2011 AUDI S8 engine

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

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.

-Never smoke or work near heate rs or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com­
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im­
mediately ava ilable.
- To avoid elect rical shock and persona l in­
jury while the engine is running or be ing
started, never touch:
- I gnition cables
- Othe r components of the high voltage
e lectronic ignition system.
- If you must pe rform a check or repair
with the engine running:
- F irst, fully apply the pa rking brake,
move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hai r from get­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact­ ing hot parts. T ie back hair before
starting, and do not wear cloth ing that
will ha ng or droop into the eng ine.
- Min imize exposure to emission and
c h emical hazards
c:> &,.
A WARNING
California Propos ition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certai n veh icle components co nta in
or em it chemicals known to the State of
Californ ia to cause cancer a nd b irth d e­
fects a nd rep roduct ive ha rm. In addi tion,
c e rta in fluids cont ained in vehicle s and
c ertain p rod ucts of component wear con­
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of Ca lifo rnia to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac ­
cessories contain lead and lead com-
Checkin g and fillin g 223
poun ds, c hemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
([) Note
When adding fluids, always make su re that
they are poured into the p roper conta iner
or fi ller opening, otherwise serious dam­
age to vehicle systems w ill occur .
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect lea ks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regular ly. If
you see spots from oil or other veh icle flu­
i ds, have you r vehicle inspected by an au­
thorized Audi dea ler.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressure from
t he st ruts is reduced.
.. Let the hood
drop down a nd l atc h in pla ce.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en­
gage ~ A_.
A WARNING
-
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and block your view while dr iv­
i ng.
- When you close the engine hood, chec k it
to make sure t he safety catch has prope r­
ly engaged. The hood shou ld be flush
with the surround ing vehicle body parts .
- If you notice while driv ing that the hood
is not secured prope rly, stop at once and
close it. •
•

224 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig . 177 Typ ical layout for conta iners a nd eng ine o il filler cap
(D W indshield/head light washer
t . (?::..) con
amer ~ .... ... . ... .. . 236
@ Jump start point(-) with hex
h ead screw, ................
235, 273
@ Jump start point(+) unde r a cov-
e r, . ...... .... ......... .. .
23 5, 273
© Eng ine oi l filler cap ('t::r.) . . . . . 227
® B rak e fluid reservo ir ((0)) . . . . . 232
® Coolant expansion tank (J-) . . . 229
0 Power steering reservoir . . . . . . 194
The engine oil filler neck (item@) may be lo­
cated in a d ifferent area depending on the ver­
sion of the engine .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WAR NINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 222.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
T he eng ine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi ­
cations . Th is engine needs the right k ind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and v iscosity so that it can run
smoothly and reliab ly . Choosing th e right o il
and changi ng oil within the t ime and mileage
in tervals prin ted in you r vehicle's Warr anty
&
Maintenan ce booklet matte rs a lot more to­
day tha n it did years ago . Audi has develope d
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that you r vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs for proper opera-
t ion. ..,.