instrument panel AUDI R8 SPYDER 2015 Owners Manual

Clear vision
Clear vision Lights
Switching the headlights on/off
F ig. 55 Inst rument pane l: ligh t switch (automatic head ­
and taill ig ht control)
Switching on the side marker lights
"'T urn the light switch to :oo:.
Switching on the headlights and high beam
"'Turn the light switch to io.
"'Push the high beam lever forward towards the
instrument panel~
page 47.
Switching off the lights
"'Turn the light switch to 0.
Switching on automatic head- and taillight
control
"'Turn the light switch to AUTO ~ fig. 55.
The headlights and taillights will come on auto­
matica lly when the ignition is switched on and
the light switch is in the position AUTO (on ly in
nighttime conditions). When switching
off the ig­
nition, the headlights will go
off and only the
side marker lights will remain lit.
Daytime running lights
USA models: The daytime running lights will
come on automatica lly when the ign ition is
sw itched on and the light switch is in the position
AUTO (only in daylight conditions).
Canada models: The daytime running lights will
come on automatica lly when the ign ition is
sw itched on and the light switch is in the position
0, AUTO (only in daylight condit ions) or :oo;.
46
Automatic head- and taillight control
In the switch position AUTO the automatic head­
and taillight contro l is activated . Light sensors
are located in the ins ide mirror housing and con­
stantly check the light conditions surrounding
the vehicle. If ambient brightness falls below a
factory set value (e.g. when driving into a tun­
nel), the head- and taill ights including the li­
cense plate illumination are automatically turned
on . When ambient brightness increases again,
the externa l lights are turned
off again~,& . In
the switch position
AUTO , the low beams are
turned
off when the ignition is switched off. The
remaining lights are turned
off when the key is
taken o ut of the ignition lock .
With automatic head-and taillight control, the
high-beam function is also available, but with
one restriction: If you have not switched the high
beams back to low beams during automatic
headlight operation (for example, after driving
through a tunne l), only the low beams come on
the next time automatic headlights are switched
on . To use the high beams, you first have to pull
the h igh beam lever back and then push the lever
forward again.
The side marker lights and headlights can be
switched on manually by turn ing the light sw itch
to the des ired pos it ion .
Light sensor malfunction
If there is a light sensor ma lfunction, the symbol
El comes on in the display. For safety reasons,
the low beams are turned on permanently with
the sw itch in
AUTO. H owever, you can continue to
turn the lights on and
off using the light sw itch.
Have the light sensor checked as soon as possible
at an authorized Audi dealer .
Coming home/leaving home function
The function is sw itched on when the sw itch is in
the
AUTO pos ition and the function is shown as
active in the driver information system.
The
coming home function illuminates the area
around t he vehicle when the igni tion is switched
off and the driver's door is opened. The length of
time the lights rema in on can be set in the menu
display
( Lights > Exterior lights > coming home ). IJJ,,

