2012 AUDI R8 SPYDER service

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
About this Owner's Manual ...
Controls and equipment .. ... .
Cockpit ................ .... .. . .
General illus tration .... ... .. .. ... .
Instruments and warning/
indicator lights ........ .. .. .. . .
Ins truments . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
War ning/ indi cator lights ... .. ... .. .
Driver information system .. .
Introduct ion . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Service interval disp lay . ... .. .... . .
On-Board Diagnostic system (OBD) .. .
T rip computer ............ .. .. .. . .
M enu display ....... ......... .. . .
Lap timer .. .......... ........ .. .
4
5
6
6
6
8
8
11
21
21
22
22
23
25
27
Speed war ning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Opening and closing .. .. .. .. . .
Keys ........................ .. .
P owe r locking system ............ .
Fr ont lid . .. .. . .......... .. .. .. . .
Ant i- t heft ala rm system ... .. .. .. . .
P owe r win dows .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .
Convertible top .............. .
Convertible top ....... ... .. .. ... .
W ind deflecto r ... .. ... ... .. .. ... .
Rear window . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Convertible top emergency operation .
Clear vision .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Lights ..... ... . ...... ... .. .. ... .
Inter ior lights .............. .. ... .
Sun visors ...................... .
W iper and washer system ....... .. .
M irrors .. .. ................ ... . .
Di git al compass .... ...... .. .. .. . .
32
32
34
37
3 8
39
4 0
4 0
42
4 2
43
49
4 9
52
53
53
56
57
Seats and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Ge ne ral recomme ndat ions ... .. .. . .
P owe r seats ............. .. .. .. . .
H ead res traint s .......... .... ... .
Cup holder .............. .. .. ... . 59
60
6
1
6 1
Asht ray ... .... .. ... .. ..... .... . .
Cigarette lighter/socket . ..... ... .. .
Storage ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .
Warm and cold ... .. ..... .... . .
Climate controls .. .. .... .... ... .. .
Heated seats ................... .
On the road ... ... .. ..... .... . .
Steering .. .. .. .. .. ........... .. .
Ig nit ion lock/Ignition switch ....... .
Starting the engine ............ .. .
Stopping the eng ine ............. .
Pa rking brak e .. .. ............... .
Cru ise con trol ... . ... ... .... ... .. .
Audi mag netic ride ............... .
Transm1ss1on .. ... .. ....... ... .
Manua l transm iss ion ......... .. .. .
R t ronic ... .... .. ............. .. .
62
62
62
65
65
69
70
70
70
71
72
72
74
75
77
7 7
78
Parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Par king sy stem adv anced
Homelink ® ................... .
Universa l remote cont rol ........ .. .
Safety first .. ....... .......... .
82
8 8
88
91
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Gener al notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
P roper oc cupant se ati ng positions . . . 92
D rive r and passenger si de footwe ll . . . 95
Stow ing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Reporting Sa fety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Active rollover protection system 99
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Genera l notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Why safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Illustrat ing the principle of an
acc iden t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
How are safety b elts wo rn cor rect ly? . 104
Safe ty be lt pre tensioners . . . . . . . . . . 107
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
I m po rtant t hings to know . . . . . . . . . . 109
F ron t air bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Monitoring the Advanced Airbag
System .... .... .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
Knee airbags . ... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Side airbags ............. .... .. . .
Child Safety ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
120
124
127
130
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 130
C hi ld safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Instal ling a child safety seat . . . . . . . . 138
Addit io nal Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Vehicle operation ....... .. .. . .
Intelligent technology .. .. ... .
Not ice about data recorded by veh icle
con trol modules . .... ... .. .. .. .. . .
E lect ron ic Stability Con trol ( ESC) .. . .
Rear spoiler ............. .. .. .. . .
Braking .... .. .. ... . .... ... .. .. . .
Powe r stee ring . .. ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Driving with your quattro ® ... .. .. . .
E nergy management ...... .. .. .. . .
Dry s ump lubr ication ...... .. .. .. . . 142
142
142
1
42
1 4 4
1 4 5
146
147
147
149
Driving and environment . . . . . 150
Break- in period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Driving through water on roads . . . . . 150
Cata lytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Sporty driving ............... .... . 151
Operation and maintenance . . . . . . . . 15 1
T railer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 153
Gene ral inf ormatio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 53
Ca re of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Ca re of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
164
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
F ue l tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Engine compartment lid . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Eng ine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Eng ine cooling system..... .. .. .. .. 175
Brake fluid . ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. 178
Table of contents 3
Battery ... .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .
Windshie ld washer container
Tires and wheels .... .... ... .. .
Tires ... .. .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .
Tire pressure monitoring system 178
182
183
183
200
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 203
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Tr unk escape handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Breakdown k it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Tire repair . .. .. .. ............... .
What should I be aware of when
h . t· 7 c
anging a rre. . .. .............. .
Jump-starting .. .. ... .. .. ... ..... .
E mergency towing wit h commercia l
tow tr uck . .... .. .. . ............ .
Fu se s and bulbs ... ........... .
Electr ica l fuses . .. ............... .
B ul bs ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ... . 203
206
209
212
213
2
13
214
Technical da ta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
General information . . . . . . . . . . 215
Explanation of techn ica l da ta . . . . . . . 215
Vehicle identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Dimens ions.. .. ...... ............ 216
Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
R8 Spyder 4.2 quattro . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
R8Spyder5.2quattro ............. 217
Dimens ions .. .... .... .... ... .... . 218
Capacities (approx .) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Consumer Information . . . . . . . 219
Warranty coverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Operating your ve hicle outs ide the
U .S.A. or Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Audi Se rv ice Repair Manuals and
Li te ratu re . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Maintenance ... .. .. . ... ...... ... . 219
Additional accessories, modifications and parts rep lacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Inde x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
•
•

