2013 AUDI A8 light

218 Cleaning and protection
This also applies to cleaning headlights
and painted bumpers. Remember: the
closer the nozzle is to the surface of the
material, the greater the stress on the ma­
terial.
Caring for vehicles with matte finish
paint
Ap plies to vehicles: with matte fi nish pa in t
Vehicles with matte finish paint require spe­
cial care due to the characteristics of the
paint.
Washing by hand
To avoid damaging the paint when washing,
first remove dust and large particles from
your vehicle. Insects, grease spots and finger ­
prints are best removed with a
special cleaner
for matte finish paint.
Apply the product using a microfiber cloth . To
avoid damaging the paint surface, do not use
too much pressure .
Rinse the vehicle thoroughly with water . Clean
the vehicle starting at the top and working to­
ward the bottom using a
neutral shampoo
and a soft microfiber cloth . Stop frequently to
rinse the cloth thoroughly .
Clean the wheels and sill panels last. Use a
clean
sponge on these areas.
Rinse the vehicle thoroughly again and let it
air dry. If there are any water spots, they can
be removed using a
leather cloth.
Clean again with the special cleaner for matte
finish paint
if necessary.
Removing stubborn dirt
Bird droppings or tree sap
are best removed
with plenty of water and a microfiber cloth.
You should rinse off
gasoline residue immedi­
ately with plenty of water.
_& WARNING
- Wash your vehicle only when the ignition
is switched off to reduce the risk of a
crash. -
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information ¢
page 215.
@ Note
-Do not treat vehicle parts painted with
matte finish paint using polishing mate­
rials or hard wax. These products could
cause damage to the appearance or sur­
face that cannot be repaired.
- Never use protective wax. It can destroy
the matte finish effect.
- Do not place any stickers or magnetic
signs on vehicle parts painted with
matte finish paint. The paint could be
damaged when the stickers or magnets
are removed .
- To prevent paint damage, do not wash
the vehicle in direct sunlight.
- To prevent damage to the paint surface,
do not use insect removal sponges,
rough kitchen sponges or similar items.
- You should remove debris (such as in­
sects) from the headlight lenses on a
regular basis, for example when refuel­
ing your vehicle . Only clean the head­
lights using a wet cloth or sponge, never
a dry one. Cleaning with soapy water is
recommended.
(D Tips
For more information on special cleaning
products designed for matte finish paint,
seeyourAudidea~~
' Sensors and camera lenses
- Remove snow with a hand brush and remove
ice with a de-icing spray that does not con­
tain solvents.
- Clean the sensors (adaptive cruise control*,
parking system*) with a cleaning solution
that does not contain solvents and a soft
cloth.
- Dampen the camera lens with a household alcohol-based glass cleaner, and then wipe
the lens clean with a dry cloth . The area in
front of the camera lens is normally cleaned
by the windshield wipers (lane assist*) or .,.

headlight washer system (night vis ion as ­
sist*) .
If the area is heavily soi led, you can
clean it with glass clean ing agent and a soft,
dry cloth.
(D Note
- If you wash your vehicle with a pressure
washer,
- make sure there is enough d istance to
sensors in the rear bumper .
- do not clean the camera lenses and the area around them with the pressure
washer.
- Never use warm or hot water to remove
snow or ice from the camera lens . Th is
could cause the lens to c rac k.
- Neve r clean the came ra lens w it h abra­
s ive p roducts.
Waxing and Polishing
Waxing
A good wax coat ing protects the ve hicle pa int
to a large extent aga inst the environmen tal
factors listed under
r::o page 215, Washing and
even against slight scratches .
You can use a liquid ca r wax to p rotect your
pa int as soo n as o ne week after your veh icle
h as been de livered .
Even if you regular ly use a
waxing process in
automatic ca r washes, we recommend t hat
you ma nually app ly a coat of wax to give the
pa int extra protec tion , particula rly if wate r no
l onge r beads on the clean paint .
P rotect p lastic body pa rts with ca r wax i n the
same way as the vehicle body.
During warm weather dead insects tend to
collect on the front bumper and on the for­
ward area of the hood . They a re much easier
to remove from pai nt tha t is waxed
often.
Polishing
Poli sh your vehicle only if the pa int has lost its
shine and the gloss cannot be brought back
with wax .
