2014 AUDI R8 SPYDER warning light

17 2 Che cking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Lid
Releasing the engine compartment lid
The engine compartment lid is released from
in side the vehicle.
Fi g. 1 34 Drive r's s id e: re le asi ng th e eng ine co mpart­
ment lid
R equ irement : The ignition must be sw itched
on.
.,. Make sure the rear spoiler is retracted
<=> page 148 .
.,. Pull the button @. The e ngine compart­
ment lid opens slightly .
.,. Ope n the engi ne compa rtme nt lid
c:> .&, .
.&_ WARNING
Hot engine coo lant can burn you. To re­
duce the risk of bei ng bur ned,
neve r open
the engine compartment lid if yo u see or
hear steam or coolant escaping from the
eng ine compartment. Wa it until no steam
or coolant can be seen or heard before
carefu lly opening the engine compartment
lid .
CD Note
To prevent damage to the vehicle, only
ope n the engi ne compartment lid when
t he convertib le top storage bay lid is
closed .
(D Tips
An emergency re lease can be used i f th e
engine compartment lid cannot be re ­
l eased with the
button @r::::>page 172.
Engine compartment lid emergency
release
The emergency release loop is located under
the right trim panel near the front passenger
seat.
F ig . 1 35 Fro nt passenger footwe ll: em erge ncy release
l oop
.,. Make sure the rear spo iler is retracted
<=> page 148 .
.,. Pull the loop forwa rd to release the engine
compa rtme nt lid . The engine compar tment
lid o pens s lig htly .
.,. Open the eng ine comp artmen t lid
c:> .&, in
Releasing the engine compartment lid on
page 172 .
CD Note
To preven t dam age to the vehicle, only
open the en gine compartment lid when
the convert ible top stora ge bay lid is
closed.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment!
Whenever you mu st perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking and filling the different fluids, there is a risk
of injury, burn s and accidents. To prevent
personal injury always observe the following
Ill-

1 78 Che cking and filling
authorized Audi dealer will have to deny war ­
ranty cov erage un less you present to the dea l­
er proof in the form of Serv ice o r Repair Or­
ders tha t all sched uled maintena nce was per­
f ormed in a t imely manner .
Engine oil consumption
T he engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amoun t of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving par ts.
In order to provide effective l ubrication and
cooling of internal engine components, a ll in­
ternal comb ustion eng ines consume a certa in
amount of o il. O il consumption var ies from
engine to eng ine and may c hange significa ntly
over the life of the eng ine . T ypically, eng ines
with a specifie d break-in per iod (see
c::> p oge 153) consume more oil during the
b reak-in per io d t han they co nsume after oil
consumption has sta bilized.
Unde r no rma l conditions, the rate of oil con­
sum ption depends on the qu ality and vi scosity
of the oi l, the R PM ( revo lutions per m inute) at
which t he engine is ope rated, the ambient
temperature and road cond itio ns. Furthe r fac­
tors are the amount of o il d ilution from water
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida­
ti on level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage bu ilds up , the oil consump ­
tion may increase over t ime until replacement
of worn componen ts may become necessary.
W ith all these variables com ing into play, no
standa rd rate of o il consumption can be es ­
tablished or specif ied . T he re is no alternative
to regular and frequent checking of the oil lev­
e l, see
Note .
If the ye llow eng ine o il level warning symbol
i n t he inst rument cluster
1\1 lights up, you
should check the o il l evel as soon as possibl e
c::> page 178. Top off the oil at you r earliest
conven ie nc e
c::>page 180.
_& WARNING
Before yo u check any thin g in t he engine
compartment , always read and hee d all
-
WAR NIN GS c::> & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 173.
(D Note
D riving wit h an insufficient o il level is like ­
l y to cause severe dama ge to the e ngine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals , pref­
erably each time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip .
- If
you have t he impression yo ur engine
cons umes excessive amounts of o il, we
recommend that you consu lt your Aud i
deale r to have the cause of your concer n
prope rly diagnosed . K eep in m ind that
th e accu rat e meas urement of o il con­
s u m ptio n re quires grea t care and may
t a ke some time. Y our Audi de aler h as i n­
st ru ctio ns abou t how to measure oil con­
sumption acc urately .
Checking the engine oil level
Applies to vehicles: with manual transmiss ion
Fig . 1 38 In st ru men t cl uste r: E ng in e oi l te m pe ratu re
d isp lay
Fig. 139 M arkers on o il dip stick

