2011 AUDI S8 Owners Manual

More stubborn dirt
"' More stubborn dirt can be removed using a
cloth saturated with a mi ld soap so lution (2
tablespoons mi ld liquid soap).
"'N ever allow the soap so lution to saturate
the leather, and make certa in that no water
soaks into the seams .
"' Wipe
off the soap solution with a soft, dry
cloth .
Cleaning spots
"' Remove fresh water-based spots (such as
coffee, tea, juices, blood) w ith an absorbent
cloth or paper towel.
"' Remove fresh
grease or oil -based spots
(such as butter, mayonnaise, chocolate) with
an absorbent cloth or paper towel, or use
t h e cleane r from the leathe r care kit if the
spot has not yet penetrated into the surface
of the leather.
"'U se an oil/grease dissolving spray, if
oil/
grease spots have d ried on.
"' Remove spec ific kinds of spots (ballpoint
pen, felt marker, fingernail polish , water­
based paint, shoe polish, etc.) with a spot
remover specifically formulated for leather .
Leather care
"'Every half year use an approved leather care
product (available from your Audi dealer) to
care for the leather.
"' Apply the product very sparingly.
"' Wipe it
off with a damp cloth .
If you have any questions abo ut cleaning and
caring for the leather in your vehicle, it is best
to contact your author ized Audi dealer, who
will be glad to help you and tell you about our
fu ll range of leather care products, suc h as:
- Leather cleaning and care k it
- Creams to care for colored leather
- Spot removers for ballpoint pens, shoe pol-
ish, etc.
- Oil/grease dissolving spray
- New and upcoming prod ucts.
Cleaning and protection 215
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 206.
(D Note
-Never use chemica l so lvents (e.g. lighter
fluid, turpentine), waxes, shoe polish or
similar products on the leather surfaces
in your Audi.
- To avoid damage, have stubborn sta ins
removed by a commercial clean ing spe­
cialist.
Cleaning Alcantara ® (synthetic suede)
App lies to veh icles: w it h Alca nta ra upho lstery
Removing dust and dirt
"' Moisten a cloth, squeeze out excess water
and wipe down the seat surfaces.
Removing stains
"' Moisten a cloth with lukewarm water or
w ith diluted
ethyl (rubbing) alcohol.
"' Dab at the stain . Start at the outside and
work inwards .
"' Once the stain is no longer visible, use a soft
d ry cloth or tissue to soak up the moisture .
Do not use leather cleaning products on A l­
cantara .
You may use a suitable shampoo for remov ing
dust and dirt.
Dust and grit in the pores and seams can
scratch and damage the surface.
If the car is
left stand ing in the sun for long per iods, the
Alcantara covers should be protected aga inst
direct sunlight to prevent it from fad ing .
Slight color variations will develop in normal
use and are not an indication of mate rial dete­
rioration .
(D Note
-Never use chemical so lvents (e .g. lighter
fluid, turpentine), waxes, shoe polish or
similar products on Alcantara ® surfaces. .,.. •
•

216 Cleaning and protecti on
- To avoid damage, have stubborn stains
removed by a commercial cleaning spe­
cialist.
- Do not use br ushes, stiff sponges or sim­
ilarly abrasive cleaning aids.
Safety belts
Only well-maintained safety belts work relia ­
bly when needed .
> Keep belts clean.
> For cleaning, use a mild soap and wate r sol­
ution . Let be lts dry thoroughly and away
from direct sunlight .
> Do not allow inertia reel safety be lts to re­
tract before they are completely dry.
> Check the condition of your safety belts reg­
ularly .
Heavily soiled safety belts may not retract
properly.
.&_ WARNING
Damaged safety belts can break in a crash.
- Anything that might damage your safety
belts could mean that you and your pas­
sengers would not be adequately pro­
tected in an acc ident.
- Safety belt performance depends on cor­
rect installation. Never remove belts
from the vehicle to clean them.
- Do not use chemical cleani ng agents,
bleach or dyes. They have corrosive prop­
ert ies which weaken the webbi ng.
- When cleani ng your safety belts, inspect
them for damage.
If you discove r dam­
age, see you r A udi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other information
c:> page 206.
Cooler
A ppl ies to vehicles: with cooler
A layer of ice or frost in the cooler interferes
with its cooling performance .
Clean ing
The refr igerator sho uld be cleaned reg ularly.
> Wash the coo ler with lukewarm wate r and a
mild cleaning solution, if necessary.
> Then wipe the cooler dry.
> Dust and d irt will accumulate near the venti­
lation openings in the luggage compart­
ment due to normal cooler usage. This
should be cleaned regularly.
D ef rosting
> Switch the coo ler off c:> page 72.
> Remove any food or beverages and allow the
coo ler to defrost with the door open.
> W ipe the inside of the cooler dry and clea n
the cooler, if necessary .
Defrost the cooler if you will not be us ing it
for extended periods of time .
(D Note
- Do not try to speed up the defrosting
process by apply ing heat.
- To reduce the risk of persona l injury or
damage to the refr igerator,
- do not use any abrasive cleaners, sol­
vents, wax, agg ress ive clean ing solu ­
tions, solut io ns w it h strong frag rances,
etc.,
- d o no t clean the co oler w ith cleaning
tools su ch as s teel woo l.
Engine compartment
Be especially careful when cleaning the en ­
gine comportment.
Alway s switch off the ignit ion b efor e cle an­
ing the engine
c:> ,&. .
Plenum panel
Remove leaves from the plenum panel in front
of the w indshield under the eng ine compart ­
ment . This prevents the wate r drain holes
from becom ing b locked, and it preve nts de­
br is from entering the vehicle inte rior through
the heat ing and ven tilat ion duc ts.
Corrosion protection
The eng ine compartment and transmission
have been corrosion-protected at the factory .
ll-

Good anti-corrosion treatment is very impor­
tant, particularly in the winter . If the vehicle
is freq uent ly driven on salt treated roads, the
entire engine compartment and plenum panel
should be thoroughly cleaned at t he end of
winter and retreated to prevent salt damage.
At the same time, the underside of the veh icle
should be washed as we ll.
If the engine compartment is cleaned at any
time with grease removing solut ions
1>, or if
you have the engine washed, the anti-corro­
sion treatment is a lmost always removed as
well.
It is therefore essential to have a long­
l as ting co rrosion protection reapp lied to all
surfaces, seams, joints and components in the
engine compartment.
~ WARNING
Be aware: The engine compartment of any
motor vehicle is a potentially hazardous
area.
- Before working in the engine compart­
ment, be s ure to read the informat ion
o page 216.
-Be fore reaching into the front pane l, al­
ways switch off the ignition. Othe rwise,
the windshield wiper system co uld un in­
tent ionally be switched on, possib ly
caus ing persona l injury from the moving
wiper linkage.
- Never reach into the area around or touch the radiator fan . The auxiliary fan
is temperature cont rolled and can switch
on sud denly - even when the ign it ion is
off.
- Do not wa sh, wax or dry the engine w ith
the engine running. Moving or hot parts
cou ld injure you.
- Do not clean the underside of the cha s­
sis, fen ders, wheel cove rs, or ot her hard
to reach parts w ithout protecting your
hands and arms . You may cut yourse lf on
sharp-edged metal parts.
l ) Use o nly the co rrec t cle anin g so lu tio ns. Neve r use gas­
olin e or d iese l fuel.
Cleaning and protec tion 217
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c:> page 206. •
•

218 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
Fuel supply and filling
your fuel tank
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Using the righ t fuel helps keep the environ­
ment clean and preven ts engine damage .
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recomme nded for you r vehicle is un­
lead ed premium
g rade gasoline . See also
¢ pag e 282, Data . Audi recommends usi ng
T OP TIER D eterge nt Gaso line wi th a mini mum
octane r atin g of 9 1 AK I (95 RON). For more
info rmation on TO P TI ER De tergent Gaso line,
p lease go to t he officia l webs ite (www.toptier ­
gas.com).
T he re commended g asoline oct ane r ating for
your engine can a lso be fo und on a la bel locat­
e d on the ins ide of the fue l filler flap . This rat ­
ing may be specif ied as A KI or RON.
Your veh icle m ay also be oper ated using un­
l eaded regular gas oline with a min imum o c­
tane rating of 87 AKI/91 R ON. However, using
87 AKI/91 RON octa ne f ue l w ill slightly re ­
d uce eng ine perfo rmance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded g aso­
line is available th rougho ut the USA, Ca nada ,
and in most E uropean countries . We recom­
mend that you do not ta ke yo ur vehicle t o
areas or countries where unleaded gasoline
may not be avai lable.
F or mo re informat io n on refue ling your ve hi­
cle, see
¢ page 219.
Octane rating
Octa ne r ating in dicates a g aso line's abili ty to
res ist engine damaging "knock" ca used by
p remature ign ition and detonation. Therefore,
buy ing the correct grade of gaso line is very
important to help prevent possible engine
damage and a loss of engine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the Unite d
States an d Canada has the following octane r
at ings t hat can usu a lly be found on the fi ller
pump:
- Pre mium Gra de: 91 -96 A KI
- Regular Grade : 87 -90 AKI
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI = Anti K nock Index= (R+M) /2 = (RO N
+ MON)/2
R ON= Resea rch Octane Numb er
MON = Motor Octane Number .
(D Note
-Do not use a ny f ue l w it h octane rat ings
lower tha n 87 A KI or 91 RO N othe rwise
expensive engine damage w ill occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoline. The use of
leaded gasoline w ill severely damage
yo ur v ehicl e's catalytic co nve rter a nd its
ability to co ntrol exha ust em ission s.
Blended gasoline
U se of gasoline containing alcohol or
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded g asoline blende d with
alcohol o r MTBE (commonly referred to as
oxygenates) if the blende d mixture meets t he
f o llow ing criteria :
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
-Anti -kno ck index mus t be 87 A KI or higher.
- Blend must contain no mor e than 3% me th-
anol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-sol-
ve nts .
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol
or ethyl alcohol)
- Anti -knoc k index must be 87 AKI or higher .
- Blend must not conta in mo re than 10%
ethanol.
Blend of ga soline and MTBE
- Anti-knoc k index must be 87 AKI or high er. ll-

-Blend must contain not more than 15%
MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
espec ially we ll for winter or summer driving.
During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stat ions where the sea­
sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time .
(D Note
-Methanol fuels which do not meet these
requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo­
nents in the fuel system .
- Do not use fue ls that fail to meet the
specified criter ia in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fue l blend meets the
specifications, ask your service station or
its fuel supp lier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents
cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the responsibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy
or driveability and performance prob­ l ems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac ­
turers is carbon deposit build- up caused by
the type of gasoline you use.
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another , they have certain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain
substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline brands include additives to keep engine and
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 219
fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec ­
tive .
A udi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline. For more info rmation on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended period of using inadeq uate
fuels, carbon deposit build-ups can rob your
engine of peak performance.
Q) Note
Damage or malfunction due to poor fue l
quality is not covered by the Aud i New Ve­
hicle Limited Warranty.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
side panel behind the fuel fille r flap.
If the power locking system should fail, you
can still open the flap manually -for deta iled
instruct ions see
¢ page 221 .
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve­
hicle in
Technical Data ¢ page 282.
The label on the inside of the fuel fi ller flap
tells you the correct fue l for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see
¢ page 218.
Your vehicle fue l tank has an on board refuel­
li ng vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and polluting the environment while you refuel your vehicle . In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please fo llow this refueling procedure careful­
ly.
_&. WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport f uel can be dangero us. Such con­
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collis ion. If you must
•
•

220 Fuel su ppl y and filli ng your fu el t ank
transport fue l to use for your lawn mower,
snow blower, etc., be very careful and al ­
ways observe local and state laws regard­
ing the use, transportat ion and storage of
such fuel containers . Make certain the con­
tainer meets industry standards (ANSI/
AS TM F852 - 86) .
(D Note
Never drive your vehicle until the fuel tank
is completely empty. The irregular supply
of fuel can cause misfiring . Gasoline could
enter the exhaust system and damage t he
catalyt ic converter.
Refuelling
Fig. 172 Rig ht rea r vehicle s ide: Ope ning t he fuel fille r
f lap
Fig . 173 Fuel filler fla p with attached fuel c ap
When activating the central locking, the fuel
fi ller flap is automatically un locked or locked.
Refue l the vehicle with the ignition switched
off.
Taking the fu el cap off
• Press the left side of the fuel filler flap to
open it
q fig . 172 -arrow-.
• Unsc rew fuel filler cap counter-clockwise
and hang it on the fuel fill er flap
¢ fig. 173 . Refuell
ing proc edur e
• Insert the fuel nozzle from the gasoline
pump into the fuel fi ller neck as far as it wi ll
go .
• Sele ct a med ium r efuelling rate so that the
no zz le switches off automatically when the
tank is full .
Putting th e fu el cap ba ck on
• After filling your tank, twist the fuel filter
cap clockwise as far as it w ill go.
• Close the fue l fill er flap.
T o avoid fuel spilling or evaporating from the
fuel tank always close fuel filter cap properly and completely. An improperly closed fuel fi ll­
er cap may also cause the MIL lamp
cc> page 2 7
to come on.
A WARNING
Improper refue ling or handling of fuel can
cause fire, explosion and severe burns.
- Fuel is highly flammable and can cause
severe burns and other injur ies .
- Fai lure to shut the engine off while refu­
eling and/or to insert the pump nozzle
fully into the fuel filter neck could cause
fuel to spray out of filler neck or to over­
flow. Fue l spray and overflowing fuel can
cause a fire .
- Never use a ce llular telephone whil e re­
fue ling . T he electromagnet ic rad iat io n
can cause sparks that can igni te fuel va­
pors and cause a fire.
- Never get back into your vehicle whi le re­
fuel ing.
If in exceptional circumstan ces
you must get back in your vehicle while
ref ueling, make certain that you close
the door and touch metal to discharge
static electricity before touching the fill­
er nozzle again . Static electricity can
cause sparks that can ignite fuel vapors
released during refueling .
- Never smoke or have an open f lame any­
where in or near your veh icle when refu­
eling or filling a portable fue l conta iner .
- For your safety, we strongly recommend
that you do not travel with a portable

