2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER check engine

~ Install the battery cover.
~ Close the luggage compartment lid
¢page 42.
When charging at low voltages (e.g. with a
trickle charger), the battery cables do not
have to be disconnected first. Before charging
at
high voltages, i.e. "fast charging", you
must disconnect both cables. In either case,
follow the instructions from the manufacturer
of the charger .
Fastcharging a battery is
dangerous ¢.&. in
Working on the battery on page 185 .
It re­
quires special charging equipment and the knowledge to go with it. We recommend hav ­
ing your battery fast charged only by a quali­
fied workshop.
A discharged battery can
freeze at tempera­
tures of only 32 °F (0 °C) . Allow a frozen bat ­
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
charge it¢ ,&. . However, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat­
tery casing can be cracked due to ice forma­
tion and can leak battery acid.
Do not open the battery caps when charging
the battery.
_& WARNING
-
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Never charge a frozen battery .
It may ex­
plode because of gas trapped in the ice.
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which were fro­
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame or elec­
trical spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is explosive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion , never
connect or disconnect charger cables
while the charger is operating.
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe­
tent technician with the proper equip­ ment.
Checking and filling 187
- Battery acid that may spill during charg­
ing should be washed off with a solution
of warm water and baking soda to neu­
tralize the acid .
@ Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam­
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc ., as well
as the battery charger .
(D Tips
-The vehicle battery must not be charged
with a standard small charger that plugs
into the cigarette lighter or outlet .
- Only charge the battery through the con­
nections in the luggage compartment.
Replacing the battery
The new battery must have the same specifi­
cations as the old one.
Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent
energy management system for distributing
electricity ¢
page 155. The battery charges
better in vehicles with the energy manage­
ment system than in vehicles without the sys­
tem. To ensure that the additional power is
available after replacing the battery , replacing
with the same type of battery from the same
manufacturer (like the battery that was deliv­
ered with the vehicle) is recommended. An au­
thori zed dealer mus t code the battery in the
energy management control module .
T he new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12 volts), current and design and it
must be sealed with plugs. The battery must
conform to the standards TL 825 06 (from Oc ­
tober 2006) and VW 7 50 73 (from August 2001).
Since the vehicle battery is difficult to reach,
we recommend having the battery replaced by
an authorized Audi R8 dealer or other quali-
fied workshop . ..,. •
•

188 Checking and filling
(D Note
-Your vehicle is equipped with a specia l
battery. Installing a different type of
battery can cause prob lems in the vehi­
cle electrical system. When replacing the
vehicle battery, always install one with
the same spec ificat ions as the original
batte ry .
- Make sure that the gas venting hose is
always connected to the o riginal open ing
on the battery side. Otherw ise gasses or
ba tte ry acid cou ld leak out .
- Battery ho lder and term inals a lways
have to be secured cor rectly.
- Read and follow the warnings under
9 page 185, Working on the battery be­
fore performing any work on the batte ry.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author­
ized Audi dealer change the batte ry for
you . Batter ies contain s ulf uric ac id and
lead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance with all environmenta l
reg ulations. D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat­
tery ca nnot overbalance, otherwise sulfu­
r ic acid might escape!
Windshield washer
container
Fig. 149 Luggage co m pa rtment : W inds hield washer
fl uid reservo ir
T he windshield washer container O is located
in the luggag e compartment. You can find the
reservo ir
c a pacit y in the table in c::> page 229.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets . Always add a glass cleaner
solution (with frost protection in the winter) .
(D Note
-Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind­
shield washer reservoir.
- Do not use g lass cleaners conta ining
pai nt so lvent; you risk damaging the
paint.

