
Improper care, servicing and repair proce-
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti­
vated only once. If belt pretensioners have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
1)1,,
•
•

Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways wear their safety belts properly and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
q page 92,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 93,
"" Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 102,
"" Always use the proper child restraint to pro-
tect children properlyq
page 130.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries
if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec ­
tion in certain frontal collisions
q page 92,
Proper occupant seating positions. For details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols
q page 60.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained
q page 130.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 109
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver s eat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation o f the airbag system, please con­
tact your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop , or call Audi Customer Relations at
1-800-822-2834 for possible modification to
your vehicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will f ill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the driver and between the instru­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshie ld again without inter­
ruption .
A ll of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in comb ination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc­
cupant's forward movement . Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash. In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle de ce lerat ion rate
caused by the collision and regis te red by the
elec tron ic control uni t. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle dama ge
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not . •
•
...

Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
tails about chi ldren and Advanced Airbags
~ page 130.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
a ll chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, are properly restrained for their age and s ize. The airbag on the passenger side
makes the front seat a potentially dangerous
p lace for a child to ride. The front seat is not
the safest place for a child in a forwa rd-facing
chi ld safety seat. It can be a very dangero us
p lace for an infant or a c hild in a rearward-fac ­
ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been cert ified to comp ly with the require­
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Sta ndard
~ page 132.
The PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied ,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
A irbag sys tem 111
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat ¢
page 120, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the contro l unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical
1 year-o ld
c h ild but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENG ER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on t he passenger side has not
been t urned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, th e airb ag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
~ page 132), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel will come on and stay
o n.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) ev en if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not si tt ing uprig ht w ith their back against a
non-re clined ba ck rest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenger seat ¢
page 92, Proper seating po­
sition for the driver .
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the
Federa l Standard requ ires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury th ro ugh interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those ..,. •
•