AUDI R8 SPYDER 2011 Owners Manual

Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
I f the front passenger seat is not occ upied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PA S­
SENGER A IR BAG OF F
light will stay on. Nev­
er insta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat
c:> page 119, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and c:> page 138, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PA SS ENG ER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuously whenever the
ign it ion is on. If the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
l ight does not appear on and stay on a ll
the t ime, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then tu rning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
insta lled and that the safety be lt fo r the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
ro uted through the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint man ufacturer's in ­
structions;
- make su re that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen ­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt must not be loose or have loops of slack so
t h at the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
c:> page 146;
- make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenge r seatbac k and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
c hild safety seat to t he fro nt passenger
seat, make s ure t hat i t is no t so tight that it
A irbag system 129
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght s till
d oes not come on
and does not stay on con ­
tin uous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child rest ra int off the front passen-
ge r seat and have the a irb ag sys tem inspect ­
ed by yo ur authorized Aud i dealer. Do not
transport children witho ut a c hil d safety
seat.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht sho uld
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
c:> page 100, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an inco rrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under t he upho ls tery of the sea t have been
removed from the front passenger sea t,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the sa fe ty belt latch for the fron t passenger
seat.
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
l igh t in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
•
•

130 Airbag sys te m
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly ca nnot provide supp lemental pro ­
tect ion in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced A irbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when i t should.
- Have the airbag system i nspected imme ­
diately by your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearwa rd-fac ing
child sa fety seat, or in a forward- facing
child restraint that has not been prope rly
installed will be serious ly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your ve hicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride proper ly
restrained for their age and s ize .
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS ·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay, on the inflating airbag
wi ll hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier with great fo rce and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
-A tight tether or other st rap on a rear­
ward-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on t he weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register mo re weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
we ight registe red can make the system
-
wo rk as though an adult we re on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed, causing serious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild .
- If, i n exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing c hild re·
straint on the front passenger seat, al ­
ways move the seat i nto its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
a s poss ible. The b ackrest mus t be ad just­
e d t o an upright pos ition . Make s ure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when ­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
=
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitt ing
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, have the ai r­
bag system inspected by yo ur autho rized
Aud i deale r before t ransporti ng anyone
on the front passenger sea t.
(D Tips
If the weight -sensing mat in t he front pas ­
senger seat de tects an empty seat, the
front ai rbag on the passe nger side wi ll be
t urned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
w ill stay on.
-
Care, service and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Audi . Insta lling,
removing, se rv icing or repa ir ing a pa rt in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag sys tem a nd prevent that sys tem from
working properly in a coll is ion .
T here are some important things you have to
know to make sure that t he effec tiveness of
the system w ill not be impaired and tha t dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol -
l u te the environment . ..,.

A WARNING
1
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, o r change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instr ument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
s u rfaces covering the airbag units .
- For cleaning the ho rn pad or ins trumen t
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain water . Solvents or
cl eaners cou ld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repai r, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, instru­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipmen t necessa ry.
- For any work on the ai rbag system, we
st rongly recommend that you se e you r
au thori zed Aud i dealer o r qualified wo rk­
shop.
- Never mod ify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate witho ut interferen ce:
- Never insta ll seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use add itiona l seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the origina l seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­ bag module must always be repa ired
A irbag system 13 1
immediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activate d only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it m ust be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified technician who has
the technical info rmation , training and
special equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
men t pa rts designed and approved espe­
cially fo r you r A udi model versi on. Re­
placemen t of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r­
formed by qualified wo rkshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are sepa rated
from the veh icle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Wor k on the pyrotechnic c ircui t inte r­
rupter m ust only be performed by a
qualified dea le r - risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
is scrapped, a ll applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be cl assified as Perchlorate
Materia l - specia l hand ling may a pply, see
www .dtsc .ca. gov/hazard o u swaste/ per-
ch [orate. When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety be lts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all app licab le laws and regu la­
tions must be obse rved. Your authorized
A udi dealer is familia r with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer per form this service for you .
•
•
• •

