2015 AUDI R8 SPYDER airbag

Seats and storag e
braking or in an accident -especially if the
airbag is dep loyed -these objects could in­
jure any passengers ins ide the vehicle.
Glove compartment
The glove comportment is illuminated and con
be locked.
F ig. 72 Glove compartment
.,. To open the glove compartment, pull the han­
dle in the direction of the arrow
9 fig. 72 and
swing the cove r down to open .
.,. To close the glove compartment, p us h the
glove compartment lid upward unti l the lock
engages.
The glove compartment light comes on as the parking or dr iving lights are switched on and the
compartment is opened. You will find a g lasses
case in the lid.
The glove compartment has a standard 12-volt socket for co nnecting e lectrica l accessories . The
power cons umption at the outlet must not ex­
ceed 100 watts . The socket works on ly with the
ignition switched on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury in an acci­
dent o r sudden stop, a lways keep the glove
compartment closed wh ile driving .
Storage compartment in the front seats
Applies to veh icles: w ith storage compartment in the front
seats
There is a fold-out storage compartment in the
front of the seats.
60
.,. To open the storage compartment, lift the han ­
dle and pull the drawer out .
.,. To close the storage compartment, push the
drawer in completely until it latches.
(D Tips
The maximum carrying capacity 2.2 lbs.
(1 kg).
Storage compartments between the seat
backrests
The storage comportments ore illuminated and
con be locked with the vehicle key.
Fi g. 73 Storage compart men ts betwee n th e seat backrests
The CD changer * or t he A ud i M usic Interface* are
l ocated in the lowe r storage compartment .
.,. To open the upper storage compartment, fold
t he lid upward in the direc tion of the arrow@
9fig. 73 .
.,. To open the lower storage compartment, fold
the lid downward in the direction of the arrow
@ .
A WARNING -
Always keep t he storage compartments
closed when driving to help reduce the risk of i n jury.
(D Tips
Both lids m ust be closed in order to lock the
compartments.

On the road
On the road
Steering
Adjusting the steering wheel column
The steering wheel position can be continuously
adjusted in height and distance .
Fig. 76 Lever u nde r the stee rin g co lumn
... Push the lever ¢ fig. 76 down ¢ _&.. .
... Move the steering wheel to the desired posi­
tion .
... Push the lever against the steering column un-
til it locks .
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween your chest and the center of the steering
wheel. If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25
cm) from the steering wheel, see if adaptive
equipment is ava ilable to help you reach the ped­
als and increase the distance from the steering
wheel.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 57.
A WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment
and improper seating position can cause seri­
ous pe rsonal injury.
- Adjust the steering wheel column only when
the vehicle is not moving to prevent loss of
vehicle control.
- Adjust the driver's seat or stee ring wheel so
that there is a minimum of 10 inches (25
cm) between your chest and the steering
wheel¢
page 87, fig. 100. If you cannot
maintain this min imum distance, the airbag
system cannot protect you proper ly.
66
- If physical limitations prevent you from sit­
ting 10 inches (25 cm) or more from the steering wheel, check with your authorized
Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is
available.
- If the steering wheel is aligned with your
face, the supplemental dr iver's airbag can­
not p rov ide as much protection in an acci­
dent. Always make sure that the steering
wheel is aligned with your chest.
- Always hold the steering wheel w ith your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to reduce the risk of persona l injury if
the dr iver's airbag dep loys.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steering wheel rim or on the steering
wheel h ub. Holding the steering wheel the
wrong way can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag
deploys.
Ignition Lock/Ignition
switch
Ignition lock
The ignition key starts or stops the engine.
Fig. 77 Ign it ion lock posit ions
Ignit ion off CD
In position ¢ fig. 77 (D both the ignition and en­
gine are off, and the steering is locked.
To
l ock the steering after you have removed the
ignition key, t urn the steering wheel in either di­
rection until you hear it lock into place. You
should always lock the steering whenever you .,.