210 Consum er Inf orm ati on
steadi ly reduced the scope of maintenance
and repairs which can be carried out by vehicle
owners.
Als o, sa fe ty a nd en vir onm ent al con­
cerns p lace very strict limits on the nature of
repairs and adjustments to engine and trans­
miss ion parts which an owner can perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repa irs usua lly
require special tools, testing devices and oth­
er equipment available to specially trained
workshop personnel in order to assure proper pe rformance, reliab ility and safety of the vehi­
cle and its many systems .
Improper maintenance, adjustments and re­ pa irs can impair the operation and reliab ility
of your vehicle and even void your vehicle war­
ranty. Therefore , proof of servic ing in accord­
ance w ith the ma intenance schedule may be a
condition for upholding a poss ible warranty
claim made within the warranty period.
Above all, operational safety can be adversely
affected, c reating unnecessary risks for you
and your passengers .
If in doubt about any se rv icing, have it done
by your author ized Audi dealer or any other
p roperly equipped and qualified workshop .
We strong ly urge you to give yo ur a utho rized
Aud i dealer the opportunity to perfo rm all
schedu led maintenance and necessary repairs.
Your dea ler has the facilities, original parts
and trained spec ialists to keep your vehicle
running properly .
Performing limit ed ma int enance your self
The following pages describe a limited num­
ber of proced ures which can be performed on
your ve hicle with ordinary too ls, shou ld the
need arise and trained personnel be unavaila­
ble. Before performing any of these proce­
dures, always thoroughly read all of the app li­
cable text and carefully follow the instruc ­
tions given . Always rigorously observe the
WARNINGS p rovided.
Before you ch eck a nything in th e eng ine
co mpartm ent , alwa ys re ad and h eed all
WA RNINGS
c::> .&. and c::> ..&. in Working in the
engine compartment on page 175.
A WARNING
- Serious personal injury may occur as a re­
sult of improperly performed mainte­
nance, adjustments or repa irs .
- Always be extremely careful when work­
ing on the vehicle . Always follow com­
monly accepted safety pract ices and gen­
eral common sense. Never r is k personal
injury.
- Do not attempt any of the maintenance ,
checks or repairs descr ibed on the fol­
lowing pages if you are not fu lly fam iliar
with these or other procedures with re ­
spect to the vehicle, or are uncertain how
to proceed .
- Do not do any work without the proper
too ls and equipment. Have the necessa ry
work done by your authorized A udi deal­
er or another proper ly equipped and
qualified workshop.
- Always remove the ignition key before
anyone gets under the veh icle.
- Always support your veh icle with safety
stands if it is necessary to work under­ neath the vehicle . The jack* is not ade­
quate for this purpose and cou ld collapse
causing ser ious personal inju ry.
- If you must work underneath the vehicle
with the wheels on the ground, a lways
make sure the vehicle is on level ground,
that the wheels a re a lways secure ly
b locked and that t he engine cannot be
started.
- Always make sure the transmission se­
lec to r l ever is in "N" (Neut ral) (R t ron ic)
or Neutral (manual transmission) and
the hand bra ke is f irmly app lied.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Changing the engine sett ings will ad­
verse ly affect emission leve ls. Th is is det­
r imental to the environment and increas­
es fuel consumpt ion .
- Always observe environmenta l regu la­
tions when disposing of old eng ine oil,
used brake flu id, dirty engine coo lant,
spent batte ries o r worn out tires.

-Undeployed airbag modules and preten ­
sioners might be classified as Perchlo­
rate Material -spec ia l hand ling may ap­
ply, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardous­
waste/perch lorate. When the veh icle or
parts of the restraint system includ ing
airbag modules safety belts with p reten­
s ione rs are scrapped, all applicable laws
and regulations must be observed. Your
a utho rized Aud i dea le r i s f amiliar w ith
these req uirements and we recommend
that you have your dea le r perform this
service for you.
Additional accessories, modifications and
parts replacement
Additional accessories and parts
replacement
Always consult on authorized Audi dealer be­
fore purchasing accessories .
Your vehicle incorporates the latest safety de­
sign features ensuring a high standard of ac­
tive and passive safety .
This safety could be compromised by non -ap ­
proved changes to the veh icle. For this reason,
if parts have to be replaced, please observe
the following points when installing addition­
al accessories:
Approved Audi accessor ies and genuine Audi
parts are ava ilable from authorized Audi deal­
ers.
These dealers also have the necessary faci li­
ties, too ls and trained specialists to insta ll the
parts and accessor ies properly .
A WARNING
Using the wrong spare parts or using non­
approved accessories can cause damage to
the vehicle and se rious personal injury .
- Use only accessor ies expressly approved
by Audi and genuine Aud i spa re parts
Con sumer In formation 21 1
-These parts and accessories have been
specially designed to be used on yo ur ve­
hicle.
- Never install accessor ies such as tele­
phone crad les or beverage ho lders on air­
bag covers or within the airbag deploy­
men t zones . Do ing so wi ll increase the
ris k of injury if a irbags are triggered in an
accident!
- Before you check anything in the engine compa rtment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
r:::;> poge 175.
(D Note
-If items other than genu ine Audi spare
parts, add-on equipment and accessory
items are used o r if repair wo rk is not
performed ac cord ing to specified met h­
ods, this ca n resu lt in severe damage to
yo ur vehicle's engine and bo dy (s uch as
co rrosion) and adve rsely affect yo ur vehi ­
cle 's warranty.
- The innovat ive a luminium concep t of
your Audi means that a ll servicing, re ­
pairs or other work on the vehicle body
must be carr ied out exclusive ly by an Au­
di workshop.
- If emergency repa irs must be performe d
elsewhere , have the veh icle examined by
an authorized Audi dealership as soon as
possible .
- The manufacturer cannot be held liable
for damage wh ich occurs due to failure
to comply with these stipu lations.
Technical Modifications
Our guidelines must be complied with when
technical modifications ore mode .
Always consult an author ized Audi dealer be·
fore start ing work on a ny modifications.
T his will help ensure t hat veh icle function,
performance and safety are not impaired
c> _&. .
Attempt ing to work on e lec tronic componen ts
and t he software used with them can ca use
Iii>
•
•