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With the door contact circuit, the interior lights
turn on as soon as you unlock the veh icl e or open
the doors . The interior lights are also turned on
when the ignition key is removed . The lights turn
off about 30 seconds afte r the doors are closed .
When the veh icle is locked or when the ignition is
turned o n, the inter ior lights are turned off .
When a door is open , the interior lights are
turned off after about 10 m inutes to preven t bat­
tery draining .
T he brightness of the lights is controlled a uto­
mat ica lly by a d immer when they a re sw itched
on/off.
Instrument panel illumination
T he illumination of the instruments, displays
and the center console can be adjusted .
Fig . 59 In strument pa nel ill uminatio n
You regulate the brightnes s of the ins truments
with the left th umbwhee l
C:1 i::;,fig. 59.
Ign ition ON , light switch at @
With the ignition switched ON, the glow of in ­
strument needles
can be adjusted to appear
brighter or d immer .
Ignition ON , light switch at :oo~ or tD .
With the lights sw itched on, the brightness of in­
strument cluster (i.e. needles, gauges and dis­
plays) a nd center console il lum ination ca n be ad ­
justed .
(D Note
The instrument cluster and center console il­
lum inat io n (gauges and needles) comes on
when you sw itch on the ig nitio n and the
ve hi-
Cle ar vi sion
cle headlight s are off . Be aware of the fo llow ­
ing difference between models b uilt to US or
Canadian specif ications:
- USA models: ill umination of the i nstr ument
cl uster (gauges and need les) , dash and cen­
ter console around the gearsh ift lever is
controlled by a light sensor located in the
instrument panel. The instrume nt pane l il­
lum ination w ill automatically become
dimme r as the daylight fades away and
eventua lly will go out comp letely when out­
side light is very low . Thi s is to rem ind you,
t he driver, to switch on t he headlights be­
fore it gets too dark .
- Cana da model s: instrument panel illumina­
t ion will s tay bright regar dless o f the inten­
si ty of ambien t light . Always be aware o f
changes in outside lig ht conditions while
you are driving. Respond in t ime to fading
daylight by turning the light sw itch to posi­
tion ~D (or "AUTO" if your car is equipped
w ith this feat ure) to turn on your head­
lights .
Luggage compartment light
The light is located on the right side of the lug­
gage compa rtment .
These lights come on automatically when the
front lid is opened . The lights turn off automati­
c a lly if the lid is left o pen fo r more then 10 mi­
nutes .
Vision
Adjusting the exterior mirrors
Fig. 60 Forward sect io n of driver 's armrest: pow er mirr or
con trol s ...
49

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!
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and damage your vehicle's electronic
equipment or stain the upholstery, etc.
Ashtray
F ig . 71 Cen te r co nsole: ash tray
The ashtray is inserted in the cupholder.
Opening the a shtra y
• Fold the cover upward.
Emptying the ashtray
• Lift the closed ashtray up out of the cupholder .
A WARNING
-
Never put waste paper in the ashtray. Hot
ashes or other hot objects in the ashtray could
set waste paper on fire.
Cigarette lighter/socket
The cigarett e lighter o r socket only work with the
ignit ion on.
Using the cigar ett e lig hter
• Press the cigarette lighter in .
• Remove the cigarette ligh ter when it pops out.
Conn ecting an appliance
• Slide the cover open to reach the cigarette
lighter .
• Remove cigare tte lighte r.
• Pl ug in appliance to be used.
The socket of the cigarette lighter may be used
for 12-volt appliances with maximum consump· tion of up to 100 watts , such as a flash light,
small vacuum cleaner, etc.
Seats and storage
A WARNING
-Improper use of the cigarette lighter can
cause ser ious injury o r start a f ire.
- Be careful when using the c igarette Lighter.
If you do not pay attention to what you are
doing when you are using the cigarette
lighter you can bur n yourse lf .
(D Note
- To avoid damaging the socket, only use
plugs that fit proper ly.
- Only use the cigarette lighter socket as a power source for e lectr ical accessories for
short durations. Use the sockets in the veh i­
cle when a power source is needed for lon·
ger d urat ions .
(i} Tips
-When the eng ine is off and accessories are
st ill plugged in and are on, the vehicle bat·
tery can st il l be drained .
- The vehicle battery must not be charged
with a standard small charger that plugs in­
to the c igarette lighte r or outlet.
Storage
General
A WARNING
=
- Always remove objects from the instrument
panel. Any items not put away co uld slide
around ins ide the veh icle w hile driving or
when accele rating o r when app ly ing the
brakes or when driving around a corner .
- When you are dr iv ing make s ure that any­
thing you may have placed in the center con ­
sole or other storage locations cannot fa ll
out into the footwe lls. I n case of sudden
braking you would not be ab le to brake, de­
press the clutch or accelerate.
- Any articles of clothing that you have hung
up must not interfere with the driver's view .
The coat hooks are designed only for light·
weight clothing . Never hang any clothing
with ha rd, po inted or heavy objects i n the
pockets on the coat hooks. Dur ing sudden ..,.
59

