2015 AUDI R8 SPYDER driver seat adjustment

Seat s and storage
Seats and storage
General recommen­
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide maximum protection if the front seats are correctly adjusted.
There are var ious ways of adjust ing the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable suppo rt
for the driver and the front passenger. Adjust
your seat properly so that :
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the switches
and controls in the instrument panel
- your body is prope rly supported thus reduc ing
physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and a irbag system can offer
maximum p rotection
<> page 102.
In the following sections, you will see exactly
how you can best ad just your seats .
There are special regulat ions and inst ructions for
installing a c hild safety seat on the front pas­
senger 's seat . Always heed the informat ion re­
garding child safety prov ided in<>
page 122 ,
Child Safety.
_& WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the drive r and all
other passenge rs can resu lt in serious pe rson­
al injury.
- Always keep your feet on the floor when the
vehicle is in m otion -neve r put your feet on
top of the instrument pane l, out of the win­
dow or on top of the sea t cushion! This ap ­
plies es pecially to the passenge rs . If you r
seat ing pos ition is incorrect you increase the
risk of injury in the case of sudden bra king
or an accident. If the airbag inflates and the
seat ing pos ition is incorrect this cou ld result
in persona l injury o r even dea th .
- It is important for both the driver and front
passenge r to keep a distance of at least
10 inches (25 cm) between themselves and
t h e steering wheel and/or instrument panel.
If you're sitting any closer than th is, t he a ir-
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bag system cannot p rotect you properly. In
addit ion to this, the front seats and head re­
straints must be adjusted to your body he ight so that they can g ive you maximum
protection.
- Always try to keep as much distance as pos­
sible between yourself and the steer ing
wheel or instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front passeng­
er's seat while the veh icle is moving . Your
seat may move unexpected ly, causing sud­
den loss of vehicle control and persona l in ­
jury.
If you adju st your seat while the vehicle
is moving, you are out of position .
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and rela xed driving .
We recommend that you adjust the dr iver's seat
i n the following manner:
.,. Adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so t hat
you ca n eas ily push the pedals to the floor
wh ile keep ing your knee slightly bent¢.&.
in
Why is your seat adjustment so important? on
page 56.
.,. Adjust the se atb ack so tha t when yo u sit wi th
your back agains t the sea tback, you ca n still
grasp the top of the steering whee l.
.,. Posit ion the head restraint according to the oc ­
cupant's he ight ¢
page 58. For maximum
protect ion, the top of the head restraint should
be at least at eye level, preferably higher and
idea lly level with the top of the head
¢ page 89, fig . 101 .
_& WARNING
Neve r place any objects in the dr iver's foo t­
well. An object could ge t into t he pedal are a
a nd in te rfere wi th pedal fun ct ion . In case o f
sud den braking or an acc ident, you wou ld not
be ab le to b rake or accele rate!
-

Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position.
To avoid contact wit h the airbag while it is de­
p loying, do not sit any closer to the instrume nt
panel than necessary and always wear the three ­
point safety belt provided adjusted correctly . We
recommend that you adjust the passenger's seat
i n the following manner:
"' Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upr ight
pos it ion.
Do not ride w ith the seat reclined .
"'T he idea l position fo r the head restra int is with
the upper edge of the rest ra int level with the
top o f you r head¢
page 58. Yo u should not
lower the top o f the restraint be low the level of
your eyes .
"' Place your feet on the f loor in front of the pas­
senger's seat.
Power seats
Adjustment switches
The operating logic for the switches corresponds
to the construction and function of the seat.
F ig . 68 Ad just men t sw it ches: locat ions on driver seat
The operating logic for the switches corresponds
to the const ruction, the design and the function
of the seat. Push or pull either switch in exactly
the same direction you want the corresponding pa rt of the seat to move .
Adjustment switches
~ (I) Adjusting the lumbar s upport
r--
~ @ Adjusting seat height and fore-and -aft posi-,....,
~ @ Adjusting the ang le of the seatback ,....,
S eat s and stor age
Power seat adjustment
The switches can be moved in various directions
to allow precise adjustment.
Read and heed all warnings before you adjust
your seat.¢ ,&..
Adju sting the cur vatur e of the lumbar
support
"' Push the forward or rear depression on the
sw itch shell (I)¢
page 5 7, fig. 68 to increase or
decrease the backrest curvature .
Adjusting the height of the lumbar support
"' Push the top or bottom depression on the
sw itch shell (I) to raise or lower the s upport in
the backrest.
Moving the front seat s forward or backward
"' Press the switch @forward or backwa rd hori­
zontally.
Ad justing the seat height
"' Pull or pus h the switch @eve nly at both ends
t o ra ise or lowe r the sea t.
Angling the seat cushion up and down
(front )
"' Pull or pus h the switch @at t he front only to
ra ise or lower the sea t.
Angling the seat cushion up and down (rear)
"' Pull or push the switch @at the rear o nly to
ra ise or lower the seat .
Adjusting the seatback
"' Push or pull the switch @ in the same direction
you want the seatback to t ilt.
A WARNING
--- Never adjust the driver's or front passenger
seat whi le the vehicle is moving. If you do
this whi le the vehicle is moving, you will be
ou t of position. Always ad just the d river 's o r
fr ont p assenge r seat w hen t he vehi cle is not
mov ing.
~
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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 .,.