Cleaning and protec tion 219
If the po lish used does not contain p reserva­
tive compounds, the paint must be waxed af­
terwards.
_& WARNING
A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
r::opage 215 .
([) Note
Do not use car wax on
- matte or anodized meta l trim
- ru bber or ru bber- lik e t rim.
Trim strips
Metal trim needs special care.
For environmental reasons, Audi fabric ates
the bright t rim strips and trim p ieces from
pure chromium-free al uminum .
Dirt and marks on the trim strips shou ld be
removed w ith a
pH-balanced cleaning agent
(do not use a chrome cleane r) . Aud i dealers
carry clean ing produc ts which have been test­
ed fo r use on your vehicle and are not ha rmfu l
to the environment.
T o avoid co rrosion on the exter ior trim st rips,
o nly a pH-ba lanced solu tion should be used
for the windsh ield washer.
_& WARNING
A lways read and heed all WARN INGS and
o ther in formation
r::o page 215 .
Plastic and vinyl
Plastic needs special care.
Use a clean , damp cloth or sponge to remove
dust and light s urface di rt . For other soil, use
a lukewa rm all-p urpose cleaning so lution or a
mild saddle soap for v inyl tr im . Remove wate r
spots and traces of soa p wi th a cle an, d amp
clo th or sponge. Use a clean, so ft cloth to rub
dry .
G rease , ta r or oil stains can be removed w it h a
cl ea n clot h or sponge soake d wit h all- purpose .,.
•
•

-To prevent damage to the wi res of the
rear defogger, do not place any adhesive
stickers on the inside of the rear window
over the wires.
- To he lp prevent dirt from scratching the
window, always scrape in a forward di­
rection - pushing the scraper away from
you - never back and forth .
Cast (light) alloy wheels
Cast (light) alloy wheels require special care.
~ Wash the wheels with a sponge or hose
brush every other week.
~ For deep cle aning afterwa rds, use only a
dedica ted
acid -free cast alloy wheel cleaner.
~ Rub a coa t of liquid wax on to the r ims every
three month . Be sure to reach and treat all
parts of the rim .
To preserve the decorat ive appearance of the
cast alloy wheels , some special care is neces ­
sary . In add it ion to road dirt and salt , brake
dust is also corros ive. If left on for too long,
b rake dust can cause pi tting.
Use only specia l
acid-free cleaners formulated
for alloy rims. Safe products are available at
your Aud i deale r. Never leave the cleaner on
the r ims longe r than spec ified on the label. If
n o t rinsed off promptly , the acid co nta ined in
some cleaners can attack the th reads on the
wheel bo lts .
Never use abras ive or metal polishing clean­
in g agents. If the prote ctive coat ing has been
chipped, e .g. by k icked up road d irt, touch it
up as soon as possib le .
A WARNING
- Moist ure and ice on brakes may affect
braking efficiency
i:> page 200, General
information.
Test the brakes carefully
each time you wash the vehicle .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
c> page 215.
Cleaning and protec tion 221
Body cavity sealing
The body cavity sealing does not need to be
checked .
All body cav ities which could be affected by
corros io n have been thoroughly protected at
the factory .
This sealing does not require any inspection or additional treatmen t. If any wax should seep
out of the cavi ty when the ambie nt tempera­
ture is high, it can be removed with a p lastic
scraper and a su itable solvent .
A WARNING
Solvents can be dangero us.
- Benz ine is flammab le and toxic. If you
use benz ine fo r removing the wax , keep
sparks, flame and lig hted cigarettes
away. Never d ump ben zine on the
grou nd, into open streams or down sew­
age drains .
- Be s ure to obse rve a ll safe ty and environ­
men tal reg ulations. Fo llow all instruc­
tions on the container.
- Always read and heed a ll WAR NIN GS and
o ther information ¢
page 215.
Chassis
Have the undercoating checked for damage
from time to time.
The lower body shell of your Aud i is also thor­
oughly p rotec ted against cor ros io n.
Any damage to the undercoat ing caused by
road hazards should be repaired promptly .
A WARNING
Too much undercoating in the wrong pla­
ces can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustp roofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalyti c con­
ver ter or he at shields. While driving, the
substance used fo r undercoating co uld
overheat and cause a fire.
