2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER headlights

8 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overv iew of the inst rument cluster
(D Eng ine oil temperature . . . . . . . 8
@ Tachometer with time and date
display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 9
® Warning/indicator lights . . . . . 11
© Coolant temperature gauge . . . 9
® Fuel gauge........... .... .. 10
@ Speedometer w ith odometer . . 10
(i) Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
@ Set/Check button . . . . . . . . . . . 9
® Driver information display . . . . 21
@ I RESET ! button for trip odome-
ter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The illumination for the instrument cluster
lights up whenever you switch on the ignition
with the
vehicle headlights off. The gauges
are also illuminated when the lights are
turned on.
Engine oil temperature display
The engine oil temperature display Q page 8,
fig. 3 only operates with the ignition on . To
prevent engine damage, please observe the
following important points concerning the
temperature ranges.
Cold range
If the needle is at the bottom of the gauge,
the engine oil has not reached operat ing tem­
perature yet . Avoid high engine speeds, full
throttle applicat ions and heavy engine loads .
Normal range
The engine has reached operating tempera­
ture when the needle moves into the center of
the gauge under normal driving conditions .
The needle may move higher on the gauge
with heavier engine load at high outs ide tem­
peratures. This is not a cause for concern as
long as the . indicator light in the display
does not flash.
Warning light .
If the symbol . in the display flashes, ei­
ther the engine oil temperature is too high or
the engine o il level is too low
Q page 174 .
If
the needle is well in the upper area of the
gauge, the engine oil temperature is too high .
Stop the vehicle, switch the engine off and
allow it to cool.
If the warning l ight comes on
again after driving a short distance, contact
an authorized Audi dea ler.

12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
Safety belt
•
Check engine oil level
¢page 14
¢page 18
ii
Generator./
Engine oil sensor malfunction
¢page 14
¢page 18 '
D
Engine oil pressure too low
•
Battery voltage too h igh or too low
¢page 14
¢page 18
Engine coolant level too low/
II
Low fuel level
engine coolant temperature too
¢page 18
high¢ page 15
m
Windshield washer fluid level low
Yellow indicator lights ¢ page 18
Yellow symbols indicate a priority 2 ma lfunc-
~:)
Defective light bulb
tion -Warning!
¢page 18
11
Convertib le top ope ration
•
USA model s: Defective brake light
¢page 15
¢page 18
I]
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) ./
6
Canada models: Defective brake
¢page 16 light¢ page 18
-
I
Electronic Stab ility Control (ESC) ./
m
Light/rain sensor defe ctive (a utomat-
¢ page 16 ic headlights)* defective ¢ page 19
~ USA models: anti-lock brake system
(ABS) ./ defective ¢ page 16
B
Audi magnetic ride
¢page 19
•
Canada model s: anti-lock brake sys-
E
Rear spoiler./
tern (ABS)./ de fec tive ¢
page 16
¢page 19
•
Worn brake pads
~
USA model s: Speed warning 1
¢page 17
¢page29
g
Tire pressu re too low
•
Canada models : Speed warning 1
¢page 201
¢page29
I Tire pressure monitoring system
~
USA models: Speed warning 2 111115' 200
¢ page
¢page29
rm
Electronic power con trol ./
Canada models : Speed warning 2 ¢page 17
•
¢page29
B
USA models: Malfunction Indicator
Lamp (MIL)¢
page 17 Selector lever defective*
No reverse gear*
g
Canada models: Ma lfunction lndica-¢page 19
tor Lamp (MIL) ¢ page 17 ffl;O Clutch is overheating*
.,
Engine speed limitation* ¢page 19
¢page 17
R
Gearbox malfunction*
¢page 19

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 19
Contact your authorized Audi dealer for assis­
tance if necessary.
@ Tips
The brake light switch is only inspected as
pa rt of the functional check after the en ­
gine is started.
@ Light/rain sensor defective
Applies to vehicles: with automatic headlights
The indicator light indicates a defect in the
automatic headlights/automatic wiper sys ­
tem.
