2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER seats

112 Airbag system
angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs.
Always remember: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certain kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those situations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
already deployed; for example , when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
a supplementary restraint and is not a substi­
tute for a safety belt. The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
you r safety belts¢
page 103 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the steering wheel or instrument pan­ el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 106, Safety belts.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats properly . If children
are not properly restrained, they may be
severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never ride with the backrest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steering wheel or the instrument panel
¢ page 94, Proper occupant seating po­
sitions .
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
help prevent serious injuries to the legs
and hips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
-Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
- Use only original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools
and diagnostic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air ­
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important information
and head the WARNINGS for important de­
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
c::> page 132.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a ..,_

child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat . It can be a very dangerous place for an
infant or a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to comply with the Require­
ments of United States Federa l Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your veh icle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restra ined in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat. For a list ing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r::tv page 134 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
s trument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control unit .
E ach t ime yo u tur n on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on for a
few seconds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occup ied,
- will stay on if there is a small child o r child
rest raint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cup ied by an adult as registe red by the
weight-sensing mat
r::tv page 121, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger sea t that requires the
fr ont airbag to be tu rned off.
If the total we ight on the front passenger
seat is mo re than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
child but less than the weight of a sma ll
ad ult, the front airbag o n the passenge r side
can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come on). If the PASSENGER
A irbag system 113
AIR BAG OFF light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been t urned off by the elect ronic contro l un it
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example , the airb ag may deplo y if:
-a small ch ild tha t is heav ier t han a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the fron t passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is i n one of
the child safety seats listed
r:!> page 134), or
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is
on the front passenger seat .
If the fron t passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument pane l and stays on.
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum ina te a nd stay lit) even i f a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting uprig ht with their back against a
non-recl ined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
r:!> page 94, 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 rough interact ion w ith the
a irbag . "Low risk" dep loymen t occ urs in those
c rashes that ta ke place at lower dece le rat ions
as defined in the e lectronic control unit
r::tv page 1 22, PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF ligh t.
Always remember, a c hild safety seat or infant
ca rr ie r installed on the front seat may be
stru ck and knoc ked ou t of po sit io n by the rap ­
idly i nflat ing passenger 's airbag in a front al
collision. The ai rbag co uld g reat ly reduce the
effectiveness of the chi ld restrai nt and even
seriously injure the child during inflation.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
-
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if .,.. •
•

114 Airbag sys te m
the front airbag inf lates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- 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
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the infla ting airbag
wi ll hi t the child safe ty seat or infant car­
rie r with 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 .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfere with the deployment of the air­
bag and cause serious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
t he fron t passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
i t s manufac turer for use on a fro nt sea t
with a passenger front an d side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-f acing child re­
s t rain t up aga inst or very near the inst ru ­
ment pane l.
- Always move t he passenger seat into i ts
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment ran ge, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint . The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
sea t and the igni tion is sw itched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
s cri bed
~ page 121, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmedia tely .
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child res tra in t manufacture rs whe n in­
s tall ing c hild restr aints .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumst ances, yo u m ust
i nst all a forward or rearwa rd -f acing child
r estraint on t he front passenger's seat :
- I mp roper ins tallation o f ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion .
- An improper ly installed c hild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de­ p loys and seriously injure or even k ill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er 's instructions prov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that ca n increase the total weight reg is­
tered by the weig ht-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.

Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 117 Loca tion of driver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 118 Locatio n of front passe nger 's ai rb ag : in th e in­
st rument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as app licable at the time your
veh icle was manufactured . The safety be lts
fo r the front seats have "pretensioners" that
h e lp to take s lack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec ­
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The fron t safety belts a lso have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing
wheel hub¢
fig. 117 and the airbag for the
fro nt passenger is in the instrumen t panel
¢ fig . 118. The genera l location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
b ags in your veh icle. We urge you to read the
A irba g sy stem 115
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters t hat make up t he owner's literature .
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 child ren.
A WARNING ,.;;
Neve r rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only s upplementa l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly wor n safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is p roperly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pec ia lly infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious i njuries and can even be kil ­
l ed by being too close to the ai rbag when
it inflates .
- Al tho ugh the A dvanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
sma ll child is on t he front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
ble situat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your veh icle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with the "low risk" option
unde r the U .S. Fede ral Standa rd if a child
that is heav ie r than the typical one-year
old c hild is on the front pas senge r seat
and the other condi tions for airbag de­
p loyment are met .
- For its own safe ty, a c hild sho uld always
ride proper ly restrained for its age and
size .
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
Ill>

