
Checking and filling Engine compartment
lid
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 the 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 ha zardous area!
¢ &. .
_&. WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any
thing under the engine compartment lid:
- Switch off the engine.
- Remove the ignition key.
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever of R tronic to "N"
(Neutral); put manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the engine compartment lid if you
see or hear steam or coolant escaping
from the engine compartment. Wait un
til no steam or coolant can be seen or heard before carefully opening the en
gine compartment lid.
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment .
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire.
- 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 .
Checking and filling 169
-If work on the fuel system or the electri
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or open flames . Fluids in the engine com
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately available .
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in
jury while the engine is running or being started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the engine running:
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever of R tronic to "N"
(Neutral); put manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact
ing hot parts. Tie back hair before
starting, and wear no clothing that will
hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards¢& .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- 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
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
•
•

184 Tire s and wheel s
-Ne ver mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo
ry. " Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those standard items which may be rep laced)
of R t ron ic, powe r stee ring, powe r brakes,
power w indows, power sea ts, r ad io, and hea t
e r, to the extent that these i tems are available
as facto ry -in stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio o f the he ight to the w idth of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means t he part of the tire that is made o f
steel wires, wr apped o r reinforce d by p ly co rds
and that is shaped to fi t the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
compo nents in the bead.
Cord means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means t he tire pressure recommended by the
ve hicle manufacturer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure i s measu red or adjusted. -
If you notice un usual vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam
age.
Curb weight
means the we ight of a motor ve hicle w it h
standard equipment includ ing the max imum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, a ir cond i
ti on ing and additional weig ht o f option al
equipmen t.
Extra load tire
means a t ire designed to operate at higher
loads and at highe r inflat ion p ress ures tha n
the cor responding standard tire. Extr a load
t i r es my be i dent ified as "XL" , "xl", "E XTRA
LO AD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ( "GAWR ")
means the load-carry ing capacity of a s ingle
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum tota l loaded we ight of
the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs .
Load rat ing (code )
me ans the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry fo r a given inflation press ure. Yo u
may not fi nd this information on all tires be
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the lo ad r ati ng fo r a tire a t the m axi
mum perm issib le inf lation pressure for that
ti re .

190 Tire s and wheel s
wheels you have to adjust t he tire pressures
on all w heels .
A WARNING
Incorrec t tire pressures and/or underinfla
t ion can lea d sudden tire failure, loss of
contro l, collision, ser ious personal injury
or even death.
- When the warning symbo l
RI] appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the tires .
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla
t io n can cause increased t ire wear and
can affect the handling of the ve hicle and
stopp ing ability .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin fla tion can also lead to sudden tire fa il
ure, incl uding a blowo ut and sudden de
fla tion, causing loss of vehicle control.
- T he d river is responsible for the cor rect
t ire pressures fo r all tires on the vehicle .
T he ap plic a b le p ress ure v alues are locat
ed on a st ic ker on the drive r's side 8-pil
lar.
- O nly when all t ires on the vehi cle ar e fi l
led to the correct pressure, the tire pres
sure monitoring system can wor k co r
rect ly .
- Th e use of incorrect tire pressure values
can lead to accidents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver
observe the specif ied tire pressure va lues
for the tires and the correct pressures for
the funct ion of the tire pressure mo nitor
ing system .
- Always inflate tires to the recommended
and correct tire pressure befo re drivi ng
off .
- Driv ing with under inflated tires bend
more, lett ing them get too ho t res ulting
in t read separation, sudden t ire fail ure
and loss of control.
- Excess ive speed and/ove rloading can
cause heat bui ld-up, sudden t ire fa ilu re
and loss of control.
- If the t ire pressur e is too low or too high,
the ti res w ill wea r pre matu rely a nd the
vehicle will not h and le we ll. -
If the tire is not flat and you do not have
to change a wheel immediately, drive at
red uced speed to the nearest service sta
tion to check the t ire pressure and add
air as req uired.