container out of the reach of children. It
is a poison hazard.
@ Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant. Add­
ing radiator repair fluid may adversely af­
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Lim ited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS q A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on pag e 173.
"'Add coolant .
"'Twist the cap on again
tightly.
"'Tighten the cap (D q page 182, fig. 145
again.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications
q page 181, Coolant .
We recommend using only coolant additive
G12++, G13 or in an emergency G12 +. Do
not
use a different additive. In an emergency use
plain water until you can get the correct addi­
tive and can restore the correct ratio. This
should be done as soon as possible.
If you have lost a considerable amount of
coolant, then you should add cold antifreeze
and cold water only when the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coolant when refilling .
Do not fill coolant above the "max" mark. Ex­
cess coolant will be forced out through the
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by following
these steps.
Checking and filling 183
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully
in a counter-clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en­
gine coolant can catch fire .
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an ­
tifreeze in its original container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison" .
Q) Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire . Ex cess cool­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
q page 181 must be re­
stored as soon as possible.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused . Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while observ­
ing all environmental regulations.
Brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced t echnician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
afte r a period of time. The boiling point of the
brake fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance. .,.. •
•

186 Checking and filling
No
- sparks
@
-flames
-smoking.
--· W hen a b att ery is ch arg ed , it produc es
A hydrogen ga s whi ch i s ex plosive and
could cause p ers onal injury.
®
Alway s keep the battery well out of
reach of children.
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on the electrical system, there is the r isk of
inju ry, acc ident and
even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection . Do not let
battery acid or any lead part icles get on
yo ur sk in or cloth ing . Sh ield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
- Battery acid contains sulfur ic acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and
severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection .
Do not tilt the battery because ac id
could lea k out of the vent ilation open­
ings.
- If you get battery acid in yo ur eyes or
on your sk in, immediately rinse with
cold water for severa l m inutes and get
medical attention.
- I f you should ingest any battery acid,
see k medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks o r an open ligh t.
- Do not smoke .
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables .
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up
very quickly,
wh ich could lead to damage or e xplosion
and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
cou ld cause persona l injury. -
Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the elect rical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca­
ble.
- Before performing any work on the e lec­
tr ica l system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected .
If you are just go­
i n g to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you wi ll set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
d isconnect the negat ive cab le and then
the posit ive cab le.
- Before reconnecting the batte ry, ma ke
sure all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch­
ed off. Reconne ct the pos it ive cable first
an d then the negative cable. Never inter­
change the cables -this could start a fi re!
- Never ch arge a fro zen or a thawed-out
battery. I t could exp lode! I f a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced . A dis­
charged batte ry can freeze
over at 32 °F
(0 oc).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the s ide of the bat ­
tery .
- Never use batteries which a re damaged .
Danger of explosion! Always replace a
damaged battery .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories conta in lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems . Wash hands after han­
dling.

194 Tire s and wheel s
that are stored . The system does not recog ­
nize the load cond ition of your vehicle.
See the il lustration ~
fig. 149 for the location
of the label on dr iver's side 8-pillar (color of
the actua l labe l and exact location on the ve­
hicle wi LL vary slightly).
Note that the followi ng tab le is accurate at
the time o f go ing to press and is subject to
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tire pressure label on driver's s
ide 8 -pillar always
takes precedence .
T he table below l ists t he recommended cold
t ire inflat ion pressu res for the Aud i mode l
covered by your Owner's Literat ure at the vehi ­
cle's capacity weight and the tir e sizes i nstal­
l ed on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a facto ry option.
I Model / \I Tire designation
Tire pressure front Tire pressure rear I
Engine
normal load full load normal load full load
condition condition condition condition
PSI II kPA PSI II kPA PSI ]I kPA
PSI II kPA
RS: 235/35 R19 91 Y XL 45
310 45 310
4 .2 liter
295 /30 R19 lOOY X L 280
8-c ylin-
305/30 R1 9 102V
XL
der 41
280 41
280
RS: 235/35 R19 91 Y XL 45
5.2 liter 295 /30 R19 l00Y XL 41 280 41
280
10-cyl-
305 /30 R19 102V XL
inder 41 280 41 280
--XL= reinforc ed or extra load tire. It may also a ppear as xl , EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side·
wall.
Because tec hnical changes may be made to
ve hicle equ ipment dur ing the model yea r, a l­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure labe l on your vehicle w ith the
tires on your vehicle . Make s ure that the t ire
size information on the ve hicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be­
longs to someone else or you bough t the veh i­
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
ve hicle as a previously owned vehicle .
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on mak ing sure that
load limits are not exceeded . Vehicle load in ­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load lim its are technically refer­
r ed to as the vehicle 's Gross Vehicle We ight
Rating ("GVWR"). The G ross Ax le Weight Rat­
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
G ross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the safety compl
iance sticker label located on the
driver's side 8-pillar. The tire p ressure labe l on
yo ur Audi lists the max im um combined
weight of all o f the occ upants and luggage or
othe r ca rgo that the vehicle can carry. Fo r the
location of the tire pressure label
~ fig . 149.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
h icle contro l, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more we ight than your veh icle
was designed to carry will prevent the
veh icle from handling properly a nd i n­
crease the risk of a loss of vehicle con ­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload ­
ed can fail suddenly ca using loss of con­
trol and a crash.