If the symbol illum inates, the light sensor has
failed. For safety reasons, the low beams are
turned on permanently with the switch in
AU­
TO. However, you can continue to turn the
lights on and off using the light switch. In the
case of a defect in the rain sensor, the wind­
shield wiper lever functions are still available .
H ave the light/ra in sensor checked as soon as
possible at an author ized Audi dealer.
; Audi magnetic ride
The indicator light monitors vehicle damping.
The indicator light E ill uminates when the ig­
nition is switched on as
a function check.
(D Tips
If the ind icator lamp illuminates while you
are driving, there is a malfunct ion in the
veh icle damping. The chass is should be in­
spected immediately by an authorized Au­
di dealer.
-:;J. Rear spoiler
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electrically retractable rear spoiler .
The warning/indicator light Ii! has the follow­
ing functions:
-It comes on for about 3 seconds as a func­
t ion check when the ignition is switched on.
- It comes on if there is a ma lfunction in the
electrically retractable rear spoiler . Additional
information about the electr ica lly
retractable rear spoiler
r:;, page 144.
,.YI F{ Selector lever defective
Applies to vehicles : with R tronic
g Ii] Selector lever defective! No reverse
gear!
If the symbols are i lluminated, there is a mal­
function in the R tronic selector lever . These­
l ector lever d isp lays go out or flash. It is not
poss ible to engage reverse gear. If you have
been shifting the transm iss ion manually, it
switches to automat ic operation.
You can continue to shift the transmission manually. From the neutral position N, en­
gage first gear by tapp ing the shift button
0
o n the steering wheel. Then the transmission
remains in manual operat ion and you can se­
lect the gears using the s hift buttons.
Have the selector lever checked as soon as
poss ible at an authorized Aud i dealer or other
qualified workshop .
i~Jf Clutch is overheating
Applies to vehicles:
ffl O Clutch: Overheating possible. See own­
er's manual.
If the symbols are i llum inated, the clutch is
ove rheating and could be damaged if you con­
tinue to drive.
Stop your vehicle and allow the engine to run
at idle for several m inutes . This w ill cool the
clutch.
0 Gearbox malfunction
App lies to vehicles: wit h R tro nic
In the event of a system malfunction, R tronic
switches to emergency ope rat ion mode.
[O) Gearbox malfunction! You can continue
driving
You can continue to drive the vehicle. See an authorized Aud i dealer or other qualified
workshop at the next opportun ity . ..,.

Clear vision Lights
Switching the headlights on/off
Fig. 60 Instr ume nt pa nel: lig ht sw itc h (automat ic
head· a nd taill ig ht control)
Switching on the side marke r lights
"' Turn the light switch to ::oo:.
Switching on the headlights and high
beam
"' Turn the light switch to tD.
.,. Push the high beam lever forward towa rds
t h e instrument pane l
Q page 51.
Switching off the lights
.,. Turn the light switch to 0.
Switching on automatic head- and
taillight control
.,. Turn the light switch to AU TO Q fig . 60 .
The headlig hts and tai lligh ts w ill come on au­
tomatically when the ignition is sw itche d on
and the light switch is in the position AU TO
(on ly in nig httime conditions). When switch·
ing off the ignit io n, the headlig hts wi ll go off
and only the side marker lights will remai n lit.
Daytime running lights
USA models: The daytime r unning lig hts will
come on a utomat ica lly when the ig nition is
sw itched on and the light switch is in the posi·
tion
AUTO (only in daylight conditions).
Canada models : Th e daytime runni ng lights
will come on a utomat ically when the ignition
is switched on and the light switch is in the
Clear vi sion 49
position 0 , AUTO (on ly in daylight cond itions)
o r ;oo :.
