2011 AUDI R8 SPYDER coolant level

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overview of the inst rumen t cluster
(D Engine oil temperature ...... .
@ Tachometer with time and date
display ................... .
® Warning/indicator lights .. .. .
© Coolant temperature gauge .. .
® Fu el gauge .............. .. .
@ Speedometer with odometer ..
(i) Voltmeter .............. .. .
@ Set/Check button , ... .. .. .. .
® Driver information display . .. .
@ I RESET ! button for trip odome-
ter ....... ............. .. .
10
11, 11 14
11
12
12
13
11, 31 20
12
The illumination for the instrument cluster
lights up whenever you switch on the ignition
with the
vehicle headlights off. The gauges
are also illuminated when the lights are
turned on.
Engine oil temperature display
The engine oil temperature display Q page 10,
fig. 3
only operates with the ignition on. To
prevent engine damage, please observe the
following important points concerning the
temperature ranges.
Cold range
If the needle is at the bottom of the gauge,
the engine oil has not reached operating tem­ perature yet. Avoid high engine speeds, full
throttle applications and heavy engine loads .
Normal range
The engine has reached operating tempera­
ture when the needle moves into the center of
the gauge under normal driving conditions .
The needle may move higher on the gauge
with heavier engine load at high outside tem­ peratures. This is not a cause for concern as
long as the . indicator light in the display
does not flash.
Warning light.
If the symbol . in the display flashes, ei­
ther the engine oil temperature is too high or
the engine oil level is too low
Qpage 180.
If
the needle is well in the upper area of the
gauge, the engine oil 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 authorized Audi dealer.

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 .,.

Instrument s and warnin g/indi cator ligh ts 17
CRUISE /vJ' Cru ise control
The warning/indicator light (ij ;jl)~1~ (USA mod­
e ls)/ . (Canasda models) illum inates when
the cruise cont rol is activated.
I I ! .!r Safety systems
This warning/indicator light monitors the air­
bag and the pretensioner systems.
The warning light I (USA models) ;II (Cana­
da models) illuminates for a few seco nds eac h
time you switch on the ignition.
If the
I (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
warn ing light does not go out, or if it illumi­
nates wh ile you are driv ing, or if it starts to
b link, then there is a ma lf u nction somewhere
in the system. If the light does not ill uminate
when you switch on the ignition, this also
means there is a ma lfunction.
A WARNING
If you have a malfunction in the airbag sys­
tem, contact your authorized Audi dealer
immediately. Otherw ise the airbag or the
belt pretensioner may not work proper ly in
an acc ident.
D Generator
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system.
The . warning/indicator lig ht illuminates
when you switc h on t he ignit ion and must go
out after the engine has started.
If the . warning/indicator light i lluminates
while you are driving, you should contact your author ized Audi dealer. Since the vehicle bat­
tery is discharging, you should switch off any
u nnecessary electrical consumers (for exam­
p le, the air conditioner).
Q) Note
If the . warn ing/ indicator light (mal­
function in the engine cooling system) in
the instrument cluste r shou ld i llum inate ¢
page 32, stop the veh
icle and t urn off
the engine. The coolant pump is not work­ i ng -this can cause engine damage!
4 Safety belt warning light
The warning light is a reminder to fasten
safety belts.
T he warning light . comes on fo r a few sec ­
onds after the ignition is switched on as a re ­
minder to fasten yo ur safety be lt. Additional­
l y, an acoustic warning (gong) will a lso sound.
Addi tional in format ion on safety belts
¢ page 109 .
BRAKE/((D) Brake system
This warning/indicator light flashes when the
broke fluid level is too low or when there is a
malfunction in the ABS .
If the wa rning/ind icator light flas hes 111111111;
• (with the parking brake re leased), stop the
vehicle and obtain qualified help¢&, .
If the ABS fails, the ABS wa rn ing/ indicator
l igh t
r.m!J,11] illumina tes along w ith the
brake sys tem warning/ ind icator light- /
. ¢&, .
(USA mode ls): If the war ning light - and
the warn ing light
Lil ill umin ate together, im­
med iate ly contact yo ur a uthorized Aud i dea le r
or qualified workshop to have all brake pads inspected ¢
page 33.
When the light comes on, an aud ible warning
s ignal is also g iven.
Parking brake set
The _ /. warning/ind icator light illumi­
nates when the parking brake is set¢&, . The
fo llow ing message appears in the d isplay:
Handbrake i s app lie d . If yo u inadvertent ly
drive off with the parking brake applied, a
buzzer (warning tone) sounds.

