2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER Owners Manual

For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see ¢
page 5 7, General recom­
mendations.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock
positions to help reduce the risk of per­
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in­
flates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple­ mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
-Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop­
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect­
edly and you could lose control of the ve­
hicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
Driving Safely 95
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢
page 132 . Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat¢
page 111.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position:
"'Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
"'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 ¢
page 96.
"' Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
"' Fasten and wear safety belts correctly .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see ¢
page 5 7, Gener­
al recommendations .
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­
bag as it deploys. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
-
•
•

96 Driving Safely
-Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it de­
ploys with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru­
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas­
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop­
erly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat . Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win ­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢page 132. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
r:::;, page 111.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Fig. 103 Head restra int: v iewed from the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection.
.,. For adjustable head restraints: 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 re­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
r:::;, fig. 103 .
Adjusting head restraints¢
page 59.
A WARNING ~
All seats are equipped with head re-
straints. Driving w ithout head restraints or
with head restraints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of serious or fa­
tal neck injuriy dramat ically. To help re­
duce the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
p la ce and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve­
h icle properly adjusts their head re­
straint. Adjust the head restraints so the
upper edge is as even as possible with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible,
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint .

-Children must always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and size
c:> page 132.
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 97
-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 57, General recommendations .
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 .
•
•
-

98 Driving Safely
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the peda l area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the r isk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver 's
footwell. An object could get into the
peda l area and interfere w ith pedal func­
tion. In case of sudden braking or an ac­
cident, you would not be ab le to bra ke or
accelerate!
- Always make su re that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
... Make su re that the floor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals~ .&_.
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal a rea
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot s lip out of position. You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author­
ized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi . Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at
­
tached to these fasteners . Properly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding
into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operat ion of your vehicle
in other ways.
A WARNING ,-
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
i n a loss of vehicle control and increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
p roperly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be prope rly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfer ing wi th
the peda ls or the ability to contro l the
vehicle.
- Never pla ce or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already instal ­
led floor mats . Additiona l floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinsta ll and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the dr iver footwell while the ve­
hicle is moving . Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­ erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift s udden ly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics. Loose items can a lso increase
the risk of serious persona l injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a co llision.

In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the ve hi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item . Vehicle speed is the most
sig nificant factor.
For examp le, in a frontal coll is ion 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
norma l we ight of the item. Th is means that
the we ight of the item would suddenly be
about 200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imag ine the
in ju ries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flyi ng
freely th roug h the passenge r compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
~ WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle ca us ing serious
personal in jury in the event of hard brak­
ing or an acc ident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury :
-Always put objects, for examp le, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
partment .
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve­
hicle handles . T o help reduce the r is k of a
loss of control leading to ser ious personal
injury:
- Always keep i n m ind whe n transporting
heavy objects, that a c hange in t he cen­
t er of g ravity c an also cause c hanges in
vehicle handling .
- Never exceed the G ross Ax le Weight R at­
ing or the Gross Veh icle Weight R ating
specified on t he safety compliance s tic k­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding pe r­
missib le we ight standa rds can cause the
vehicle to s lide and handle differently.
- Please obse rve info rmation on safe driv­
ing
c:;, page 93 .
Dr iving S afel y 99
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows a nd the front lid are secure ly closed
and locked to reduce the r is k of injury
when the vehicle is not be ing used .
- After closing the front lid, always make sure that it is p rope rly closed and locked .
- Never leave your veh icle unattended es ­
pecially with the front lid left open . A
child co uld craw l into the luggage com­
pa rtment and close the front lid becom­
ing tr apped and unable to ge t out. Being
trapped in a veh icle can lead to se rious
pe rsonal injury .
- Never let c hild ren play i n or aroun d the
veh icle .
- Never let p assenger s ride in the luggage
comp artment. Vehicle oc cupants mus t
always be prope rly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating pos it ions .
(D Tips
The t ire press ure mu st cor respond to t he
l oad. The t ire p ress ure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure labe l is lo ­
cated on the d river's side B-pi llar . The t ire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at i ts maximum capac ity we ight and the tires
that we re on your vehicle at the t ime it
was manufactured. For recommended tire
p ressures fo r no rma l load cond it ions,
please see chapter
c:;, page 193.
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you belie ve that your vehi cle
has a d efe ct which could cau se
a crash or could caus e injur y or
d eath, you should immediat ely
inform th e National High way
Tr affi c Safet y Administration
•
•

