-When you close the front lid , check it to
make sure the safety catch has properly
engaged . The lid should be flush with the
surround ing vehicle body parts .
- If you notice while driving that the lid is
not secured properly, stop at once and
close it .
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the front lid left open. A
child could crawl into the luggage com
partment and pull the lid shut, becoming
trapped and unable to get out. To reduce
the risk of personal injury, never let chil
dren play in or around your vehicle. Al
ways keep the front lid as we ll as the ve
hicle doors closed when not in use.
(D Note
Make sure there are no objects are pro
t rud ing above the edge of the luggage
compartment . Otherwise, the front lid
could be damaged .
@ Tips
If the front lid is open or not properly
locked when the ignition is turned on, the
door and front lid warning appears in the
instrument cluster disp lay.
Emergency release for front lid
If the front lid cannot be opened, on emer
gency release is provided .
Fig. 39 Sectio n: Eme rgency release
" Reach under the closed glove compartment .
There is a red plast ic cord under the glove
compartment.
"Pu ll the red plastic cord towards you.
Opening and closing 43
Anti-theft alarm
system
Description
The anti-theft alarm triggers an alarm if any
one attempts to break into the vehicle .
Fig. 40 Diode posit io n in th e in str um ent panel
The anti-theft alarm system triggers an audi·
ble alarm and turns on the emergency flasher
if an unauthorized interference with the vehi
cle is sensed by the system .
How is the anti-theft alarm system
switched on?
The anti-theft alarm system is switched on
when you lock the driver's door manually us
ing the fold -out key, or when you use the re
mote control. The system is activated approxi
mately 30 seconds after the vehicle is locked.
T he ind icator light
9 fig. 40 starts flashing
rapidly for 2 seconds and then blinks slow ly.
How is the anti -theft alarm system
switched off?
T he anti-theft alarm system is switched off
o nly when yo u un lock your veh icle.
If you do
not open a door within 30 seconds after you
have unlocked with the remote control, the
vehicle will lock itself again automatically .
When will the anti theft alarm system be
triggered?
When the vehicle is locked, the a larm system
monitors and protects the fo llowing parts of
the vehicle:
- engine compartment
- luggage compartment
- doors
44 Opening and clo sing
- ignition
When the sys tem is activated, the alarm w ill
be tr iggered if one of the doors , the eng ine
compartmen t lid or the front lid are opened.
The anti-theft a larm system will also go
off
when the ba tte ry is d isconne cted.
You can a lso trigger the alarm by pressing the
PANIC button on your remote-control key .
This will a lert other people in case of emer
gency. Press the PANIC button again to turn
off th e al ar m .
How is the anti-theft alarm switched off
when triggered?
To switch t he a larm off, press the button @l on
the master key o r swi tch t he ign ition on. The
ala rm w ill also sw itch i tse lf
off when i t comes
to the end of its cycle .
Emergency flasher
The emergency flasher w ill blink briefly when
the doo rs, e ngine compartment lid and front
lid are prope rly closed .
If the emergency flashe rs do not b link, check
the doors, engine compartment lid and front
lid to ma ke sure t hey a re p roperly closed. If
you close a doo r, the engine comp artment lid
or the front lid wit h the anti-theft alarm
switched on, t he emergency f lashers will blink
only after you have closed the door or lid .
Power windows
Controls
The driver can operate all windows.
Fig. 41 D rive r's doo r: p owe r w in dow sw it c h es
Fig. 42 Passen ger 's doo r: powe r wi ndow swit ch
0 ~
"' 0
"' "' OJ
The powe r wi ndow swi tches have a two-posi
tion function :
Opening the windows
• Press the switch and hold it down unt il the
w ind ow has reached the desired position.
"' Press the switc h
briefly to open the window
automatically .
"' By briefly pressi ng/p ull ing the sw itch again,
t he downward travel of the window ca n be
s toppe d in any pos it ion
~ .&, .
Closing the windows
"' Pull the sw itch and hold it until the window
has reached the desired position .
"' Pull the sw itch
briefly to close the window
automatically .
"' By briefly pressing/p ull ing the sw itch agai n,
t he upward trave l of the window can be
stopped in any position
~ .&, .
