2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER mileage

22 Driver in formation sy ste m
Service interval display
The service interval display reminds you when
your next service is due.
Fig. 8 Section of instr ume nt cluster : Service inte rva l
display
The schedule for the next oil change or inspec­
tion is calculated automatically and displayed
according ly. The display works in two stages :
Service rem inder
30 days before the next service is due, a serv­
ice reminder appears in the display when you
turn on the ignition.
After abo ut
S seconds the display sw itches
back to normal. The d istance and time re­
maining are updated eac h time the ignition is
turned on until the date due for service is reached .
Service due
When the due date for service is re ached , the
message
S erv ice due! appears in the instru­
ment cluster immediately after you tu rn on
the ignition. Additionally, a warn ing tone
sounds . After about
S seconds the display
switches back to normal.
Calling up th e servic e schedule s
If or when an oil change or inspection is due,
can be shown in the instrument cluster by se­
l ecting the service interval display . Select
C heck > Service > Oil chang e or Service by us­
ing the
! R ESE T I button and the rocker switch
c;,page25, fig.12.
Re setting the ser vice in te rv al di spla y
Your authorized A udi dealer w ill reset the cor­
responding service sched ule after perform ing the appropr
iate service on your veh icle. You
also have the possibi lity to reset the oil
change schedule after hav ing performed an
o il change according to Aud i specif ications.
- Switch the ignition on.
- Pull the knob
¢ fig . 8 . The message . Service
due!
appears .
- Pull the knob until the display
Oi l change in
----- mi ( km)·-- day s
appears. If the I RESET I
button is not pu lled w ithin 5 seconds, the
disp lay reset mode closes .
(D Note
If you disconnect t he battery term inals, no
ca lcula tions can be made for the service
i nterval disp lay during th is time and no
service reminder will appear. Remember
that observing the proper service intervals
i s vitally important to extending the life of
your vehicle, pa rticularly the engine, and
maintain ing its value . Eve n if the mileage
drive n is low, t he maximum period of one
year from one servi ce to the next m ust no t
be exceeded.
(D Tips
- Do not reset the display b etwee n oil
changes, othe rwise the disp lay w ill be in­
correc t.
- The information in the Service Reminder
remains stored eve n when t he vehi cle
ba ttery is disconnec ted.
On-Board Diagnostic
system (OBD)
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL )
The Ma lf u nction Indi cato r Lamp ( MIL) II is
part of the On- Board Diagnostic (OBD II) sys ­
tem.
T he wa rni ng lig ht illuminates when the re is a
malfunction in the engine elect ro ni c system .
A mal func tion may have va rious causes :
- The f uel f iller cap may be improperly closed
c;, page 166. ..,.

-There is a leak in the fuel vapo r recovery sys ­
tem .
- The eng ine control receives faulty vehicle
roadspeed signa ls.
Contact your nea rest au thori zed A udi dealer
for assis tance .
If the light illuminates , the catalyt ic converte r
could be damaged . Continue driving
with re·
du ced power
(avo id ing susta ined high speeds
a nd/or rap id acce lerations) and have the con­
d ition correc ted .
An improp erly closed fuel fi ller cap may also
cause the MIL li ght to i llum ina te
q page 166.
On-Board Diagnostics
Fig. 9 Loc atio n of Data Link Co nnec to r (DLC )
On-Board Diagnostics monitors the compo­
nents of your emission co ntrol system . Each
monitored component in your eng in e system
has been assigned a code. I n case of a mal­
fun ction, the component will be ide ntified
and the fau lt stored as a code in t he con tro l
mod ule memory .
I n o rder to make an a ccurate d iagnos is, the
stored d ata ca n only be di splayed using spe ­
cial diagnos tic eq uipment (gener ic s can tool
for OBD).
I n o rder to connect the special diagnosti c
eq uip ment, push the p lug into t he Data Link
Connector (D LC). The DLC is lo cated to the
righ t of the engine compartment lid release
q fig . 9 .
Your auth ori zed A udi dealer or a q ualified
service st ation can in terp ret the code and per ­
form the necessa ry repair.
Dr iver in formation system 23
A WARNING
Do not use t he d iagnost ic connector for
pe rsonal use. Inco rrect usage can cause
malfunctions, wh ich can increase th e risk
of a co llision!
