2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER belt

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 ..,.

160 Cleaning and protection
Open Velcro fasteners on your clothing can
damage the seat cover. Please make sure
that Velcro fasteners are closed.
Natural leather
App lies to vehicles: with natura l leather
Audi makes great efforts to maintain the
properties, natural look and feel of interior leather.
General
We offer many different types of leather on
our vehicles. Most are different types of nappa
leather, which has a smooth surface and
comes in various colors.
The intensity of the color determines the visu­
al characteristics and appearance . If the sur­
face of the leather has a typical natural look,
then the leather is a nappa leather that has
been left in a relatively natural condition. This
leather offers particularly good comfort and
breathes well. Fine veins, closed grains, insect
bites, skin folds, and subtle variations in color
remain visible. These characteristics demon­
strate that the material is natural.
Natural nappa leather is not covered by a col­
or finish.
It is therefore more sensitive to soil­
ing and wear, which is something you need to
consider if children, animals or other factors
might prove to be particularly hard on the
l eather.
By contrast, leather types that are covered by
a colored finish layer are more durable. This
has a positive effect on the leather's resist­
ance to wear and soiling in daily use. On the
other hand, the typical characteristics of natu­
ral leather are barely or not apparent. Howev­
er, this does not mean that the leather itself is of inferior quality.
Care and handling
Because of the exclusive nature of the types of
leather that Audi uses and their unique prop­
erties (such as sensitivity to oils, grease, soil­ ing, etc.), you will need to be somewhat care- ful
with these leathers, and a certain type of
care is required . For example, dark clothing
materials can discolor leather seats (especial ­
ly if such clothing is damp and was not dyed
correctly). Dust and dirt particles in pores,
folds, and seams can have an abrasive effect and can damage the leather surface as well as
weaken seams .
The leather should be cleaned regularly as needed. After having been used for a relatively
long time, your leather seats will acquire a
rich aged finish. This is a characteristic of nat­
ural leather and a sign of true quality.
In order to maintain the value of this natural
product over the life of your vehicle, you
should follow the recommendat ions below:
(D Note
- To keep your leather from bleaching out,
do not allow it to be exposed to bright
sunlight for long periods of time. If you
have to leave the vehicle parked outside
for long periods, cover the leather to protect it from direct exposure to sun­
light.
- Sharp objects on clothing, such as zip­
pers, rivets or sharp pieces on belts can
leave permanent scratches or scrape
marks on the surface of the leather .
(D Tips
-After each time you clean the leather and
at regular intervals, use a leather preser­
vative creme that contains UV-blockers
and that works into the leather. This
creme will nourish and moisturize the
leather, helping it to breathe and stay
supple .
It also helps to build up a protec­
tive coating on the surface.
- Clean the leather every 2 -3 months,
and clean any areas that get soiled .
- Remove fresh marks made by ballpoint
pens, ink, lipstick, shoe polish, etc. as
soon as possible.
- Preserve the color of the leather as need­
ed by using a spec ial colored leather care
creme to touch up areas of uneven color .

162 Cleaning and protection
use and are not an indication of material
deterioration.
(U;) Note
- Never use chemical solvents (e.g. lighter
fluid , turpentine), waxes, shoe polish or
similar products on Alcantara ® surfaces.
- To avoid damage, have stubborn stains
removed by a commercial cleaning spe­
cialist.
- Do not use brushes, stiff sponges or sim­ ilarly abrasive cleaning aids.
Safety belts
Heavily soiled safety belts may not retract
properly.
• Keep belts clean.
• For cleaning, use a mild soap and water sol­
ution. Let belts dry thoroughly and away
from direct sunlight.
• Do not allow inertia reel safety bel ts to re­
tract before they are completely dry.
• Check the condition of your safety belts
reg ­
ularly .
_& WARNING
Damaged safety belts can break in a crash.
- Anything that might damage your safety
belts could mean that you and your pas­
sengers would not be adequately pro­
tected in an accident.
- Safety belt performance depends on cor­
rect installation. Never remove belts
from the vehicle to clean them.
- Do not use chemical cleaning agents,
bleach or dyes. They have corrosive prop­
erties which weaken the webbing.
- When cleaning your safety belts, inspect
them for damage. If you discover dam­
age, see your authorized Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
the information
¢page 153.
1) Use o nly the co rrect cle anin g so lu ti on s. Never use gas­
o lin e or die se l fuel.
Engine compartment
Be especially careful when cleaning the en­
gine compartment.
Corrosion protection
The engine compartment and transmission
have been corrosion-protected at the factory.
Good anti-corrosion treatment is very impor­
tant, particularly in the winter.
If the vehicle
is frequently driven on salt treated roads, the
entire engine compartment and plenum panel
should be thoroughly cleaned at the end of
winter and retreated to prevent salt damage .
At the same time, the underside of the vehicle should be washed as well.
If the engine compartment is cleaned at any
time with grease removing solutions
1> , or if
you have the engine washed, the anti-corro­ sion treatment is almost always removed as
well.
It is therefore essential to have a long­
lasting corrosion protection reapplied to all
surfaces, seams, joints and components in the
engine compartment.
A WARNING
Be aware: The engine compartment of any
motor vehicle is a potentially hazardous
area.
- Before working in the engine compart­
ment, be sure to read the information
¢page 169.
-Before reaching into the front plenum
panel, always remove the ignition key .
Otherwise, the windshield wiper system
could unintentionally be switched on,
possibly causing personal injury from the
moving wiper linkage.
- Never reach into the area around or
touch the radiator fan. The auxiliary fan
is temperature controlled and can switch
on suddenly- even when the ignition is
off.