Tightening wheel bolts
.,. Fit the wh eel b olt wrench ove r the wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go
1l.
.,. Close your grip around the
end of the
wrenc h handle fo r maximum torque and
turn each wheel bolt
clockwi se u nti l it sits
t ight.
H ave the
tightening torque of the whee l bolts
checked as soon as possible with a torque
wrench . It shou ld be 120 Nm.
Chec k the
tire pre ssure as soon as possible.
Return the vehicle tool kit to its proper place.
A WARNING
Loose ning t he wheel bo lts is prohib ited;
da nger of an accident!
@ Tips
- Never try and use the hexagona l socke t
i n the handle of the screwdr iver to loos­
en or tighten the w heel bolts.
- If yo u have dete rm ined t hat wheel bolts
a re cor roded and difficult to t urn, the
bo lts must be rep laced befo re checking
the to rque.
- Unti l the tig hte ning torque is checked,
d rive at redu ced speeds as a pre caution.
Notes on wheel change
Pl ease read the information¢ page 199, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels,
if you are
going to use a spare tire which is different
from the tires on your veh icle.
Afte r you change a tire:
- Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
dia tely after mounting.
- Have the whee l bolt t ightening torque
chec ked w ith a torq ue wrench as soon as
poss ible by your author ized A udi dealer or a
qu alified service sta tion.
1 ) You need th e appropr iate adapter to tighte n the a nti­
t h eft wheel bolts
c:, page 216.
What do I do now? 219
- With stee l and alloy whee l rims, the whee l
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm) .
- If you notice while changing a tire that the
wheel bo lts are corroded and difficu lt to
turn, then they should be rep laced before
you check the tightening torque.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover.
Until then , d riv e with e xtra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
- If you are going to equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were facto ry installed, then be
sure to read the information ¢
page 199,
New tires and replacing tir es and
wheels.
- Always sto re the tools secu rely in lug­
gage compartment. Othe rwise, in a n ac­
cident o r su dden maneuver they cou ld fly
forwdrd, CciU5ing injury to pd55enger5 in
the vehicle.
(D Note
Do not use comme rcially avai lab le tire
sea lants. Otherwise, the e le ctr ic al com po­
nen ts of t he tire p ressu re monitoring sys­
tem * wi ll no longe r work proper ly an d the
sensor fo r the tire pressure mon itor ing
system will have to be rep laced by a quali­
fied wor kshop.
Jump-starting
General
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it ta the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engi ne should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery ca n be.,.. •
•

220 What do I do now?
connected to the battery of another vehicle,
using a pair of jumper cables to start the en­
gine.
Both batteries must be rated at 12 volts. The
capacity (Ah) of the booster battery must not
be substantially less than the capacity of the
discharged battery.
Jumper cables Use
only jumper cables of sufficiently large
cross section to safely carry the starter cur­
rent. Refer to the manufacturer's specifica­
tions.
Use only jumper cables which have
insulated
terminal clamps and are properly marked for
distinction :
plus(+) cable: in most cases colored red
minus(-) cable: in most cases colored black
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas .
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
injury. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your vehicle's battery.
- Always shield your eyes and avoid lean­
ing over the battery whenever possible.
- A discharged battery can already freeze
at temperatures just below 32 °F (0 °C).
Before connecting a jumper cable, the
frozen battery must be thawed com­
pletely, otherwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Flush any contacted area with
water immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to
start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive gas­
es. Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga­
rettes away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with
a low acid level in the battery.
- The voltage of the booster battery must
also have a 12-Volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged bat­
tery. Use of batteries of different voltage or substantially different
"Ah" rating
may cause an explosion and personal in­
jury.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trap­
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen . The battery case may have
be weakened .
- Use of batteries of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat­
ing may cause an explosion and injury.
The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery should not be lower than that of the dis­
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
9 page 175, Working in the
engine comportment.
(!) Note
-Applying a higher voltage booster bat ­
tery will cause expensive damage to sen­
sitive electronic components, such as
control units, relays, radio, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
could already start to flow as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected.
(D Tips
- The discharged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys­
tem.
- Switch off any car phone, or follow the
car phone instructions for this situation.

Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper cable
clamps in exactly the order described below'
Fig . 162 Luggage co m pa rtme nt: connec tor s for a
ch arge r and jump start cab les
F ig . 163 Ju m p sta rt usin g t he batte ry in a not her ve hi­
cl e: A -Fem ale socket , B · Dis charge
The batte ry is located in the luggage compart­
ment ¢
page 185. The front lid can be opened
in an emergency
C? page 43 .
Do not connect the negat ive cable directly to
the negative termina l on the battery. Connect
it to a
j u mp start pin instead ¢ fig. 162.
Connect the posi tive cable (red) to the
posit ive t ermin al
1. Connect one end of the red jumper cable
¢
fig. 163 (D to the positive te rm inal of
d ischarged battery @.
2. Connect the other end of the red jumper
cable to the positive termina l@ of the
booster battery @.
Conn ect the negat ive cable (black ) to the
n egati ve ter minal
3. Connect one end of the black jumper ca­
b le @ to the negative terminal of the
booster battery @.
What do I d o now ? 221
4. Secure the other end to the jump start pin
@for the discharged battery @.
Starting the engine
~ Start the engine of the veh icle providing as­
sistance and al low it to run at idle.
~ Now sta rt the engine of the vehicle with the
discharged battery .
~ If the engine does not start: Stop trying af­
ter 10 seconds and then try again after
about 30 seconds.
~ Disconnect the cable while the engine is
running in exactly
reverse order to that de ­
scribed .
The ba ttery is ven ted to the ou tside to prevent
gases from entering the vehicle interior . Make
sure that the jumper clamps are well connect­
ed with their
metal parts in full contact with
the battery term inals .
.&, WARNING
To avoid serious personal injury and dam­
age to the veh icle, heed all warnings and
instructions o f the jumper cable manufac­
turer . If in doubt, call for road service.
- Ju mper cables m ust be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any
mov ing parts in the engine compart­
ment.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS ¢
page 175, Working in the
engine compar tment.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ru ­
in the generator .
- Always connect POSITIVE(+) to POSI ­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that all screw p lugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firm ly. If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega-
-
tive battery terminal. .,..

222 What do I do now ?
-Please note that the procedure for con ­
necting a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle be ing jump started. When
you are giving a jump start to another ve­
hicle, do
not connect the negative( -) ca­
ble to the negat ive( -) terminal on the
discharged battery ©-Instead, securely
connect the negative (- ) cable to either a
solid metal component that is firmly
bo lted to the engine b lock or to the en­
gine block itself . If the battery that is be ­
ing charged does not vent to the outside,
escaping battery gas cou ld ign ite and ex­
plode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing.
The following information is to be used by
commercia l tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Never tow your Audi, towing will cause dam­
age to the engine and transmission .
- Never wrap the safety chains or winch cables
around the brake lines.
- To prevent unnecessary damage, your Audi
must be transported with a car carrier (flat
bed truck).
- To load the vehicle on to the flat bed, use
the towing loop found in the vehicle tools
and attach to the front anchorage
~ page 222.
A WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas­
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle being towed, for any reason.
(D Note
The vehicle has very low ground clearance.
Make sure that no damage is caused to the
-
underside of the vehicle when it is being
loaded onto a f lat bed truck .
Front towing loop
Do not install the front towing loop until it is
needed.
Fig. 164 Right front bumper without grille : Tow ing
loop
fully screwed in
On the right front in the bumper, there is a
threaded hole behind the air intake grill into
which the towing loop is screwed.
"' Remove the towing loop from the vehicle
tool kit~
page 213.
"'Pull the lower part of the grill forwa rd and
out .
"' Screw the towing loop tightly into the
threaded ho le as far as it wi ll go ¢
fig. 164.
When it is no longer needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the on-board
toolkit. Make sure to have the towing loop stored in the vehicle at all times.
When installing the grill for the air duct, be
sure that the tabs on the grill are first insert­ ed into their guides on the vehicle. Then push
the grill into position.
A WARNING
= If the towing loop is not screwed in as far
as it will go, the thread can pull out when
the veh icle is towed -potential r isk of an
accident.
@ Tips
Check carefully to make sure the hook-up i s secure.