30 Driver in formation system
To sto re ma ximum sp ee d
.. Turn off the ignit ion.
.. Briefly press the button in the instrument
cluster¢ page 29, fig. 26. The odometer
and the digital clock are now illuminated .
.. Press the button for at least 2 seconds. The
currently stored maximum speed appears in
the d isplay
or the crossed out symbol for
warning threshold 2, if no max imum speed
was set previous ly.
.. Press the fu nction selector sw itch in the
wiper lever@~ fig. 2 7 up or down to
change the set value. Val ues run up or down
in steps o f 6 mph (10 km/h) .
To delete maximum speed
.. Turn off the ignit ion.
.. Briefly press the button in the instrument
cluster~ page 29, fig. 26. The odometer
and the digi tal clock are now illuminated .
.. Press the button for at least 2 seconds. The
currently stored maximum speed appears in
the disp lay.
.. Press the
l ~R_E_S-E T~I button in the w iper lever
@ ¢fig. 2 7 until the crossed out speed
warning symbol for warning threshold 2 ap­
pears in the display.
A few seconds after the adjustment is com­
pleted, the illumination for the odometer and
the dig ita l clock will go out.
{D) Tips
This war ning threshold can also be con­
trolled through the trip computer
¢ page 25, Navigating the menu.
Warnings and symbols
Red symbols
A red symbol means DANGER.
.. Pull of the road and stop the veh icle.
.. Turn off the engine .
.. Check the ma lf u nct io ni ng system. Contact
your a uthorized Aud i dea ler o r a q ua lified
workshop for assistance.
-
USA mod els :
Ma lfunction in the brake sys-
tern
~page32
•
Canada mod els :
BRAKE
Malfunction in the brake sys-
tern
~page32
•
Engine coolant leve l too low/
COOL ANT engine coolant temperature
too high
~page32
Engine oil pressure too low
OIL PRES-¢page 33
SURE
When a red symbol appears, a warning tone
will sound three times in succession. The sym ­
bol cont inues to flash unt il the malfunction
has been repaired. If there is more than one
malfunction, the symbols appear one after
the other for about two seconds.
@ Tips
- The message for a malfunction can be
shown by pressing on the left knob.
- Dur ing route guidance on vehicles with a
navigation system, the warn ing symbol
is shown in the field above.
Yellow symbols
A yellow symbol means WARNING.
II
L ow fuel leve l
~page33
-
•
Check engine oil level
~page33
•
Engine oil sensor malfunction
¢page33
IJ
Worn brake pads
¢page33
•
USA models :
Speed warning 1
~page34
'

