2011 AUDI S8 Owners Manual

A WARNING
-=
-The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot . Reduce the risk of
scald ing from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn
off the engine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in a counter-clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spi ll an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certa in
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en­
g ine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its original container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess cool­
ant w ill be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
Q page 229 must be re­
stored as soon as possible.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while obse rv­
ing all environmental regulations.
Checkin g and fillin g
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
The rad iator fan is dr iven by the engine via the
V-belt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan according to the temperature of the
coolant .
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and
off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operat ing cond it ions .
After you switch the engine
off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes - even with the ignition
off. It can even switch
on again later by itself
Q &., if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal in jury nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant reaches a certa in temperature and w ill
continue to ru n until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
231
•
•

232 Checking and filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance .
Fig. 181 Engine compartme nt: markings on the brake
flu id reservoir
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 222.
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 181. The brake fluid
level must be between the "MIN" and
" MAX " markings .
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
c:::,page224 .
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads . T hi s is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light. (U.S. models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on ¢
page 14. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle . The complete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied facility and the cause corrected.
If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light will illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
t he water content in the brake fluid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the
brake fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years . Always use new brake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake fluid is poisonous. It must be stor­
ed only in the closed original container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can result from old or inap­
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of brake fluid is also indicated on the
brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
long . This can seriously affect the effi­
ciency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This could result in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle.

@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposa l
of brake fl uid as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have t he brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte ­
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ive s we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by a service fa­
cility . The electrolyte level shou ld a lso be
checked each time the battery is charged
¢ page 235.
Have the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . Yo u are well adv ised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
b attery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system for safety reasons¢.&.
in Re ­
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 159.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu­
lators , for example) are lost if the battery ter­
m inals a re d isconnected. These func tions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry term inals a re
connected agai n. T o prevent this , the bat tery
should only be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec tric al system when absolu tely necessa ry
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive you r vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical compo­
nen ts are gr adually cut b ack o r swi tched off .
This redu ces energy cons umption and main­
tains starting capab ility over a longer per io d
¢ page 195.
Be aw are tha t when you unlock yo ur vehicle ,
some of the conven ien ce f unct ions may no t
Checkin g and fillin g 233
opera te , such as the Conven ience key*, the re­
mote control or the power seat adjustment .
T he convenience functions will be ava ilab le
again when you switch on the ign ition and
start the eng ine.
Winter operat ion
D uring the w inte r mon ths, bat tery capacity
tends to dec rease as temperatures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed wh ile
starting, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary powe r consum ptio n, pa r­
ticu lar ly in city traffic or when traveling only
short distances. Let your autho riz ed Audi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat­
te ry before w inter sets in¢
page 235 . A well
c h arged battery will not on ly prevent s tarti ng
problems w hen the weather is cold, but wi ll
also last longer.
(D Tips
If you r vehicle is left s tandi ng for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle ba ttery s hould be removed an d
s to red w here i t w ill not fr eeze . T his w ill
p revent it from be in g damaged and having
to be replaced.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the bat tery.
T he battery is lo cated in the l uggage compa rt­
ment unde r the floo r. B efo re you che ck a ny­
thi ng in the luggage com partmen t,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ .&, .
Alw ays heed t he safety warning s, when work­
ing on the vehicle b atte ry or the vehicle e lec -
t rical system to prevent i njury. .,..
•
•

