2009 AUDI S8 service

Checkin g and fillin g -
--------------~-
•
Before you check a nything in the e ngine compartment,
alw ay s re ad and heed all WARNINGS ~ & in "Working in
the engine compartment" on
page 309.
- Turn off the engine.
- Unscrew the oil filler cap from the cylinder head cover
~ page 314, fig. 267 or~ page 314, fig. 268.
- Carefully top off with the appropriate o il in 0 .5 liter doses .
- Check the oil level again af te r two minutes~
page 313.
- Top off t he o il agai n, if necessary.
- Screw the cap back on the filling hole and slide the oil
dipstic k in as far as it will go .
& WARNING
• While toppi ng off , th e oil mu st n ot come in con tact w ith hot
e ngin e par ts -fir e ha zard!
• The oil filler cap mu st be p roperl y se cured t o pre vent o il fr om
be ing sprayed on the ho t engin e and exhau st s yste m wh en the
e ng ine is runni ng -fi re hazar d!
• If your skin h as come in co ntac t with th e engine oil , you mu st
s ub sequ entl y c lea nse it thor oug hl y.
0 Note
• T he oil level must not be above range @-danger of converter or
engine damage! Contact an authorized dealership to draw off oi l, if
necessary.
• Audi d oes n ot recommend the u se of o il a ddi tives . The y m ay
d am age th e eng in e and adv ers el y af fec t yo ur Ne w Vehicle Warr anty.
<£' For the sak e of th e environment
• Under no circumstances can the oi l come in contact with the
sewage network or the soi l.
• Observe and follow legal regulations when disposing of empty
oi l containers. •
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by an autho­
rized Audi dealer or a qualified service station.
Before you check anything in the engine co mpart ment, always re ad
an d heed all WARN INGS=>
& in "Working in the engine compart­
ment" on
page 309.
The engine oi l must be changed according to the interva ls specified
in your Warranty
& Maintenance booklet. This is very important
because the lubricat ing properties o f oi l d im inish g radua lly during
normal vehicle use.
Under some circumstances the engine oil shou ld be changed more
frequently . Change oil more often if you drive mostly short
distances, operate the vehicle in dusty areas or under predomi­
nantly stop -and -go traffic conditions, or have your vehicle where
temperatures remain below freezing for extended periods .
Detergent additives in the oil w ill make fresh oi l look dark after the
engine has been running for a short time . This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended .
Because of the problem of proper disposal, along with the spec ial
tools and necessary expertise required, we strong ly recommend
that you have your oi l changed by an authorized
Audi de aler or a
qualified service station .
If you choose to chang e your oil your self , please note the following
important information : .,_
Vehicle care I t •

-~_C_ h_e _c _ k_ i_n ...:::g::;...._ a_n_ d_ f_ i_ll _in -'g:::;.._ ___________________________________________ _
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal inju ry if you mu st change the engine
oil in your vehicle your self:
• Wear eye prote ction .
• To reduce the ri sk of bu rn s from hot engine oil , let the engine
c ool down to the tou ch .
• When remo ving th e oil dr ain pl ug w ith your fing ers, s tay a s fa r
a w ay as po ssibl e. Alw ays keep your forearm p arallel to the grou nd
to help prevent hot oil from running down your arm .
• Drai n the oil into a container de signed for th is purpose , one
l a rg e enough to hold at le ast the tot al a mount of oil in your eng ine .
• Engine oil is poi sonou s. Keep it well out of the rea ch of children .
• Continuous contact with used engine oil i s harmful to your
skin. Always prote ct your skin by wa shin g oil off thoroughly with
s oap and water .
0 Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine oil. These additives can
damage you r engine and adve rsely affect you r Audi Limited New
Vehicle Warranty .
~ For the sake of the environment
• Before changing your oil, first make sure you know where you
can proper ly dispose of the used oil.
• Always dispose of used engine oil properly . Do not dump it on
garden soil, wooded areas, into open st reams or down sewage
drains .
• Recycle used engine oi l by taking it to a used engine oi l collec ­
tion facility in your area, or contact a service station .•
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolan t perf orms two func tions: it keeps t he
engine from overheating an d it protects the engine from
freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sealed and general ly requires litt le attention.
The coo ling system has been fi lled at the factory with a permanent
coo lant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of
a mixture of water and the manufacturer's glycol -basedcoolant
additive G12+ + antifreeze with anti corrosion additives (50% for USA
models; 60% for Canadian mode ls) . This mixture both assures the
necessary frost protection and protects metal components in the
engine's cooling system from corrosion and scaling. It also raises
the boil ing point o f the coolant.
D o not reduce the concentration of the coo lant in the summer by
adding pla in water.
Th e proporti on of coolant additive must b e at
l e as t 50 % but not more than 60 %
to maintain antifreeze protection
and cooling efficiency . If the coolant frost protect ion is too low, the
coo lant could freeze and damage the vehicle heating and engine
coo ling system.
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at the factory for temper ­
atures down to :
• -31 °F ( -35 °C) USA
• - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada .
You can mix the G 12 + + coolant additive wit h other additives (G12 +
or G12). A lways check with your authorized Audi dealer .
& WARNING
Before you che ck anything in the engine compartment , alwa ys
read and heed all WARNING S
~ & in "Working in the engine
c ompartment " on
page 30 9.

