2015 AUDI R8 SPYDER stop start

Table of contents
Vehicle liter ature ..... ... .. .. .. .. .
4
About this Owner's Manual . . . . . . 5
Controls and equipment . . . . . . . . . 6
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Gene ral illus trat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Instruments and warning/
indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Warning/ indicato r lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
Driver information system . . . . . . 20
I ntroduct ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0
Trip computer ... .. . ..... ... .. .. .. ...
2 1
Menu display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Service interval disp lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Lap t imer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
On -Board Diagnostic system (OBD) . . . . . . 26
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Powe r locking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Fr ont lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Anti- theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
P ower windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Garage door opener (Homelink) . . . . . . . . 3 5
Convertible top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Conver tible top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Wind deflector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0
Rear window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Convertible top emergency operation . . . .
41
Clear vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6
Interior lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
V1s1on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
W iper and washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
Dig ital compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Seats and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Gene ral recommendat ions . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
P owe r seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
H ead restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Cup holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2
Cigaret te lighter/soc ket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Warm and cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Climate controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
On the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Ignition loc k/Ignition switch . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Starting and stopp ing the engine . . . . . . . 67
Parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Cruise contro l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
Audi magnet ic r ide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Sporty d rivi ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Transm1ss1on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Manua l transm ission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
S tronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Pa rking system advanced
Safety first .. .. ................. . .
Driving Safely ... .............. .. .
General no tes .. .. .. ............. ... .
P roper o cc u pan t seating positions .. .. . .
Driver and passenger side foo twell . ... . .
Pedal area ... .... .. .. .. .. .. .... ... . .
Stowing luggage ... ... .. ..... ... .. . .
Reporting Sa fety Defects .......... .. . .
Active rollover protection system 80
86
86
86
8
7
90
90
91
92
93
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Why safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Safety be lts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Safety belt pre tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100
Airbag system ...... ........... ... 10 2
Important t hings to know . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Front ai rbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Moni to rin g the Advanced Ai rbag System . 112

.... N
l'­
N "1: .... I.O
"' N
"' ....
Instruments and warn ing /indicator lights
Tachometer (engine rev counter )
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM (revo­
lutions per minutes).
If engine RPM drops below 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area at
the end of the scale indicates max imum permis­
sible eng ine RPM after the break-in period . Be­
fore reach ing th is area, move the selector lever to
position "A (Automatic ope rat ion)" or ease your
foot off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should only br iefly be
in the red zone: you could damage your en­
gine! The beginning of the red zone varies de­
pending on the engine.
@) For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fuel and reduces eng ine
noise.
Digital clock with date display
Your vehicle is equipped with a quartz controlled
digital clock.
Fig. 4 In str um ent cluster w ith the digital clock
To set the hour
.. Pull the knob (hour display flashes) and turn it
to the left or right.
To set the minutes
.. Pull the knob as many times as necessary until
the minute display flashes .
.. Turn the knob to the left or right.
To set the date
.. Pull the knob as many times as necessary until
the day, month or year display flashes.
.. Turn the knob to the left or right.
To hide or display the date
"' Pull the knob as many times as necessary until
the date dis play flashes.
"' Tur n the knob to the left or right.
When the date d isplay stops blinking, this means
the time and date have been successfully stored .
With the ignition off, pushing or pu lling the Set/
Check button
¢ page 8, fig . 3 Q) can turn on the
display field lighting for a few seconds.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge¢ page 8, fig. 3@ only
works when the ignition is on. To prevent damage
to yo ur engi ne, please note the following impor­
tant points .
Engine cold
As long as the needle remains at the bottom of
the ga uge, the engine still has not reached its op­
erating temperature. Avoid high engine speeds,
heavy engine loads and heavy throttle.
Normal temperature
When the engine has reached its operating tem­
perature, the needle will move into the midd le of
the gauge and remain there.
If the engine is
working hard at high outside temperatures, the
need le may t urn further to the right. This is no
cause for concern as long as the. warning light
in the instrument cluster does not illuminate.
When the. warning light starts to flash, this
can mean one of two things: either the coolant
temperature is too high, or the coolant level is
too low¢
page 14.
A WARNING
-
-Always observe the warn ing in¢ page 155,
Working in the engine compartment
before
open ing the engine compartment lid and
checking the engine coolant level. ""
9