132 Airbag system
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the sp rings, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbe rs etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors a nd sent to the electron ic control
un it. Some suspension changes ca n, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­ ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic con trol module if the safety bel t is
latched or not .
If the safety belt is being used,
the front a irbag will deploy at a slightly high­
e r rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt i s not being used. Therefo re, i n a par­
ticular co llision, it is poss ible that an a irbag
will not deploy at a seati ng position where the
safety be lt is being used but will inflate at the
position where the safety belt is not being
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electron ic control unit .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's s uspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
t ions can change Advan ced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of ser io us
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never install suspens io n components
that do not have the same performance
characteristics as the components origi ­
nally installed on your vehicle .
- Never use tire -rim combinat ions that
have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
-Items stored between the safety be lt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from wo rking properly.
- Always ma ke sure that nothing can inter­
fere wi th the safety belt buckles a nd that
they are not obstruc ted .
@ For the sake of the env ironment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
s ione rs might be classified as Perchlorate
Ma teria l - specia l hand ling may apply, see
www .d tsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­
ch lorate. W hen the vehicle or parts of t he
restraint system including airbag modu les
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicab le laws and regu la­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familia r with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service fo r you.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants .
Fig. 1 26 D river 's ai rb ag
The airbag for the driver is Located in the in­
strument panel underneath the steering
whee l
c::> fig. 126, the airbag for the passenger
is at about the same height in the inst rument
panel underneath the g love compartment . ..,_

The knee airbag offers additional protect ion
to the driver's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas as a supplement to
the safety belts.
I f the front airbags deploy , the knee airbags
also deploy in fronta l collisions above acer­
tain severity ¢
page 126, More important
things to know about front airbags.
Besides their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in case of a frontal colli­
sion so that the airbags can provide protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a s ubstitute for your
safety be lt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc ­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. Th is
i s why you shou ld always wear you r safety
be lt, not jus t because the law requires you to
do so¢
page 110, Why safety belts?.
The safety belt buck le for the dr iver and front
seat passenge r have switches that tell the a ir­
bag control mod ule if the safety belt is being
used or not. If the safety be lt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a slightly higher
rate o f deceleration than if the belt is not be ­
ing used . Therefore, in a partic ular collision, it
is poss ible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position where the
safety belt is not be ing used.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those acc idents in which airbags are
n ot supposed to deploy or when they have al­
ready deployed, fo r example when your veh i­
cle strikes o r is struck by anothe r after the
fi rst coll is ion.
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
system wo rks most effective ly w hen used with
the safe ty belts. The refore, always we ar your
safety be lts correctly.
A irbag system 133
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, othe r
injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing, and
minor abrasions can also be assoc iated with
airbags .
The knee airbag sy stem basic ally consi sts
of:
- The e lectronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (a irbag and gas gen-
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The a irbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag sy stem will not deploy:
- when the ignit ion is tu rned off
- in front-end collisions when the de celeration
meas ured by the con tro l unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn-
ing/ind icator light illuminated) ¢
page 17.
_& WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 126.
- If the a irbag ind icator light comes o n
when the vehicle is being used, h ave the
sys tem inspected immedi ately by your
author ized Audi dealer . The airbag may
not work properly when the ve hicle ac­
celeration in a side collis ion is high
enough to deploy the airbag. See also
¢page 17.
-
•
•

134 Airbag system
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area is reduced by
fully deployed knee airbags .
Fig. 127 Inflated airbags protecting in a frontal coll i­
sion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger are deployed in certain but not all
frontal collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also deploy in frontal collisions above acer­
tain severity .
When the system is deployed, the airbags
start to fill with a propellant gas, and inflate
between the lower part of the instrument
panel and the driver and the lower part of the
instrument panel and the front passenger
¢ page 126, fig. 124.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremities.
All this takes place instantaneously, so fast
that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also in­
flate with a great deal of force and it is impor­
tant for occupant safety that nothing should be in their way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk. Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only
supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags to provide supplemental protection.
A WARNING ~
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The airbag system cannot protect you
properly if you are seated too close to
any of the airbag locations. When adjust­
ing their seat positions, it is important
that both the driver and the front pas­
senger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- 10 inches (25 cm) between the chest
and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees
and the lower part of the instrument
panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are not wearing your safety belt . The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­ ploy .
- Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between yourself and the airbag can in­
crease the risk of injury in an accident by
interfering with the way the airbag de­
ploys or by being pushed into you as the
airbag deploys.
- No persons (children) or animals
should ride in the footwell in front of