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@ Tips
If the difference between the desired temper­
ature you have set and the vehicle's interior
Air distribution
Fig. 75 Instrument panel: Location of air vents
,.. Turn the rotary knob @ q page 61, fig. 74 to
the desired setting.
,.. To open and close the outlets, turn the adjust­
ing ring.
,.. To adjust the direction of the airflow from the
outlet, move the tab in the center of the outlet
in the desired direction. The direction of the air
delivered from the vents can be adjusted hori­
zontally and vertically.
Air distribution:
- In setting
-0, air flows only to the windows,
vents
(D and @are open. To defrost the driver
and front passenger side windows most effec­
t iv ely, the vents @should be directed toward
the side windows .
- In setting®, air flows only to the driver/pas­
senger, vents@and @ are open.
- In setting
-0-, air flows only to the footwell,
vents @ are open.
- In setting~. air flows only to the windows and
the footwe ll, vents
(D , @ and @ are open.
There are additional combinations (through inter­ mediate settings) available to adjust air distribu­
tion as needed.
Warm and cold
temperature is too high, the fan speed will
change automatically. This is done so that the
desired temperature setting is reached as
quickly as possible.
(0 Tips
If
the climate controls are running in cooling
mode, air should flow mainly from vents@
and @. To achieve sufficient cooling, you
should never close these vents completely.
Defrost ~
The windshield and side windows are defrosted
or cleared of condensation as quickly as possible.
,.. To turn on the defogger/defroster, press the~
button
~page 61, fig. 74.
,.. To turn the defogger/defroster off, press the~
button again, or the
! AUTO ! button.
Temperature is controlled automatically. The
maximum amount of air flows mainly from vents
1 ~page 63.
A small amount of air flows from vents 2 -if they
are open
~ page 63.
Pressing the~ button switches off recircul ation
mode.
63

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What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the ve­
h icle and all of its occupants . If your ability to
d rive is impaired, safety r isks for everybody in the
ve hicle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road ¢A -Therefore:
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by us ing a cell ular te lephone.
• NEV ER dr ive when your dr iv ing ability is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, dr ugs, e tc.).
• Observe all traffic laws, ru les of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
• ALWAYS ad just your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
• Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch .
• Do NOT drive when you are t ired, under pres­
sure or when you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
ser ious personal in ju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Proper occupant seating
positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
F ig. 10 0 Correct seating position
.
Driving S afely
For yo ur own sa fety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver's seat to the following
pos ition:
• Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis ­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steer ing whee l and your breast bone
¢ fig. 100 .
• Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slightly bent<=>
A .
• Grasp the top of the steer ing whee l with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
• Adjust the head rest rain t so the upper edge is
as even as possib le w it h t he top of yo ur head.
If
that is no t possib le, try to ad just the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this pos ition as
possible .
• Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upr ight position so that you r bac k comes in
full contact with it when you dr ive.
• Fas ten and wear safe ty belts corre ct ly
<=>page 95.
• Always keep both feet in the footwe ll so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all times.
For detailed inform ation on how to adj ust the
driver's seat, see¢
page 56, General recommen ­
dations.
A WARNING
-Drivers who are unbelted, o ut of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in­
jured by an airbag as it dep loys. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adj ust the driver 's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 i nches (25 cm) between your breastbo ne
and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver 's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the
lowe r part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on t he out­
side of the steer ing wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o 'clock and 3 o'clock
87