4 Vehicle literature
In addition to this Owner's Manual, your Audi
comes with a Warranty
& Maintenance book­
l et.
Moreover, depending on the model and the
eq uip ment, there may be additiona l instruc­
tion booklets delivered with your vehicle (for
examp le, Operating Instr uctions for your
Sound System, Navigation System etc.) .
If you are missing one of these publications,
or if you believe that the information is not
comp lete, contact your authorized Audi dea ler
for assistance .
The Warranty & Maintenance booklet
explains how yo u can keep you r Audi in top
driving condition by having it serviced regu lar­
ly and contains detai led information about
the warranties covering your Audi. Always
have the booklet with you when you take your
vehicle to an author ized Audi dealer for serv­
ice . Your Audi Service Adviser w ill record each
scheduled service and can answer any ques­
tions you may have regarding how to maintain
your ve hicle.
In Canada,
the vehicle literature is also availab le in
French . To obtain a copy, contact your dealer
or write to :
Au Canada, on peut se procurer un exemplaire
en fran~ais de ce document aupres du conces­
sionna ire ou de:
Volkswagen Canada, Inc.
Client Assistance
Assistance a la Clientele
777 Bayly Street, West,
Ajax, Ontario LIS 7G7
If you sell your Audi
all literature should be left in the veh icle to
make the Warranty terms as well as all oper­
ating, safety and ma intenance information
ava ilable to the next owner.
If you change your address or if you
bought this Audi used
be sure to send in a "Notice of Address
Change"/ "Notice of Used Car Purchase" post
card. Th is card can be found in the Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet or obtained from your
authorized Aud i dealer .
It is in your own interest that we are able to
contact you should the need arise .

14 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
immediately by your authorized Audi
dealer or a qualified workshop. Dr ive
slowly and avoid sudden, hard brake ap­ plicat ion.
- Canada models: If both, the brake warn­
ing light . and the ABS warning light
Ii] come on at the same t ime, the rear
wheels could lock up first under hard braking. Lock-up of the rear wheel brakes
can cause loss of vehicle control and an
acc ident. Have you r vehicle repaired im­
med iately by your authorized Audi dealer
or a q ualified workshop. Drive slowly and
avoid sudden, hard brake application
- If the brake warning/indicator light does not go out after a few seconds and the
park ing brake re leased, or lights up while
you are driving, the fluid level in the brake flu id reservo ir is too low. If you be­
lieve that it is safe to do so, proceed im­
med iately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer o r qualified work­
shop and have the bra ke system inspect­
ed.
- Always keep in m ind that afte r several
brake applicat ions, yo u will need g reater
pressure on the b rake peda l to s top your
vehicle. Do no t re ly on stra ined brakes to
respond with maxim um stopping power
in critical situations . You must allow for
increased brak ing distances. The extra
distance used up by fad ing brakes could
lead to an acc ident.
~ / ! .!r Safety systems
The I (USA models)/ . (Canada mode ls) in­
d icator light monitors the safety systems e.g.
a ir bags, pretensioners a nd illum inates for a
few seconds each time you switc h the ign ition
on.
If the
I (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi­
nates w hile you are driv ing, or if it sta rts to
b link , then there is a ma lf u nction somewhere
in the system. If the light does not illuminate
when you switch on the ignition, this also
means there is a ma lfunction.
A WARNING
If you have a ma lfunction in the safety sys­
tems, contact your authorized Audi dea ler
i mmediately. Othe rwise the safety sys­
tems may not work properly in an acc i­
dent.
4 Safety belt warning light
App lies to veh icles : w ith safe ty belt warni ng l ig h t
The warning light is a reminder to fasten
safety belts .
The warning lig ht . comes on for a few sec­
onds after the ignition is sw itched on as a re ­
minder to fasten you r safety belt .
Additional informat ion on safety belts
r::> page 101.
D Generator '
This warning/indicator light detects a mal ­
function in the generator or in the vehicle 's
electrical system.
The . warning/indicator light i llum inates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the eng ine has started.
If the . warning/indicator light illuminates
whi le you are driving, you sho uld contact your
authorized Aud i dea le r. Since the vehicle bat­
tery is discharging, you shou ld sw itch
off any
unnecessary electr ica l consumers (for exam ­
ple, the air conditioner) .
~ Engine oil pressure
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair .
If the . symbo l appears in the d isplay and
flashes, the o il pressure is too low . In add ition
to the symbol, the following message a lso ap­
pears in the display:
Switch off engine! Oil pre ssure is too low
.. Pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
.. Shut the engine down.
.. Check the engine oil leve l¢
page 174.