100 Driving Safely
(NHTSA) in addition to notify- defect that could cause a crash,
ing Audi of America, Inc. injury or death, you should im-
If NHTSA receives similar com -mediately inform Transport
plaints, it may open an investi- Canada, Defect Investigations
gation, and if it finds that a and Recalls. You should also no-
tify Volkswagen Group Canada,
safety defects exists in a group
of vehicles, it may order a recall Inc.
and remedy campaign. Howev- Canadian customers who wish
er, NHTSA cannot become in- to report a safety-related de-
valved in individual problems feet to Transport Canada, De-
between you, your dealer, or feet Investigations and Recalls,
Audi of America, Inc. may either call Transport Cana-
To contact NHTSA, you may call da toll-free at:
the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll- Tel.: 1-800 -333 -0510 or
free at: Tel.: 1-819-994-3328 (Ottawa
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: region and from other coun-
1-800-424-9153) or tries)
1-800-424-9 3 9 3 TTY for hear
ing impaired: Tel.:
1 -888-67 5-6863
or you may write to:
Administrator or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
NHTSA
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Transport Canada
Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga-
Washington, D.C. 20590
tions Laboratory
You can also obtain other infor- 80 Noel Street
mation about motor vehicle Gatineau, QC
safety from: )82 OAl
http://www.safercar.gov For additional road safety infor-
Applicable to Canada mation, please visit the Road
If you live in Canada and you Safety website at:
..
believe that your vehicle has a

http ://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/
ro ad safety/me nu.htm
Active rollover
protection system
Function
The active rollover protection system helps
protect vehicle occupants in the event of a rollover.
Fig. 104 Rollbar deployme nt range
Fig . 105 Rollbar deploye d
The active rollover protection system consists
of:
- two rollbars
- the safety belts with belt tens ioners
- th e windshield frame
- the rollover sensors .
The active rollover protection system provides
additional safety in the event of a rollover.
With in milliseconds, sensors deploy two roll­
bars located behind the headrests
c> fig. 105.
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect vehicle occupants
in the event of a rollover.
Driving Safely 101
The rollover protection system functions
when the convertible top is both open and
closed.
_& WARNING
Do not use the area behind the headrests
c> fig. 104 as a storage area. This is the
area where the rollbars deploy. If the roll­
over protection system is triggered, ob­
jects placed there can be propelled
through the vehicle and make it more diffi­
cult for the rollbars to deploy. This increas­
es the risk for serious or life-threatening
injuries.
When is rollover protection deployed?
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or
rollover.
Depend ing on the collision, sensors through­
out the vehicle and the control module trigger
the rollover system to deploy.
For safety reasons, rollover protection also de­
ploys during front, side and rear collisions
above a certain level of sever ity.

102 Driving Safel y
Retracting rollover protection
Fig. 106 Deployed roll bar w it h release loop
Fig . 107 Dep loye d rollbar w it h convert ible top frame
fac in g upwa rd
If the rollbars deployed but the vehicle was
not involved in a collision or rollover, you can
retract them without spec ia l tools. The sys­
tem is ready for use again once they are re­
tracted .
.,. Remove the w ind deflec to r, if necessary
c> page39 .
.,. Lower the rear window, if necessary
c> page40 .
.,. Pull the loop upward in the direction of the
arrow and ho ld it in p lace
(I) <=> fig. 106 .
.,. Slide the rollbar down@ c> /1. .
.,. Re lease the loop just before the rollbar
reaches its end position 1-2 i n. (3-5 cm) .
.,. Press the rollbar down firmly until it stops .
.,. Make sure the rollbar is secure before re­
leas ing it .
.,. Close the cove r@ c>
fig. 107 .
.,. Repeat the procedure on t he other rollbar.
A WARNING
- Make su re your head or other parts of
yo ur body are not located in the area
above the rollbar when pressing the roll­
bar down. If the rollbar is not secured -
correctly, it cou ld dep loy again as soon as
you release it and cause injur ies.
- Have the rollover protection system
checked by your author ized Audi dealer if
it malfunctions. Otherwise the system
may not deploy correctly in a collis ion.
- Mod ifying the rollover protection system
or individual components is not pe rm it­
ted .
- Work on the ro llover protection system
should only be performed by your au­
thor ized Audi dealer. Otherw ise the sys ­
tem may not f unct ion co rrectly in a colli­
sion o r it co uld deploy unexpectedly.
- Have the system inspected at service in ­
tervals . This ensures the system w ill al­
ways be ready for use. Have your author­
i z ed Aud i dealer check the rollover pro­
tec tion sys tem every two years at the lat ­
est.
(D Note
If the ro llba rs deploy when the convertible
top is clo sed, do no t open the top. Do ing
so cou ld resul t in damage to the vehicle.
P lease see your authorized A udi dealer for
ass istance.