•
•

222 Cleaning and protec tio n
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information ¢
page 215.
Exhaust tail pipes
Road salt and other corrosive materials will
damage the material in the exhaust tail pipes
if they are not cleaned regularly . Do not clean
the tail p ipes with wheel cleaner, paint pol ish,
chrome po lish or other abrasive cleaners.
C lean the tail p ipes with car ca re p roducts
that are su itable for stain less stee l.
Your author ized Audi dealer can provide clean­
ing p roducts that have been tested and ap­
p roved fo r you r vehicle.
Care of interior
Infotainment components
The MMI/RSE* display may be cleaned with a
soft cloth and commercially-ava ilable "LCD
cleaner" . The cloth should be coated lightly
when the clean ing solution when cleaning the
d isplay.
The MMI/RSE* contro ls must be cleaned first
with a brush so t hat dirt does not ente r the
un it or enter between the buttons and the
housing. Then wiping the controls with a cloth
dampened with dish detergent and water is recommended.
CJ) Note
To prevent sc ratches, only clean the dis­
play when it is d ry.
- To prevent damage, ma ke sure fluids do
not enter the controls.
Aluminum trim
Use only n eutral-pH products to remove spots
and deposits from aluminum surfaces.
Chrome ca re products and alkaline cleaners
will attack aluminum s urfaces and can dam­
age them over time.
A WARNING
A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information¢
page 215.
Fabrics and fabric coverings
Fabrics and fabric cover ings (e .g. seats, door
trim panels, etc.) should be cleaned at regular i ntervals w ith a vacuum cleaner. This removes
su rface di rt particles which could become em ­
bedded in the fabric through use. Steam
cleaners should not be used, because the
steam tends to p ush the dirt deeper into the
fabric and lock it there.
Normal clean ing
Generally, we recommend using a soft sponge
o r a lint-free microfiber cloth to the clean fab­
ric. Brushes shou ld only be used for carpets
and floor mats, since other fabric surfaces
could be harmed by brushes.
Norma l su rface stains can be cleaned using a
commercially available foam cleaner . Spread
the foam on the s urface of the fabric with a
soft sponge and work it in gently. Do not satu­
rate the fabric. Then pat the foam dry using
absorbent, dry cloths (e.g. m icrof iber cloth)
and vacuum it after it has dried completely.
Cle anin g sta ins
Stains caused by beverages (e .g. coffee, fruit
juice, etc.) can be treated with a mild deter­
gent solution. Apply the detergent solution
with a sponge. In the case of stubborn stains, a detergent paste can be applied directly to
the stain and worked into the fabric. After­
wards, use copious amounts of clean water to
remove the rema in ing deterge nt. Apply the
water wit h a damp clo th or sponge and pat
the fabric dry with an abso rbent, dry cloth .
Stains from choco late or makeup should have
detergent paste (e.g. ox-gall soap) rubbed in­
to them. Afterwa rds, remove the soap with
water (damp sponge) .
Alcohol can be used to treat stains from grease, o il, lipstick or a ballpoin t pen . Melted ..,.

224 Cleaning and protection
Car e and handling
Because of the exclusive nat ure of the types of
l eather that Audi uses and their unique prop ­
erties (such as sensitivity to oils, grease, soi l­
ing, etc.), you will need to be somewhat care­
fu l w ith these leathers, and a certain type of
care is required. For examp le, dark clot hing
materials can d iscolor leather seats (especial­
ly if such cloth ing is damp and was not dyed
correctly). Dust and dirt part icles in pores,
fo lds, and seams can have an ab ras ive effect
and can damage the leather s urface as well as
weaken seams.
The leather should be cleaned regularly as
n eeded. After having been used for a re latively
l ong t ime, yo ur leather sea ts will acqui re a
rich aged finish. This is a charac teris tic of nat ­
ura l leather and a sign o f true quality .
I n o rder to maintain t he va lue of t his natura l
p rod uct over the life of yo ur vehicle, you
should follow the recommendations below :
(D Note
-To keep you r leather from bleaching out,
do not a llow it to be exposed to br ight
sunl igh t for long periods of time. If you
have to leave the vehicle parked o utside
for long periods, cover the leather to
protect it from d irect exposure to sun­
li ght.