32 Driver in formation system
BRAKE/((D) Brake system malfunction
The indicator light flashes if the brake fluid
level is too low, if there is a malfunction in the ABS system or when the parking brake is
engaged.
If the alllill. symbol flashes in the dis ­
play with the parking brake released, there is
a malfunction in the brake system. In addit io n
to the symbo l, one of two messages appears
i n t he displ ay:
Stop veh icle and check brak e fluid
ABS f ault! See owner 's manual
• Pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
• Obtain professiona l assistance .
USA models: if the re is a malfunction in the
A BS system,
the m warning/indicator light
i l luminates a long w ith the - system
mal function warn ing/ indicator light ¢&. .
Canada models: if there is a ma lf u nction in
the ABS system, the
li] warning/indicator
light ill uminates toget her with th e . brake
system ma lf u nction warning/indicator light
¢ &_ .
Parking brak e set
The parking brake warni ng light _ /_
(Canada models) ill uminates when the park­
ing brake is set . In additio n, a warning tone
will sound after you have dr iven for longer
than 3 seconds and faster than 3 mph (5 km/
h).
A WARNING
- Always observe the wa rnings i n
¢ page 175, Working in the engine
compartm ent,
before opening the en­
gine compa rtme nt lid and che ck ing the
brake f luid.
- Driv ing with low b rake fluid is a safety
h aza rd! S top the c ar and get profession al
assist ance.
- If the bra ke system war ning/ indicato r
ligh t illumina tes toge ther wi th the ABS
wa rning/in dicator ligh t, then the AB S system is malfunctioning
. The rear
wheels could quick ly loc k up when you
apply the brakes. This could lead to loss
of co ntrol and yo ur vehicle could slide!
Drive ca refully to the nea rest au thorized
Aud i dea le r and hav e the malfunction
corrected.
- L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible .
When the. symbol in the display flashes,
then either the engine coo lant
temperature is
too high, or the coolant
level is too low. In ad­
dition to the symbo l, the following message
also appears in the d isp lay:
Switch off engine and check coolant level
• Pull off the road and stop the veh icle.
• Turnoff the engine.
• Check coolant level ¢
page 182 .
• Add coo lant if necessary ¢ page 183.
• Cont inue dr iv ing o nly afte r the engine cool­
ant wa rning/ind icator light goes out .
• Con ta ct your au thori zed Aud i dealer for as-
sis tan ce if ne cess ary.
If the engine coolant level is correct, t hen the
r adiator fa n may be the ca use of the malfunc­
t io n.
If the generator warn ing/ indicato r light
shou ld also illum inate
¢ page 17, then the
fan belt may be damaged.
A WARNING
- If you r vehicle should bre ak down for
me chanical or o ther reasons, par k at a
safe distance from mov ing traffic, tu rn
off the eng ine and tu rn on the hazard
warn ing lights ¢
page 57, Emergency
flasher.
- Never open the eng ine compartment lid
if you see or hear steam or coolant es­
caping from t he engine compartment -
-
you risk being scalded. Wait until you can .,,.

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 ~

A WARNING ,~
- While topping off, the oil must not come
in contact with hot engine pa rts -fire
hazard!
- The oil fil ler cap must be properly se­
cured to prevent oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the eng ine is running -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact w ith the
engine oil, yo u must subsequently
cl eanse it tho roughly.
CD Note
- The oil level must not be above range G)
- danger of converter or eng ine damage!
Contact an authorized Audi dealer to
draw off oil, if ne cessa ry.
- Audi does not recommend the use of oil
additives. They may damage the engine
and adverse ly affect your New Vehicle
Warran ty.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Under no ci rcumstances ca n the oil come
i n conta ct wit h the sewage network o r
the soil.
- Observe and fo llow lega l regu lations
when d isposing of empty oil con taine rs.
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The coolant provides cooling for the engine.
The percentage of the coolant additive deter­
mines the freeze protection of the coolant in the winter.
The cooling system has been filled at the fac ­
tory with a permanent coo lant which does not
need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of water and the manufacturer's gly­
col-based coolant additive Gl2++ ant ifreeze
with ant icor rosion add itives (SO% fo r USA
models; 60% for Canad ian models).
Checkin g and fillin g 181
Coolant additive
The percentage of the coo lant add itive de­
pends on the climatic cond itions in wh ich the
vehicle is operated . If the percentage of
freeze protection i n the coo lant is too low, the
coolant can freeze, leading to a failure o f the
cooling and heating circuit.
T he percentage of coolant addit ive has al­
ready been adjusted at the factory for the ve­
hicle's climatic conditions.
T he m ix rat io for USA models is SO% wa ter
and SO% coolant addit ive, for Canadia n mod­
els 40% water and 60% coolant additive. This
mixture both ass ures the necessary frost pro ­
tection (-31 °F/-3S °C for USA models, -40 °F/-40 °C for Canada models) a nd protects
metal components i n the engine's cooling sys ­
tem from corrosion and scaling. It also ra ises
t h e boili ng poi nt of the coo la nt.
Summer time
Do not reduce the concentrat ion of the cool­
ant in the summer by adding p la in water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50 % but not more than 60 %
to main­
ta in an tifreeze pro te cti on and cooling eff ic ien­
c y.
A WARNING
B efore you c hec k anything in the engi ne
compartment, a lways rea d and heed a ll
WAR NIN GS~ .&.
in Working in the engine
compartment on page 175.
CD Note
- Be fore winter sets in, have the coo lant
checke d to see if the coolan t additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­ mate conditions. This is especia lly impor ­
tant if you live in a region where t he win­
ter is extreme ly cold. If necessary, in­
crease the p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60% .
-
-Only Gl2+ +, an additive meeting specif i­
cat io n "T L-VW 774G" may be used as a
coolant additive. Oth er coo lant add itives
IJJ,
•
•

