2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER checking oil

Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Why safety be lts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Ill ustrating the princ iple of an
accident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
H ow are safety belts worn correctly? 112
Safety belt pretens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 115
Airbag system ........ .... ... .. 117
Important th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 117
F ront airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
M oni toring the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Knee air bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Child Safety ............. .. .. . .
Important things to know . ... .. .. . .
C hild safety seats . ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Instal ling a child safety seat . ... .. . .
Addit ional Information ........... .
Vehicle operat ion ..... .. .. .. . .
Intelligent technology .. .. .. . .
Not ice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules .......... .... .. . .
Electronic Stabilization Program ( ESP)
Rear spoiler .................... .
Braking .. .. .. ... ....... .... ... . .
P owe r stee ring .................. .
Driving w ith your qu attro ® ... .. .. . .
E ne rgy management ... ... .. .. .. . .
D ry s ump lubr ication ... ... .. .. .. . .
Driving and environment .... .
Break -in period . .. ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Driving through water on roads ... . .
Cata lytic converter ............ .. . .
Sporty driving . ........... .. .. .. . .
Operation and maintenance .. .. .. . .
Trailer towing ................... .
Vehicle care .................. .
Cleaning and protection ..... .
General information ...... .. .. .. . . 138
13
8
143
1 4 6
149
150
150
150
150
152
153
154
155
1 5 5
157
158 158
158
158
159
159 160
161
161
16 1
Ca re of exte rior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1
Ca re of inter io r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Table of contents 3
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank ... .. .... . ... ...... ... .
170
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Fuel tank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Checking and filling ..... ... .. .
Engine compartment lid .......... .
Engine oil ... .. .. .. . ............ .
E n gine cooling system ............ .
Brake fluid .. .. .. .. . .. .... ...... .
Battery ......... .. ............. .
Rep lacing the battery ............ .
Windsh ie ld washer container
Tires and wheels ... ..... ... .. .
175
175
178
181
184
184
18 7
188
189
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
T ire pressure mo nitoring system
Consumer Information ...... .
Warranty coverages .............. .
Operating your veh icle outs ide the
U .S .A . or Canada ... . .. .. ..... ... .
A udi Se rvice Repair Manuals and
Literature . .. .. .. .... ........... .
Maintenance . .. .. .. ............. .
Additional accessories, modif ications
and parts rep lacement ........... .
Decla rat io n of Compliance,
T elecommunication or Electron ic
Systems .. .. .. .. .. ............. .
Do-it-yourself service ........ .
What do I do now? ........... .
Tru nk escape handle ........... .. .
B reakdown kit ... .. . .. ... .... ... .
Tire repa ir ... .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .
What shou ld I be awa re of when
h . t
' ? c anging a ,re. . . ............... .
Jump-starting .. ...... ........... .
Emergency towing with commercial
tow truck ....... .. ............. .
Fuses and bulbs .............. .
Electr ica l fuses .... .............. .
Bu lbs ... .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ...... . 206
209
2
09
209
209
209
211
2 12
213
213
2 13
213
213
216
219
222
223
223
224
•
•

12 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
If the needle is well on the right side of the
gauge, the coolant temperature is too high .
Stop the vehicle, switch the engine off and
allow it to cool.
If the warning light comes on
again after driving a short distance, contact
an author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-Always observe the warni ng in
¢ page 175, Working in the engine
compartment before opening the engine
compartment lid an d checking the en­
gine coo lant level.
- Never open the engine compartment lid
if yo u see or hear steam, or if you see e n­
gine coolant dripping from the engine
compartment . You could burn yourse lf.
Let the engine coo l off first so that you
cannot hear or see any steam or engine
coolant.
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
in front of the air inlets red uces the cool­
i ng effect of the radiator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high engine load, the
engine could overheat .
- The front spo iler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, th is could reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask you r autho rized Aud i dealer for
ass istan ce.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge works only when the ignition is
on. When the needle reaches the red area, the
warn ing light in the instrument cluster will il­
lum inate
c> page 33 (il This means you
have approximately 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of
fuel left in the tank .
Time to refuel!
The total tank capacity of your vehicle is listed
in
Technical data ¢ page 228.
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry! An ir­
regular supply of fuel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter into the ex ­
haust system . The catalytic converter
could then overheat and be damaged.
· Speedometer with odometer
The speedome ter shows you the vehicle
speed, and the odometer shows you how
many miles (kilometers) you have driven .
Fig. S Speedometer close -up: odome ter d isplay
The distance driven is shown in m iles (USA
models) or in kilometers (Canada mode ls).
Lower odometer
The lower odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) dr iven .
Upper odometer (trip odometer)
The upper odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) dr iven since you last re­
set the odometer back to zero . You can use
th is odometer when you want to keep track of
how many m iles (kilometers) yo u have driven
for a single trip or errand. The last dig it ind i­
cates 1/10 of a mile (100 meters) . Yo u can se t
the trip odometer back to zero by pressing the
I RESE T! button ¢ fig . 5 .
With the ign ition off, pushing of the Set/
Check button ¢ page 10, fig. 3 @ can turn on
the display field lighting for a few seconds.
Malfunction message
If there is a malfunct ion somewhere in the in-
strument cluster,
dEF will appea r in the trip .,.

