weight AUDI R8 SPYDER 2015 Owners Manual

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Kneeairbags .. ........... .. .. .. .. ... 116
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
C hild safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Instal ling a chi ld safety seat . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Vehicle operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Notice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) . . . . 134
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
D ry s ump lubr ication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Driving with your quattro . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Driving and environment . . . . . . . . 142
Break-in period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Driving through water on roads . . . . . . . . 142
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Shutting down vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Operation and maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Vehicle c are and cleaning . . . . . . . . 145
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Cleaning and care information . . . . . . . . . 146
Fuel supply and filling your fuel
tank ... .. .. .... ............. .. .. .. .
151
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Fu el tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Engine compartment lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Eng ine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Brake fl uid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Table of contents
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Windshield washer container . . . . . . . . . . 168
Tires and wheel s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Tire pressure monitoring system . . . . . . . 196
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Trunk escape handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Tire repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
What should I be aware of when changing
a tire? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Emergency towing with commercial tow
truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Fu ses and bulb s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
El ectr ical fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Bulbs......... .. .. ........... .. .. .. 211
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Vehicle identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 12
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Dimensions......................... 213
Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Gasoline engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Consumer Information . . . . . . . . . . 215
Warranty coverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21S
Operating your vehicle outside the U.S.A .
o r Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21S
Audi Servi ce Repair Manuals and
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Maintenance. .. .. ... .......... .. .. .. 215
Additional accessor ies, modifications and
parts replacement 217
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
3

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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

On the road
@ Tips
-Vehicles with manua l transmission: You can
attain the set speed only if the currently en­
gaged gear a llows it and the engine is not
stressed. Shifting to a h igher or lower gear
promptly will allow the engine to run
smoothly.
- The cruise control cannot maintain a con­
stant speed when driving downhill. The ve­
hicle will accelerate under its own weight .
Downshift to a lower gea r or use the brakes
to slow down.
Changing speed
.. Press lever in the 0 or O direction¢ page 71,
fig .
Bl to increase or decrease your speed .
.. Re lease the lever to save that speed .
You ca n also press the accelera tor pedal down to
increase your speed, e.g . if you want to pass
someone . The speed you saved earlier will re­
sume as soon as you release the accelerator ped­
al.
If , however, you exceed your saved speed by
S mph
(10 km/h) for longer than S minutes , the
cruise control will turn off temporarily. The sym­
bol will go out but the saved speed will be re­
tained.
Presetting your speed
You can preset your desired speed while the vehi­
cle is not moving .
.. Turn on the ignition .
.. Pull lever into position@¢
page 71 , fig . Bl .
.. Press the lever in the 0 or O direction to in-
crease or decrease your speed .
.,. Release the lever to save that speed .
This function makes it possible, for example, to
save the speed you want before driving on the
highway. Once on the highway, activate the cruise
control by pulling the lever toward @.
72
Switching the system off
Temporary deactivation
.. Press the brake pedal, or
.. Keep the clutch pedal pressed down longe r, or
.,. Press the lever into position @(not clicked into
place)
¢page 71, fig. Bl, or
.. Drive for longer than 5 minutes at more than
S mph
(10 km/h) above the stored speed .
Switching off completely
.,. Press lever into position @(clicked into place),
or
.. Switch the ignition off.
The system retains the saved speed if you deacti­
vate the cruise control temporarily. To resume
the saved speed, release the brake or clutch ped­
al and pull the lever to pos ition @.
Switch ing the ignition off erases the saved speed.
.&_ WARNING
You should only return to the saved speed if it
is not too fast for the current traffic condi­
tions -risk of an accident!
Audi magnetic ride
Damping can be adjusted to the driver's prefer­
ence and it adapts automatically to the current
driving situation .
SPORT •
Fig. 82 Center console: Sw itch for Audi magnet ic ride
.,. To turn sport setting on/off, press the sw itch
¢ fig. 82.
Audi magnetic ride is an electronically controlled damp ing system . This chassis system assists the
driver by adapting to the particular situation
liJI,

