2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER ECU

106 Safety belts
-A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c::> page 102.
Pregnant women must also be properly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fig. 118 Safe ty belt pos it io n durin g pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c::> page 1 OS.
.. Adjust the front sea t and head restraint cor­
rectly
¢ pag e 59, Seats and storage.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the che st so tha t it sits as low
as possible on the pelvis and there is no
pressure on the abdomen
c::> fig . 118 c::> .&_ .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 104, fig . 116.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent. -
Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c::> & in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 1 OS.
· Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
bu tton only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 119 Re leas ing the tong ue from the bu ckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
c::> fig. 119 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
c::> .&_ .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
-Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi-
cle is moving . Doing so will increase your
risk of being injured or killed.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se­ rious injury or death . Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body. Improper seating positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will
even
increase the risk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety belt to crit ical areas of the
body . Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death

138 Child Saf ety
will receive serious or possibly even fata l
injury .
I n o rder for the airbag to offe r protection, it is
important that all vehicle occ upants, especia l­
l y any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circ umstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
a irbag as poss ible. By keep ing room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com ­
p letely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal col lisions.
_& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
t er sea t imprope rly, incorre ct ly ins talling a
booste r seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of se ri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other eme rgency s ituation. To help re­
duce the risk of ser ious persona l injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the
center of the child 's collar bone as poss i­
ble and must lie and snug on the upper
body. It mus t never lie across the throat
o r neck . The lap belt must lie across the
pelvis and never across the stomach o r
abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat
and snug. Pull on the be lt to t igh ten if
necessary.
- F ailure to properly route sa fety belts
over a ch ild' s body will cause severe inju­
ries in an acc ident or other emergency
situation
<:!;,page 101.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on the
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
yo ur vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
-
struck by a dep loying a irbag . This will re­
sult in ser ious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because o f excep­
tional circ umstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght must come on and
stay on , whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, pe rform
the ch ecks descr ibed ¢
page 120, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
the ig nit ion is switched on the infla ting
ai rb ag w ill hi t the child sa fe ty seat or in­
fant car rier with g reat force an d will
smash the child sa fety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door or roof . Have
the airbag system inspected immed iately
by your Audi dea ler.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
¢ page 101, Safety
belts,
¢ page 109 , Airbag system and
r:!;, page 130, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the front passenger con be
locked with the convertible locking retractor
to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retracto rs
for the front passenger's seat safety belt have
a convertible locking retracto r for child re ­
stra ints . The safety be lt must be loc ked so
that be lt webb ing cannot unree l. The r etrac­
tor can be a ctivated to lock the safety belt and
prevent the s afety be lt webb ing from loosen­
ing up d uring norma l dr iv ing. A child safety
seat can only be properly insta lled when t he
safety belt is locked so that the chi ld and child
safety seat will stay in place. ..,.

168 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
• Pull the red loop in the direction of the ar­
row until the fuel filler flap opens
¢fig. 136 .
• Once the fue l filler f lap is open, secure the
cable on the crossmember again.
• Close the engine compa rtment lid
¢ page 170 .

1 7 0 Che cking and filling
(D Note
When adding fluids, a lways make sure that
they are poured into the proper container or filler opening, otherwise serious dam­
age to veh icle systems will occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regu larly . If
you see spots from oil or other vehicle flu­ ids, have your vehicle inspected by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
Releasing the engine compartment lid
The engine compartment lid is released from
inside the vehicle .
Fig. 137 Driver's side: releasing t he engine co mpart ­
ment lid
Requirement : The ignition must be switched
on.
... Make sure the rear spoiler is retracted
¢page 144 .
... Pull the button @. The eng ine compart­
ment lid opens slightly .
... Open the engine compartment lid
c> ,& .
A WARNING
-
Hot engine coo lant can burn you . To re­
duce the risk of being bu rned, never open
the engine compartment lid if yo u see or
hear steam or coolant escaping from the
eng ine compartment. Wait until no steam
or coolant can be seen or heard before
carefully opening the engine compartment
lid.
(D Note
To prevent damage to the vehicle, on ly
open the engine compartment lid when
the convert ible top storage bay lid is
closed.
(D Tips
An emergency re lease can be used if the
engine compartment lid cannot be re­
leased with the button
® ¢ page 171.
Closing the engine compartment lid
... Make sure that the rear spoiler is retracted
Qpage 144.
.,. Pull the eng ine compartment lid down unti l
the pressure from the struts is reduced .
... Press the engine compartment lid closed
Q&. .
A WARNING
A engine compartment lid that is not com­
plete ly latched could fly up and b lock your
view wh ile driving.
- When you close the engine compartment
lid, check it to make sure the safety catch
has properly engaged. The engine com­
partment lid should be flush with the
surrounding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while driving that the en­
gine compartment lid is not secured
properly, stop at once and close it.