Trip computer
Introduction
The trip computer gives you information on
current and average fuel mileage , average
spe ed, fuel range and driving time.
Fi g. 10 Tri p co mpute r 1
You can switch between the trip computer 1
and 2 by pressing the
! R ES ET I button @
qpage 24, fig . 11 .
You can te ll wh ich memory leve l is currently
active by the number in t he disp lay ¢
fig. 10 .
The data from the s ingle-trip memory (memo­
ry level 1) is being disp layed if a
1 appears in
the d isplay . If a
2 is shown, then the data
from the to tal -tr ip memo ry is being displayed
(memory level 2).
Single-trip memory (Trip computer 1)
The single-trip memory stores the tr ip infor ­
mation from the time the ig nitio n is turned on
u nt il it is turned off .
If the trip is cont inued
within 2 hours fr om the time the ignition was
turned off, the new data will be in cl ud ed in
the calculat io n of the current tr ip in forma­
tion . If the trip is interr upted fo r
more than 2
hours
the memory is reset automatically. .,..

24 Driver information system
Total-trip memory (Trip computer 2 )
Unlike the single -t rip memory, t he tota l-trip
memory is not rese t autom atically. This per ­
mits you to eval uate your d riving data for the
enti re pe riod between manual resets.
Fuel range
The e stima ted cruising ra nge in miles (km)
ap pears in the display. The disp lay ch anges in
increments of 6 miles ( 10 km) .
Average fuel mileage
The average fuel economy in MPG (l/ 100 km)
si nce you last clea red the memory appears i n
this displ ay .
Current fuel mileage
The instantaneous fuel consumption in miles
pe r gallo n (l/ 100 km) is shown in this d isplay .
When the ve hicle is stationary, the most r e­
cent fuel consumpt ion is di splayed.
Average speed
The average speed in mph (km/h) si nce the
last time the disp lay was reset appears in the
d isplay .
Elapsed time
The length of time that you have been driving
since you last reset the memo ry appears in
this display. The maximum time period that
can be recorded is 999 hou rs and 59 mi nutes.
Distance
The elapsed distance since the last time the
memory was clea red appears i n the display .
The maximum d istance that can be recorded
i s 9,999.9 m iles (9,999 .9 ki lometers) .
@ Tips
All stored values will be lost if the vehicle
battery is disc onnected .
Operation
The trip computer is controlled by two
switches on the windshield wiper lever .
----@
Fig . 11 W ipe r arm/w iper lever: co ntro ls for t he t rip
computer
Select ing the trip computer
.. Tap the I RESE T I button @ unti l the t rip
computer (memory level 1 or 2) appears in
the display
c:> page 23, fig . 10 .
Selecting the functions
., u,
8 ,;.
~
.. Push in t he up per (lower) protr usio n on t he
fu nction selector sw itch ®
c:> fig. 11 . The
functions fo r th e tr ip comp ute r are dis­
played in succession on t he respective mem­
ory leve ls.
Resetting the fun ction to zero
.. Push the I RESET ! button @ for at least two
seconds .
You can rese t the following values to zero:
- driving time
- d istance
- average fuel mileage
- average speed
T he tri p computer on ly operates whe n the ig­
nition is on. When you turn o n the ignition,
t h e function that was in use when you last
turned the ignition off wi ll be displayed .
(D Tips
-Yo u can also set the va lues for t he f unc ­
tions to zero in the me nu dis play
(Reset )
c:>page 25.
-All stored val ues will be lost if t he vehi­
cle battery is d isconnected .

150 Driving and en vironm ent
Driving and
environment
Break-in period
A new vehicle must be broken in, and the break-in per iod should be 1,500 miles (2,500
km) . Do not use full acceleration for the first
600 miles (1,000 km) and do not exceed the
maximum eng ine speed of 6,000 rpm You
m ust also not use fu ll acce lerat ion between
600 and 1,200 m iles ( 1,000 to 2,000 km).
Fr om 1,200 to 1 ,500 mi les (2,000 to 2,500
km), you can gradua lly increase maxim um en­
gine speed to 8,250 rpm for brief periods.
During the first ho urs of operation, there is
g reater friction in the engine and the trans­
mission than later when a ll the moving parts
have broken in.