(D Note
Driving without valve stem caps can ca use
damage to the tire valves. To prevent this,
a lways make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps o n all whee ls are sec urely
mounted o n the valve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires w ill also increase the
fuel consum ptio n.
Tires and vehicle load limits
T he re a re lim its to the amount of load o r
weight tha t any veh icle a nd any tire can ca rry .
A vehi cle that is overloaded will no t handle
well and is mo re d iff icu lt to stop . Ove rloading
can not only lead to loss of vehicle control,
but can also damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire fa ilure, in
clud ing a b lowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the vehicle to cras h.
Your safety and that of your passengers also depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everything in and on the veh icle . These
load lim its are technically referred to as the
vehicle 's
Gro ss Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the weight of the basic
vehicle, all facto ry installed accessor ies, a full
tank of fuel, o il, coolant and other fluids plus
max imum load . T he max imum load includes
t h e nu mbe r of p assenge rs t hat the vehicle is
i n tended to c arry ("seat ing c apac ity") wi th an
ass umed we ight of 150 lbs . (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating position
and the total weight of any luggage in the ve -
hicle. ..,_

198 Tire s and wheel s
equip a ll four wheels on your vehicle with cor
rectly fitted winter tires or all-season tires,
when winter road conditions are expected .
This a lso improves the vehicle's braking per
formance and reduces stopping distances.
Summer tires provide less grip on ice and
snow.
W inter t ires (snow t ires) must always be fitted
on all four whee ls .
Compat ible tire pressure mo nitor ing sensors
must be installed on all fo ur winter tires for
the tire pressure monitoring system to func
tion proper ly
i=;, poge 195 .
Ask your autho rized Aud i dea ler o r qualified
wo rkshop fo r permitted
winter tir e size s . Use
on ly radia l w inte r tires .
W inter t ires lose the ir effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of 0.157 inch
(4 mm) .
Only drive with wi nter tires under winter con
d itions . Summer tires hand le better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °C).
Please always remembe r that w inte r tires may
have a lower speed rating than the t ires origi
na lly installed on your veh icle at the t ime i t
was manufactured. Please see
r=;, page 194 ,
Speed roting (letter code) for a list ing of the
speed rating letter codes and the maximum
speed at which the tires can be driven.
The speed ra ting lette r code
(i=;, poge 185) is
on the s ide wall of the tire
i=;, poge 193.
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than your vehicle's max
im um speed . Always know the maxim um
speed before driving off. Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
w inte r tires . This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
personal in ju ry to you and yo ur passen
gers.
A WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your veh icle
were designed can cause t ire failure in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation,
l oss of cont ro l, crashes and ser ious per
sonal injuries. Have wo rn o r damaged ti res
r eplaced immedia tely.
- W inte r ti res have maxim um speed rating
tha t may be lower than your vehicle 's
maximum speed.
- Never drive fas ter than the speed for
which the win ter or othe r ti res installed
on yo ur vehicle are rated.
A WARNING ~
A lways ad just your driving to the road and
traffic condit ions. Never let the good ac
celeration o f the winter tires and a ll-wheel
drive tempt yo u into taking extra risks. Al
ways remember:
- When braking, an all-wheel drive veh icle
handles in the same way as a front drive
veh icle.
- Drive carefully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even w inter t ires
cannot help under black ice conditions .
~ For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather condi
tions permit. They are qu ieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumpt ion.
Snow chains
-
Snow cha ins may be fitted only to the rea r
whee ls, and o nly to certa in tire sizes . Ask your
autho rized Aud i dea le r o n whi ch t ire si zes
snow c hains ca n be used.
T he snow chains must have low-p rofile links
and must not be t hicker than 0 .53 inch
(13 .5 mm), in cl ud ing the lo ck.
