
Seats and storag e
-Be careful when adjusting the seat height.
Check to see that no one is in the way, or
serious injury could result!
- Because the seats can be electrically adjust
ed with the ignition key removed, never
leave children unattended in the vehicle. Un
supervised use of the electric seat adjust
ments may cause serious inj ury.
- To reduce the r isk of injury i n the case of
sudden braking or accident, front passen gers must never ride in a mov ing vehicle
with the seatback reclined. Safety belts and
t h e a irbag sys tem offer maximum protec
t ion only when the seatback is upr ight and
the safety be lts are properly positioned on
the body . The more the seatback is reclined,
the greater the risk of personal in ju ry from
an incorrect seating position and improperly
positioned safety be lts!
- Always make sure the front seatbacks are in
th e upright posit io n and securely locked in
place when driving.
Head restraints
Adjusting head restraints
The head restraints must be adjusted properly to
provide protection.
F ig. 69 Drive r"s seat head restraint : adjusting the height
The head restraints on the front seats can be ad
justed to provide safe support to head and neck
at the optimum height . When optimally adjust
ed, the top of the restra int should be leve l w ith
the top of the head
¢ page 89 .
• Grasp the sides of the head restraint with both
hands and slide it upward/downward until you
feel it click into place
¢ fig . 69.
58
A WARNING
-Dr iving without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in
creases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck in
jury dramat ically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
<=> page 89,
Proper adjustment of head restraints.
@ Tips
Correct ly adjusted head restraints and safety
belts are an extremely effective combination
of safety features.
Cup holder
Fi g. 70 Cup ho lder
A WARNING
Spilled hot liquid can cause an accident and
personal injury.
- Never carry any beverage co nta iners with
hot liqu ids, such as hot coffee or hot tea, in
the vehicle while it is moving. In case of an
accident, s udden braking or other veh icle
movement, hot liquid cou ld spill, caus ing
scalding burns. Spilled hot liquid can also
cause an acciden t and personal injury.
- Use on ly soft cu ps in the cupholder. Hard
cups and glasses can cause injury in an acci
dent .
- Never use the cup holder or ad apter as an
ashtray -risk o f fire.
(D Note
Only d rink contai ne rs with lids should be car
r ied in the cupho lde r. Liqu id could sp ill out
-

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 .

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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
~

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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

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Transport Canada, D efect Inve sti
gation s and R ecalls, ma y either
call Tran sport Canada toll-free at:
Tel.: 1-800-333-0510 or
Tel.: 1 -819-994-3328 (Ottawa re
g ion and from other countries)
TTY for hearing impaired: Tel.:
1-888-6
7 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
Transport Canada Motor Vehi cle Safety Investiga
tion s Laboratory
80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al
For additional road safety infor
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at :
http ://www . tc .gc. ca/ e ng/
roadsafety/menu .htm
Driving Sa fely
Active rollover
protection system
Function
T he a ctive r ollover pro tec tion system hel ps pro
tec t vehi cle o ccup an ts in the even t of a rollover .
Fig. 102 Rollbar de ploy men t ran ge
Fig. 103 Rollb ar dep loye d
( ~ I,- ~ ~-1 . '
' . • • • • •• . '
The active ro llover protection system consists of :
- two ro llb ars
- t he sa fe ty bel ts wi th bel t t ensioner s
- t he wi ndsh ield frame
- the ro llov er se nsors .
The active roll over protection system provides
addi tional safety in the event of a r ollover . Within
milliseco nds, sensors d ep loy two rollbars located
behin d the hea drests
~fig . 10 3.
The roll bars , reinforced windshie ld frame and
belt tensioners he lp protect veh icle occupants in
the eve nt of a rollover .
The rollover protection system f unct ions when
the convertible top is both open and closed .
93

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Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives !
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts are neces
sary, 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 instructions and WARNINGS .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
prope rly i ncreases the r isk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of serious
injury and death in automobile accide nts .
For yo ur protection and tha t of your passen
gers, always corre ct ly wear safety belts
w hen the veh icle is moving.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically im
paired pe rso ns mu st also use safety belts .
Lik e all ve hicle occupants, t hey are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do no t
wea r safety be lts . The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -th rougho ut
the enti re 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
prope rly i ncreases the risk of se rious personal
injury and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, includ
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
It is espe
c ially da ngerous to place a safety belt over a
c hild sitting on you r 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 bel ts
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fety
be lt or chi ld restraint.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the impor tance of buckling up.
Fig . 1 06 Safety bel t wa rning lig ht in the instr ument clus
te r - en lar ged
Before dr iving off, alway s:
"' m
.. Fasten yo ur safety belt and make s ure you wea r
it properly .
.,. Make sure that your passengers also buck le up
and wear their safety belts properly .
.,. Protect childre n with a child restraint system
app ropriate for the s ize and age .
The warning lig ht . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up when the ign it ion is switched on as a re
minder to fasten the safety be lts . In addi tion ,
you w ill hear a warn ing tone for a certai n pe riod
of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers al so put on their safety belts prop
erly .
A WARNING
-Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mean s ava ilable to reduce t he r is k o f seriou s
in jur y and de ath in au tom obile acc iden ts.
F or your protec tion and that of your passen
ge rs, always wear safety belts correct ly
when the vehicle is moving .
- Fai lure to pay attent io n to the warni ng lig ht
that comes on cou ld lead to personal in jury.
-
95

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-