A WARNING
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci­
dent .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can also lead to sudden tire fa il­
ure, including a blowout and sudden de­
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original ­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil­ lar.
The recommended t ire pressures are on the
tire pressure labe l and in the tab le
¢ page 193, Cold tire inflation pressure . This
means that the pressure must be checked and
ad justed when the tire has not been driven for
more than a couple of m iles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous three hours.
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal fr iction as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold".
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let air out
of a warm t ire to match "Cold tire inflation
pressure" recommendations
¢ page 193. The
tires would then be under inflated and could
fa il suddenly.
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the recommended cold t ire inflat ion pressures for
the new, or iginal equipment tires that were
on you r vehicle at the t ime it was manufac­
tured. For the location of the label
¢page 193, fig. 149.
Most tires lose a ir naturally over time. They
can also lose some a ir if you dr ive over a pot­
h ole o r hi t a curb while pa rking. It is usua lly
not possib le to see whether the radia l tires
Tire s an d wheel s 195
used today are underinflated just by looking
at them .
T he refore, be su re to check t ire p ress ures at
least once a month and a lways befo re going
on a long trip . Make s ure to take the number
of peop le and the amount of luggage into ac­
count when adjusting tire pressure for a trip -
even one that yo u wou ld not consider to be
"long". See
¢ page 196, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
A lways use an accurate tire pressure gauge
when checking and adjusting inflation pres­
sures. Check all of the tires. If the pressure in
any tire is too high when the tire is "cold", let
a ir out of the tire slowly with the edge of the
tire gauge and keep checking the pressure un­
ti l you reach the pressure that is co rrect fo r
the load (passenge rs and luggage) and kind of
driv ing you plan to do .
If the pressure in any tire is too low, note the
difference between the p ressure in the cold
t ir e and the pressure you need and add the air
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the vehicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your vehicle as listed on the on
your vehicle and in this man ua l and the kind
of driving you plan to do .
Never e xceed the m ax imum infl ation pre s­
sure listed on the tire side wall f or an y re a­
s on .
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufact urer, determines the cor rect
tire p ress ure for the tires on your ve hicle .
I t i s important to check the t ire press ure when
the tires are co ld .
- Read the required tire pressure from the t ire
p ressure labe l located on drive r's side B-pil­
lar.
- Tu rn the va lve stem cap counter-clockw ise
to remove it from the t ire va lve.
- Place the a ir p ressure gauge on the va lve .
- The tire pressures should only be checked and ad justed when the tires are cold . The
slightly raised pressures of warm tires must
no t be reduced. .,. •
•

illuminates, you should stop and check your
tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to
the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation a l­
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the ve hicle's handling and
stopping ab ility .
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper t ire maintenance, and it is the dr iv ­
e r' s responsib ility to ma inta in correct t ire
p ressure, even if under- inflation has not
reac hed the level to t rigge r illumination of the
TPMS low tire pressure telltale .
Your veh icle has also been equ ipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS malfunction indi cato r i s combined wi th
the low ti re pressure tell ta le . When the sys­
tem detec ts a malf unction, the te lltale will
flash for approximately one minute and t hen
remain cont inuo usly illuminated. This se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction ex ists.
When the malfunctio n indicator is ill uminat­
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low t ire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea­
sons, includi ng the installat io n of rep lace­
ment or alternate tires o r wheels on the veh i­
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct ion ing
p roperly . Always chec k the TPMS malfunct ion
t ellt ale after replacing one o r more t ires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re­
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly .
Introduction
T he tire pressure monitoring system monitors
oir pressure in all four road wheels while the
vehicle is moving .
As soon as the tire pressure monitoring sys­
tem senses a significant loss of air pressure in
one or several ti res, text messages and yellow
symbo ls appear in the instr ument cluster d is­
p lay to alert the driver. T he
RE warning light
Tire s an d wheel s 207
in the instrument cluster comes on when the
tire is significant ly underinflated .
T he wa rni ng lig ht
RE also ill umi nates in the
case of a system malfun ct ion.
Be awa re that t ire pr essure is a lso dependent
o n the tempe ratu re of the t ire. For eve ry 18 ° F
(10 °C) incre ase in tire temper ature, tire pres­
s ur e increases by about 1.5 psi (0 .1 bar). The
ti re warms up while the vehicle is moving and
tire press ure rises . So you sho uld ad just tire
pressure only when they a re
cold, when the
temperature of the tires is ro ughly the same
as the ambient a ir temperature.
In order to keep the tire p ress ure monitoring
system p roperly ca librated, t ire pressu re on
a ll four tires sho uld be checked at regu lar in­
terva ls.
The tire pressure is shown on the label located
on the dr iver's side B-pillar (v is ible when the
door is open).
A WARNING
When t he tire pressure mo nitoring system
war ning light is lit, one o r more of your
tires is s ignificantly under-infla ted . You
should stop and check you r tires as soon as
possib le, and in flate t hem to the proper
p re ssur e a s in di cate d on the ve hicle's tir e
press ure label
¢page 19 3. D riving on a
significantly under -inflated ti re causes the
tire to over heat and can lead to tire failure.
Under-inflat ion also is like ly to impair the
vehicle's handling and stopping ab ility.
@ For the sake of the environment
D riving wit h un der -inflated tires red uces
fuel efficiency an d tire t read life.
(D Tips
- Ea ch tire should be chec ked monthly
w hen the temperature of the tires is
about the same as ambient a ir tempera­
t u re and set to the recommended infla­
tion press ure as specified on the tire
pressure label
¢ page 193.
•
•