Remove wheel center covers before putt ing
snow c ha ins on your vehicle
r=;, @ . For safety
reasons cover caps must then be f itted over

218 Data
Dimensions
I
Length (with license plate bracket)
W idth
W idth (across mirrors)
He ight (unloaded)
T ur ning circle diameter (curb to curb) RB Spyder 4.2
quattro
4 434 mm (ap
prox . 174.6 in)
1 9 04 mm (app rox . 7 5. 0
i n)
2029 mm (ap
prox. 80.0 in)
1244 mm (ap
p ro x. 49.0 in)
1 1.80 m (ap
prox . 38. 7
ft)
When dr iv in g up steep ramps, on rough roads,
ove r curbs, e tc. it is impo rt a nt to remembe r
that some parts o f your ve hicl e, such as spoil
e rs or exhaust sys tem components, may be
close to the ground . Be ca reful not to damage
them.
T his applies espe cially to ve hicles w ith a low
chassis (sports chassis) an d when the vehicle
is fully loade d.
Capacities (approx.)
Fuel tank
RB RB
Spyder Spyder
4.2 5 .2
quattro quat- tro
Total capacity ga l/ 21.1/8 21.1/8
li ters
0 0
Reserve (of tota l
gal/ 2 .6/10 2 .6/10
capacity) liters
Windshield washer system Winds hield wash -qua rts app rox. 4.2/4.0
er fluid /liters RB Spyder 5
.2
quattro
4 434 mm (ap
prox. 174.6 in)
190 4 mm (approx. 75. 0 i n)
2029 mm (approx. 80.0 in)
1
1244 mm (approx. 49.0 in)
11.80 m (appro x. 38. 7
ft)

226 Index
Eng ine
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 5
Eng ine compartment lid ... .. .. .... . 170
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70, 71
Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
E ng ine compartment .. ... .. .. ... ... . 17 1
Safety instructions ..... ... .. .. .... . 169
E ng ine compartment lid
C losing ...... ........... .. .. .... . 170
Release lever .......... .. .. .. .. .. . 170
Eng inecoolantsystem ............... 175
Malfunct io n .................. ..... 15
Tempe ratu re ga uge .................. 9
Eng ine data ........................ 217
E ng ine oil ... .. . .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 17 2
Adding ..... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 174
Additives ... ... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 174
Check ing the eng ine o il level . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Dry sump lubrication ............... 149
Indications and condit ions req uiring ex-
tra check ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
o·t t· 1 consump 10n .... ...... .. .. .. .. . 173
O il grades .. .......... ...... ... .. . 172
Specif ication and vi scos ity ... ... .. .. . 17 2
T empe ratu re d ispl ay ................. 8
Eng ine oil level ................. ..... 18
Engine oi l pressure (malfunction) ... .. . . 14
E ng ine o il sensor defective .. .. .. .. .. . . 18
Eng ine speed limitat ion ..... .. .. .... .. 17
E nvi ronment
Cata lytic conve rter ..... ... .. .. .... . 150
Fu el . .. .... ... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 166
Un leaded fuel .............. .. .... . 164
E PC
refer to Electronic power control . . . . . . 17
ESC (Elec tronic S tability Control)
War ning/ indica to r lights ....... .. .... 16
Event Data Recorder ( EDR) ... .... .... . 142
E xha ust tail p ipes
C leaning .... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 15 8
E xp ansion ta nk .. .... ...... .. .. .. .. . 176
E xterior mirrors
Ad justing .. .. . .......... .. .. .... .. 57
o· . 1mming ... ............... ...... .. 56
H eating .. ................. ...... .. 57
F
Fan ... ... .. .... .. ... .. .. ..... ... .. . 67
Fasten ing
Boos ter seats .. .. .. ........ ...... . 137
Co nvertib le child safety seats ........ 136
Infan t se ats ... .. ... .......... .... 135
Flat bed truck ..... .......... ....... 212
Flat tire Changi ng ..... .. .... ...... ... .. .. 206
Floo r ma ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Folding top
Care and cleaning . ................. 156
Foot peda ls ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 96
F o r th e sake of the envi ronment
Gasoline fumes and the e nvir onme nt .. 166
L etting your eng ine warm up . ... .. .. . 71
Ref ueling ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. 166
Front a irbags
Des cription .. .. .. ... .......... .. .. 113
How they wor k ................ .... 118
Frontal collis io ns and the laws of phys ics 103
Front lid
Emergency release .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 37
light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Power locking system .......... ..... 37
Trunk escape handle ... ....... ... .. 203
F ront passenger
refer to Seating position . . . . . . . . . 92, 93
F ron t seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Childrest rain tsinthefrontseat ......