234 Check ing and filling
Th e following WARNINGS are very
impo rtant when w ork ing on the b att ery :
Alwa ys hee d the fo llo w ing WARNING SYM ­
BOLS and safety precaution s when working
o n the battery .
®
@
®
Always w ear eye prot ection.
Batter y acid cont ain s sulfu ric acid.
Alwa ys wear glo ves and e ye p rote c­
tion.
No
• sparks
-flames
- smoking.
When a batt ery is charged, it produ ­
ces hydrog en ga s whi ch i s e xplo sive
a nd could cau se p ers on al injury .
Always keep the battery well out of reach of children .
.8, WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the r is k of
inju ry, acc ident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wea r eye protection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead particles get on
yo ur skin or clothing. Shield your eyes.
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury .
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye p rotection .
Do not tilt the battery because ac id
could lea k out of the vent ilation open ­
ings.
- I f you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your sk in , immediately rinse with
cold water for severa l m inutes and get
medical attention.
- If you should ingest any battery acid ,
seek medical attention immediately .
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke. -
Do not interchange the positive and neg­
ative cables.
- When working on the battery, be s ure
not to short-circu it the terminals with
too ls or other metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion and pe rsonal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal in jury.
-Always keep the battery well out of the reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negat ive ground ca­
b le .
- Before performing any work on the e lec ­
tr ical system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
m ust be disconnected.
If yo u are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights .
- Before disconnec ting the bat tery, switch
off the anti -theft alarm system! Other ­
wise you wi ll set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, f irst
disconnect the negative cab le and then
the positive cab le .
- Before reconnecting the batte ry, ma ke
sure all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch­
ed off . Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable . Never inter­
change the cables - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery . It could exp lode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dis­
charged batte ry can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 °() .
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the s ide of the bat­
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al­ ways rep lace a damaged battery .

_& WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- 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
t ive p roblems. Wash hands afte r han­
dling.
(D Note
- Do not d isconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en­
gine is running, otherwise, you will dam­
age electron ic components in the elect ri­
c al system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
l ong pe riod of time wi thout bei ng d riven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
erwise it wil l be damaged and w ill then
have to be replaced.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
F ig . 182 Eng ine compartment : connecto rs for a cha rg ­
er and jump sta rt cab les
Alway s read and h eed all WARNINGS be low
¢ &. and
¢&. in Working on the ba ttery on
page 234.
• Switch off the ignit ion and a ll electrica l con­
s u mers.
• Make sure the are a is well vent ilated when
you charge the battery.
• Open the engine hood
¢page 222.
• Remove the cover @ by press ing on the ar­
row ¢
fig. 182.
Checkin g and fillin g 235
• Open the cover @on the pos itive termina l.
• Connect the charge r co nnectors according to
the instruct ions to the
jump sta rt bolts.
(Bo lts under the red cover= "positive", Bo lts
w ith hex head= "negative").
• On ly now plug the mains lead for the charg­
ing equ ipment into the wall outlet and turn
iton ¢_& .
• Make sure the charging rate is not over
30 amp s/14.8 V olt .
• W hen the battery is fully charged: T urn the
charging equipment off and remove the
mains lead from the wall out let.
• Now remove the clamps for the charging
equipment.
• Close the red cover on the positive pole.
• Close the hood ¢
page 223.
A discharged battery can freeze at tempera­
tures of only 32 F
0 (0 °C). Allow a frozen bat­
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
charge it ¢ Ii::,. . However, we recommend not
us ing a thawed batte ry aga in because the bat­
te ry casing can be c racked due to i ce fo rma­
t ion and can leak ba ttery a cid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate
of 30 amps /14.8 Volt )
When charg ing at low vo ltages (e.g. wi th a
trickl e charger ), the batte ry cables do no t
have to be dis conne cted firs t. T he bat tery
caps should
not be opened when charg ing a
batte ry .
It is no t necessa ry to remove the battery from
t he luggage compartmen t, a nd it is a lso not
necessary to d isconnect the cab les.
Fast charging the battery (charging rate
above 14 .8 Volts)
Fo r tec hni cal re asons do not use a battery
c h arger that uses voltage g reater than 14.8
Volts to charge yo ur vehicle's battery.
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangero us.
- Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manu ­
facturer when charging your battery.