116 Airbag sys te m
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag Sys tem supp le­
ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er 's heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in fronta l impacts
when the vehicle dece lerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over­ all occupant restraint system in your veh icle.
A lways remember that the airbag system ca n
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up­
right, wearing yo ur safety belt and wea ring it
p roperly. This is why you and you r passenge rs
must always be properly restr ained , not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been cer tified to meet the " low r is k " re­
qu iremen ts for
3 an d 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the driver side. The low risk deploymen t crite ­
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by be ing too
close to the steer ing whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag i nflates .
In addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requ irements
of the Safety Standard, to tur n off the front
a irbag for infants
12 months old and younger
who a re restra ined on the front passenger
seat in c hild restra ints that a re listed in the
St anda rd ¢
page 134, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off if :
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is re­
stra ined on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac ing infa nt
rest raints listed in Federa l Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 wit h whi ch the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle w as
certified . For a list ing of the child rest rain ts t
ha t were used to certify your vehicle 's com ­
pliance with the US Safety Standa rd
¢ page 134,
- weight less than a thres ho ld level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is dete cted on the front pas ­
senger seat, weighing more than the tota l
weight of a chi ld that is about
1 year old re­
stra ined in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints ( listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w it h which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was ce rtified), the front airbag on the passen­
ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the electro nic con trol unit detects a to­
ta l we ight on the front passenger seat that re­
quires t he front airbag to be tu rned off. If t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does no t
come o n, the fron t airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turne d off by the cont ro l
u nit and can dep loy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l
1 year-old,
but less than the we ight of a small ad ult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For example , the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typic al 1
yea r-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whethe r the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
¢ page 134),
-a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenge r seat .
If the fron t passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t in the cen ter
of the ins trument panel will come on and stay
o n.
T he front airbag on the passenge r sid e may
not dep loy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not illuminate a nd stay lit) i f:

118 Airbag system
components is detected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detail below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, you must take care to prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control unit "decides " whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pre tensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Ai rbag with gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in­
side the inst rument panel for the front pas­
senger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The information registered is sent continu ­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢page 121.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru­
ment panel ¢
page 122, fig. 120 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension
on the safety belt. The tension on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat help the control unit "decide" whether the front airbag for the front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 112, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this informa tion to the
electronic control unit .
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
-Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­ ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­ ly approved by Audi on the front seats .
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
-
Airbag System from recognizing child .,..

restraints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sens ing mat in the seat from
accurately reg istering the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and preve nt the
Advanced Airbag System from func tion­
ing properly .
- If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cush ion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
st ra int is installed on the front passen­
ger seat .
- If the
PA SSE NGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, have the
airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side airbags s upplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions . Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the act ivat ion of the safety be lt preten­
sioners depend on the dece le rat ion measured
by the c rash sensors and registered by the
e lectronic control un it . Crash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved in the crash .
Airbag system 119
When the electronic control unit registers a
low severity cras h and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not dep loy. If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat­ er t ime in the crash sequence.
If the electron ic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air­ bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re ­
gardless of whether the safety belt is be ing
used or not . In higher sever ity crashes as reg­
iste red by the elect roni c cont rol unit, bot h the
first and se cond s tages deploy almost at the
same t ime.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag w ill be tu rned off if the
weight on the passenger sea t is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
u nit . The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASS ENGER A IR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Adva nced A irbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 112, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
_&. WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of inj ury when an a irbag
inflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or o ut o f position in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
f lates -even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 111.
•
•

120 Airbag system
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 1 19 Inflated fro nt airbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep fro nt
seat occupants in the p roper seated pos it io n
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro­
vide supplemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protect ion for the chest a nd face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat could become dan­
gerous projectiles, and be pushed into you if
the airbag inflates .
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in
the vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It cou ld irritate ski n.
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re­
duce the l ikelihood of serious inj uries, other
i n juries, fo r example swelling, bruisi ng and
m inor abrasions, ca n also happe n when air­
bags in flate. Airbags do not protect the a rms
or the lower pa rts of the body. Front airbags
only supplement the t hree point safety belts
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle deceleration
is high eno ugh to deploy the air ­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash
occu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
-when the crash deceleration measured by the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front pass enge r airbag will al so not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
p ied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem indicates that the front ai rbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
elec troni c control un it (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n).
_&. WARNING ~
Si tting in the wrong position can increase
the r isk o f se rious injury i n crashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry w he n t he air ­
bags inflate, the drive r and passengers
m ust always sit in an upr ight position,
m ust not lean aga inst or place any part
of their b ody too close to the area where
the airbags a re located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the a irbag can be se­
rio usly injured by a n airbag as it unfolds
wit h great force in the blink of an eye
<=:>page 112 .
_&. WARNING ~ -
A child in a rearward-fac ing c hild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serio usly injured a nd ca n be killed if
the front air bag in fla tes -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag Sys tem.