111
Front towing loop .................. . 212
Fuel Additives ......................... 164
B lended gaso line .............. .... 164
Current fuel mileage ................ 24
Filler neck ... .. .. .. ... ....... ... .. 16S
Fuel supply too low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Gasoli ne addit ives ................ . 165
O ctane rat ing .. .. ... .......... .... 164
Recommendation .............. .. .. 164
Ref ueling ..... .. ... .. ..... .... . .. 166
Reserve ... .... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 10
Tank capac ity .... ... .. ..... ... .. .. 217
Unlocking the fuel fi ller flap by hand .. 167
F uel gauge . .. .. .. ............. .... . 10
Fuel range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

230 Index
Safety belt position Safety belts worn by pregnant women 106
Safety belt pretens io ner
Service and disposal .... .. .. .. .. .. . 107
Safety belts Cleaning . .. .......... ...... ... .. . 162
Danger to passengers who do not wear a
safety belt ............ .. .. .. .. .. . 104
F astening .... ........... .. .. .... . 104
General notes ............ .. .. .. .. . 101
I mproperly worn .......... ... .... . 106
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Pretensioners ................ .... . 107
Safety belt position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Securing child safety seats ....... .. . 138
Special cons iderations for pregnant
women .. .. ................ ... ... 106
Unfasten ing ........... .. .. .. .. .. . 106
Warn ing/ indicato r light ...... .. .... . 101
Why you must wear them .. .. .. .. .. . 102
Worn properly ............ ... .... . 102
Safety belt warn ing light ........ .. .. .. 14
Safety compliance sticker ..... .. .. .. . 215
Safety equipment ........ .. .. .. .. .. .. 91
Safety features for occupant restraint and protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Safety guidelines Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Safety instructions For using chi ld safety seats .......... 133
F or using safety belts .............. 102
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem ... .. ................. .. .... . 122
Seat adjustment Driver's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Fr ont passenger's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Power seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Safety guidelines ..... .... .. .. .. .. .. 59
Seating capacity ............ ... .... . 101
Seating position
Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Fr ont passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
I ncorrect seat position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Seats
Number of seats
101
Selector lever
Defective ... .. .. ............. .. .. . 19
Serv ice
Airbag system ... ..... ........... . 122
Service and disposal Safety be lt pretensioner ........ .... 107
Serv ice interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Service position for windshield wipers .. . 55
Set menu ....... .. ................ .. 26
Setting the t ime ... ... .......... .. .. .. 9
Side airbags Descrip tion .... .. ... .......... .. .. 127
How they work . .. .......... ...... . 128
Side marker lights ................. .. 49
Snow cha ins .. .. . .. ............ .. .. 198
Socket . .... .... ................... . 62
Sound system display ................. 21
Sources of information about child re-
stra ints and their use . ........... .. .. 141
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Speed rating letter code .............. 194
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Spoi ler ............................ 144
Starting on hills
Hill hold assist ... ............. .... . 73
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Steering column Adjusting ..... .. ............. .... . 70
Locking the steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Steps for determining correct load limit . 191
Stopping the eng ine ..... ........... .. 72
Storage ... ..... .. .. .............. .. 62
Sun visors .. .. .. .. .... ......... .... . 53
Symbols Red symbols in the center display ...... 11
Yellow symbols in the center display .. . 12
also refer to Warning/Indicator lights .. 11
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Tank flap Unlocking the fuel filler flap by hand .. 167
T echnical modifications ........ .. .. .. 221