2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER ESP

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se­
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci­
de nts . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
imp aired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi R8 has two seating posit ions in the
front. Each seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
im proper ly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in ju ry and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, in­
clu ding small ch ild ren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in the ve hicle
t h an t he re are safety be lts ava ilable.
Sa fety belts 103
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe­
ty belt or child restra int.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling up .
Fig. 1 08 Safety be lt warn ing lig ht in the instr ume nt
cl uster -enla rged
Befor e driv ing off, always :
~ Fasten your sa fe ty belt and make su re you
wear it p roperly.
~ Make s ure that yo ur passenge rs a lso buck le
up and wear their safety belts properly.
~ Protect children with a child rest raint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The wa rning light . in the inst rument cluster
li ghts up w hen t he ig nit ion is switched on as a
remi nder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
tion , you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also put on the ir safety
belts proper ly.
A WARNING
- Safety b elts are the s ingle most effect ive
means ava ilable to reduce t he risk of se­
r io us inju ry and death in au tomobile a cci­
dents. Fo r yo ur protecti on and tha t of
your passengers, a lways wear safety
be lts cor rectly when the vehicle is mov­
ing . •
•

108 Safet y belt s
Pregnant women must also be properly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fig . 115 Safety be lt pos it io n dur ing p regnancy
To provide maximum prote ction , safety belts
must always be po sitioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 107 .
• Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rect ly
c> page 5 7 , General recommenda­
tions.
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in up right posit io n and securely
latched in p lace before using the b elt .
• Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even­
l y across the ches t and pelvis
c> fig. 115,
c>,& .
• Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
yo ur seat until you hear it latc h securely
c> page 106 , fig . 113.
• Pullon the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in t he buckle .
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
-
- E xpec tant mothers must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the safety b elt as low as
poss ible ac ross the pe lv is and be low the
ro unding of the abdome n.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
ot her impo rtan t info rma tion
c> .&. in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 107.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
,,
}_
Fig . 11 6 Releas ing the ton gu e from the buc kle
• Push the red release b utton on the buckle
c> fig . 116. T he be lt tongue will spring out
of t he b uckle
c> ,& .
N 0 ;c
a1i
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
-
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehi-
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase yo ur
r isk of being i njured o r kill ed .
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wearing safety belts improper ly can ca use se­
rious injury or deat h. Safety belts can only
work when they are correc tly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
increase the risk of inju ry and death by mov­
ing the safety be lt to crit ical areas o f the
body . Imp roper seati ng po siti ons also in ­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
whe n an a irbag dep loys and strikes an occu ­
pant who is not in the co rrect seating posi ­
t ion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil­
dren . There fore:
• Never pe rm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing position in the vehicle while trave ling
c> ,& . ~

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 properly wear their safety belts 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¢
page 94,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 95,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 105,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children
r::::> page 132.
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 are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
airbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenger 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 lete ly and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 94,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 58.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r::::> page 132.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
ger can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your Audi 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 111
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
fications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill 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 windshield again without inter­
ruption.
All of this 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 combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc­
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and passenger from
hitt ing parts of the inside the vehicle while re­
ducing the forces acting on the occupant dur­
ing 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 will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece leration rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electronic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con­
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
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 veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inf late o r not.
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and ..,. •
•

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>

-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
•
•

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
-
•
•

-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>
•
•

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 .