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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
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Airbag syste m
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 always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
proper ly ¢
page 87,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 88,
.,. Wear safety be lts proper ly ¢ page 9 7,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restra int
to protect children ¢
page 122.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the b link
of an eye and with cons iderable force. The sup­
plemental a irbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger are not seated prop­
erly . Therefore in order to help the airbag to do
its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as a
passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemental p rotec tion
in certa in fronta l co llisions ¢
page 87, Proper oc­
cupant seating positions . For details on the oper­
ation of the seat adjustment controls¢
page 57.
It's especially important t hat childre n are p roper­
ly res trained
¢ page 122.
There is a lot that the driver and the passenger
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures insta lled i n your Aud i work together as a
system.
Proper seat ing pos ition is important so that t he
front airbag on the dr iver side can do its job . If
you have a p hys ica l impairment o r condition that
p revents you from sitt ing p roperly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
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reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operatio n of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your a u­
thori zed Audi dea ler or qua lified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ible modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger . Th e airbags w ill deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see t hrough the w indshield aga in
without i nte rruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye , so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a grea t deal of force and nothing sho uld be
i n the ir way when they dep loy. Front a irbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts s low
down and limit the occ upant's forward move­
ment . T ogether they he lp to prevent the driver
and passenger from hitt ing parts of the inside
the ve hicle while reducing the forces ac ting on
the occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head and
upper body in the crash. A irbags do not protect
the arms o r the lowe r parts of the body.
Both front a irbags w ill not inflate in all fronta l
collisions. The t rigge ring of the a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle deceleration rate caused by
the coll is ion a nd registe red by the elec tronic con­
trol uni t. If th is rate is below the reference val ue
programmed into the contro l unit , the airbags
will not be t rigge red , even thoug h the car may be
badly damaged as a result of t he collisio n. Vehi ­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should infla te or not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and an­
gle of impact that will always trigger the a irbags,
s ince the circums tances w ill vary considerably be­
tween one collision and another . Important fac ­
tors include, for example, the natu re (ha rd or
soft) of the object wh ic h the car hits, the angle of
i mpact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbag s will .,.

Airbag syste m
backrest is not reclined ~ page 87, Proper
occupant seating positions,
- the adu lt is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door,
- the safety belt is being properly worn and that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other th ings that may cause an incorrect reading or
impression on the weight-sensing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat .
In addition to the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OF F
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PA SSEN­
GER AIR B AG ON
will briefly appear in the instru­
ment cluster display . Th is is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger airbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not function ing prop­
erly cannot prov ide supplemental protect ion
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing wrong
with the Advanced Airbag System . It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it is
not supposed to, or will not inflate when it
sho uld.
- Have the airbag system inspected immedi­
ately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without a
child restraint, in a rearward-facing child safe­
ty seat or in a forward-facing child restraint
that has not been properly installed will be
ser iously injured and can be killed .
- Even though your veh icle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certa in
that all ch ildren, especially 12 years and
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younger, a lways ride proper ly restrained for
their age and size.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rearward­
facing child restraint attached to the front
passenger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-sens ing mat in the seat and
reg iste r more weight th an is actually on the
seat. The heav ier we ight registered can
make the system work as though an adult
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed ca using
serious or even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forwa rd- facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possib le. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position.
Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on .
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenge r seat after tak ing the steps
described above, have the airbag system in­
spected by your Audi dealer before trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen­
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air­ bag on the passenger s ide will be turned off,
and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi . Installing, remov­
i ng, se rv ic ing or repair ing a pa rt in an a rea of the ..,_

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- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
t ions 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 air­
bag as possib le befo re installing the child
restraint. The backrest must be ad justed to
an upr ight position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
lig ht comes on and stays on all the
t ime whe never the ignition is switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child rest rain t that is not v is ible could cause
it to fail in another collision situ ation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air ­
bag System" in compliance with U nited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the " low-risk" requ ire­
ments for 3 -and 6-year-o ld children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the r isk of injury throug h interaction with
the airbag t hat can occur, for examp le, by being
too close to the s teer ing wheel and instrumen t
p a nel when the a irbag inflates. In ad di tion, the
sys tem has been cert ified to comply with the
"s uppression" requirements of the Safety Stand ­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infa nts up to
12 months who are restra ined on the front pas­
se nger seat in chi ld restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equi pped with an Ad­
vanced A irbag system, a ch ild should always ride
Child Sa fet y
in the seat properly restrained fo r its age and
size. The airbag on the passenger side makes the
f ront seat a potent ia lly dange ro us place for a
c h ild to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
la rger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
T he Advance d Airbag System in you r vehicle de­
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
rest raint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat c ushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch o n the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt.
The we ight-sensing mat measures total weight of
the child and the child safety seat and a ch ild
blanket on the front passenger seat. The we ight
o n the front passenger seat is related to the de­
s ign of the child rest raint a nd its "footpr int", t he
s iz e and s hape of the bottom of the c hild re­
str aint as i t si ts on the seat. The weight of a ch ild
restrain t and its "foo tpr in t" vary fo r different
ki nds of child res traints and fo r th e d iffe rent
models of the same kind of chi ld restraint offered
by chi ld restraint man ufact urers.
T he we igh t ranges for the individu al types, ma kes
and mode ls of chi ld res traints t hat the NHT SA
has spec ified in the Safety Standard toget her
with t he weig ht ranges of typica l infants and typ ­
ica l 1 year-old child have been stored in the con­
trol unit of the Advanced Airbag System. When a
c h ild restra int is being used on the front passen­
ger seat with a typical 1 year-old ch ild , the Ad­
vanced Airbag Syste m compa res the we ight
measu red by the we ight sens ing mat with the in­
f o rmat io n sto red in the e lec tronic con trol un it.
T he elec tronic cont ro l unit also reg iste rs the ten­
s io n on the front passenger safety belt. The ten­
s io n on the safety be lt fo r th e front passe nger
sea t w ill be di fferent for an adul t who is properly
u sing the safety be lt as compare d to the tension
o n the bel t when it is used to attach a child re ­
stra int to the seat . The sensor be low the latch for
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What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining start­
ing capability .
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time of
year . Abundant electrical energy is required, but
only a little is generated . It is also critical if the
engine is not running and electrical components
are turned on. In this instance energy is being
consumed but none is being generated.
It is in precisely these situations that you w ill no­
tice energy management actively regulating the
d istribution of ene rgy.
Vehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks , electr ical components are
gradually cut back or switched off . This reduces
energy consumption and maintains starting ca­
pability over a longer pe riod .
Take into consideration that when you unlock
your veh icle, some convenience functions, such
as the remote key or power seat adjustment, may
not be available. The convenience functions will
be available again when you turn on the ignition
and start the engine .
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with the
engine turned off, the battery is being dis­
charged .
If starting capability is jeopardized due to energy
consumption, a message appears in the driver in­
formation display .
You have to start the engine to charge the bat ­
tery .
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is generated when the
vehicle is being driven, the battery can become
discharged. This happens mostly when little en­
ergy is be ing generated and a great deal con­
sumed and the battery's state of charge is not
optimal.
Intelligent technology
To bring the energy balance back into equilibri­
um, consumers which require especially large
amounts of energy are temporar ily cut back or
switched off. Heating systems in part icu lar re­
quire a great deal of energy. If you notice, for ex­
ample, that the heated seats* or the heated rear
window are not heating, they have been tempo­
rarily cut back or switched off . These systems w ill
be available again as soon as the energy balance
has been restored.
You w ill also not ice that engine idle speed has
been increased slightly . This is normal and not a
cause for concern. By incr easing eng ine idle
speed the additional energy required is generated
and the battery is charged.
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If battery power drops in to the range where it
can limit the ability of the engine to start, this is
shown in the instrument cluster display w ith the
following driver message :
[•] low battery charge: battery will be charged
while driving
This notification reminds you that the starting
capability of the engine may be limited. As soon
as you start driving again, the battery will be re­
charged and the notificat ion will go out .
Driver notification appears and goes out
again
If this driver notification appears after the igni­
tion is turned on or while driv ing and it goes out
again after a while, the battery has been ade ­
quately recharged .
Driver notification appears and does not go
out again
If this driver notif ication appears after the ign i­
t ion is turned on or while dr iv ing and does not go
out again, the battery's state of charge is not in
t h e optimal range. Starting ability is restricted .
Have the battery checked as soon as possible by
an authorized Audi dea le r or qualified workshop.
141