Automatic head- and taillight control
In the swi tc h p osition AUTO the au tomati c
he ad- and t aillight con tro l is activ ated. Ligh t
senso rs ar e lo cated in t he i nside mirro r hous­
ing and co nstantly chec k the light cond itions
su rroundi ng the vehicle. If ambient bright­
ness fa lls below a factory set value (e .g. when
dr iv ing into a tu nnel), the head- and taill ights
i ncl uding the license plate illuminati on are
automat ica lly t urned on . When ambient
brightness i ncreases aga in, the exte rnal ligh ts
ar e turned off aga in
q &. . In the switch posi­
t ion
AUTO , the low beams are tur ned off when
t h e ign ition is swi tched o ff. Th e rem aining
li gh ts are turned off when the key is ta ke n out
of the ignition lock.
W it h a utomat ic head- and taill igh t con trol,
the h igh-be am fu nction is also ava ilable , bu t
with one rest ric t ion : If you have not sw itche d
the h igh beams back to low beams during a u­
tomat ic head light operat ion (for examp le, af­
ter driving through a tunnel), on ly the low
beams come on the next time automatic
headlig hts are switched on. To use the high
beams, yo u fi rst have to pull the h igh beam
lever back and then push the lever forwa rd
agam .
The side ma rke r lights a nd headlights ca n be
sw itc hed on manually by turn ing the light
swi tc h to the des ired pos ition .
Light sensor malfunction
If there is a light sensor ma lfunction, the
symbol
El comes on in the display . For safety
reasons, the low beams are tu rned on perma­
nently with t he sw itch in
AUTO . However , you
can con tinue to tu rn the lights on and off us­
in g t he light switch . Have t he ligh t sensor
c h eck ed as soon a s possib le a t an au thori zed
A udi dealer.
Coming home/leaving home function
The function is sw itched on w hen the sw itch is
i n the
AUTO pos ition and th e funct ion is liJJ,,

50 Clear vision
shown as active in the driver information
system.
The
coming home function illuminates the
area around the vehicle when the ignition is
switched off and the driver 's door is opened.
The length of time the lights rema in on can be
set in the menu display
(Lights> Exterior
lights > coming home) .
The leaving home function illuminates the
area around the vehicle when unlocking it.
.&_ WARNING
-Never use daytime running lights to see
where you are going. They are not bright enough and will not let you see far
enough ahead for safety, especially at dusk or when it is dark . Be aware of
changes in outside light conditions when
you are driving and respond by switching on your low beams.
- Automatic head- and taillight control is
only intended to assist the driver. This
feature does not relieve the driver of his
responsibility to check the headlights
and to turn them on manually according
to the current light and visibility condi­
tions. For example, fog and rain cannot
be detected by the light sensors. Conse­
quently, always switch the headlights on
under these weather conditions and
when driving in the dark .
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists .
-Always turn on the headlights so that you can see ahead and so that others can see your car from the back.
- Please observe legal regulations when
using the lighting systems described .
@ Tips
-Always observe the specific local regula­
tions for your area when to use your lights .
- Turn on low beams as evening ap­
proaches or in conditions of poor visibili­
ty. -
Do not attach stickers to the windshield
in front of the sensors as this can disable
the automatic head- and taillight control
and the automatic glare-dimming of the
rearview mirror(s)*.
- If you remove the ignition from the igni­
tion lock while the headlights are still
on, a buzzer will sound as long as the
driver's door is open to remind you to
turn off the lights .
- In the AUTO mode, the low beams are
turned off when the ignition is turned
off . The remaining lights are turned off
when the key is taken out of the ignition.
- In cool or damp weather conditions the
headlights may fog over temporarily on
the inside .
- The critical factor is the temperature
difference between the interior and the
exterior of the headlight lens.
- With the main beams switched on, the
light-emitting area will be free of con­
densation after a short time , however
the edges of the glass may still be fog ­
ged .
- This physical phenomenon has no ef­
fect on the life of your vehicle's l ight­
ing system .
Emergency flasher
Fig. 61 Center console: em erge ncy flasher sw itc h
The emergency flasher makes other motorists
aware that you or your vehicle are in an emer­
gency situa tion.
