~ 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.
194 Tire s and wheel s
The table be low lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the Audi model
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi- cle's capacity weight and the tire sizes instal
led on the respective models as original
equipment, or as a factory option.
Engine
(dis
place
ment in Tire designation
Tire pressure front Tire pressure rear
normal load full load normal load full load condition condition condition condition
liter )
a -cylin
der
4 .2
inder
5.2 235
/3 5 R1 9 9 1 V
XL
295 /30 R19 100V X L
305 /30 R1 9 10 2V X L
235 /35 R19 91 V X L
295 /30 R1 9 100V XL
305 /30 R19 102V X L
XL= reinf orc ed
PSI
45
Because tec hnical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model yea r, a l
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure labe l on you r vehi cle w it h the
tires on your vehicle. Make s ure that the ti re
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be
longs to someone else or you bought the vehi
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas
sengers also depends on mak ing sure that
load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
veh icle . These load lim its are technically refer
red to as the vehicle's G ross Vehicle We ight
Rati ng ("GVWR"). The G ross Ax le Weight Rat
i ng ("GAWR") is the max imum load that can
be app lied at each o f the veh icle's two axles.
The G ross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance stic ker labe l located either
on the driver's side B-pillar. The tire pressure
labe l on your Audi lists the maximum com
b ined weight of all of the occupants and lug
gage or other cargo that the veh icle can carry.
For the location of the tire pressure label
¢ fig. 15 0 .
kPA PSI kPA PSI
310 45 310
41
41
kPA PSI
280 41
280 41
kPA
280
280
280
280
.&_ WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
h icle cont ro l, a crash o r other accident, se
r ious pe rsonal injury, and even death.
- Ca rrying more we igh t than your veh icle
was designed to carry wi ll prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in
crease the risk of a loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been over load
ed can fail s uddenly ca us ing loss of con
trol and a crash.
.&_ WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci
dent.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin
f lation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin
f lation can a lso lead to s udden t ire fail
ure, including a blowout and sudden de
flation, ca using loss of veh icle cont ro l.
Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following war
ranties :
-New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding yo ur warran
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
I f you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can
ada, there is the possibility that
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane
rating . Improper fuel may cause engine
damage;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment;
- replacement parts may not be readily availa
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessari ly work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun
tries outside of North America.
Consumer Information 209
@ Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, serv ice or parts availab ility.
Audi Service Repair
Manuals and Literature
Audi Offic ial Factory Service Manuals and Lit
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduct ion. Service Manuals and liter
at ure are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
https: //www. audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
' General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and reliability . For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty& Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions , for ex
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
in very dusty regions, etc., some service work
shou ld be pe rformed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air fi lter.
@ For the sake of the environment
By regu larly maintaining your vehicle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus minimizing adverse
effects on the environment.
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
T he increasing use of electron ics, soph isticat
ed fuel injection and emission control sys
tems, and the genera lly increasing technica l
complexity of today's automobiles, have ..,_
•
•
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.