Driving Sa fel y
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others. We have summar­
ized here what you need to know about safety
be lts, airbags, chi ld restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1 . Al­
ways observe the informat ion and warn ings in
t his section - for your own safety as well as for
that of your passengers.
The information i n this section applies to all
model ve rsions of your vehicle . Some of the fea­
t ures des cribed in this sect ion may be standard
equipment on some models, or may be optional
eq uipment on others . If you are not sure, ask
your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-Make certain that you fo llow the instruc­
t ions and heed the WARNINGS in this Man­
ual. It is in your interest and in the interest
of your passengers .
- Always keep the complete owner's literature
in your Audi when you lend or se ll you r vehi­
cle so that this important information will
always be ava ilable to the driver and passen­
gers.
- Always keep the owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques ­
ti ons.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re­
straint system and work together to help reduce
the risk of injury in a wide variety of occident si t­
uations.
Your safety and the safety of yo ur passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in tec h­
nology have made a var iety of f eatures av ailable
to help re duce the r isk of inj ury in an accident.
86
The following is a listing o f just a few o f the safe ­
ty features in yo ur Audi:
- sophis tica ted s afety be lts for drive r and a ll pas-
senger sea ting pos itions,
- safety belt p rete nsio ners,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags,
- side airbags in the seats
- adjustab le head restraints,
- adjustab le steering column .
These ind iv idual safety featu res can wor k togeth­
er as a sys tem to he lp pro tect you a nd your pas­
sengers in a wide range of accidents . These fea­
tures cannot work as a system if th ey are not al­
ways proper ly adjusted and prope rly used!
Safety i s everyb ody' s re sponsibilit y!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
ful driver.
Fo r you r safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and signals are operat­
ing correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressu re is co rrect.
.,. Ma ke s ure that all w indows are clean and affo rd
good visibility to the outs ide.
.,. Secure a ll luggage and o ther items caref ully
r=;,page 59 .
.,. Make s ure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals.
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height.
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to the ir height .
.,. Make su re to use the r ight child restraint cor­
rec tly to p rotect ch ild ren
r=;, page 122, Child
Safety.
.,. Sit p roperly in your seat and ma ke su re that
your passengers do the same
c::> page 56, Gen­
eral recommendations.
.,. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly. A l­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts proper ly
c::> page 95 .

.... N
l'­
N "1: .... I.O
"' N
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What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the ve­
h icle and all of its occupants . If your ability to
d rive is impaired, safety r isks for everybody in the
ve hicle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road ¢A -Therefore:
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by us ing a cell ular te lephone.
• NEV ER dr ive when your dr iv ing ability is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, dr ugs, e tc.).
• Observe all traffic laws, ru les of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
• ALWAYS ad just your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
• Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch .
• Do NOT drive when you are t ired, under pres­
sure or when you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
ser ious personal in ju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Proper occupant seating
positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
F ig. 10 0 Correct seating position
.
Driving S afely
For yo ur own sa fety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver's seat to the following
pos ition:
• Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis ­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steer ing whee l and your breast bone
¢ fig. 100 .
• Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slightly bent<=>
A .
• Grasp the top of the steer ing whee l with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
• Adjust the head rest rain t so the upper edge is
as even as possib le w it h t he top of yo ur head.
If
that is no t possib le, try to ad just the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this pos ition as
possible .
• Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upr ight position so that you r bac k comes in
full contact with it when you dr ive.
• Fas ten and wear safe ty belts corre ct ly
<=>page 95.
• Always keep both feet in the footwe ll so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all times.
For detailed inform ation on how to adj ust the
driver's seat, see¢
page 56, General recommen ­
dations.
A WARNING
-Drivers who are unbelted, o ut of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in­
jured by an airbag as it dep loys. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adj ust the driver 's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 i nches (25 cm) between your breastbo ne
and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver 's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the
lowe r part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on t he out­
side of the steer ing wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o 'clock and 3 o'clock
87

Driving Safely
positions to help reduce the risk of personal
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. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the driver's airbag inflates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
-Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
and head restraints properly and make sure
that all passengers are properly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢page 122. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front pas­
senger seat
¢page 102.
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 in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
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 upr ight 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
88
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible
¢ page 89.
.. 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 56, General
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 airbag as it
deploys. To help reduce the risk of serious per­
sonal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any
part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri­
ously injured by an airbag as it deploys with
great force in the blink of an eye.
-Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas­
senger's breastbone and the instrument panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen­
ger's knees and the lower part of the instru­ ment 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 pas­
senger seat and head restraint properly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in­
crease the risk of injury 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 injury due
~