Checking and filling -
---------------------=----"=---------
checked by a service facility. The electrolyte level should also be
checked each time the battery is charged =>
page 323.
Have the battery checked when you take your vehicle in for service.
You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than 5 years.
With certain types of airbag deployment, the battery is discon­
nected from the vehicle electrical system for safety reasons=>.& in
"Repair, care and disposal of the airbags" on
page 234.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power window regulators, for example) are
lost if the battery terminals are disconnected. These functions have
to be relearned after the battery terminals are connected again. To
prevent this, the battery should only be disconnected from the
vehicle electrical system when absolutely necessary for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of several days or
weeks, electrical components are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and maintains starting capability
over a longer period
=> page 276.
Be aware that when you unlock your vehicle, some of the conve ­
nience functions may not operate, such as the Convenience key*,
the remote control or the power seat adjustment. The convenience
functions will be available again when you turn on the ignition and
start the engine.
Winter operation During the winter months, battery capacity tends to decrease as
temperatures drop. This is because more power is also consumed
while starting, and the headlights, rear window defogger, etc., are
used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consump tion, particularly in city traffic or
when traveling only short distances. Let your authorized Audi dealer
check the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter sets in
=> page 323. A well charged battery will not only prevent starting
problems when the weather is cold, but will also last longer.
[ i] Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several weeks at extremely low
temperatures, the vehicle battery should be removed and stored
where it will not freeze. This will prevent it from being damaged and
having to be replaced.•
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near the battery.
Fig . 271 Luggage
compartment: Right·
side storage compart­
ment
Fig . 272 Luggage
compartment : Battery
The battery is located in the luggage compartment on the
right side behind a cover. Before you check anything in the
luggage compartment,
read and heed all WARNINGS=>& . .,_
Vehic le care I I irechnical data

-Tires and wheels
---------------------------------------------
It is important to ch eck the ti re pressure when the tires are cold .
• Read the req uire d tire p re s su re from the tire press ure la b el. On
USA vehicles, the tire p ressure label is located on the driver's side
8 -p illar. On Canada vehic les, the tire p ressure label is located either
on the driv er's sid e 8-pill ar or ins ide t he fuel fill er flap.
• Tur n the va lve stem cap c ounte r-cl ockwise to rem ove it fr om t he
tire valv e.
• Place th e a ir p re s sur e ga uge on th e valve .
• Th e tire pressures should only be checked and adjusted when
th e tires are col d. The s lig htly raise d pres sures of wa rm tires m ust
not be r educ ed .
• Adjus t the tire pre ssu re to the l oad you are carrying.
• Reinstal l the valve stem cap on the valve.
When should
I check the tire pressure?
The correc t tir e pr ess ure is especiall y important a t hi gh speeds . The
pressu re should the re fore be checked at l east once a mont h an d
a lways bef ore sta rting a j ourn ey . D o not for get to chec k the ti re pr es­
su re for the s pare wh eel
::::> page 352.
When should I adjust the tire pressures?
Adjust the tire pr essure to the load you are carrying . After changing
a whee l or re plac ing w hee ls you have to adj ust th e tire pre ssu res on
a ll whee ls. I n ad ditio n, you must t hen stor e the ne w tire pr essu res
in t he tire pres sure mon it o ring system *=> page
41.
& WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and /or underinflation can lead sudden tire
failure, loss of control, collision , serious personal injury or even
death .
• When the warning symbol appears in the instrument
cluster, stop and inspect the tires .
& WARNING (continued)
• Incorrect tire pressure and /or underinflation can cause
increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability .
• Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation can also lead to
sudden tire failure , including a blowout and sudden deflation,
causing loss of vehicle control .
• The driver is responsible for the correct tire pressures for all
tires on the vehicle. The applicable pressure values are located on
a sticker on the driver's side B-pillar or on the inside of the fuel
filler flap.
• Only when all tires on the vehicle are filled to the correct pres­
sure , the tire pressure monitoring system* can work corre ctly.
• The use of incorrect tire pressure values can lead to accidents
or other damage . Therefore it is essential that the driver observe
the specified tire pressure values for the tires and the correct pres­
sures for the function of the tire pressure mon itoring system* .
• Always inflate tires to the recommended and correct tire pres ­
s ure before driving off .
• Driving with underinflated tires bend more , letting them get
too hot resulting in tread separation , sudden tire failure and loss
of control.
• Excessive speed and /overloading can cause heat build-up ,
s udden tire failure and loss of control.
• If the tire pressure is too low or too high, the tires will wear
prematurely and the vehicle will not handle well.
• If the tire is not flat and you do not have to change a wheel
immediately , drive at reduced speed to the nearest service station
to check the tire pressure and add air as required. _..