208 Tire s and whee ls
- The tire pressure monitoring system
helps the driver to keep an eye on tire
pressures. But the driver st ill has the re­
sponsibility for maintaining the correct
tire pressure.
- Tire pressure must only be adjusted
when the temperature of the tires is
about the same as ambient air tempera­
ture.
- When tires are replaced, the sensors and
valves should not be exchanged . The
valve core, nut, valve sealing and seal
washer (rep lacement kit) needs to be re­
placed. If necessary, the valve and the
whee l electronics have to be rep laced.
- The tire pressure monitoring system on
your Audi was calibrated us ing tires w ith
"RO" identification. We recommend us­
ing these tires.
- If you should put different whee ls and
ti res on yo ur vehicle (e.g. w inter wheels
and tires), yo u m ust be certain that the
whee ls and tires are compatible with the
tire pressure monitoring system . Other­
wise the system w ill reg ister a ma lf u nc­
tion and a fault message will be d is­
played . For more information, contact
your authorized Audi dealer .
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions ~
page 230 .
Programming a new set of tires
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
When driving with a new set of ti res, you can
program them to the t ire pressure monitoring
system using the menu disp lay.
"'Turn the ign ition on .
"' Select the menu :
Set > Tir e pr essu re >
Wheel cha ng e.
"'Confirm that you wo uld like to begin the
programming process. The message
Wh eel
s en sors a re being in it ia lised. Thi s ma y ta ke
a fe w minut es ...
appears in the instrument
clus te r disp lay. You can switch between programmed tire sets
at any time without r einitializing the system .
(D Tips
-If the programm ing process was no t
completed s uccessfully, the message
Wheel senso rs could not be init ialised
appears in the disp lay and the 119;~, in­
dicator light turns on. If this happens,
repeat the procedure.
- Do not store the tire pressure if there are snow chains on the tire.
' TPMS Tire pressure monitoring system
malfunction
A malfunction can have various causes .
If the (Bl warning light in the instrument clus­
ter flashes for app roximate ly one minute and
then remains cont inuously illumin ated and
additionally the
lliiff1 symbol appears in the
display, the tire pressure monitor ing system is
not availab le . The text
Ti re pre ssure! S ystem
malfun ction
appears in the d isplay. This can
have various ca uses .
- A wheel sensor or other component may
have fai led.
- Dur ing init ialization the system has detect ­
ed more than 4 wheels on the vehicle, for
examp le w hile d riving next to anothe r ca r
w ith a t ire press ure monitoring system.
- Aud i rep lacement parts were not used .
- If snow cha ins are be ing used, system func -
tion can be compromised due to the sh ield­
ing prope rties of the chains.
- The tire pressure mon itoring system may
not be ava ilab le because of a radio malfunc­
tion.
- Transm itters w ith the same frequency, such
as radio headphones in the vehicle o r radio
equipment, can cause a temporary disrup­
t ion of the system through excessive elec ­
tromagnetic fie lds .
- Eliminate the interference if yo u can and
then proceed as fo llows: T urn off the eng ine
for 20 minutes . Then drive another 10 mi ­
nutes .
If the warning light comes on again, ll-