no longer see or hear steam or coolant
escaping.
- The engine compartment of any vehicle
is a dangerous area. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
turn off the engine and allow it to cool. Follow the warning stickers
c:> page 175,
Working in the engine compartment.
([) Note
Do not contin ue driving if the. symbol
illuminates. There is a malfunct ion in the
engine cooling system -you could damage
your eng ine .
9::::r: Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair .
If the . symbol appears in the display and
flashes, the oil pressure is too low. In addi tion
to the symbol, the following message also ap ­
pears in the d isp lay:
Sw itch off engine and check oil le vel
~ Pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
~ S hu t the engine down .
~ Check the engine oi l level c:> page 180.
~ Contact your a uthori zed Audi dea ler for as-
s istance if necessary .
Engine oil level too low
If the engine oil level is too low, top off oi l to
the proper leve l
i::>poge 180.
Engine oil level OK
If the . symbo l sta rts flas hing again even
though the engine oil leve l checks O K on the
d ipstick,
do not sta rt driv ing again and do
not let the engine run at idle .
Instead, con­
tact your author ized A udi dealer for assis­
tance.
l ) - : US A mod els on ly
Dr iver in formati on sys tem 33
Bu Fuel supply too low
When the fD1 symbol illum inates, t his means
there are abo ut 2.6 gallons (10 liters) o f fuel
left in the fue l tank . Time to re fuel!
c:> page 171 .
If the symbol lights up, even when there is
amp le fue l in the t ank, and the text
TANK
SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
! CONTACT WORK­
SHOP
appears in the disp lay, there is a fa ult in
the system . Contact a qualified works hop to
have the fa ult rectif ied .
~,,., Checking the engine oil level
II Please add ma x. 1 qt of engine o il!
If the II symbol comes on , add 1 quart (1 li­
ter) of oil at the n ext opportunity
i::> page 180.
~tt, Engine oil sensor defective
If the II symbol illuminates, contac t your
authorized Aud i dea le r and have t he oil sensor
inspected .
(0) Worn brake pads
EiJ Brake pad s!
If the warning light illuminates, immed iate ly
contact your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied wor kshop to have all brake pads i nspect­
ed. On USA models the war ning light
EiJ
comes on together w ith the w arning ligh t
1111. Both se ts of brake pads on an ax le
must a lways be rep laced at the same time.
A WARNING
-=
Driving with ba d brakes can cause a colli ­
sion and ser ious personal in jury.
- If the warn ing light
EiJ and the warning
light
11111> with the message Brake
-
pads! comes on in the instrument cluster ~

Checking and filling Engine compartment
lid
Relea sing the engine compartment lid
The engi ne compartment lid is released from
inside the vehicle.
F ig . 139 Dr ive r's side: releasing the engine compart­
ment lid
Requi rement: The ignition must be switched
on.
• Make sure the rear spoiler is retracted
9page 152.
• Pull the@ button. The engine compart­
ment lid opens slightly.
• Open the engine compartment lid
9 .&,.
_& WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To redu ce the r isk of being burned, never
open the engine compartment lid if you
see or hear steam or coolant escaping
from the engine compartment . Wait un­
ti l no steam or coolant can be seen or
heard before carefully opening the en­
gine compartment lid .
(D Note
To prevent damage to t he vehicle, only
open the engine compartment lid when
the convertib le top storage bay lid is
closed.
Checkin g and fillin g 175
@ Tips
An emergency release can be used if the
engine compartment lid cannot be re- l eased with the button @
i:> page 177.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment!
Whenever you must perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling the d ifferent flu ids, there is a risk
of in jury, burns and accidents . To prevent per­
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS . The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area'
i:> A .
_& WARNING ,.;;
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the engine compa rtment lid:
- Sw itch off the engine.
- Remove the ignition key.
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever of R tronic to "N"
(Neutral); p ut manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always let the eng ine cool down. Hot
components w ill burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being b urned, never
open the engine compartment lid if you
see or hear steam or coo lant escaping
from the eng ine compartment. Wa it un­
til no steam or coolant can be seen or
hea rd before carefully opening the en­
gine compa rtment lid.
- Keep ch ild ren away from the engine com­
pa rtment.
- Never sp ill fluids o n hot engine compo­
nents. T hey can cause a fi re .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant cou ld spray o ut.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot e ngine coolant by plac ing a ""