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mats wi ll prevent them from sliding into posi ­
tions that cou ld interfere wit h the peda ls or im­
pa ir safe operation of your veh icle in other ways .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a
loss of vehicle control and increase the r isk of
ser ious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop­
erly secured .
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or other
floor coverings in the veh icle that cannot be
properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering w ith the ped­
als or the ability to control the veh icle.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floo r mats. Add itiona l floo r mats and other
cove rings w ill reduce the si ze of the pedal
area and interfere w ith the ped als.
- Always properly reinstall and se cu re f loor
m ats that have been taken ou t for clean ing .
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the dr iver footwell while the vehicle is
moving. Objects can become tr apped under
the brake pedal and accelerator peda l caus ­
ing a loss of vehicle contro l.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment .
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac­
ter istics. Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden veh icle ma ­
neuver or in a coll is ion.
In a collis ion, the laws of p hys ics mean that even
smal ler items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy miss iles that can cause ser ious in ­
jury . Items in the vehicle possess energy which
va ry w ith vehicle speed and the we ight of the
item. Vehicle speed is the mos t significant fa ctor.
Dr iving Sa fel y
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed o f
30 mp h (48 km/h) , the forces acting o n a 10-lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 t imes the norma l
weight of the item. This means that the weight of the item would sudden ly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flyi ng freely throug h
the passeng er compartment co uld cause in a col­
li sion like this.
A WARNING
Imp roperly store d luggage or other items c an
fly through the vehicle causing serio us pe r­
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident . To help reduce the risk of ser ious
personal injury:
- Always put o bjects, fo r example, luggage o r
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
A WARNING
Heavy loads w ill influence the way yo ur vehi­
cle hand les . To help reduce the r isk of a loss
of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects , that a change in the center of
grav ity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle We ight Rating
or the G ross Vehicle We ight Rating specified
on the safety compliance stic ker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding pe rm issib le weight
s ta nd ards c an cause the veh icle to slide and
h a ndle differently.
- Please observe informa tion on safe dr iving
~page 86.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doo rs, all windows
and the front lid a re secure ly close d and
l ocke d to reduce the r isk of injury when the
vehicle is not be ing used .
- Afte r closing the front lid, always make sure
that it is proper ly closed and locked .
- Never leave your vehicle una ttended espe­
cially with the f ront lid left open . A child
-
91

Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 107 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle heading for a wall
Fig. 108 The vehicle c rashes into the wall.
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies w ith vehicle speed and body weight . Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/
h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the occupants in this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts
c::> fig. 107, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall
¢ fig. 108 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even
at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
96
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At higher
speeds, these forces are even greater.
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of phys ics don't just apply to
frontal collis ions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 109 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is v io lently
t hrown forward
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in­
strument panel, w indshield, or whatever else is
i n the way
c::> fig . 109 . This impact with the vehi­
cle inter ior has all the energy they had just before
the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only add itional
protection . Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents . Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rect ly in order to minimize the r isk of severe in-
jury or death in a c rash.
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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

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OFF light does not come on and stay on the
inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild safety seat and ch ild
against the backrest, door or roof . Have the
airbag system inspected immed iately by
your authorized Aud i dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenge r's seat may inte rfe re
with the deployment of the airbag and cause se rious personal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t in­
stall a forward -facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas ­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or ve ry near the instr ument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le before installing the for­
ward -fac ing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right posit io n.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes o n and stays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll
be di splayed w henever a child res traint is in ­
stalled on the front passenger sea t and the
ign ition is swi tched on .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, per form the checks described
<:? page 112, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System .
-Have the airbag system inspecte d by your
Audi dealer immed iately .
Airbag syste m
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restrain ts.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you m ust in­
stall a forwa rd or rearward -fac ing ch ild re ­
strai nt on the front passenger's sea t:
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints can
red uce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill the child -even
wit h an Adva nced A irbag System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufact urer's
instr uctions provided w ith th e child safety
seat o r carr ie r.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight reg iste red
by the we ight-sensing mat and can c ause in­
jury in a cr ash.
105