... Press the switch ~
Q fig. 61 to switch the
emergency flasher on or off .
ll>

52 Clear vis ion
Interior lights
Interior lights
The interior lights include the reading lights
for the driver and the front passenger .
-
,-i.-,-,n--;)
"' "' "' 0
•
Fi g. 63 Section from headliner: I nterior l ights
Acti vating door contact circuit
• Press the button @. The LED in the button
i lluminates.
Deactivating door c ontact circu it
• Press the button @. The LED in the button
goes out .
Front re ad ing lights ~
• Press one of the switches @ to turn the
right or left reading light on/off.
With the door contact circuit, the interior lights turn on as soon as you unlock the vehi­
cle or open the doors. The interior lights are
also turned on when the ignition key is re­ moved. The lights turn off about 30 seconds
after the doors are closed . When the vehicle is
locked or when the ignit io n is tu rned on, the
inte rior lights a re turned off.
When a door is open, the interior lights are
turned off after about 10 m inutes to prevent
battery drain ing.
The brightness of the lights is controlled au­
tomatically by a dimmer when they are
switched on/off .
Instrument panel illumination
The illumination of the instruments, displays
and the center console can be adjusted .
Fig . 6 4 Instrument pa nel illuminat ion
You reg ulate the brightness of t he instr u­
ments with the left thumbwheel
c;~-~ fig . 64 .
A phototransisto r integrated into the instru­
ment cluster controls the illumina tion of the
need les in it. When the lights are switched on,
the lighting for the center conso le and the in­
struments (needles and dials) is automatically
adjusted to ambient conditions . The driver can
also adjust the brightness of the lighting.
Ignition ON, light switch at @
With the ign ition sw itched O N, the g low of in­
strument needles
can be adjusted to appear
brighter or dimmer.
Ignition ON, light switch at ;oo : or ~D.
With the lights switched o n, the br ightness of
instrumen t cluster ( i.e . need les, ga uges and
displays) and cen ter conso le illum inat ion can
be adjusted.
(D Note
The instrumen t cluster and cen ter conso le
ill umin ation (gauges and nee dles) comes
o n when yo u sw itch on the ignit io n and the
veh icle headlights are off . Be aware of the
fo llowing difference between models bui lt
to US or Canadian specifications:
- USA models: illumination of the instru­
ment cl uster (gauges and need les), dash
and center conso le around the gearshift .,.

lever is controlled by a light sensor locat­
ed in the instrument panel. The instru­
ment pane l illumination will a utomat i­
cally become dimmer as the daylight
fades away and eventually will go o ut
completely when outside light is ve ry
low. T his is to rem ind you, the drive r, to
switch on the headlights before it gets
too dark.
- Canada models: instrument panel i llum i­
nat io n w ill stay b right regard less of the
i n tens ity of amb ien t lig ht. Always be
aware o f ch anges in outside light con di­
tions wh ile you are driving. Resp ond in
time to fading daylight by t urning the
l ight sw itch to position
io (or "A UTO" if
your car is equ ipped with this feature) to
turn on your headlights.
Luggage compartment light
The light is located on the right side of the
luggage compartment .
These lights come on automatica lly when the
front lid is opened. The lig hts turn off auto­
mat ica lly if the lid is left open for more then
10 minutes.
Sun visors
CJ
C • -·-·--·,
~
-----____ ,,_
~ --·----"­-------.. ----
~ ---- s;i~~~j
.---~~·-·oiiiiiii------------1
Fig. 6 5 Sun v isor
The vanity mir rors in the sun v isors are eq uip­
ped with covers.
Clear vi sion 5 3
Wiper and washer
system
Windshield wiper
The windshield wiper lever controls both the
windshield wipers and the washer system.
Fi g. 6 6 W iper leve r
The w indshield wiper lever¢ fig. 66 has the
follow ing pos itions:
Intermittent wiping 'Pl (activating rain
sen sor)
.,. Move the lever up to position (D .