.&_ WARNING
-
-Do not leave ch ildren unattended in the
veh icle, especially with access to vehicle
keys. Unsupervised use of the keys can
resu lt in start ing of the engi ne and use
o f vehicle syst ems such as power w in
d ows, e tc. w hich could res ult in s erious
lnJUr y.
-Remember -you can still ope n or close
the powe r windows for about ten mi
nutes after the ig nition i s swi tched off.
On ly w hen ei ther o f th e fr ont d oors are
opened a re the power windows switched
off ~
-Be careful when closing the windows.
Check to see that no one is in the way, or
serious injury could result!
- Always remove the ignition key whenever
you leave your vehicle .
-If you lock your vehicle from the outside ,
no one, especially children, should re
main in the vehicle .
- Do not stick anything on the windows or
the windshield that may interfere with
the driver's field of vision.
@ Tips
- When the doors are opened, the win
dows are automatically lowered 0.4 in
(10 mm) .
Reactivating the system after battery
disconnection
If the vehicle battery is disconnected and then
reconnected, the automatic closing and open
ing function will not work until it is reactivat
ed. To reactivate this feature, perform the fol
lowing steps:
- Pull and hold the power window switch until
the window is completely closed.
- Release the switch . Pull the switch again for
one second. The automatic closing/opening is now reactivated.
Opening and closing 45
The rear window can be extended comp lete ly
for cleaning. This is ca lled the cleaning posi
tion.
E xte nding the re ar w indow into the wind
defl ector po siti on
~ Pull and hold the rear window switch
9 fig. 47.
~ Release the switch once the rear window has
reached the wind deflector position.
Exte nd ing th e rear w indow into th e
cleaning po sition
~ Pull and hold the rear window switch
9 fig . 47.
~ Release the switch once the rear window has
reached the wind deflector position .
~ Pull and hold the rear window switch again .
~ Pull and hold the convertible top switch
within one second
9 page 46, fig . 43.
R etra cting the re ar w indow
~ Press and hold the rear window sw itch until
the window has been retracted .
Ret racting the re ar wi ndow using the one
touch funct ion
~ Press the rear window switch briefly . There
is no need to hold the switch.
The rear w indow can on ly be operated when
t he ignition is switched on.
The rear window can also be extended or re
tracted when the convertib le top is closed.
.&_ WARNING
- Do not use the rear window to secure car
go or other objects. This could result in
injury .
- Always pay attention and be careful
when extending or retracting the rear
window . It could cause injury by p inch
ing .
@ Tips
-Keeping all of the w indows raised pro
v ides the best wind protection.
Con vertible top 49
- The veh icle must be stationary to br ing
the rear window into the cleaning posi
tion . The rear window will retract once
you begin dr iv ing.
Convertible top
emergency operation
General information
The convertible top can be closed by hand if
there is a malfunction .
First check if overload pro tection is active
~ page 47. If this is the case, the conve rtible
top w ill operate again after a short de lay . O th
erwise the fo llowing steps must be completed
before closing the convertib le top:
~ Ac tiva te the pa rking brake.
~ Open the side w indows, if necessary.
~ Remove the key from the ignition.
Emergency loc king is no t intended for long
te rm use o r long drives . The convertib le top
will not be completely waterproof after using
the emergency locking proced ure because the
seals wi ll not be seated correctly. Only close
the convertible top manually in an emergency .
Please see an au thor ized Audi R8 dea ler to
have the cause of the malfunction corrected .
.&_ WARNING
-The ignition must be sw itched off during
the entire closing p rocedure.
- When positioning the convertible top,
avoid contact with the supports or other
mov ing parts. Othe rwise you could p inch
your hands.
- Never d rive when the convert ible top is
not locked cor re ctly. The wind from d riv
ing could cause the convertible top to
open . This can resu lt in injuries and dam
age to the vehicle.
@ Tips
Have a second person assist whe n closing
the convert ible top. Opening the storage
bay lid and posi tioning the conve rtible top
is easier when a seco nd person is assisting.
Opening the con vertibl e top stor age bay
lid
• From the rear of the vehicle, reach into the
center ventilation slot in the storage bay lid
with both hands and raise the lid approxi
mately 12 in (30 cm).
"' Hold the storage bay lid in this pos ition and
pull it toward you until it stops ¢
fig. 51.
& WARNING
When wo rking in the engine compart
ment:
- Turn the engine off .