The way yo u drive duri ng the first 1 ,500 miles
(2,500 km) affects engine quality. If you drive
at moderate engine speeds thereafter, partic ­
u lar ly when the engine is cold, yo u reduce en ­
gine wear and increase the potential mileage
of the engine.
Do not drive at RPMs that are too low. Shift
down when the engine is no longer running
"smoothly". Extreme ly high RPMs are gov­
erned automa tically.
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when dr iving t hrough water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body .
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed .
.&_ WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet b rake roto rs and pads. Dry
t he brakes fi rst by bra king carefully to re­
sto re the full braking effect .
-
(D Note
Vehicle components such as the eng ine,
transmission, suspension or e lectrical sys­
tem can be severe ly damaged by dr iv ing
through water .
@ Tips
-Check the depth of the water before d riv­
ing through it.
- Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
through water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi­
cle to drive through safely .
- Avo id driving through salt water because
it can cause corros ion.
Catalytic converter
You must use lead-free gasoline in your veh i­
cle, otherwise you will destroy the ca talyt ic
converter .
Never run the fuel tank completely dry; their­
regular fue l supply could cause misfires . This
allows unburned fue l into the exhaus t system,
poss ibly resulting in overheating and damage
to the catalytic converter .
.&_ WARNING ,-
-Do not park or operate the vehicle in
a reas where the hot exha ust system may
come in co nta ct with dry g rass, brush,
fue l spills or o ther material which can
cause a fire.
- Do not app ly addition al under coating or
r u stproofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con­
verter or heat shields . Dur ing driving, the
substance used for undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
To ensure efficient o peration of the Emis­
s ion Control System :

-Have you r vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec­
ommendat ions in your Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet.
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impair
the function of the Emission Control Sys­
tem and could lead to damage.
Sporty driving
Warming up and cooling down
By carefully warming up and cooling down
your vehicle, you can he lp ensure that it is not
overstressed unnecessarily during sporty driv ­
ing.
When warming up, the vehicle is driven at a maximum engine speed of 6000 RPM
(Vl0 engine) or 7000 RPM (V8 engine) in or­
der to raise the engine oil temperature to a minimum of 140 °F (60 °(). The tires also on­
ly reach their full road holding capability once
they have warmed up.
The cooling fan can continue to run in your ve­ hicle after the engine is switched
off. H owev­
er, driving the vehicle to cool it down is part ic­
ularly important. During sporty driving, the
engine and brakes, the exhaust system, and
the t ransm ission all become extreme ly hot.
Before you park the vehicle, you shou ld d rive
it for a few mi les/kilometers at light load in
the low rpm range to allow it to coo l down .
Driving on a track
Before you take your vehicle out on a track,
ensure that it is in perfect condition. For ex­
ample, you should check the tire tread and the brake pads . It is best to increase t ire pressure
by about 0 .3 bar .
When driving on a track, oil consumption may be somewhat higher than in "normal" opera­
tion
¢ page 17 4 .
You shou ld definitely inspect your vehicle af­
ter subjecting it to severe condit ions. Are the
brake pads OK? Is there anything unusual
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 151
about the ti res, including the inner and outer
sidewa lls (e.g . tread, blistering)? Are the air
intakes free of leaves and tire dust? Is the o il
l evel OK?
Your authorized Audi dea ler or qua lified work­
shop will be happy to undertake an inspection
before and after use on the race track.
_& WARNING
-
Some race tracks (e.g. steeply banked
turns) may affect the response of the ESC.
(D Tips
- Review the track requirements and con­
ditions before you start driving.
- When driven on a race track, all vehicle
parts are severe ly stressed. This can re­
sult in increased wear.
Operation and maintenance
Fuel economy, env ironmenta l impact, and
wear on your eng ine, brakes and tires la rgely
depend on three facto rs:
- your personal driving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitations
By havi ng your ve hicle reg ularly se rviced by an
a uthorized Aud i dea le r helps to ens ure that i t
runs properly and economica lly. The condition
of your vehicle not only affects its safety and
ability to ho ld its va lue, it a lso affects
f u el
consumption .
The amount of oi l used is re lated to engine
load and speed .
