airbag off AUDI R8 SPYDER 2015 Owners Manual

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Instruments and warning/indicator lights
field. The vehicle cannot be operated
c:;, page28.
Voltmeter display
The vo ltmeter shows the voltage in the vehicle
electrical system. If the reading drops below 12
volts w ith the engine running, you should have
the power supply (battery and generator) in ­
spected by an authorized Aud i dealer .
(D Tips
Voltage can drop below 8 volts when you start
the engine.
Warning/indicator lights
Descript ion
The indicator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate functions or mal­
functions
c:;, ,&. .
Messages may appear with some indicator lights.
The messages turn
off after a short time. To dis­
play a message aga in, press the Set/Check but ­
ton
c:;, page 8, fig. 3 (J) . If there is more than one
malfunction, the indicator lights will turn on one
after the other for approximately two seconds
each .
Some indicators lights in the display can turn on
in several colors.
A WARNING
- Failure to heed warning lights and other im­
portant vehicle information may result in
serious persona l injury or vehicle damage.
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repa ir,
move the vehicle a safe distance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the emer­
gency flasher
c:;, page 48.
-The engine compartment of any motor vehi­
cle is a potentially hazardous area. Before
you check anything in the engine compart­
ment, stop the engine and let it cool down.
Always exercise extreme caution when work ­
ing under the hood
c:> page 155, Working in
the engine compartment
Overview
Some indicator lights turn on briefly to check the
function of that system when you sw itch the igni­
tion on. These systems are marked with a,/ in
the following tables. If one of these indicator
lights does not turn on, there is a ma lfunction in
that system.
Red indicator lights
---------------
US A models: Malfunction in the
brake system
c:;, page 12
Canada models: Malfunction in the
brake system
¢ page 12
USA models : Airbag system,/
c:> page 13
Canada models: Airbag system,/
c:>page 13
Safety belt
c:>page 14
Battery,/
c:>page 14
Engine oi l pressure too low
c:> page 14
Engine coolant leve l too low/
engine coo lant temperature too high
c:>page 14
Gearbox malfunction*
c:>page 78
Yellow indicator lights
Convertible top operation ,/
c:>page 15
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
,I c:;,page 15
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
,I c:;, page 15
USA models: ant i-lock brake system
(ABS) ,/ defect ive
c:;, page 15
Canada models: anti-lock brake sys­
tem (ABS),/ defective
c:;, page 15
Worn brake pads
c:> page 16
Tire pressure too low
c:>page 197
11

Opening and closing
@ Tips
- The dr iver's door can be locked and un­
l ocked with the key if the power locking sys­
tem fails. The passenger 's door can be
l ocked manually
c:> page 32.
- In the event of a crash with airbag deploy­
ment all loc ked doors will be automatically
unlocked to give access to the vehicle occu­
pants from the outs ide .
- The anti-t heft alarm system cannot be acti­
vated if the power locking system is not ac­
tivated .
- You are well advised not to keep valuables
i nside an unattended vehicle, v is ible or not.
Eve n a prope rly locked veh icle cannot p ro­
v id e the secur ity of a safe!
Unlocking and locking the vehicle with the
remote control
How the remo te control works.
F ig. 2 3 Remote co ntrol: fun ctio n butto ns
Whether only the d river's doo r or the entire veh i­
cle is unlocked when the opening button @ is
pressed once, depends on the settings in the
Driver information system
Central locking menu
~ page 22 .
To unlock the vehicle III
• Press button @.
• Press but ton @ two
times w ith in two seconds
to unlock all doors and the front lid .
To lock the vehicle
~
• Press button @~.&. in General description on
page 29 .
• Watch that all turn signal lights flash once.
30
To unlock front lid only~
• Press bu tton © for approxima tely one se con d.
PANIC Button
• Push the red button @to activate t he panic
fu nction . The horn sou nds an d the turn signa ls
fla sh.
• Push the button @aga in t o de acti va te the pan-
ic fu nct io n.
The remote cont ro ls allows you to:
- lock or unlock the vehicle
- select ively un lock the front lid.
The turn signa ls will flash brief ly whenever you
l ock or u nlock the veh icle. Also, the interior light
will come on o r go off whenever yo u open or
close the driver's door.
The transm itter and battery are located in the
head of the remote contro l. The receiver is locat­
ed inside the vehicle . The maximum effective
range depends on severa l things . Remembe r, if
the battery is weak, the effect ive range decreas­
es .
The remote -cont ro l key contains a fo ld-out key
that you can use to man ually lock or unlock t he
vehicle and to start the eng ine .
I f you need to replace the remote control , or if
you need to have it repaired, you must see your
authorized Aud i dea ler. Only then can yo u use the
key agai n.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNI NGS c:> & in Gener­
al description on page 29 .
(D Tips
- The remote control key is automatically de­
act ivated when the ignition is sw itched on.
- The operation of the remote contro l key can
be temporarily d isrupted by interference
from transmitters in the vicinity of the vehi ­
cle wo rking in the same freque ncy ra nge
(e.g . a cell phone, radio eq uipment).
- In orde r to make su re the locking function is
wor king, you should a lways keep yo ur eye
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on the vehicle to make sure it is properly
l ocked.
- Do not use the remote control if you are in­
side the car, otherwise you may unintention­
ally lock the vehicle, and then you would set
off the ant i-theft a larm when you try to
start the engine or open a door . In case this
happens anyhow, push the unlock button©.
- Use the panic funct ion only if you are in an
emergency situa tion.
Resetting the remote control
The remote control must be reset if the vehicle
does no t unlock .
.. Press the unlock button 0 on the remote con­
trol.
.. Manually unlock the driver's door lock with the
mechan ical key wi thin 30 se cond s.
.. Press e ither the lock-
{fl or the unlock CD button
to comple te the reset sequence .
Operating locks with the key
To lock and unlock the vehicle from the outside ,
turn the key in the lock of the driver's door .
Fig. 24 Key turn s for op ening and closin g
.. To un lock the vehicle, tu rn t he key to the open ­
ing position @¢
fig. 24 .
.. To lock the vehicle , turn the key in the lock of
the driver's door to the lock position @
c:> .&_.
A WARNING
Always read and heed WARNING c> A in Gen­
eral description on page 29 .
Opening and clo sing
Locking and unlocking the vehicle from
inside
The vehicle can be locked or unlocked from the
inside using the power locking swi tch .
Fig . 2 5 Sect ion fro m drive r's door : Powe r loc king switc h
.. Press the upper part of the powe r lock ing
sw itch@ to lock the vehicle ¢,&. .
.,. Press lower part o f the sw itch@ to unlo ck the
veh icle .
If you lock the veh icle using the power locking
switch, p lease no te t he following:
- You cannot open the doors from the
outside
(increased security, for examp le when you are
stopped at a red light) .
- The LED in the switch~ lights up when all the
doors and the front lid a re closed and locked.
- Yo u can un lock and open the doors from the in­
side by pulling on the door hand le .
- You ca nnot lock the ve hicle w it h the central
locking switch when the d river's door is open .
- If you have a crash and the airbag is activated,
the doors a utomatically unlock.
A WARNING
-
- If you use the power loc king switch with the
doors closed, remember that all the veh icle
doors w ill lock.
- Locked doors make it more difficult for
emergency workers to get into the veh icle,
which puts lives at r isk. Do not leave anyone
behind in the vehicle, especially children .
31