- Act ivate the parking brake.
-
- In veh icles with a manual transm ission,
move the sh ifter lever into idle . In vehi-
cles w ith the R tronic transmission, move
the se lector lever into the N position.
- Remove the ignit ion key.
- Let the engine coo l down.
- Keep children away from the engine com-
partment .
(D Note
To prevent damage to the vehicle, only
open the convertible top storage bay lid
when the engine compartment lid is
closed.
Step 4: Remove the covers
F ig. 52 Convertib le to p: covers marked
Convert ible top 5 1
Fig. 53 Convert ible top storage bay lid: remov ing the
cover
The following steps must be performed on
both sides of the vehicle .
"' Remove the bolt in the cover on the bo ttom
side of the s torage bay lid using the o pen
end wrench from the vehicle too l kit @
¢fig. 53.
"'Move the cover up and down carefully until
it can be pulled downward from the teeth
@ .
Step 5:
Lift the convertible top out
Fi g. 54 Co nve rtible top storage bay: lifting the conver
tible top out
F ig. 55 W indshield frame: pressing the conver tible top
forward
"' Ho ld the convertib le top at the @ poin t (ar -
row)
¢ fig. 54 and raise it carefully ¢_& . II--
Clear vision Lights
Switching the headlights on/off
Fig. 63 In str ume nt pa ne l: lig ht sw itc h (auto mat ic
head· a nd ta ill ig ht control)
Switching on the side marke r lights
... Turn the light switch to :oo::.
Switching on the headlights and high
beam
... Turn the light switch to §D.
.,. Push the h igh beam lever forwa rd towa rds
t h e instrument panel~
page 58 .
Sw itching off the lights
.,. Turn the light switch to 0 .
Sw itching on automatic head- and
taillight control
.,. Turn the light switch to AUTO ~ fig. 63 .
The headlig hts and tai lligh ts w ill come on au
tomatically when the ignition is sw itche d on
and the light switch is in the position AU TO
(on ly in nig httime conditions). When switch·
ing off the ignit io n, the headlig hts wi ll go off
and only the side marker lights will remai n lit.
Daytime running lights
USA models: The daytime r unning lig hts will
come on a utomat ica lly when the ig nition is
sw itched on and the light switch is in the posi·
tion
AUTO (only in daylight conditions).
Canada models : Th e daytime runni ng lights
will come on a utomat ically when the ignition
is switched on and the light switch is in the
Clear vi sion 55
position 0 , AUTO (on ly in daylight conditions)
or ;oo :.
Automatic head- and taillight control
In the swi tch position AUTO the au tomati c
he ad- and t aillight con tro l is activ ated. Ligh t
senso rs ar e loca ted in t he i nside mir ro r h ous
ing and co nstantly chec k the light cond itions
su rroundi ng the vehicle. If ambient bright
ness fa lls below a factory set value (e .g. when
dr iv ing into a tunnel), the head- and tail lights
i ncl uding the license plate illuminati on are
automat ica lly t urned on . When ambient
brightness i ncreases aga in, the exte rnal ligh ts
ar e turned off aga in
c> &. . In the switch posi
t ion
AUTO , the low beams are tur ned off when
th e ign ition is swi tched o ff. Th e rem aining
li gh ts are turned off when the key is ta ke n out
of the ignition lock.
W it h a utomat ic head- and taill igh t con trol,
t he h igh-beam fu nction is also ava ilable , bu t
with one rest ric t ion : If you have not sw itche d
the h igh beams back to low beams during a u
tomat ic head light operat ion (for examp le, af
ter driving through a tunnel), on ly the low
beams come on the next time automatic
headlig hts are switched on. To use the high
beams, yo u fi rst have to pull the h igh beam
lever back and then push the lever forwa rd
agam .
The side ma rke r lights a nd headlights ca n be
sw itc hed on manually by turn ing the light
swi tc h to the des ired pos ition .
Light sensor malfunction
If there is a light sensor ma lfunction, the
symbol
II comes on in the display . For safety
reasons, the low beams are tu rned on perma
nently with t he sw itch in
AUTO . However, you
can con tinue to tu rn the lights on and off us
in g t he light switch . Have t he ligh t sensor
c h eck ed as soon a s possib le a t an au thorized
A udi dealer.