It is normal for the oil consump tion of a new
engine to reach its lowest value after a certa in
mileage has been driven.
You must drive your veh icle about 3,000 m iles
(5,000 kilometers) before yo u can p rope rly
assess oil consumpt io n.
Th is also app lies to fue l consumption and en-
gine o utp ut.
IJll>
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172 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 oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smoothly and reliably. Choosing the right oil
and changing oil within the time and mileage intervals printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to­
day than it did years ago. Audi has developed
a special quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine 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 available today provide better engine lu­ brication that can outlast traditional petrole ­
um-based oils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum­ based engine oil, the oil that you use must
conform to Audi's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to help keep your vehicle's engine running smoothly and help prevent the for­
mation of harmful deposits, sometimes called
"sludge," that over time can lead to expensive
repairs.
At the time of printing, engine oils available in
the U.S. and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oil standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils. This does not mean,
however, that every synthetic engine oil will
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00 . So always
be sure that you use an approved oil.
To help prevent the formation of harmful de­ posits use only oil with the following specifi­
cations printed on the oil container :
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
Oil container labels may carry the specifica­
tion singly or in combination with other desig­ nations and oil quality standards.
Viscosity
Engine oils are graded according to their vis­
cosity . The proper viscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on climactic or seasonal con­
ditions where you drive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SAE SW40 across all tem­
perature ranges for normal driving conditions.
However, if engine oil viscosity grade SAE
SW40 is not available, you can also use viscos­
ity grade SAE SW-30 or SAE OW-40 as long as
it meets Audi oil quality standard VW 502 00
specifications.
Because engine oil that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be available everywhere
when you need it, we strongly recommend
that you always carry with you an extra quart (liter) of oil that expressly 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 below the
minimum mark on the oil dipstick - and no oil
that expressly conforms to Audi oil standard
VW 502 00 specifications is available -may
you top off with a high quality engine oil, pref­
erably synthetic-based, that meets ACEA A3
or API SM specifications, but even then, only
in viscosity grades SAE SW-40, SAE SW-30, or
SAE OW-40. However, during the entire time
between oil change intervals, never top off
with more than a total of 1 qt/liter engine oil
that does not conform to Audi oil specification
vw 502 00.
For more information about engine oil that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dealer or
Audi Customer Relations at 1 (800) 822-2834 or visit our web site at www.audiusa.com or
www .audicanada .ca. Here you will also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
vw 502 00.
Changing the engine oil

The engine oil and oil filter must be changed
according to the mi leage (kilometers) and
time interva ls specified in your vehicle's War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
t hese intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine o il can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs .
Changing the o il at the recommended inter ­
vals is so very important because the lubricat­
ing properties of oil decrease gradually during
norma l vehicle use . If you are not sure when
you have your oi l changed, ask your author­
i zed A udi Service Advisor.
Under some circumstances the engine o il
should even be changed more frequently .
Change o il more often if you drive mostly
short distances, ope ra te the vehicle in dusty
areas or mostly under s top -and-go traffic con­
d itions, or when yo u use your vehicle whe re
temperatures stay below freezing point for
l ong periods.
D etergen t additives i n the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run ­
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfunction s due t o lack of
m aintenance
It is essen tial that you change your oil at the
r ecommended inte rva ls using only engine o il
that complies with A udi oil standard
VW 502 00 . Your Limited New Vehicle War ­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
d ue to fai lure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use req uirements as set forth in
t he Audi Owner's Manua l and Warranty
&
Ma intenance book let . Your authorized Aud i
deale r will have to deny warranty coverage un­
l ess you present to the dealer p roof in the
fo rm of Se rvice o r Repair Orde rs t hat all
sched uled main tenance w as performed in a
time ly manner .
Checkin g and fillin g 173
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts .
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cooling of interna l eng ine components, all in ­
te rnal combust io n engines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumpt io n va ries from
engine to engine and may change sig nifican tly
ove r the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a spec ified break -in pe riod (see
¢
page 150) consume more oil duri ng the
break-in pe riod than they consume afte r oi l
consumption has stabili zed.