- Sharp objects on clothing, such as zip­
pers, rivets or sharp pieces on be lts can
l eave permanent scratches or scrape
marks on the surface of the leather.
- After each t ime you clean the leather and
at regu lar intervals, use a leather preser­
vat ive creme that conta ins UV-blockers
and that works into the leather. This
creme wi ll nourish and moistur ize the
l eathe r, helping it to b reath e and stay
supple.
It also helps to b uild up a prote c­
tive coat ing on the s urfa ce.
- Clean t he leather every 2 -3 mont hs,
and clean any areas that ge t soiled. - Remove
fresh marks made by ballpo int
pens, ink, lipstick, shoe polish, etc. as
soon as poss ible.
- Preserve the color of the leather as need­
ed by using a specia l co lored leather care
creme to touch up areas of uneven color.
Cleaning and caring for leather
upholstery and trim
Applies to vehicles: with natural leather
Natural leather requires special care and a t­
tention .
Normal cleaning
.. Clean soiled areas with a slightly moistened
cotton or woo len cloth .
More stubborn dirt
.. More s tubbor n dirt can be removed using a
clo th sa turated wi th a mild so ap solut ion (2
tablespoons mild liquid soap).
.. Never allow the soap sol ution to saturate
the leather, and make certain that no water
s oak s into the seam s.
.. Wipe off the soap so lution with a soft, dry
cloth .
Cleanin g spot s
.. Remove fresh water-based spots (s uch as
coffee, tea, juices, blood) with an absorbent
cloth or paper towel.
.. Remove fresh
grease or oil -based spots
(such as butte r, mayonnaise, chocolate) with
an absorbent clot h or paper towel, or use
the cleaner from the leather care kit if the
s po t h as no t yet penet rated i nto t he surface
of the leathe r .
.. Use an oil/grease d issolving spray, i f
oil/
grease spot s ha ve dr ied on.
.. Remove specific k inds of spots (ballpoint
pen, fe lt marker, fingerna il polish, water­
based pa int, shoe po lish, etc.) with a spot
remover specifically formu lated for lea ther.
L e ather care
.. Every half year use an approved leather care
product (available from your Audi dealer) to
care for the leather . .,.

~ Apply the product very sparing ly .
~ Wipe it off with a damp cloth.
If you have any questions abo ut cleaning and
caring for the leather in your vehicle, it is best
to contact your authorized Audi dealer, who
will be glad to help you and tell you about our
fu ll range of leather care products, such as:
- Leather cleaning and care kit
- Creams to care for colored leathe r
- Spot removers for ballpo int pens, shoe pol-
ish , etc.
- Oil/grease dissolv ing spray
- New and upcoming products.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
~ page 215.
CD Note
- Never use chemical solvents (e.g. lighter
flu id, turpentine), waxes, shoe polis h or
s imilar products on the leather surfaces
i n your Audi.
- To avoid damage, have stubborn stains removed by a commerc ial cleani ng spe­
cia list .
Cleaning Alcantara ® (synthetic suede)
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h Alcantara upholstery
Removing dust and dirt
~ Moisten a cloth, squeeze out excess water
and wipe down the se at su rfaces .
Removing stains
~ Moisten a cloth w ith lukewarm water or
with diluted ethyl (rubb ing) alcohol.
~ Dab at the stain. Start at the outside and
work inwa rds.
~ Once the s tain is no longer visib le, use a
soft d ry cloth or t issue to soak up the mois ­
tu re .
D o not use leather cleaning produc ts on Al­
cantara.
You may use a suitable shampoo fo r removing
dust and dirt.
Cleaning and protec tion 225
D ust and gr it in the po res and seams can
scratch and damage th e surface. If the car is
l eft stand ing in the sun for long per iods, the
A lcantar a cover s should be protected aga inst
direct sunlight to prevent it from fad ing.
Slight co lor variations will develop in normal
use a nd are not an indication of mate rial dete­
rioration .
CD Note
- Never use chemical so lvents (e.g . lighter
fluid, tu rpenti ne), waxes, shoe polish or
simi lar p roducts on A lcantara ® surfaces .
- T o avoid damage, have stubborn sta ins
removed by a comme rcial clean ing spe­
cialist.
- Do not use b rushes, stiff sponges or sim­
ilarly abrasive cleani ng a ids.