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The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additiona l protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The a irbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is h igh enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is pa rt of the overall occupant re­
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitt ing upright, wearing your safe­
ty belt and weari ng it properly. This is why you
and your passengers m ust always be properly re­
strained, no t just because the law req uires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low risk " requi re­
men ts fo r 3 and 6 yea r-old ch ildren on the pas­
senger side and very small ad ults on the driver
side . The low risk deployment criteria are intend­
ed to he lp reduce the r isk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inf lates.
In addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requ irements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are restra ined o n the front passenger seat in c hild re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
~ page 124, Child restraints and Advan ced Air­
bags.
"S uppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing o r forward-fac ing in fant rest raints listed
in Federa l Moto r Ve hicle Safety Standard
208
with wh ic h t he Advanced Ai rbag System in your
vehicle was cer tified. For a list ing of the ch ild
r es traints that were used to cert ify you r vehi­
cle's compliance with t he US Safety Standard
~ page 124, Airbag
syste m
- weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the
cont ro l unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detecte d on the front passen­
ger seat, weigh ing more than the tota l we ight of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forwa rd-fac ing infant re ­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard
208 with wh ich the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not de­
ploy .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the elect ro nic cont ro l unit detects a total
we ight on the fro nt passenger sea t that requires
the front airbag to be tu rned off . If the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
fron t airbag on t he passenger side h as not bee n
tu rned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
t h e con trol unit senses an impact that meets t he
conditions stored in its memo ry .
If the tot al weight on the fr ont p assenge r seat is
more than that o f a typical 1 year-o ld, b ut less
t h an the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenge r side may deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For example , the airbag ma y deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
yea r-old ch ild is on the front passenge r seat ( re­
ga rdless o f whether the chi ld is in one of the
child sa fe ty seats listed~
page 124),
-a child who has outgrown ch ild res traint s is on
t he fron t passenger seat.
If th e front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
t h e instr ume nt pane l w ill come on and s tay on.
The front airbag o n the passenge r side may
not
deploy ( the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill umi nate and s tay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not s itting upright with
their back aga inst a non-reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of th e
seat is on t he front passenger sea t.
IJl,
107

Airbag syste m
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined in the electron ic control unit
<:;> page 112.
Always remember: Please be sure to read the im­
portant information in the sections that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
t ing s ideways o r out of position in any way,
you r risk of inju ry is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
<:;>page 102.
A WARNING
A child i n a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody ca n absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the useful life of you r vehicle.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and chi ld
against the bac krest, doo r, or roof.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
sa fety seat on the front passenge r seat be­
ca use of exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
108
A WARNING , ~
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the inst rument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost position in t he seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, be fore insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restrain t. T he backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
- Ma ke s ure that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignition is switched on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it. These parts include the weight­
sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brackets, and more.
The function of the system in the front passenger
seat is checked by the e lectronic control unit
whe n the ignition is on. The control unit mo nitors
the Advanced Airbag System and t urns the a irbag
i ndicator light on when a malf unct ion in the sys­
tem components is detected. The function o f the
airbag indicator light is described in greater de­
tai l below . Because the front passenger seat con­
ta ins important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, you must take care to prevent it from be­
i ng damaged . Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced A irbag for the front passenger seat
from doing its job in a cras h.
The f ront Ad van ced Airbag S ystem consi sts
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measu re vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide i nfo rmation to the Advanced Airbag
System about the sever ity of the crash.

..... N
r-­N "': ..... \!) ..,.,
N ..,., .....
- An electronic control uni t, with integrated
crash sensors for front an d side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based o n the information received from
the cras h sensors . The control un it also "de­
c ides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger .
- A weight-sens ing mat under the upholstery
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush ion
that measures the total we ight on the seat . The
information registered is se nt cont inuously to
the e lectronic control unit to regulate dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
se nger side.
- An a irbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the inst rumen t cluster
¢page 112.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the cen ter of t he instrument
pane l
¢page 112, fig . 118 and te lls you when
the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off .
-A sensor be low the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on
the safety be lt . The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens­
ing mat help the control unit "dec ide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
shou ld be turned
off or not ¢ page 103, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
t ransmits th is info rmation to the electronic
control unit.
~ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre ­
vent the front airbag from work ing proper ly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
Airbag syste m
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
pe rformed by qualified and properly t rained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble o r remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur pockets or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the we ight registered by the
weight-sens ing mat and send the w rong in­
formation to the a irbag con trol unit .
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up­
hols tery that have not been specifically ap­
p rove d by Aud i on t he front se ats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem from recogni zing child re­
s traints or oc cupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent t he side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, b lan kets or
similar items on the front passenger seat .
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from accu­
rately register ing the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion o r some thing else to
p roperly pos ition the c hild restra int , ma ke
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on an d stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas ­
senger seat .
109