U nder normal cond itions , the rate of oi l con ­
s u mption depends on t he q uality and viscos ity
of the oil, the RP M (revolut ions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road conditions. Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil dilut ion from water
condensa tion or fue l residue a nd the oxida­
tion level of the oi l. As any eng ine is subject to
wear as mileage builds up, t he oil co nsump­
t ion may incre ase over time until repla cement
of wo rn components may be come necessary.
With a ll these va riab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumpt io n can be es­
t a bl is h ed o r spe cified . There is no alte rnative
to regular an d frequent chec king of the o il lev ­
el , see
Note.
If the yellow engine o il level wa rning symbo l
i n the instrument cluster
Ill lights up, yo u
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 174 . Top off the oil at your ear liest
convenience
¢ page 174.
A WARNING
-Before you check anything in the engine
c o mpartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS¢
& in Working in the engine
compartment on pag e 169 .
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like-
-
ly to cause severe damage to the engine. Ill>-
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A
A/C operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Accessories .. ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 221
Active ro llover protection system . . . . . . . 99
Retract ing ro llover protection . .. .. .. .. 99
Add ing
Engine coolant . ....... ... .. .. .. ... 177
Engine oi l .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. .. ... 174
Addit io nal accesso ries ...... .. .. .. .. . 22 1
Addit ives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Ad justab le steer ing column . ... .. .. .... 70
Adj usti ng front seats ....... .. .. .. .. .. 59
Advanced Airbag System Ch ildren . .. ............. .... .. .. . 131
Components .. ........... .. .. .. ... 116
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
H ow the components work together . . 117
M oni toring . ................ ... ... 120
Weight-se nsing mat ...... .. .. .. .. . 13 1
Airbag War ning/ indicator lights . .. .. .. .. .. .. 14
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109, 128
Care ... .. .. .. .... .. .... ... .. .. ... 122
Child restra ints ........... .... .. ... 132
Components (front airbags) .. .. .. .. . 116
Danger of fitting a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1
Disposal . ................ ... ... .. 122
Fr ont airbags ............ .... .. ... 1 13
H ow do the front a irbags work? . .. .. . 118
H ow many airbags does my vehicle
have? ... .. .. .... .. .... ... .. .. ... 116
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system ....... .. .. .. .. . 126
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Indicator light ........... .. .. .. ... 120
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Mo nitor ing . ................ ... ... 120
P ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight .. ... .. 120
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2
Side airbags .. ........... .. .. .. ... 12 7
When mus t the system be inspected? . 120
Ai r cond itioni ng
A/C operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
A ir dist ribution ........... .. .. .. .... 67
A ir r eci rcula tion mode ..... .. .. .. .. .. 68
Automatic mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Inde x 223
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Defrost ... .. .. .... . ... ...... ... .. . 68
Econom ica l use . ... . .. ..... ... .. .. . 69
Fan ........ .. .. .................. 67
Rear window defogger . ............. . 69
Switching on and off ................ 67
T emperature ... .. .. . .. .... .... .. .. . 66
Air distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
A ir recircu lation mode
Air condi tioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
All -wheel drive .. .. .. ..... .......... 147
Winter tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
A lternator
refer to Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Anti-freeze
refer to Engine coolan t sys tem ... .. .. 175
Anti- lock b rake system
Warning/ind icator lights .......... .. . 16
Anti- lock braking system ......... .... 142
Anti -slip reg ulation . .. ... .... ... .. .. 142
Anti-theft ala rm system ......... .... .. 38
Anti-theft whee l bolts ........... .... 206
Ashtray .. .. .. .. .. .... ........... .. . 62
Asterisk ...... .. .... .. ........ ...... . 5
Audi magnet ic r ide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 75
Description . ... .... . ... ...... ... .. . 75
Ind icator light . .. ................. . 19
Audi Se rv ice Repair Manuals and Lit era-
ture .. ... .. .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .. 219
Automated manual t ransmission
refer to R tronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Automat ic be lt retractor ......... .. .. 104
A utomat ic car wash
refer to Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Automat ic head light . .............. .. 49
Auto Safety Hot line .................. 97
Ave rage fuel mileage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Average speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
B
Battery .... .. .. .. .. .. ........... .. 178
Charg ing .. .... .. ................. 180
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Disconnecting ... .. . .. .... .... .. .. 178
Low .... .. .. .. .. .. ............... 14 7
replacing .. .. .. .. .... ............. 181
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