2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER sensor

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.
•
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-The inflating airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f o rce and w ill smash t he ch ild safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, cente r
arm rest, d oor or roof.
- Never install a r earward facing child
sa fety seat on the front pass eng er s eat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light c omes on and stays on. If the PAS­
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t
c o m e on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier 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 .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat. Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec ­
ti les that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place o r attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move in to the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver . Objects near the air -
-
Airbag system 12 1
bags can become projectiles and cause
inju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory
conditions shou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut of the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any cuts or sc ratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t!~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indi cator light and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System (including the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is monitored con tinuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
turn on the ignition, the a irbag mon itoring in­
dicator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics).
The sy stem mu st be in spected when th e
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on t he ignition, or
•
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described in the child restraint manufactur­
er 's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job<=>
page 140 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not blocked . Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenge r seat back and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
ch ild safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is not so tigh t that it
ca uses the we ight-sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not com e on and does not stay on con­
tinuously (when the igni tion is sw itched on),
- take the ch ild restraint off the front passen·
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rear seat pos itions. Have the a irbag system
i nspec ted by your A udi dealer immediately.
- move the ch ild to a rea r seat posit io n and
make su re th at the chi ld is proper ly res train ­
ed in a chi ld restraint that is appropriate fo r
its size and age .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light shou ld
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and an
ad ult is sitting in a p rope r seat ing pos ition on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while driving, un­
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the ad ult on the front passenger seat is
proper ly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
<=> page 94, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
A irbag system 123
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
a irbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may b e something
wrong with the Advan ced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the air bag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in ­
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspe cted imme­
diate ly by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been proper ly installed
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ially 12
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-Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery ove r the front seat­
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use add itiona l seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate .
- Damage to the o rigina l seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repa ired
immediate ly by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an author ized Audi
dealer or qualif ied technic ian who has
the techn ica l information, tra ining and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an a irbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced w ith new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
c ially for your Aud i model version. Re­
placemen t of complete ai rbag systems
or airbag components m ust be per­
f ormed by qualified workshops only.
Make su re that any airbag service act ion
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the a lternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrote chnic cir cu it inter­
rupter must on ly be per formed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!
- If the veh icle or the ci rcuit interrupter
is sc rapped, all applicable safety pre ­
cautions must be followed .
Airbag system 12 5
@:) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Materia l -special handling may apply, see
www. dtsc. ca.gov/hazard o u swa ste/ per-
ch lo rate. When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety be lts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicab le laws and regu la­
tions mus t be obse rved. Your authorized
A udi dealer is familia r wi th these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service fo r you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Chang ing the veh icle's suspens io n system can
c h ange the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem perfo rms in a crash. For examp le, using
tir e-rim combi nat ions not approved by A udi,
l ower ing the veh icle, chang ing the st iffness of
the suspens ion, including the spr ings, suspen­
sio n struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic contro l
u nit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, i ncrease the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in c rashes in which it wou ld not deploy if the
c h anges had not been made. Other kinds of
c h anges may reduce the fo rce leve ls meas­
u red by the sensors and preven t the airbag
from dep loying when i t should.
T he sensors in the safety be lt buc kle for the
drive r and front passenger seat te ll the e lec ­
tron ic contro l modu le if the s afety be lt is
l atche d or no t. If the safety be lt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­ er rate of veh icle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not be ing used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular coll is ion, it is possible t hat an airbag
will not deploy at a seat ing pos ition where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w il l inflate at the
pos ition wher e th e safety be lt is not be ing
used. It is impo rtant that noth ing interfere
Ill>
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128 Airbag system
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 passenger
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags to provide supplemental protection.
.&_ WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle 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
justing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following min imum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 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 forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag dep loys or
by being pushed into you as the airbag
deploys .
- Never let anybody, especially children
or animals in the footwell in front of
the passenger seat.
If the airbag de- ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- No objects of any kind should 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 or prevent proper deployment
of the airbag . Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air­ bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
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 children are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~page 132, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 123 S ide a irbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
q fig. 123 facing the
doors. They are identified by the word "AIR­
BAG".
Th e side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster .

The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supp lements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up­
per torso and head injuries on the side of the
ve hicle that is st ruck in a side co llision . The
airbag deploys in s ide impacts and only when
the veh icle acce lerat ion registered by the con­
trol un it is high enough. If this rate is below
the refe rence va lue p rogrammed into the con­
trol un it, the s ide a irbags w ill not be trig­
gered, even though the car may be bad ly dam ­
aged as a result of the collision . It is not pos ­
sib le to define an airbag tr igger ing range that
will cover every poss ible angle of impact,
since the c ircumstances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and anothe r. Important
factors include, fo r example, the nature (hard
or soft) of the impacting object, the angle of i mpa ct, veh icle speed, e tc.¢
page 130, Im­
portant safety instru ctions on the side airbag
system .
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe­
ty belts wor k to he lp keep t he d river or front
passenger in posi tion in the event of a side
coll is ion so that the side a irbags can provide
p rotection.
The airbag sys tem is
not a subs titute for your
safety be lt. R athe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc­
cupant res traint system in your veh icle . Al­
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only he lp to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. Th is
is another reason w hy you sho uld always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­
qu ires you to do so¢
page 103, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental s ide a irbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other i njuries, for example, swell ing, b ruising,
and minor abras ions can also be assoc iated
with deployed s ide a irbags . Remem ber too,
A irbag system 129
side airbags wi ll dep loy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are always the re to offer p rotection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even t he lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily an indi ­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion . In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­ bags will deploy only once a nd only in certain
k inds of col lisions -your safety be lts a re al­
ways the re to offe r protection in those acc i­
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit io n is turned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration
meas ured by the sensor is too low
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of ac cidents the front airbags
and s ide a ir b ag s may be triggere d toge ther.
A_ WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system wi ll
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 130.
-If the ai rbag indicator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. The airbag may
not work properly when the vehicle ac­
c e leration in a side collis ion is high
e nough to activate t he a irbag. •
•

-Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds 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 dealership.
- 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
c> page 132, Child Safety.
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor­
rectly measure increasing air pressure in­
side the doors when air escapes through
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive with interior door trim pan­
els removed.
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door panel and
Airbag system 131
the openings they leave have not been
properly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers
or other equipment is installed in the inside door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by
an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
•
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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 133
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-
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