Coming home/leaving home function
The function is sw itched on when the sw itch is
i n the
AUTO pos ition and th e funct ion is liJJ,,
56 Clear vision
shown as active in the driver information
system.
The
coming home function illuminates the
area around the vehicle when the ignition is
switched off and the driver's door is opened.
The length of time the lights remain on can be
set in the menu display
(Lights> Exterior
lights> coming home) .
The leaving home function illuminates the
area around the vehicle when unlocking it.
.&_ WARNING
- Never use daytime running lights to see
where you are going. They are not bright enough and will not let you see far
enough ahead for safety, especially at dusk or when it is dark. Be aware of
changes in outside light conditions when
you are driving and respond by switching
on your low beams.
- Automatic head- and taillight control is
only intended to assist the driver. This
feature does not relieve the driver of his
responsibility to check the headlights
and to turn them on manually according
to the current light and visibility condi
tions. For example, fog and rain cannot be detected by the light sensors. Conse
quently, always switch the headlights on
under these weather conditions and
when driving in the dark.
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists.
-Always turn on the headlights so that you can see ahead and so that others can see your car from the back.
(D Tips
- Always observe the specific local regula
tions for your area when to use your
lights .
- Turn on low beams as evening ap
proaches or in conditions of poor visibili
ty.
- Do not attach stickers to the windshield
in front of the sensors as this can disable the automatic head- and
taillight control
and the automatic glare-dimming of the
rearview mirror(s)*.
- If you
remove the ignition from the igni
tion lock while the headlights are still
on, a buzzer will sound as long as the
driver's door is open to remind you to
turn off the lights.
- In the AUTO mode, the low beams are
turned off when the ignition is turned
off. The remaining lights are turned off
when the key is taken out of the ignition .
- In cool or damp weather conditions the
headlights may fog
over temporarily on
the inside.
- The critical factor is the temperature
difference between the interior and the
exterior of the headlight lens.
- With the main beams switched on, the
light-emitting area will be free of con
densation after a short time, however
the edges of the glass may still be fog
ged.
- This physical phenomenon has no ef
fect on the life of your vehicle's light
ing system.
Instrument panel illumination
The illumination of the instruments, displays
and the center console can be adjusted.
Fig. 64 Instrument panel illumination
You regulate the brightness of the instru
ments with the left thumbwheel
(-'1· ~ fig. 64.
A phototransistor integrated into the instru
ment cluster controls the illumination of the
needles in it. When the lights are switched on,
the lighting for the center console and the
llll>
also turned on when the ignition key is removed. The lights turn off about 30 seconds
after the doors are closed. When the vehicle is
l ocked or when the ignit ion is turned on, the
interior light s are turned off .
When a door is open, the interior lights are
turned off after abo ut 10 m inutes to prevent
battery draining .
The brightness of the lights is controlled a u
tomatically by a dimmer when they are sw itched on and off.
Luggage compartment light
The light is located on the right side of the
luggage compartment .
These lights come on automatically when the
front lid is opened. The lights turn off auto
matically if the lid is left open for more then
10 minutes.
Vision
Sun visors
Using the sun visors makes driving safer.
Fi g. 68 Sun v isor
The vanity mirrors in the sun visors are eq uip
ped with covers. Clear vi
sion 59
Wiper and washer
system
Windshield wiper
The windshield wiper lever controls both the
windshield wipers and the washer system.
F ig . 69 W ipe r leve r
The windshield wiper lever ¢ fig. 69 has the
follow ing positions:
Intermittent w iping ~l (act ivating r ain
sen sor)
.,. Move the lever up to position (D .
.,. Move the switch @to set the duration of
the wipe intervals or to adjust the sensitivity
of the light/ra in sensor .
Lo w wiper spe ed
.,. Move the lever up to position @.
High wiper speed
.,. Move the leve r up to posit ion @.
One-touch wiping
.,. Move the lever to position ©, when you
want to wipe the windsh ield
briefly .
Automatic wip er/ wa sh er
.,. Pull the lever to position ® (toward the
steering whee l) and hold .
.,. Release the lever. The washer system stops
and the wipers continue to operate for
about 4 seconds . Different numbers of wipe
cycles are performed depending on how
long the lever is he ld.
Turning off the w ipe rs
.,. Move the lever back to position @ .