18 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
(60 °C) and the engine is at operating tem­
perature .
~. Checking the engine oil level
II! Please add max. 1 qt of engine oil!
If the 1\1 symbo l comes on, add 1 quart (1 li ­
ter) of oil at the next opportunity
¢page 174.
'.!:'.::: ... Engine oil sensor defective
If the II symbol illuminates, contact your
author ized Audi dealer and have the oil sensor
inspected.
t:::J Battery voltage low
(•i Low battery charge: battery will be
charged while driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ab ility.
If th is message turns off after a little while,
the battery charged enough wh ile driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop
correct the malfunction.
Bu Fuel supply too low
When the II] symbol illuminates, this means
there are about 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of fuel l eft in the fuel tank. Time to refuel!
¢page 165.
If the symbol lights up, even when there is
ample fuel in the tank, and the text
Tank sys­
tem malfunction! Please contact workshop
appears in the display, the re is a fault in the
system. Contact a qualified workshop to have
the fau lt rectified .
,;;, Windshield washer fluid level too low
If the I! symbol illuminates, add windshield
washer f luid to the washer system
¢ page 182.
~ Defective light bulb warning
The defective light bulb warning tells you
when a vehicle light bulb has become defec­
tive.
If a defective bulb has been detected by the
system or a light bulb burns out, the~ sym­
bol w ith a message appears in the display to
te ll you which bulb is burnt out and where it is
lo cated. For example :
Rear left turn signal
After 5 seconds, the message disappears. If
you want to recall the message into the dis­ play, press the CHECK button¢
page 8, fig. 3
®·
There are three reasons why the defective
bulb message would appear in the display:
- The light bu lb has burnt out
¢page 214.
-The fuse is "blown"¢ page 213, Replacing
fuses .
-The wire connection to the light bulb is de-
fective.
Have the bulb replaced or the connection re­
paired by your authorized Aud i Service depart­
ment .
A WARNING
-
-Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex­
p lod e while they are being changed ca us­
ing serious personal injury.
- Work with due care when handling the
high-vo ltage section of gas discharge
(xenon) lamps. Failing to do so could re­
sult in death or serious injury!
BRAKE LIGHT!<®> Brake light defective
In case of a malfunction or component fail-
ure, the symbol (USA models)/
$fl (Canada models) can appear. The follow­
ing electrical components should be checked,
repaired or replaced, as necessary:
- Brake light bulbs
- All wir ing connections
- Brake light switch

Driver information
system
Introduction
The Driver information display inside the in­
strument cluster provides you, the driver,
with important information .
Fig. 6 Instrument cl uster: ce nte r display
Fig. 7 Wiper lever: controls fo r the menu d isplay
Center display
W ith the ignition on, the display in the Dr iver
I nforma tion System shows the fo llow ing in­
formation :
- CD inserted or Radio station set
- Outs ide temperature: At temperatures be-
low 41
°F (+S 0 (), a snowflake symbol ap­
pears in front of the temperatu re display
c:> &_ .
-Wa rning when a door, the engine compa rt-
me nt lid or the trun k lid is not closed.
Additional functions
You can ope n the following functions i n the
Driver Information System display by p ressing
the
! RESET I button ¢ fig. 7 one or more times:
T rip computer
¢ page 23
Digital speedometer
Dr iver in formation system 21
Gear indicato r
Lap timer
Menu display
c:>page27
<=>page25
The speed warning system is also displayed in
the Driver Information System. You can read how to set it in ¢
page 29 .
Auto Check Control
Some f unctions and vehicle components are
scanned for their operating stat us when yo u
switc h the ign ition on and whi le you are driv­
ing. Malfunctions or required service proce­
dures are s ignaled audib ly and ind icated by
red and yellow il luminated symbols and re­
minde rs in the disp lay.
_&. WARNING
-
- N ever re ly exclusively on the o utside
temperat ure display to determ ine i f a
road surfa ce is icy or not. Keep in mind
that road surfaces, espec ia lly bridges
and overpasses, co uld be ice covered and
slippery even at an outside temperature
above 41
°F (+5 °().
- Always remember, even if the "snow­
f lake" symbo l (ice warning) does not ap­
pea r in the d isp lay, black ice cou ld be on
the road.
- Always reduce your speed and drive with
special care in cold weathe r cond itions
when the chance of encountering icy
road surfaces inc reases.
@ Tips
- On vehicles with R tronic*, the rem inders
do not appea r in the disp lay until you se­
lect a gear.
- On vehicles with Audi Nav igat io n system,
the displays may d iffe r from their normal
appearance duri ng nav iga tion .

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. .,..