182 Checking and filling
may seriously degrade the corros ion pro­
tection. The resu lting damage can cause
l oss of coo lant and subsequent ly lead to
se rious engine damage.
- The coolant additive
Gl2++ must not be
mixed w it h other coo lant add itives.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your ve hicle's engine coo lant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adve rse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Wa rranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
Proceed carefully when checking the coolant .
Fig. 145 Convert ible top: serv ice pos iti on
Fig. 146 Convert ible top storage bay: coo la n t expa n­
s ion tank
Before you check anything i n the eng ine com­
pa rtment,
alway s read and heed all WARN­
INGS c:::> ,&. in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 175.
T he coolant expa nsion tank is located i n the
r ight s ide of the co nvertib le top s to rage bay
under the ro und metal cover
c::>fig. 146. The
conver tible top must be in the servi ce position
to check the coolan t leve l
c:::> fig. 145 .
Bringing the closed convertible top into
the service position
.,. Switch t he ignition on.
.,. Pull and ho ld the convertib le top switch.
.,. Press and hold the rear window switc h too
until the convert ible top moves into the
service pos ition
c:::> fig. 145 .
Bringing th e open convertible to into the
service position
.,. Switch th e ignit ion on.
.,. Press and hold the convert ible top switch.
.,. Press and hold the rea r window switc h too
until t he convert ible top moves into the
service pos it ion
c:::> fig. 145.
Opening the coolant expansion tank cover
.,. Stop the engine a nd a llow it to cool.
.,. Switch t he ignit ion off .
.,. Carefully remove the bolts in the cover
(D
using a sc rewd river and remov e th e cover.
The coolan t rese rvo ir i s located be low
c:::> fig. 146 .
Checking the engine coolant level
.,. Place a rag or cloth on the cap of the coolant
e xpansion tank a nd turn the cap
carefully to
the left ( counte r-cloc kw ise)
c:::> .&_ .
.,. Read the coolan t leve l inside the coolan t ex ­
pa nsion tank
c:::> fig. 1 46. W it h a co ld eng ine,
it must be above the "min" mark . With a hot
engine, it can be a litt le above the indicated
range.
T o obtain an acc urate reading, the engine
must be sw itched off.
T he e xpansion ta nk in your vehicle is eq uipped
with an electr ic coo lant level senso r
c::> page 32. We s till rec om mend you check the
coolant leve l from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In t he eve nt of cool ant los s, the cool­
ing system should be inspec ted immedi ately
by your a uthorized Audi dea ler . I t is not
eno ugh mere ly to a dd coo lant .
ll-