236 Checking and filling
-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 f lame or elec­
trical spark . Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is exp losive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables
wh ile the charger is operating.
- Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe­
tent technician with the proper equip­
ment.
- Battery acid that may spill during charg­
ing should be washed
off with a solution
of warm water and bakin g soda to neu­
tralize the acid.
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will se riously dam­
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc., as we ll
as the battery charger .
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi­
cations and dimensions as the original equip­
ment battery.
I ntell igent energy management in your vehi­
cle is respo nsible for distributing the electr i­
cal energy throughout your vehicle
c::> page 195. The intelligent energy manage­
ment system wi ll keep the engine battery
charged better than vehicles without this sys­
tem. To make sure the additional electrical en­
ergy is available once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you install batte ries of the same type and man u­
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi- cations are listed on the
battery housing. Your
authorized dealer must code the battery in
the energy management system to enab le you
to use the energy management functions cor­
rectly after replacing the battery.
T he new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12 volts), amperage, construction and plug sealing .
When installing the battery, make sure the ig ­
nition and all electrical consumers are switch­
ed off.
(D Note
Make sure the ventilation hose on the side
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery acid can leak out .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author­
i zed Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfuric acid and
lead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance with a ll environmental
regulations. Disposing of veh icle batter ies
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment .
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fig. 183 En g in e compa rtm ent: w indshi eld washe r flu ­
i d reservo ir
T he washer fluid conta iner is marked w ith the
symbol~ on its cap .
.,. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all

WARNINGS ¢ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment an page 222.
~ Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu­
id. You can fill the container to the top.
~ Press the cap back onto the filler neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservoir
capacity in the table
in¢
page 282.
Clean water sho uld be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. Always add a glass cleaner solu­
tion (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.
Checking and filling 237
•
•

238 Tir es and whee ls
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle. Tires are,
however, one of the most important parts of a
vehicle, particularly considering the compara ­
tive ly small patch of rubber on each tire that
assures that a ll-important contact between
you, your vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire pressure, mak ing
sure that your vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry more weight than they can safe ly han­
d le, avoiding damage from road hazards and
reg ularly inspecting t ires for damage includ­
ing cuts, slashes irregu la r wear and ove rall
condition are the most important things that
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire failure in­
cluding tread separat ion and blowouts.
A voidin g damage
If you have to drive over a curb or similar ob­
stacle, drive very s low ly and as close as possi ­
b le at a right angle to the curb.
A lways keep chem icals includ ing grease, oil,
gasoline and b rake fluid off the tires.
Inspect the tires regularly for damage (cuts,
cracks or b listers, etc.). Remove any fo reign
bod ies embedded in the treads.
St oring tire s
Mark tires when you remove them to indicate
the direction of rotation . Th is ensures you to
be ab le to mount them correctly when you re­
install t hem.
When removed, the wheels or t ires should be
stored in a cool, d ry and preferably dark place .
Store tires in a vertical position if they are not mounted on rims, in a horizontal pos it ion if
they are mounted on rims.
N ew tire s
New tires have to be broken in¢&,. .
The tread depth of new t ires may vary, accord­
ing to the type a nd make of t ire and the tread
pattern .
Hidden damag e
Damage to tires and r ims is often not readily
vis ible . If you notice unusual v ibrat ion or the
vehicle pulls to one s ide, th is may ind icate
t h at one of the t ires has been damaged . T he
t ir es must be checked immed iate ly by an au­
thorized Aud i dea le r or q uali fied wor kshop.
Unidirection al t ire s
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar­
rows on the sidewall, that po int in the direc­
t ion the t ire is designed to rotate. You must
fol low the specified direction of rotation . This
is necessary so that these tires can develop
their optimum characteristics regarding grip,
road noise, wear and hydrop laning resistance.
For more information ¢
page 267.
A WARNING
-New tires or tires that are old, worn or
damaged cannot provide maximum con­
trol and braking ability .
-
-New tires tend to be slippery and must
be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing
control, a co llision and ser ious personal
in ju ries, d rive w ith special ca re for the
fi rst 350 m iles (560 km).
- Driving with worn or damaged tires can
lead to loss of control, sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de­
flation, c rashes and serious personal in­
juries . Have worn or damaged tires re­
p laced immediate ly .
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith specia l care and at low
speed.