176 Checking and filling
thick rag over the cap when you open the coolant reservoir .
-If work on the fuel system or the electri­
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery .
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com­ partment could start a fire .
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im ­
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in­
jury while the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the engine running:
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever of R tronic to "N"
(Neutral); put manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get ­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact­
ing hot parts . Tie back hair before
starting, and wear no clothing that will
hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&. .
.&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de­
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con­
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm .
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­ cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and
reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
@ Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container
or filler opening, otherwise serious dam­
age to vehicle systems will occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly. If
you see spots from oil or other vehicle flu­
ids, have your vehicle inspected by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
Closing the engine compartment lid
... Make sure that the rear spoiler is retracted
~page 152.
""Pull the engine compartment lid down until
the pressure from the struts is reduced.
.., Press the engine compartment lid closed
c::>& .
A WARNING ,_
A engine compartment lid that is not com­
pletely latched could fly up and block your
view while driving.
- When you close the engine compartment lid, check it to make sure the safety catch
has properly engaged . The engine com­
partment lid should be flush with the
surrounding vehicle body parts .
- If you notice while driving that the en ­
gine compartment lid is not secured properly, stop at once and close it.

178 Checking and filling
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations. This engine needs the right kind of
engine o il that meets spec ificat ions regarding
qua lity and viscos ity so that it can run
smoothly and reliably . Choos ing the righ t oi l
and changing oil w ith in the time a nd mileage
interva ls printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance book let matters a lot more to ­
day than it did yea rs ago. A udi has developed
a special quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your veh icle's eng ine will
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera­
tion .
Modern engine lubrication has taken a quan­
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
b rication that can outlast traditiona l petrole ­
um-based o ils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of you r A udi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum­ based engine oil, the oil that you use must
conform to Audi's oil qual ity standard
VW 502 00 to help keep your veh icle 's eng ine
r unning smoo thly and help prevent t he fo r­
ma tion of harmfu l deposi ts, some times called
"s ludge," that over t ime can lead to expensive
repairs.
A t the time of pr intin g, engine o ils availab le in
the U .S . and Canad a that meet the exact ing
specifications o f A udi oil standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils . This does not mean,
however, that eve ry synthetic engine oil wi ll
meet A udi oil standard VW 502 00. So a lways
be sure that you use an approved o il.
To help preve nt the formation of harmful de ­
posits use only oi l with the fo llow ing spec ifi ­
cations printed on the oil container :
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
Oil container labels may car ry the specifica ­
tion sing ly or in combination with othe r desig ­
nations and oil quality standa rds .
Viscosity
Engine o ils are graded accord ing to their vis­
cosity . Th e pr oper viscos ity grade oil fo r you r
engine de pends on clim actic o r seaso nal con­
di tions where yo u drive. You can use o il wit h a
viscosity grade o f SAE SW40 across all tem ­
perature ranges for norma l driving conditions.
However, if engine oil visco sity g rade SA E
SW40 is not ava ilable, you can a lso use v iscos­
ity grade SA E SW -30 or SA E OW -40 as long as
it meets Audi oil q ua lity standard VW 502 00
specificat ions.
Beca use engine o il that mee ts the Audi o il
standard may not be availab le everywhere
when you need it, we strong ly recommend
t h at you a lways carry with you an extra quart
( li ter) of oil that express ly conforms to the
VW 502 00 specification, in case you have to
top off the oil while on the road .
Only if the level of the oil is at or be low the
min imum ma rk on the o il dipstick - and n o oi l
that expressly conforms to Audi o il standard
VW 502 00 specifications is availab le -may
yo u top off with a high quali ty engine o il, p ref­
erably synthet ic-based, that me ets ACEA A3,
AC EA AS o r AC EA B S or A PI SL spec ifi cat io ns,
but even t hen, only in v iscosi ty g rades SA E
SW -40, SA E SW-3 0, or SAE OW-40 . However,
during the entire time between oi l change in ­
te rva ls , never top
off with more than a tota l
of 0 .5 qt/liter engine oil that does not con­
form to Audi oil specification VW 502 00.
F or more information abo ut engine oi l that
has been approved for your ve hicle, please
contact e ither yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler or
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1 (800) 822-2834
or v is it our web site at www.audiusa.com or
www .aud icanada .ca. Here you w ill also find a
c ur rent l ist of oils (manufacturers, bra nd
names etc.) that conform to Aud i oil standa rd
vw 50 2 00.
Changing the engine oil