.,. Move the switch @ to set the duration of
the wipe intervals or to adjust the sensitivity
of the light/rain sensor .
Low wiper speed
.,. Move the lever up to position @.
High wiper speed
.,. Move the lever up to pos ition @.
One-touch wiping
.,. Move the lever to positio n @, when you
want to wipe the windsh ield
briefly .
Automatic wip er/ washer
.,. Pull the lever to position ® (toward the
steering whee l) and hold .
.,. Release the lever. The washer system stops
and the wipers continue to operate for
about 4 seconds. Different numbers of wipe
cycles are pe rformed depending on how
long t he leve r is he ld.
Turning off the w ipe rs
.,. Move the lever back to position @.

54 Clear vis ion
Moving w ip er blade s to th e service
po sit ion
.. Do not lift the wiper arms away from the
glass when they are in their parked position;
this would damage the paint on the front
lid .
.. When there is a risk of frost, make sure t hat
the wiper blades are not frozen to the wind­ shield .
.. Move wipe r blades to the service pos it ion
¢page 55.
The windshield wipers and washer on ly work
when the ignition is turned on.
To reduce the sensit iv ity of the sensor, move
switch @down . To increase the sens itiv ity,
move the switch up. The higher you adjust the
sens itivity, the faste r th e sensor will react
when i t senses moisture on the w indshield.
The pauses between w iper t urns depend not
only on the sensitivity setting, but on the ve ­
hicle speed as well.
Du ring a temporary stop, e.g . at a t raff ic sig­
na l, the set wipe r speed is automatically re­
duced by one stage.
When the igni tion is tu rned on, the washer
jets are heated.
_& WARNING
- Wipe r blades a re cruc ial for safe driving!
Only when they are in good condition are
they able to clear the windows properly
to provide uncompromising visibility.
Worn or damaged wiper blades are a safety hazard ¢
page 55, Replacing
front wiper blades!
- The light/ra in sensor is only des igned to
assist and support the dr iver .
It remains
entirely the driver 's responsibility to
mon itor outs ide weather conditions and
to manually activate the w ipers as soon
as rain o r dri zz le red uces visibi lity
thro ugh the windshie ld.
- T he windshie ld must not be treated with
water-repe llent materials. They can in­
crease glare under poor visib ility condi­
tions such as wetness, darkness, or when the s
un is low on the horizon . In addi­
tion, they can cause the w indshield w ip­
ers to chatter .
(D Note
In freezing or near freezing conditions:
- Always check that the wiper blades are
not frozen to the g lass before you turn
the wipers on . Loosen a wiper blade
which is frozen in place before operating
the wipers to prevent damage to the
w iper blade or the wiper motor.
- Do not use the w ipers to clear a frosted
window. Us ing the wipers as a conven­
ient ice scraper will destroy the wiper
blades .
- Before you take your veh icle to an auto­
matic car wash, make sure you have the
w indshield w iper system switched off
(lever in position 0), otherwise the w ind­
shield w iper system could get damaged
in the car wash if it should suddenly
come on .
(D Tips
-The windshie ld w ipers are switched off
when the ignit ion is turned off. Act ivate
t he winds hield wipers after the ignition
is switched back on by moving the wind­
shield wiper lever to any position.
- Worn or dirty windshield wipe r blades
cause smearing, which can affect the op­
eration of the light/rain sensor . Check
the cond ition of your windsh ield wiper
blades regularly.
- When the wipers are switched on man­
ually and in ra in cond itions, the auto­
matic headlights turn on¢
page 49 or
off during the day when the wipers are
no longer operating . The automat ic
head lights fu nction is avai lab le in this
case on ly w hen the light switch is in the
"A UTO" posit ion¢
page 49, fig. 60.
- Make su re the washer fluid reservoir is
t opped off before goi ng on a long tr ip.
Look up ¢
page 182 for checking and
filling the washe r container .