fuel container in your vehicle. The con­
tainer, full or empty may leak and co uld
cause a fire, especially in a crash.
- If, under exceptional circumstances, yo u
must transport a portable fuel container,
please observe the following:
- Never fi ll a po rtable fue l container
while it is anywhe re in or on the vehicle
(for examp le, in the luggage compar t­
ment, or on the tr unk). Static electric i­
ty can bui ld up while fi lling and can ig­
n ite fue l vapors causing a fire .
- Always p lace a portable fuel container
on the gro und before filling.
- Always keep the fi ller nozzle comp lete­
ly inside the po rtable conta iner before
and during filling.
- If filling a portable container made of
metal, the filler nozz le must always be
in contact with the container. Th is w ill
he lp prevent static electricity from dis­
charging and cause a fire .
- Never sp ill fuel inside the vehicle or
luggage compartment. Fue l vapors are
h ighly f lammable .
- Always observe local and state/provi n­
cial laws regarding the use, storage
a nd tra nsporta tion of fuel co ntainers .
- Make certai n the fuel container meets
ind ustry standards (ANSI/ ASTM
F852 -86) .
(D Note
If any f uel has spilled onto t he car, it
should be removed immediate ly to prevent
damage to the paint.
~ For the sake of the environment
As soon as the correctly operated nozzle sw itches off automatically fo r the fi rst
time, the tank is full . Do not try to add
more fue l because fue l may spill out . In
add it io n, th e expans ion space in the fuel
t ank will be fi lled -cau sing the fue l to
overfl ow whe n it be come s w arm and pol ­
lu te the env iro nment.
Fuel suppl y and filling your fuel t ank 221
@ Tips
- Running your eng ine whi le refue lli ng
may cause vapors to escape or even
cause fuel to sp ill out of the tank. T his
would t hen shut off the fuel nozzle be­
f o re the ta nk is f ull.
- Do not refuel your vehicle with the ign i­
tion switched on. The fuel gauge may
ot herwise not ind icate the correct fue l
lev el after ref uell ing .
- The fue l filler flap of yo ur vehicle is not
locked when you lock t he veh icle from
t he ins id e.
Fuel filler flap emergency release
You can open the fuel filler flap by hand if the
power locking system should fail .
Fig. 1 74 R ig ht s ide tr im panel in t he luggage compart­
m en t: emerge ncy re lease mechan is m
The emergency release mechanism is located
behind the right side trim panel in the lug ­
gage compar tment .
.,. Loosen the loop
¢ fig. 174 from t he reta iner
and then pull on the loop carefully
¢ (D.
.,. Press on the left side of the fue l filler door
to open
¢ page 220, fig . 172 .
(J) Note
Only p ull on the loop until yo u feel res ist­
a nce . You w ill not hea r it release. Other­
wis e yo u could damage the eme rg ency re­
l ease mec hani sm .

222 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 175 Driver foo twell: release lever
AUD I
Fig. 176 Rocker switch un der the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged.
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow
¢ fig. 175.
.,. Raise the hood slightly¢,&. .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward ~
fig. 176. This releases the catch.
... Open the hood.
&_ WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood .
' 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 different fluids, there is a risk of injury, burns and accidents. To prevent per­
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
¢ ,&. .
/n.. WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition .
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com­
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm . The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant could spray out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
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.