Tires and wheels -_______________ _____.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of different things
including proper installation and balancing, correct tire
pressure and driving style.
_/l
l '-------- ,)
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
Fig. 276 Tire tread:
tread wear indicators
(TWI)
Fig . 277 Rotating tires
for more even wear
The original tires on your vehicle have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear
indicators":::::, fig. 276 running across the tread. Depending on the
make, there will be six to eight of them evenly placed around the
tire. Marks on the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other symbols)
indicate the positions of the tread wear indicators. Worn tires must
be replaced. Different figures may apply in other countries.:::::,&.
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear and can cause
sudden tire blow-out. For this reason, tire pressure must be checked
at least once a month .:::::,
page 333.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration and hard braking
increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the same service life, we
recommend that the front and rear tires are rotated according to the
tire manufacturer's suggested tire rotation intervals. Please
remember the following:
• Tire rotation intervals may differ from the vehicle service inter­
vals outlined in your Warranty
& Maintenance booklet.
• The longer one tire is used in one location on the vehicle, the
more it wears at certain points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rotation intervals .
• Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience more tread wear on
the front wheels compared to all-wheel drive (quattro®l .
• Please rotate tires as shown .:::::, fig. 277.
• Extra care must be taken when rotating direction -specific tires
:::::, page 359.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, various situa­
tions during everyday driving can cause them to become unbal ­
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually feel through the
steering wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to avoid excessive wear on
steering, suspension and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed. _,,
Vehicle care I I Technical data

__________________________________________________ T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_d _ w_ h_ e_ e_l_s __ _
•
• T he battery inside of the tire pressure sensor has a limited
service life.
• Always drive with the va lve stem caps securely mounted. We
recommend using fac tory insta lled valve stem caps . Ask your autho­
rized Audi dealer to replace lost valve stem caps .
T he installation of replacement tires with steel cord body plies in
the tire sidewall may cause malfunction of the tire pressure moni ­
toring system *, and is not recommended (cord material info rmation
i n molded on the t ire sidewa ll).
A lways check your tire pressure monitoring system * indicator after
replac ing one or more tires on you r veh ic le . If t he tir e pressure
monitoring system * indicator f lashes, or is on, your system is not
wo rking pr ope rly. Your re place ment tire might be i nco m patible wit h
your tire pr essure monitoring system *, or some component of the
t ir e pr ess ure moni toring system * m ay be da maged.
& WARNING
• Using incorrect or unmatched tires and / or wheels or improper
tire and wheel combinations can lead to los s of control , collision
and serious personal injury .
• Alway s use tires , rims and wheel bolts that meet the specifica ­
tions of original fa ctory -installed tires or other combination s that
have been specifically approved by the vehi cle manufacturer .
• Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly,
espe cially at high speeds . Tire s that a re more than 6 years old can
only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at
lo wer speeds .
• Never mount used tire s on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history ." Old used tires may have been dam aged
even though the damage cannot be seen that can lead to sudden
ti re failure and lo ss of vehicle control.
• All four wheels must be fitted with radial tires of the same type ,
size (rolling cir cumference ) and the same tread pattern . Driving
& W ARNING (continued )
with different tires redu ces vehicle handling and can lead to a loss
of control.
• If the spare tire is not the same as the tires that are mounted
on the vehicle -for example with winter tires -only use the spare
tire for a short period of time and dri ve with extra care . Refit the
normal road wheel as soon a s safely pos sible.
• Never drive faster than the ma ximum speed for which the tires
on your vehicle are rated because tires that are driven faster than
their rated speed can fail suddenly .
• Overloading tires cause heat build -up , su dden tire failure ,
includ ing a blowout and sudden deflation and loss of control.
• Temperature grades apply to tires that are properly inflated and
not over or underinflated .
• For te chni cal reasons it is not always po ssible to use wheels
from other vehicles -in some cases not even wheels from the
same vehicle model.
• If you install wheel trim discs on the vehicle wheels , make sure
that the air flow to the brakes is not blo cked . Redu ced airflow to
the brake s can them to overheat , increa sing stopping distances
and causing a collision.
• Run flat tires may only be used on vehicles that were equipped
with them at the fa ctory . The vehicle mu st have a cha ssi s designed
for run flat tires and a factory -installed tire pressure monitoring
s ystem* that indicates a lo ss of tire pressure . Incorrect use of run
flat tires can lead to vehicle damage or accident s. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire specialist to see if your vehicle can
be equipped with run fl at tires . If run flat tires are used , they must
be installed on all four wheels . Mi xing tire types is not permitted.
0 Note
• Fo r techn ica l reaso ns, i t is no t genera lly p oss ibl e to use the
whee l rims from other vehicles . T his can hold true for wheels of the
sa me vehicle type. ..,.
Vehicle care
I t •