Checking and filling Engine compartment
lid
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in the engine compartment!
Whenever you must perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling the different fluids, there is a risk
of injury, burns and accidents. To prevent per­
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a ha zardous area!
¢ &. .
_&. WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the engine compartment lid:
- Switch off the engine.
- Remove the ignition key.
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever of R tronic to "N"
(Neutral); put manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the engine compartment lid if you
see or hear steam or coolant escaping
from the engine compartment. Wait un­
til no steam or coolant can be seen or heard before carefully opening the en­
gine compartment lid.
- Keep children away from the engine com­
partment .
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant could spray out .
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
Checking and filling 169
-If work on the fuel system or the electri­
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or open flames . Fluids in the engine com­
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im­
mediately available .
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in ­
jury while the engine is running or being started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the engine running:
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever of R tronic to "N"
(Neutral); put manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact­
ing hot parts. Tie back hair before
starting, and wear no clothing that will
hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards¢& .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de­
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con­
tain or emit chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
•
•

The Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be applied at each
of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance sticker labe l located on the
driver's side B-pi llar . Your Audi has 2 seating
positions in the front for total seat ing capac i­
ty of 2. Each seating posit ion has a safety belt
c::> page 101, Safety belts.
The fact that there is an upper limit to your
ve hicle's Gross Veh icle Weight Rating means
that the total weight of whatever is being car­
ried in the veh icle is limited . The more passen­
gers in the veh icle or passengers who a re
heavier than the standard weights assumed
mean that less weight can be carried as lug­
gage.
The t ire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined we ight of all of the
occupants and luggage o r othe r cargo that
the vehicle can carry. For the location of the
la be l c::>page 187, fig. 148.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se­
r ious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than yo ur vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of the loss of veh icle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a veh icle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance .
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly, includ ing a b lowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal­
culate the total weight of the
Tires and wheels 191
passengers and luggage or oth­
er things that you plan to trans­
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi­
cle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ page 187,
fig. 148.
2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and pas­
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas­
sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 187, fig. 148.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci-
ty. For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150
lbs. passengers in your vehi­
c le, the amount of available .,..
•
•

-Undeployed airbag modules and preten ­
sioners might be classified as Perchlo­
rate Material -spec ia l hand ling may ap­
ply, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardous­
waste/perch lorate. When the veh icle or
parts of the restraint system includ ing
airbag modules safety belts wit h preten­
s ione rs are scrapped, all applicable laws
and regulations must be observed. Your
a uth o rized Aud i dea le r i s f amiliar w ith
these req uirements and we recommend
that you have your dea le r per fo rm this
service for you.
Additional accessories, modifications and
parts replacement
Additional accessories and parts
replacement
Always consult on authorized Audi dealer be­
fore purchasing accessories .
Your vehicle incorporates the latest safety de­
sign features ensuring a high standard of ac­
tive and passive safety .
This safety could be compromised by non -ap ­
proved changes to the veh icle. For this reason,
if parts have to be replaced, please observe
the following points when installing addition­
al accessories:
Approved Audi accessor ies and genuine Audi
parts are ava ilable from a uthorized Audi deal­
ers.
These dealers also have the necessary faci li­
ties, too ls and trained specialists to insta ll the
parts and accessor ies properly .
A WARNING
Using the wrong spare parts or using non­
approved accessories can cause damage to
the vehicle and se rious personal injury .
- Use only accessor ies expressly approved
by Audi and genuine Aud i spa re parts
Con sumer In formation 221
- These parts and accessories have been
specially designed to be used on yo ur ve­
hicle.
- Never install accessor ies such as tele­
phone crad les or beverage ho lders on air­
bag covers or within the airbag deploy­
men t zones . Do ing so wi ll increase the
ris k of injury if a irbags are triggered in an
accident!
- Before you check anything in the engine compa rtment, always r ead an d heed a ll
WARNI NGS
r:::;> poge 16 9.
(D Note
- If items other than genu ine Audi spare
par ts, add-on equipment and accessory
items are used o r if repair wo rk is not
performed ac cord ing to specified met h­
od s, this c an resu lt in seve re damage to
yo ur vehicle's engine and bo dy (s uch as
co rrosion) and adve rsely affect yo ur vehi ­
cle 's warranty.
- The innovat ive a luminium con cep t of
your Audi means that a ll servicing, re ­
pairs or other work on the vehicle body
must be carr ied out exclusive ly by an Au­
di workshop.
- If emergency repa irs must be performe d
elsewhere , have the veh icle examined by
an authorized Audi dealership as soon as
possible .
- The manufacturer cannot be held liable
for damage wh ich occ urs due to failure
to comply with these stipu lations.
Technical Modifications
Our guidelines must be complied with when
technical modifications ore mode .
Always consult an author ized Audi dealer be·
fore start ing work on any modifications.
T his will help ensure t hat veh icle function,
perfo rmance and safety are not impaired
c> _&. .
Attempt ing to work on e lec tronic componen ts
and t he software used with them can ca use
Iii>
•
•