Driving Safely
positions to help reduce the risk of personal
injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the driver's airbag inflates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
-Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
and head restraints properly and make sure
that all passengers are properly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢page 122. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front pas­
senger seat
¢page 102.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upr ight position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving .
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head. If
88
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible
¢ page 89.
.. Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 56, General
recommendations.
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
deploys. To help reduce the risk of serious per­
sonal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any
part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri­
ously injured by an airbag as it deploys with
great force in the blink of an eye.
-Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas­
senger's breastbone and the instrument panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen­
ger's knees and the lower part of the instru­ ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas­
senger seat and head restraint properly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
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to incorrect position ing of the sa fety belt
and improper seating posit ion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
<=> page 122. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front pas­
senger seat
<=> page 102.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Fig . 101 H ea d re str ain t: v ie w ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection .
.. Fo r adjustable head restraints: adj ust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi ­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos ­
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this pos ition as possib le
<=> fig . 101.
Adj usting head restraints<=> page 58.
&_ WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints.
Dr iv ing without head restraints or w ith head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck injuriy
dramatically . To help reduce the risk of inju ry:
- Always drive with the head restraints in place and properly adjusted .
- Every person in the veh icle must have a
properly ad justed head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head rest raints so the upper edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of you r head .
If that is not possib le, try to ad just the head
res traint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le,
Dr iving Sa fel y
-Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safe ly before at­
tempt ing to adjust the head restraint .
- Ch ildren must a lways be properly restrained
in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size <=>
page 122 .
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupan t res traint sys tem can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or death. Safety belts can on ly work when
they are properly pos it ioned on the body . Im ­
proper seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety be lts and will eve n increase the r isk of
i njury and dea th by mov ing the safety be lt to c rit ­
ical areas of the body. Imp roper seat ing pos itions
also increase the risk of serio us injury and death
when an airbag dep loys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the prope r seat ing pos ition. A driver
is respons ible for the safety of a ll vehicle occu­
pan ts and espec ially for children. Therefore :
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
Q &. -
The following bullets lis t on ly some samp le posi ­
tions that will increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
are dangerous .
Therefore, whene ver the vehicle is movi ng:
-never stand up i n the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w ith the seatback reclined
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet o ut the window
- neve r put your feet on the instrument pane l
89

Safety belts
-Never let any person ride with feet on the
instrument panel or stick ing out t he window
or o n the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is mov ing . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted .
- Never wea r belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your cloth ing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may ca use
injury.
- Never wear the shoulder part of the be lt un ­
der your arm or otherwise out of position .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere w ith correct positioning of belts and re­
duce the ir effectiveness.
- Always keep be lt b uckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
sec urely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe­
c ial clips may be required for the corr ect use
of some chi ld restraint systems .
- Never allow safety be lts to become dam­
aged by being caught in doo r or seat hard ­
ware .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts r egularly. If webb ing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors a re dam­
aged, have belts rep laced by an au thori zed
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop .
- Safe ty belts that have been worn and l oad ed
in an accident m ust be repl aced w ith the
c orrect rep lacement sa fety belt by an a u­
t h orize d Aud i dea le r o r q ualified wor ksh o p.
Replacement may be necessary even if dam ­
age cannot be clear ly seen. Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected .
- Never remove, mod ify, disassemble, or try
to repa ir the safety belts yourse lf.
- Always keep the belts clean. D irty belts may
not work properly and can impa ir the func­
t ion of the inertia ree l
¢table Cleaning inte­
rior on page 147.
98
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat firs t -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 1 11 Be lt buc kle a nd to ngue o n the drive r's seat
N
CD
~ ::i: .. a,
To p rovi de maximum pro tect ion , safety bel ts
must a lways be positioned correc tly on t he wear­
er 's body .
., Ad just the fro nt sea t and head res traint p roper­
ly
q page 56, General re commendations.
., Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pull it even ly
across the chest and pelvis¢&, .
., Insert th e tongue into the correct buck le of
your seat until you hear it latch secure ly
¢fig. 111.
., Pull on the belt to make sure tha t it is securely
latched in the buckle .
Automatic safe ty belt retractor s
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the sho ulder belt. This featu re
lock s the belt when the belt is pulled out f ast ,
during h ard braking and in an acc ident . The be lt
may also lock when you dr ive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve . During normal d riv­
i ng the belt lets yo u move freely .
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped wi th a belt pre ten­
s ione r that he lps to tighten the safety be lt and
remove slack when the p retens ioner is activated.
The function of the pretensione r is mon itored by
a war ning ligh t¢
page 13. ..,.

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 .,.