..... N
r--­N "': ..... \!) ..,.,
N ..,., .....
to incorrect position ing of the sa fety belt
and improper seating posit ion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
<=> page 122. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front pas­
senger seat
<=> page 102.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Fig . 101 H ea d re str ain t: v ie w ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection .
.. Fo r adjustable head restraints: adj ust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi ­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos ­
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this pos ition as possib le
<=> fig . 101.
Adj usting head restraints<=> page 58.
&_ WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints.
Dr iv ing without head restraints or w ith head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck injuriy
dramatically . To help reduce the risk of inju ry:
- Always drive with the head restraints in place and properly adjusted .
- Every person in the veh icle must have a
properly ad justed head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head rest raints so the upper edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of you r head .
If that is not possib le, try to ad just the head
res traint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le,
Dr iving Sa fel y
-Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safe ly before at­
tempt ing to adjust the head restraint .
- Ch ildren must a lways be properly restrained
in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size <=>
page 122 .
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupan t res traint sys tem can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or death. Safety belts can on ly work when
they are properly pos it ioned on the body . Im ­
proper seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety be lts and will eve n increase the r isk of
i njury and dea th by mov ing the safety be lt to c rit ­
ical areas of the body. Imp roper seat ing pos itions
also increase the risk of serio us injury and death
when an airbag dep loys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the prope r seat ing pos ition. A driver
is respons ible for the safety of a ll vehicle occu­
pan ts and espec ially for children. Therefore :
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
Q &. -
The following bullets lis t on ly some samp le posi ­
tions that will increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
are dangerous .
Therefore, whene ver the vehicle is movi ng:
-never stand up i n the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w ith the seatback reclined
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet o ut the window
- neve r put your feet on the instrument pane l
89

Driving Sa fel y
-never rest you r feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
_& WARNING
Imprope r seating positions increase the risk
o f serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used .
- Sitting incor rectly places occ upants at risk
of being critically in jured if the airbags de­
ploy and str ike them.
- Be fore you start dr iv ing, seat yourself prop­
erly and always maintain this seating posi­
t ion during the trip . Before each trip, in­
struct your passengers to seat themselves
properly and to maintain this seating posi­
t ion during the trip
c> page 56 , General rec­
ommendations .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
_& WARNING
Always make su re that the knee a irbag can in­
flate wi thout interferen ce. Ob je cts betwee n
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the airbag deploys or by being pushed in­
to you as the airbag deploys.
- No persons (chi ld ren) or animals should ride
in the footwe ll in front of the passenger
seat. If the airbag dep loys, this can res ult in
serious or fatal in ju ries.
- No objects of any kind shou ld be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shopp ing
bags, for example) can hamper or p revent
proper deployment of the airbag . Small ob­
jects can be th rown t hrough the ve hicle if
the ai rbag deploys and injure you o r you r
passengers.
90
Pedal area
' Pedals
T he 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 peda ls move free ly without in­
terference and that nothing prevents them from
r et urning to the ir origi nal positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fas teners.
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal trav ­
el is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop .
_& WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of ser i­
ous injury .
- Never p lace any objects in the driver's foot­
wel l. An object could get into the pedal area
and i nterfere with pedal function. In case of
sudden b raking o r an accident, you would
not be able to b rake or ac celerate!
- Always ma ke sure that no thing can fall or
move into the d river's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in ­
terfere with the free movement of the pedals.
.. Make sure that the floor mats are properly se­
cured and cannot move and interfere with the
pedals
c> ,&. .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un­
obstructed a nd that are firmly secured so that
they cannot s lip out of position . You can obta in
su itab le floor mats from your authorized Audi
Dealer .
Floor mat fasteners are insta lled in your Audi.
Floor mats used in yo ur vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly sec uring the floor ..,_

Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 107 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle heading for a wall
Fig. 108 The vehicle c rashes into the wall.
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies w ith vehicle speed and body weight . Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/
h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the occupants in this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts
c::> fig. 107, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall
¢ fig. 108 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even
at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
96
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At higher
speeds, these forces are even greater.
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of phys ics don't just apply to
frontal collis ions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 109 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is v io lently
t hrown forward
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in­
strument panel, w indshield, or whatever else is
i n the way
c::> fig . 109 . This impact with the vehi­
cle inter ior has all the energy they had just before
the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only add itional
protection . Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents . Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rect ly in order to minimize the r isk of severe in-
jury or death in a c rash.
ll-