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-
56
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!
-

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
89

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Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety belts are always there to of­
fer protection in those accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have al­ ready deployed . Unbelted occupants can also be
thrown out of the vehicle where even more severe
or fatal injuries can occur .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 110 Dr ive r is properly restrained in a sudden b raking
maneuver.
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
the ir seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontro lled movement that can cause seri­
ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly '' through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi ­
neered into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially re­
duce the risk of injury in other kinds of crashes .
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident stat istics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety be lts have
Safety belts
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lision. For this reason., wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal coll isions. The front airbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions, in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be properly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
• Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter.
• Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
-Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im-
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
in jury and death. Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­
fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are properly restrained .
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned correctly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
i ng smal l children, into any single safety
be lt.
- Never plac e a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap .
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven .
97

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
102
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 .,.

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also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in roll­
overs .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbag s wi ll deploy on ly once,
and on ly in cer tain kinds of collisions. Your safety
b e lts a re a lways there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 95.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will in cr ease the risk
o f persona l injury in a coll is ion .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches ( 25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 in ches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipmen t may be
available to help yo u reach the peda ls and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much higher.
- Yo u will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
i=> page 98, Safety belts.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­
properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats properly. If ch ildren are not
properly restrained, they may be severely in­
jured or killed when an airbag inflates .
- Never r ide with the backrest recl ined .
- Always s it as far as possib le from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
-
Airbag syste m
c::> page 87, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­ bag du ring bra king or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become p rojectiles and cause in ju ry when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irb ags th at have deployed i n a crash mus t be
r eplaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
p roved by Aud i and installed by a tr ained
technician who has the necessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know
"' Be sure to read the important information and
head the WARNINGS for important details
about c hildren and Advanced Airbags
c::>page 122.
The airbag on the passenger s ide makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous p lace for a child to
r ide. The front seat is not the safest p lace for a
c hi ld in a forwa rd-fac ing c hild safety seat.
It can
be a ve ry dangero us p lace for an infant or a c hild
in a rearward-facing seat.
T he Adva nced A irbag Sys tem in you r vehicle has
been certified to comply wi th the Requiremen ts
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 as applicable at the time your ve hi-
cle was manufactured. ..,.
103

Airbag system
The Standard requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("suppressed") if
a child up to about one year of age restrained in
one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat. For a listing
of the child restraints that were used to certify
comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 124.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
men t panel tells you when the front Advanced
A irbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electronic control unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill come on for a few
seconds and:
- will stay o n if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild re­
stra int on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight­
sensing mat¢
page 112, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
a ir bag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year-old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a ir bag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come
on) . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the e lectronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor­
ed in its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (re-
104
gardless of whether the child is in one o f the
child safety seats listed¢
page 124), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger ai rbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
instrument panel and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a smal l adult
o r teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up­
right with their back against a non-reclined back­
rest with their feet on the vehicle floor in front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
¢ page 87, Proper seating position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in­
ju ry through interaction with the a irbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the electronic control un it
¢page 112, PASSEN­
G£R AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly inflat­
in g passenge r's airbag in a frontal collision . The
a irbag could greatly reduce the effec tiveness of
the child res traint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
_&. WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
a ir bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG