2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER child seat

122 Airbag sys te m
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced A irbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system i nspected imme­
diately by your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front air bag inflates, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearwa rd-fac ing
child safety seat, or in a forward- facing
child restraint that has not been prope rly
installed will be serious ly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your ve hicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride proper ly
restrained for their age and s ize.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS ·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay, on the inflating airbag
wi ll hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier 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.
-A tight tether or other strap on a rear­ ward-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on t he weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register mo re weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
we ight registe red can make the system
-
wo rk as though an adult we re on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed, causing serious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, i n exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing c hild re·
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat i nto its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
a s poss ible. The b ackrest mus t be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition . Make s ure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when ­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
=
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitt ing
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, have the ai r­
bag system inspected by yo ur autho rized
Aud i deale r before t ransporti ng anyone
on the front passenger se at.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in t he front pas­
senger seat de tects an empty seat, the
front ai rbag on the passe nger side wi ll be
t urned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
w ill stay on.
-
Care, service and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Audi . Insta lling,
removing, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag system a nd prevent that system from
working properly in a coll is ion.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that th e effectiveness of
the system w ill not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol -
l u te the environment. ..,.

126 Airbag sys te m
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
a lso deploy in frontal co llisions when the de ­
p loyment threshold stored in the control unit
is met.
When the system dep loys fill the airbags with
a prope llant gas, and inflate between the low­
er part of the instrument panel and the driver
and the lower part of the instrument panel
and the front passenger
<=> page 118, fig. 122.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cush ion" the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the lower
extremities.
A ll of this takes place i n the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The a irbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that noth ing
should be in the ir way when they deploy.
Fu lly inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the r isk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to help the safety belts and
a ir bags to provide supp lemental protection .
,&. WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious
injury. Wear ing sa fety belts inco rrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
just ing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front passenge r keep their upper bodies and knees at the following m
inimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the stee ring wheel/inst ru­
ment panel.
- at leas t 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean fo rward or to the s ide, or if the
seat is improperly posi tioned and you are
not wearing yo ur safety belt. The risk in ­
creases even more should the a irbag de­
ploy.
- Always ma ke sure that the knee airbag
can inf late without interference. Objects
between yo u and the airbag can increase
the risk of in jury in an accident by inter­
fering w ith the way the a irbag deploys or
by being pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, espec ia lly children
or anima ls in the footwe ll in front of
the passenger seat. If the a irbag de·
ploys, th is can result in serious or fatal
injur ies.
- No objects of any k ind shou ld be car­
ried in the footwell area in front of the
driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky ob­
jects (shopping bags, for example) can hamper o r prevent proper deployment
of the airbag . Small objects can be
th rown thro ugh the veh icle if the air­
bag deploys and injure yo u or your p as­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air ­
bags are located .
- If child ren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
<=> page 130, Child Safety.

128 Airbag system
-in front -end collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in ro llovers.
In some types of accidents the front airbags
and side a irbags may be triggered together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the a irbag system wi ll
only p rov ide protection when occupants
are in the proper sea ting posit ion
¢page 128.
- If the airbag indicato r light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The airbag may
not work properly when the vehicle ac­
celeration in a side co llision is high
enough to activate the airbag.
How supplemental side airbags work
-
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re ­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 127 Inflated side air bags on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered , the airbag is
fi lled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
B AG".
It expands between the side t rim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
this additiona l protection, the side airbag
must inflate with in a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­
plemental side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup ­
p lemental side a irbag expands . This appl ies
especia lly to childre n ¢ page 130, Child Safe- ty
. Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
li sion
¢ fig. 12 7.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
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 accord ingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
-
An inflat ing s ide a irbag can cause se rious
or fata l injury. Improperly wearing safety
bel ts and imp roper sea ting positions in­
crease the r isk of se rious personal injury
and dea th whenever a vehicle is being
used .
- In order to reduce the risk of in jury w hen
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean aga inst the area whe re the
supplementa l side airbag is located .
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest
their head aga inst the s ide trim pane l
i n the area where the s upplementa l
s ide airbag inflates .
- Always make sure that safety be lts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone s itting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of the ir body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the s ide airbag
can inf late without inte rfe rence.