18 0 Che cking and filling
@ Tips
If you have the impression your engine
consumes excessive amounts of oil, we
recommend that you consu lt your a uthor­
ized Audi deale r to have the cause of your
concern properly d iagnosed . Keep in m ind
that the accurate measurement of oil con ­
sumpt ion re quires great care and may take
some time. Your author ized A udi dealer
h as ins tructions abo ut how to meas ure o il
consumption ac curately .
Checking the engine oil level
Fig. 142 Ins trume nt clus te r: En gin e o il te mpe rat ure
dis pla y
F ig . 14 3 Mark ers on oil dipstick
Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
pa rtment,
alway s read and heed all WARN­
INGS
c;, A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page
175 .
Determining oil lev el
.. W arm up the engine by driv ing unt il t he in­
strument cl uster d isplay shows an oil tem ­
perature of 210 °F (100 °C) to 230 °F
(110 °C)
¢ fig . 142 @ .
.. Park your vehicle so that it is hori zonta lly
level. ..
Allow the warm engine to r un for abo ut two
minutes at idle.
.. Shut the eng ine off and wa it two minutes .
.. Check the oil level on the engine oil dipst ick
¢fig. 143.
Oil leve l within range (v
.. Do not add oil.
Oil level within range@
.. Add 1 quart (l lit er) of o il c;, page 180. Af­
terwards , the oil leve l sho uld be with in
r a nge ~.
Depend ing on the way the vehicle is dr iven
and the ope ra tin g cond itions, o il consu mption
c an be up to 1 q uart per 600 miles (1 liter per
1,0 00 km) . Co nsump tion may be higher with­
in the f irst 3,000 miles (5,000 km) .
Adding engine oil~
Fig. 144 En gin e co mpa rt m en t: O il fil ler cap loca tio n
Befo re you check a nyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always r ead and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢
A in Working in the engine compar t­
men t on page
175 .
.. Unsc rew the cap~ to the eng in e oil filling
hole
c;, fig. 1 44.
.. Ca refully top off with the appropr iate oil
¢ page 228.
.. Check the oi l level again ¢ page 180 .
.. Top off the oil again, if necessary .
.. Screw the cap back on the fi lling hole and
slide the oil dipstick in as far as it w ill go.

In a se ale d system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheat ing.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under press ure. Do
not open the cap of the coolant expan­
sion tank when the eng ine is hot. You
risk being scalded .
- The coo lant add itive, and therefore the
coolant itse lf, is hazardous to health.
Keep the coolant additive in the origina l
co nta iner out of the reach of children.
It
is a poison hazard.
CD Note
Do not add any type of rad iator leak seal ­
ant to your vehicle's eng ine coolant. Add­
ing radiator repair f luid may adve rsely af­
fect the fu nction and performance of your
coo ling system and could res ult in damage
not covere d by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ & in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 175 .
.. Add coolant .
.. Tw ist the cap on again
t ightly.
.. Tighte n the cap (D ¢ page 182, fig. 146
again .
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications ¢
page 181, Coolant. If
the coolant additive Gl2++ is not available in
an emergency, you must not add any other ad­
d itive . In th is case, use only water and restore
the co rrec t mix ratio wi th the specified cool­
ant add itive as soon as possib le.
Always use
new engine coolant when ref illing .
Do not fill coolant above the " MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coolant will be forced out through the p ressure relief valve i n the cap when the en ­
g ine becomes hot .
Checking and fillin g 183
With a major loss of coolant, you shou ld add
the coolant only when the engine has
cooled.
In this way you prevent engine damage.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is unde r pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by followi ng
these steps .
- Turn off t he engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect you r fa ce, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, th ic k rag.
- Turn the cap s lowly and very carefully
in a counter -clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top
of the cap.
- To avoid being bu rned, do not spill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the ex haust sys ­
tem or hot engine pa rts. Under certain
cond itions, the ethylene glycol in en­
gine coolant can catch fire .
- Antifreeze is poisonous . Always store an­
tifreeze in its origina l container and well
out of the reach of children .
- If you dra in the coo lant, it m ust be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
taine r clearly marked " poison" .
CD Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
cou ld cause an engine fire. Excess cool­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap w hen the en­
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an eme rgency, o nly wate r can be
added, the co rrec t ratio between wa ter
and antifreez e
¢page 181 must be re­
stored as soon as poss ible.
@) For the sake of the environment
D ra ined coola nt sho uld not be reused. Al­
ways d ispose of used coolant while observ­
i ng a ll environmental regula tions. •
•