182 Checking and filling
(D Note
- Your vehicle is equipped with a specia l
battery. Installing a different type of
battery can cause prob lems in the vehi­
cle electrical system. When replacing the
vehicle battery, always install one with
the same spec ificat ions as the original
battery .
- Make sure that the gas venting hose is
always connected to the o riginal open ing
on the battery side. Otherw ise gasses or
ba tte ry acid could leak out .
- Battery holder and term inals a lways
have to be secured cor rectly.
- Read and follow the warnings under
9 page 179, Working on the battery be­
fore performing any work on the batte ry.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author­
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you . Batteries contain sulfur ic ac id and
lead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance with a ll environmenta l
reg ulations. D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat­
tery ca nnot overbalance, otherwise sulfu­
r ic acid might escape!
Windshield washer
container
Fig. 147 Luggage compa rtment : W inds hield washer
fl uid reservo ir
The windshield washer container O is located
in the luggage compartment. You can find the
reservo ir capacity in the table in
¢page 218.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets . Always add a glass cleaner
solution (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.
- Do not use glass cleaners containing
pai nt so lvent; you risk damaging the
paint.

the wheel bolts. These are available from au­
thorized Audi dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi­
cle or installing them incorrectly can in­
crease the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes. Always make sure to follow the in­
structions provided by the snow chain
manufacturer .
- When driving with snow chains, never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
- Remove snow chains before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct con­
tact with the wheel rim, can scratch or
damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered . Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow chain manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­
hicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
Tires and wheels 199
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r:!> page 221.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of
control, a collision and serious personal in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ erly tightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
vehicle.
-Always maintain the correct tightening
torque for the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the wheel bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of ± 7 .4
ft lb( ± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bolts diago­
nally. After changing a wheel, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author­
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been selected specifically for your model for their superb performance, road feel
and handling under a variety of driving
IJ,,
•
•

Tightening wheel bolts
~ Fit the wheel bolt wren ch over the wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go
1l.
~ Close your gr ip around the end of the
wrenc h handle fo r maximum torque and
turn each whee l bolt
clockwi se u nti l it sits
t ight.
H ave the
tightening torque of the whee l bolts
checked as soon as possible with a torque
wrench. It shou ld be 120 Nm.
Chec k the
tir e pre ssure as soon as possible .
Return the vehicle tool kit to its proper place .
A WARNING
Loosening the wheel bo lts is prohib ited;
da nger of an accident!
@ Tips
- Never try and use the hexagona l socke t
i n the handle of the screwdr iver to loos­
en or tighten the w heel bolts.
- If yo u have dete rm ined t hat wheel bolts
a re cor roded and difficult to t urn, the
bo lts must be rep laced befo re checking
the to rque.
- Unti l the tig hte ning torque is checked,
d rive at redu ced speeds as a precaution .
Notes on wheel change
Please read the information ¢ page 193, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels ,
if you are
going to use a spare t ire which is different
from the tires on you r veh icle.
Afte r you change a tire :
- Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
diately after mounting.
- Have the wheel bolt t ightening torque
chec ked w ith a torq ue wrench as soon as
poss ib le by your author ized A udi dealer or a
qualified service sta tion .
1) You need t he appro pria te adapte r to t ig hte n th e an ti­
t h eft whee l bolt s
c:> page 206 .
What do I do now? 209
- With stee l and alloy wheel rims, the whee l
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm) .
- If you notice while changing a tire that the
wheel bo lts are corroded and difficu lt to
turn, then they shou ld be rep laced before
you check the tightening torque.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible . Remount the wheel cover.
Until then , d riv e with e xtra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
- If you are going to equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were facto ry installed, then be
sure to read the information ¢
page 193,
New tires and replacing tir es and
wheels.
- Always sto re the tools secu rely in lug­
gage compartment. Othe rwise, in a n ac­
cident o r su dden maneuver they cou ld fly
forwdrd, CciU5ing injury to pd55enger5 in
the vehicle.
(D Note
Do not use comme rcially avai lab le tire
sea lants . Otherwise, the e le ctr ic al compo­
nen ts of t he tire p ressu re monitoring sys­
tem * wi ll no longe r work proper ly and the
sensor fo r the tire pressure mon itor ing
system will have to be rep laced by a quali­
fied workshop.
Jump-starting
General
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engi ne should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
II>
•
•

Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper cable
clamps in exactly the order described below'
Fig . 160 Luggage co m pa rtme nt: connec tor s for a
ch arge r and jump start cab les
F ig . 161 Ju m p sta rt usin g t he batte ry in a not her ve hi­
cl e:
A -Fem ale so cket , B · Di scharge
The batte ry is located in the luggage compart­
ment
¢ page 179. The front lid can be opened
in an emergency
~page 37.
Do not connect the negat ive cable directly to
the negative termina l on the battery. Connect
it to a
j u mp start pin instead ¢ fig. 160.
Connect the posi tive cable (red) to the
positive t ermin al
1. Connect one end of the red jumper cable
¢ fig. 161 (D to the positive te rm inal of
d isc harged battery @.
2. Connect the other end of the red jumper
cable to the positive termina l@ of the
booster battery @.
Conn ect the negat ive cable (black ) to the
negati ve t erminal
3. Connect one end of the black jumper ca­
b le @ to the negative terminal of the
booster battery @.
What do I d o now ? 211
4. Secu re the other end to the jump start pin
@ for the discharged battery @.
Starting the engine
~ Sta rt the engine of the veh icle providing as­
sistance and al low it to run at idle.
~ Now sta rt the eng ine of the vehicle with the
discharged battery .
~ If the engine does not start: Stop trying af­
ter 10 seconds and then try again after
about 30 seconds.
~ Disconnect the cable while the engine is
running in exactly
reverse order to that de ­
scribed .
The ba ttery is vented to the ou tside to prevent
gases from entering the veh icle inter ior . Make
sure that the jumper clamps are well connect­
ed with their
metal parts in full contact with
the battery term inals .
.&, WARNING
To avoid serious person al injury and dam­
age to the veh icle, heed all warnings and
instructions o f the jumper cable manufac­
turer . If in doubt , call for road service.
- Ju mper cables m ust be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they canno t get caught in any
mov ing parts in the engine compart­
ment.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
¢ page 169, Working in the
engine compartment.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ru ­
in the generator .
- Always co nnect POSITIVE(+) to POSI ­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that all screw p lugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firm ly. If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega-
-
tive battery term inal. .,..