the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, this can resu lt in serious or fatal
injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be car­
ried in the footwell area in front of the
driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky ob­
jects (shopping bags, for example) can hamper or prevent proper deployment
of the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the ai r­
bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument pane l where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If children are incorrect ly seated, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident ¢
page 138, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
F ig . 128 Side a irbag location in t he d river 's seat
The s ide airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
r::} fig . 128 facing the
doors. They are identified by the word "AIR ­
BAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
Airbag system 135
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is mon itored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning p roperly
at all times. Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the driver's and front passenger 's up­
per torso and head injuries on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side collision. The
airbag deploys only in side impacts and only
when the vehicle acceleration registered by
the control unit is high enough .
If this rate is
below the reference value programmed into
the control unit, the side airbags will not be
triggered , even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not
possible to define an airbag triggering range
that will cover every possible angle of impact,
since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision and another. Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard
or soft) of the impacting object, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc.
¢page 137, Im­
portant safety instructions on the side airbag
system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe ­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupan t restra int system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety be lt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety be lts, not just because the law re­
quires you to do so¢
page 110, Why safety
belts? .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
IIJ>,

136 Airbag system
o ther injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
side airbags wi ll deploy only once and on ly in
certain kinds of accidents - your safety belts
are a lways there to offer protect ion .
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion . In some co llisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety be lts a re al­
ways there to offer protec tion in those acci­
dents in wh ic h ai rbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignition is turned off
- in s ide collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers.
I n some types of acc idents the front a irbags
and side a irbags may be triggered together.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and t he ai rbag system will
only provide protection when occ upants
are in the proper seating posit ion
¢page 137.
-If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the veh icle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. The a irbag may
not work p roperly when the vehicl e ac­
celeration in a side co llision is h igh
enough to activa te the airbag.
-
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig . 1 29 Inflated s ide a irbags on left s ide of veh icle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and b reaks through
a seam in the seat surface area ma rked "AIR ­
BAG".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
t hi s additional protection, the side airbag
must inflate w ithin a fraction of a second at
very h igh speed and with great force . The sup­
pleme nta l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos it ion is not proper or upright or if
items are loca ted in the area where the s up­
pleme nta l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children ¢
page 138, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occ upant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lis ion ¢
fig. 129.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.

Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used .
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
-Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace ­
ment upholstery over the front seat backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­ bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
Airbag system 137
- Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
deploys or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates.
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cup holders, tel­ ephone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can be­ come dangerous projectiles and cause injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other passengers to travel in this position .
- Always prevent the side airbags from be ­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­ backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must
always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly , their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
c:> page 138, Child Safety.
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .
•
•

138 Child Safety
Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The physical princip les of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash app ly also to children
¢ page 112. But unlike adu lts and teenagers,
their muscles and bones are not fully devel­
oped. In many respects children are at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than adults.
Because children 's bod ies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­ ly designed for their s ize, weight, and body
structure . Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
l aws requ iring the use of approved ch ild re­
straint systems fo r infants and small child ren.
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. Thi s means the weight of
the child would s uddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions,
only an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of serious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of ser ious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's s ize
c> page 141 , Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats .
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the impo rtant informat io n and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
wo rk when infants and children in chi ld re­
straints are on the front passenger seat. Be­
cause o f the large amount of important info r­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here. We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport ­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
.&, WARNING
-
A ll vehicle occupants and especially chi l­
dren must be restrained properly whenev­
er riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or
improperly restrained child could be in­
jur ed by str ik ing the interior or by being
ejected from the vehicle dur ing a sudden
maneuver or impact. An unrestra ined or
i mproperly restra ined child is also at great­
er risk of injury or death through contact
with an inflat ing airbag.
.&, WARNING
--Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-fac ing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, door or
roof.
- 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 PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not
come on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier w ith 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
author ized Audi dealer.