-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.
- 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 ~
page 130, Child Safety .
Airbag system 129
-Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .
•
•

130 Child Saf ety
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 104. 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 bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­ ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the United States and provinces of Canada have
l aws requiring 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. T his 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 serious in­
jury in an acc ident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your child's size¢
page 133, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats .
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important informat ion and WARN INGS
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
work 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
-
All vehicle occupants and especially chi l­
dren must be restra ined properly whenev­
er riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child could be in­
jured by strik ing the interior or by being
ejected from the vehicle during 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 ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild
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 against 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
authorized 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.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
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
Child Safety 131
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 .
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 size . 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
ll-
•
•

132 Child Saf ety
typical 1 year -old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag
System compares the weight meas ured by the
weight sensing mat with the in format ion stor­
ed in the electron ic contro l unit.
The electron ic contro l unit a lso registers the
tension on the front passenge r safety belt.
The tens ion on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be d ifferent for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com­
pared to the tension on t he be lt whe n it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The senso r below the latch fo r the safety be lt
fo r the front seat passenger measu res the
tension on the be lt. T he inp ut from this sen­
sor is then used with the we igh t to "decide",
whether there is a chi ld restraint with a typica l
1 year-o ld child o n the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure tha t it has been ce rtified to meet
Un ited States Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety
S tanda rds a nd has been cer tified by its manu­
facture r fo r u se wit h an air bag. If i n excep­
tional circumstances yo u m ust use it on the
front passenge r seat, caref ully read all of the
info rmation on c hild safety an d Advanced Air­
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN­
INGS. Make certai n that t he child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing
mat i nside the front passenger seat, that the
fro nt passenge r airbag is tur ned off and that
the airbag status is a lways correctly signaled
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Many types and models of child restra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
e ls ar e introduced regularly incorporat ing new
a nd improved designs a nd older models are
taken out of p ro du ction. Child res traints are
not stan dardized . Ch ild restra ints o f the same
type typically have different weights and s izes
a nd d ifferent 'footprints,' the s ize and s hape
of the bottom o f the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a veh i­
cle seat. These differences make it virtually impossible to certify compliance wi
th t he re ­
quirements for a dvanced airbags with eac h
and every ch ild restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or wi ll be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For t his reason, the United States National
Hig hway T raffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, ma kes and
m odels of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w ith the su ppr ession
r equirem ents of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints a re :
Subpart A -Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Guard Angel
R ide AA 2403F OF Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model
Century Sm art Fi t
4 543
Cosco Arriva
22 -013PAW and base
22-999 WHO
Evenflo Discove ry Ad­
just Right 212
E venflo First Choice
2 04
Graco Infant 8457
G raco Snug ride
Peg Perego Pr im o Vi­
aggio SIP IMU NOOUS Manufactured on or
after
D ecembe r 1, 1999
Septemb er 25, 20 07
Decembe r 1, 1999
D ecember 1, 1 999
Decembe r 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints '
.
'
.
Model Manufactured on or
·
B rita x Round about
E 9 L0 2xx after
Sep
tember 25, 2007
Cosco Touriva 02519 Decemb er
1, 1999
'

Model Manufactured on or
after
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
H igh Back Bo oste r
22-262
Co sco High Bac k Boos -September 2S, 2007
ter 22- 209
Evenfl o Tribut e V
379xxxx September 25, 2007
December 1, 1999
E
venflo Genera tions September 25, 2007
35 2xxxx
Grace ComfortSport September 2S, 2007
Grace Toddler Sa fety September 25, 200 7
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint 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 a nd stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat o r infant ca r­
rie r wi th great fo rce and will smash the
c hild s afety seat and child agains t the
backrest, door or roof . Have the airbag
system inspected immedia tely by your
authorized Audi dealer.
(D Tips
The ch ild seats listed in catego ries A to C
have been sta tica lly tested by Au di only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
.
Child Sa fet y 133
Important safety instructions for us ing
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are respons ible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle , especially ch il­
dren:
"' Always use the r ight ch ild safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
r=;, page 135.
"' Always carefully fo llow the child safe ty seat
manufac turer's inst ruct io ns on how to ro ute
the sa fe ty be lt properly through the c hild
safety seat .
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
¢ page 138 .
"' Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot
move fo rwa rd o r
sideways more th an one inch
(2.5 cm).
"' If a st rap or tethe r is be ing 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 act ually on the seat.
A lways remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
c hi ld should always ride in the seat properly
restrained for its age and s ize.
A WARNING
N ot using a child safety seat, using the
wrong ch ild safety seat o r imprope rly in­
stalling a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious persona l inju ry and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained p rope rly
wheneve r riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrest rained or improper ly restrain­
ed ch ild can be injured or killed by be­
i ng t hrown against the ins ide of the
ve­
hicle or by being e jected from it dur ing
a sudden maneuve r o r i mpact .
•
•