Audi R8 2017 Owner's Manual page 209

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Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance w ith United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low-risk" require -
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas-
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the a irbag inflates . In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppress ion " requirements of the Safety Stand-
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas-
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equ ipped with an Ad-
vanced Airbag system, a child should always ride
in the seat properly restrained for its age and
size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat .
It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca-
pacitive passenger de t ection system in the front
passenger seat cush ion that can detect the pres -
ence of a baby or a child in a ch ild restraint sys-
tem on this seat .
The capacit ive passenger detection system regis-
ters the changes that result in an electrical field
when a ch ild, a child restra int, and a baby blanket
are on the front passenge r seat. The change in
the measu red capacitance due to the presence of
a child, a chi ld restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restraint system resting on the seat. The meas-
ured capacitance of a child restraint system var -
ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and model.
Ch ild safety
The electrical capacitance of the various types,
makes, and mode ls of chi ld restraints specified
by the U.S.National Highway Traffic Safety Ad-
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typ ical of infants and a 1-year old child . When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat w ith a typical 1 year-old infant, the Ad-
vanced Airbag System compa res the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con-
trol unit .
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Unit-
ed States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
and has been certified by its manufacturer for
use with an a irbag. If in exceptional circumstan-
ces you must use it on the front passenger seat,
carefu lly read all of the information on chi ld safe -
ty and Advanced Airbags and heed all of the ap-
plicable WARNINGS. Make certain that the child
and child restraint are correctly recogn ized by the
capacit ive passenger detection system in the
front passenger seat, that the front passenger
airbag is turned off, and that the airbag status is
always correctly signaled by the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF~ ; light.
Many types and models of child restra ints have
been available over the years, new models are in-
troduced regu larly incorporating new and im -
proved designs and older models a re taken out of
production. Child restra ints are not standardized.
Child restraints of the same type typically have
different weights and sizes and different "foot-
prints", the size and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are installed on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced a irbags w ith
each and every child restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the usef ul life of your vehicle. .,..
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