2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER steering wheel adjustment

Seats and storage
General recommen­
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats are correctly adjusted.
There are various ways of adjusting the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable support
for the driver and the front passenger. Adjust
your seat properly so that :
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the
switches and controls in the instrument
panel
- your body is properly supported thus reduc­ ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and airbag system can offe r
maximum protection
¢ page 109.
In the following sections, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust your seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for installing a child safety seat on the front passenger's seat. Always heed the informa­
tion regard ing child safety provided in
¢ page 130, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal injury.
- Always keep your feet on the f loor when
the vehicle is in motion -never p ut your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the w indow or on top of the seat cush­
ion! This applies espec ially to the passen­
gers . If your seating position is incorrect
you increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident. If the
airbag inflates and the seating position
is incorrect this could result in personal
injury or even death.
- It is important for bo th the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of a t
Seat s an d sto rage 59
least 10 inches (25 cm) between them­
selves and the steering wheel and/or in­
strument panel. If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the airbag system can­
not protect you properly. In addition to
this, the front seats and head restra ints
must be adjusted to yo ur body height so
that they can give you max imum prote c­
tion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible be tween yourself and the s teer­
ing wheel o r instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpected ly, caus ­
ing sudden loss of vehicle control and
personal injury . If you ad just yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, you are out
of posit ion.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjust the driver's
seat in the fo llowing manner:
.,. Adjust the seat in fo re and aft direction so
t ha t you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor whi le keeping your knee sligh tly bent
c::> A in Why is your seat adjustment so im­
portant? on page
59 .
.,. Adjust the seatback so that when you sit
w ith your back against the seatback, you can
still grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.,. Pos it ion the head restraint accord ing to the
occupant 's height
c::> page 61 . For maxi­
mum protection, the top of the head re­
straint shou ld be at least at eye level, pref­
erably higher and idea lly level with the top
of the head
¢ page 94, fig. 105 .
A WARNING
Never place any objects in the dr iver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal funct ion. In
case of sudden braking or an acc ident, you
would not be able to brake or accelerate!

104 Safet y belt s
moving just before the crash, unti l something
stops them· here, the wall
r::!;> fig. 113.
The same pr inc iples apply to people sitting in
a veh icle that is involved in a fronta l co llision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs., or 1,000 kg) or
more. At higher speeds, these forces are even
greater .
People who do not use safety be lts are a lso
not attached to their vehicle. In a fronta l co lli ­
sion they will also keep mov ing forward at the
speed their vehicle was trave lling just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal coll is io ns, they determ ine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col·
lisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes, unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fi g. 114 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is violently
t h rown forward
Unbe lted occupants are not able to res ist the
tremendous fo rces of impact by holding tight
or brac ing themselves. Without the benef it of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc·
cupant w ill slam vio lent ly into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, winds hield, or what­
eve r else is in the way¢
fig. 114. This impac t
with the veh icle inter ior has all the energy
they had just befo re the crash.
Neve r rely on airbags a lone for p rotection.
E ven when they deploy, airbags provide only
a d dit ional p rotec tion. A irbags are no t sup- posed to deploy
in all k inds of accidents . Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, includ ing the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash .
Remember too, that airbags will dep loy only
o nce and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to dep loy or
when they have already dep loyed. Unbelted
occupa nts can a lso be th rown out of the veh i­
cl e where even more severe or fatal injuries
ca n occ ur.
How are safety belts
worn correctly?
Fastening safety belts
Seat first · everybody buckle up!
Fig . 115 Head restraint adjustment and belt position
Fig. 116 Be lt buck le an d tongue on the dri ver's seat
To p rov ide max imum protect ion, safety belts
mus t always be posi tioned co rrec tly on the
wea rer's body.
.. Adjust the fro nt seat and head rest raint
p rope rly
r::!;> page 59, Seats and storage.

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 . •
•
...

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-
•
•

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 ..,.