Safety belts
Only well -maintained safety belts work relia ­
bly when needed .
~ Keep belts clean.
~ For cleaning, use a mild soap a nd wate r so l­
ution . Let belts dry thorough ly and away
from d irect sunlight .
~ Do not allow i nertia ree l safety belts to re­
tract before they are comp letely dry.
~ Check t he condition of your safety belts reg­
ularly .
Heavi ly so iled safety be lts may not ret ra ct
properly.
A WARNING ~
D amaged safety belts can break in a crash .
- Anyth ing th at m ight damage yo ur safety
be lts could mean tha t you and your pas ­
sengers would not be adequate ly pro­
tected in an accident.
- Safety belt performance depends on cor ­
rect insta llation . Never remove be lts
from the vehicle to clean them.
- Do not use chemical cleaning agents,
b leach or dyes. They have corrosive prop­
erties which weaken the webb ing .
•
•

228 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
Fuel supply and filling
your fuel tank
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Using the righ t fuel helps keep the environ­
ment cle an and preven ts engine dam age .
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recomme nded for you r vehicle is un­
lead ed premium
g rade gasoline . See a lso
¢
pag e 292, Doto . Audi recommends usi ng
T OP TIER D eterge nt Gaso line wi th a mini mu m
octa ne ra tin g of 9 1 AKI (95 RON). For more
in fo rmation on TO P TI ER De tergent Gaso line,
p lease go to the officia l webs ite (www.toptier ­
gas.com).
Th e re commended g asoline oct ane r ating for
your engine can a lso be fo und on a label loca t­
e d on the ins ide of the fue l filler flap . This rat ­
ing may be specified as A KI or RO N.
Your veh icle m ay also be oper ated using un­
l ea ded regular g asoline with a min imum o c­
tane rating of 87 AKI/91 R ON. However, using
87 AKI/91 RON octa ne f ue l w ill slightly re ­
d uce eng ine perfo rmance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded g aso­
line is availab le th rou gho ut the USA, Canada ,
and in most E uropean countries . We recom­
mend that you do not ta ke yo ur vehicle t o
areas or countries where unleaded gasoline
may not be ava ilable.
F or mo re in format io n on refue ling your ve hi­
cle, see¢
page 229.
Octane rating
Octa ne r ating in dicates a gaso line's abili ty to
res ist engine damagin g "knoc k" ca used by
p remature ign ition and detonation. Therefore,
buy ing the correct grade of gaso line is very
important to help prevent possible engine
damage and a loss of engine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the Unite d
States a nd Canada has the following octane r
at ings t hat can usu a lly be found on the fi ller
pump:
- Pre mium G ra de: 91 -9 6 A KI
- Regular Grade : 87 -90 AKI
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI = Anti K nock Index= (R+M) /2 = (RO N
+ MON)/2
R ON= Resea rch Octane Numb er
MON = Motor Octane Num ber .
(D Note
-Do not use a ny f ue l w it h octane rat ings
lower tha n 87 A KI or 9 1 RO N othe rwise
expensiv e engine damage w ill occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoline . The use of
lead ed gasoline w ill severely damage
yo ur v ehicl e's catalytic co nve rter a nd its
ability to co ntrol exha ust e mission s.
Blended gasoline
Use of gasoline containing alcohol or
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded g asoline blende d with
alcohol o r MTBE (commonly re ferred to as
oxygenates) if the blende d mixture meets t he
f o llow ing criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
- Anti -kno ck index mus t be 87 A KI or higher.
- Blend must contain no mor e than 3% me th-
anol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-sol-
ve nts .
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol
or ethyl alcohol)
- Anti -knoc k index must be 87 AKI or higher .
- Blend must not conta in mo re than 10%
ethanol.
Blend of ga soline and MTBE
- Anti-knoc k index must be 87 AKI or high er. ll-

232 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 193 Driver foo twell: release lever
AUD I
Fig. 194 Rocker switch un der the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged .
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow
~ fig. 193.
.,. Raise the hood slightly~,&. .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward
~ fig. 194. This releases th e catch.
... Open the hood.
&_ WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood .
' 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 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 hazardous area
~ ,&. .
A WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition .
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com­
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- 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.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This increases the
risk of burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri­
cal system is necessary: