2020 AUDI R8 COUPE weight

4S1012721BA
Child safety

Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
= page 181, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?. But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully developed,
they require restraint systems especially de-
signed for their size, weight, and body structure.
Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir-
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children.
Ina frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 Lbs (6 kg)
infant will be more than 20 times the weight of
the child. This means the weight of the child
would suddenly be more than 260 lbs (120 kg).
Under these conditions, only an appropriate child
restraint properly used can reduce the risk of seri-
ous injury. Child restraints, like adult safety belts,
must be used properly to be effective. Used im-
properly, they can increase the risk of serious in-
jury in an accident.
If you must install a child restraint on the front
passenger seat in exceptional circumstances, be
sure to read and heed the important information
and warnings > page 188. Infants and other chil-
dren who are properly restrained in an appropri-
ate child restraint that is for their size and age
can benefit from the protection that supplemen-
tal side airbags provide in some kinds of crashes.
For more information please see information pro-
vided by the:
— National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at : http://www.safercar.gov
(for the USA)
— Transport Canada Information Centre, currently
at: http://www.tc.gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in-
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
your child's size > page 214, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats. Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in-
formation and WARNINGS about child safety, Ad-
vanced Airbags, and the installation of child re-
straints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad-
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat. Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re-
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans-
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe-
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children.

ZA\ WARNING
All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly re-
strained child could be injured by striking the
interior or by being ejected from the vehicle
during a sudden maneuver or impact. An un-
restrained or improperly restrained child is al-
so at greater risk of injury or death through
contact with an inflating airbag.

Z\ WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously
injured and can be killed if the front airbag in-
flates.
— The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, or
door.

211

4S1012721BA
Child safety

NeW icelai eel ias-le meee Maal Cele)
Your vehicle is equipped with a front “Advanced
Airbag System” in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the “low-risk” require-
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas-
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
“suppression” requirements of the Safety Stand-
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas-
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad-
vanced Airbag system, a child should always ride
in the seat properly restrained for its age and
size. The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca-
pacitive passenger detection system in the front
passenger seat cushion that can detect the pres-
ence of a baby or a child ina child restraint sys-
tem on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system regis-
ters the changes that result in an electrical field
when a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket
are on the front passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child re-
straint system resting on the seat. The measured
capacitance of a child restraint system varies de-
pending on the type of system and specific make
and model.
The electrical capacitance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specified
by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Ad-
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typical of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger seat
with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Advanced Air-
bag System compares the capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system
with the data stored in the electronic control
unit.
Ce CMe ee aha acl a Tig ey- le)
system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe-
ty Standards and has been certified by its manu-
facturer for use with an airbag. If in exceptional
circumstances you must use it on the front pas-
senger seat, carefully read all of the information
on child safety and Advanced Airbags and heed
all of the applicable WARNINGS. Make certain
that the child and child restraint are correctly rec-
ognized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat, that the front
passenger airbag is turned off, and that the air-
bag status is always correctly signaled by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #; light.
Many types and models of child restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in-
troduced regularly incorporating new and im-
proved designs and older models are taken out of
production. Child restraints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
different
weights and sizes and different “foot-
prints”, the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with
each and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your vehicle.
213

4S1012721BA
Child safety

> Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward and sideways
more than 1 in (2.5 cm).
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
child should always ride in the seat properly re-
strained for its age and size.


Z\ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
— All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve-
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
— Commercially available child safety seats are
required to comply with U.S. Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 (in
Canada CMVSS 213).
— When buying a child restraint, select one
that fits your child and the vehicle.
— Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush-
ion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom-
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro-
vide adequate contact with the seat.
— Always heed all legal requirements per-
taining to the installation and use of child
safety seats and carefully follow the in-
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using.
— Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
— Never let babies or older children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger.


— Holding a child in your arms is never a sub-
stitute for a child restraint system.
— The strongest person could not hold the
child with the forces that exist in an acci-
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the
passenger.
— The child and the passenger can also injure
each other in an accident.
Never install rear-facing child safety seats or
infant carriers on the front passenger seat.
A child will be seriously injured and can be
killed when the passenger airbag inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag System.
The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special
precautions be taken:
— Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu-
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas-
senger front and side airbag.
— Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
— Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possible be-
fore installing the child restraint.
— Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
— Always make sure that the backrest is in
the upright position.
— Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat-
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.

215

Child safety


— Ifa seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys-
tem on this seat.
— Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth-
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
— Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive
passenger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
— Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or ina collision.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used > page 180, Safety belts,
=> page 187, Airbag system and > page 211,
Child safety.


ZA WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re-
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
— Never install a reward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat if the PAS-
SENGER AIR BAG OFF #; light does not
turn on and stay on.
— Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.

216
Child safety seats
Meath}
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs or 9 kg need special rearward-facing child
restraints that support the back, neck and head
in.acrash.
2 3
2 db + a
Fig. 168 Rearward-facing infant seat, properly installed on
the passenger seat
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
=> page 220.
> Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward and sideways
more than 1 in (2.5 cm).
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head ina
crash > fig. 168.

A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
— Never install a rear-facing child restraint in
the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and
very small children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing.

4S1012721BA
Child safety



— Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3; light comes
on and stays on. If the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF 3%; light does not come on and stay
on the inflating airbag will hit the child safe-
ty seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof. Have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
— Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
— If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth-
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
— Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
— Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas-
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per-
sonal injury.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used > page 180, Safety belts,
=> page 187, Airbag system and > page 211,
Important information.


Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs (9 and 18 kg)
in acrash.
5
9
aD z a

Fig. 169 Schematic overview: installation of the seat using
the vehicle's safety belt system
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
= page 220.
> Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than 1 in (2.5 cm) > page 220.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in-
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs (9 kg).
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 Lbs (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their size and weight and > fig. 169.

ZA WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth-
er emergency situation.
— Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in-
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat willbe |>

217

4S1012721BA
Child safety

The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4 ft 9 in (57 in/
1.45 m) tall and weigh about 80 lbs (36 kg).
Booster seats raise these children up so that the
safety belt will pass properly over the stronger
parts of their bodies and the safety belt can help
protect them ina crash.
> Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a child on a booster seat.
> The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen-
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen. Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight-
en if necessary.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de-
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these children in appro-
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the belt over the child's body is very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos-
ter seat is used.
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regardless
of how big the child is. Always remember that
children do not have the pronounced pelvic struc-
ture required for the proper function of lap belt
portion of the vehicle's three point lap and
shoulder belts. The child's safety absolutely re-
quires that a lap belt portion of the safety belt be
fastened snugly and as low as possible around
the pelvis. Never let the lap belt portion of the
safety belt pass over the child's stomach or abdo-
men.
In acrash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable force. In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu-
pant moves forward into the airbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too
close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be-
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's
body and the front of the passenger compart-
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro-
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions.

Z\ WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos-
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im-
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer-
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se-
rious personal injury and/or death:
— The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child’s collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and snug.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
— Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
=> page 180.
— The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.

219

Child safety

> Route it around or through the child restraint
belt path > A\.
> Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
> Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
> Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un-
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat.
> You should hear a “clicking” noise as the belt
winds back into the inertia reel. Test the con-
vertible locking retractor by pulling on the belt.
You should no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertible locking re-
tractor is now activated.
> Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly.
> Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward and sideways more than
lin (2.5 cm).

ZA WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an improp-
erly installed child restraint can cause serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
— Always make sure that the safety belt retrac-
tor is locked when installing a child safety
seat. An unlocked safety belt retractor can-
not hold the child safety seat in place during
normal driving or in a crash.
— Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or ina crash.
— Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up-
right position. Otherwise, the seatback with
the child safety seat attached to it could fly
forward in the event of an accident or other
emergency situation.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used = page 211. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat > page 188, Child

222

restraints on the front seat - some impor-
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
tela tel
The convertible locking retractor for child re-
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way back into the re-
tractor.

> Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
The belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
>» Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position.
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position. The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con-
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac-
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un-
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature. If the
convertible locking retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.

ZA\ WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
— Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re-
straints while the vehicle is moving. You
would not be restrained and could be seri-
ously injured in an accident.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used > page 211. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat > page 188, Child
restraints on the front seat - some impor-
tant things to know.

4S1012721BA
Child safety

Tether anchors and tether straps
Applies to: vehicles with Tether anchors and tether straps
a
9° db
+ a

Fig. 171 Tether strap: proper routing and mounting (Ver-
sion A)
eS aS
9
db t a

Fig. 172 Tether strap: proper routing and mounting (Ver-
sion B)
The tether strap anchor bracket is located behind
the front passenger's seat at the rear panel to
the engine compartment.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at-
taches the top part of a child restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for-
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head injury that
could be caused by striking the vehicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af-
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed-
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per-
formance of the child restraint and its ability to
protect the child in a collision. Installing a child

restraint that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.

Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
— Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you
intend to install in your Audi.
— Improper use of child restraint anchors (in-
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision. The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor-
rectly fitted child restraints.
— Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage.
— Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu-
pant restraints.
— Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the tether anchors.
— Ifa tether or other strap is used to attach a
child restraint to the front passenger seat,
make sure that it is not so tight, that it caus-
es the weight-sensing mat to measure more
weight than is actually on the seat.
— The heavier weight registered can make the
Advanced Airbag System work as though an
adult were on the seat and deploy the Ad-
vanced Airbag when it must be suppressed
causing serious or even fatal injury to the
child.
— Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light comes
on and stays on. If the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF 3%; light does not come on and stay
on the inflating airbag will hit the child safe-
ty seat or infant carrier 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.
— Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.

223