-~_T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_d _ w_ h_ e_e _l_s _________________________________________________ _
• If the spare tire is different from the tires that you have mounted
o n your vehi cle (for e xample winter tires or wide profile tires), then
use the spare tire for a short period of time on ly and drive with extra
care . Replace the f lat tire with the tire matching the others on your
vehicle as soon as possible.
• If you should put different wheels and tires on your vehicle (e.g.
winter wheels and tires), you must be certain that the wheels and
tires are compatible with the tire pressure monitoring system* .
Otherwise the system will register a ma lfunction and a fault
message will be displayed . For more information, contact your Audi
dea ler.
0 Note
• When installing new tires, be careful not to damage the valves or
tire pressure monitoring system* sensors.
• Never drive without the va lve stem cap. The valves could get
damaged.
• If the sensors must be replaced, then the valve must also be
replaced at the same time.
c£> For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the loca l requirements. •
Uniform tire quality grading
• Tread wear
• Traction AA A B C
• Temperature A B C
Qua lity grades can be found where applicable on the tire side wal l
between tread shoulder and maximum section width
=> page 338,
fig. 278.
For e xample: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA, Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal Safety Require­
ments in addit ion to these grades.
Tread w ea r
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating based on the wear rate
of the tire when tested under contro lled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 wou ld wear one and one half (1 1/2)
times as well on the government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends upo n the actua l condi­
tions of their use, however, and may depart significantly from the
n orm due to variations in d riving habi ts, service practices and differ­
ences in road characteristics and climate.
Tra ction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A, Band C.
Those grades represent the tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under contro lled conditions on specified government
t est surfaces of asphalt and concrete . A tire marked C may have
poor traction performance => & .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest), 8, and C, representing
the tire's resistance to the generation o f heat and its abi lity to dissi ­
pate heat when tested under control led conditions on a specified
indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the mater ial of the tire to
degenerate and reduce tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure=>&.
T he grade C corresponds to a leve l of performance which a ll
passenger car tires must meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 109. Grades Band A represent higher levels of
p er formance on the la b ora tory test whee l than t he mi nimum
required by law.
~

What do I do now? -
------------------
[ i J Tips
If you no longer have your original warning triang le and need to
equip your vehicle with a new one, contact your authorized Audi
dealer for a replacement .•
Jack, tools and spare wheel
Jack
The jack is stored underneath the floor panel in the
luggage compartment.
Fig . 282 Luggage
compartment vehicle
jack
Before stori ng the jack, make sure it is wound back down as far as it
will go.
& WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause serious personal inju­
ries.
• Never use the jack supplied with your Audi on another vehicle,
particularly on a heavier one. The jack is only suitable for use on
the vehicle it came with.
& WARNING (continued)
• Using a bumper jack to raise the vehicle will damage the
bumper system. The jack may slip, causing injury.
• Never support your vehicle on cinder blocks, bricks or other
objects. These may not be able to support the load and could
cause injury when they fail.
• Never start or run the engine while the vehicle is supported by
the jack.
• If you must work under the vehicle, always use safety stands
specifically designed for this purpose .
• Never use the hexagonal socket in the handle of the screw­
driver to loosen or tighten the wheel bolts.
• Always make sure the spare tire and even a flat tire are secured
in place and not loose, otherwise they could fly forward , causing
personal injury to passengers in the vehicle in an accident or
sudden maneuver .
[ i J Tips
Before you can raise your vehicle using the jack, you must activate
the jacking mode~
page 191. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service irechnical data