..... N
r-­N "': ..... \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 .....
Instruments and warning/indicator lights
field. The vehicle cannot be operated
c:;, page28.
Voltmeter display
The vo ltmeter shows the voltage in the vehicle
electrical system. If the reading drops below 12
volts w ith the engine running, you should have
the power supply (battery and generator) in ­
spected by an authorized Aud i dealer .
(D Tips
Voltage can drop below 8 volts when you start
the engine.
Warning/indicator lights
Descript ion
The indicator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate functions or mal­
functions
c:;, ,&. .
Messages may appear with some indicator lights.
The messages turn
off after a short time. To dis­
play a message aga in, press the Set/Check but ­
ton
c:;, page 8, fig. 3 (J) . If there is more than one
malfunction, the indicator lights will turn on one
after the other for approximately two seconds
each .
Some indicators lights in the display can turn on
in several colors.
A WARNING
- Failure to heed warning lights and other im­
portant vehicle information may result in
serious persona l injury or vehicle damage.
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repa ir,
move the vehicle a safe distance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the emer­
gency flasher
c:;, page 48.
-The engine compartment of any motor vehi­
cle is a potentially hazardous area. Before
you check anything in the engine compart­
ment, stop the engine and let it cool down.
Always exercise extreme caution when work ­
ing under the hood
c:> page 155, Working in
the engine compartment
Overview
Some indicator lights turn on briefly to check the
function of that system when you sw itch the igni­
tion on. These systems are marked with a,/ in
the following tables. If one of these indicator
lights does not turn on, there is a ma lfunction in
that system.
Red indicator lights
---------------
US A models: Malfunction in the
brake system
c:;, page 12
Canada models: Malfunction in the
brake system
¢ page 12
USA models : Airbag system,/
c:> page 13
Canada models: Airbag system,/
c:>page 13
Safety belt
c:>page 14
Battery,/
c:>page 14
Engine oi l pressure too low
c:> page 14
Engine coolant leve l too low/
engine coo lant temperature too high
c:>page 14
Gearbox malfunction*
c:>page 78
Yellow indicator lights
Convertible top operation ,/
c:>page 15
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
,I c:;,page 15
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
,I c:;, page 15
USA models: ant i-lock brake system
(ABS) ,/ defect ive
c:;, page 15
Canada models: anti-lock brake sys­
tem (ABS),/ defective
c:;, page 15
Worn brake pads
c:> page 16
Tire pressure too low
c:>page 197
11

..... N
r-­N "': ..... \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 .....
Instrument s and warning /indicator ligh ts
the electrical system . In thi s case, conta ct your
Audi de ale r.
If the ABS fails, the ABS warning/ind icator light
II (USA mode ls)/ ii] (Canada mode ls) flashes to­
gether with the brake system warning/indicator
light¢ &.
(USA models):
If the wa rning light~ and the
warn ing light
riJ ill umina te together, immed i­
ately contact your authorized Audi dea ler or
qua lified workshop to have all brake pads in­
spected ¢
page 16.
When the light comes on, an audib le warn ing sig­
na l is also given .
Parking brake set
The parking brake warning light./. (Canada
models) illuminates when the park ing brake is
set. In add ition, a warning tone will so und afte r
you have driven for longer than 3 seconds and
faster than
3 mph (5 km/h).
P ar king brake set
The ~ warning/ind icator light illuminates
when the parking brake is set¢,&. .
_& WARNING
-Always observe the w arnings in
¢ page 155, Working in the engine com ­
partment, before opening the engine hood
and checking the b rake fluid .
- Driving with low brake fluid is a safety haz­
ard! Stop the car and get professional assis­
tance.
- USA models: If both, the~ warning
light and the
II warning light come on at
the same time, the rear whee ls cou ld lock
up first under hard braking. lock-up of the
rear wheel brakes can cause loss of veh icle
control and an accident. Have your vehicle
repai red immediately by your author ized
Audi dealer or a qualified wo rkshop. Dr ive
slowly and avoid sudden, ha rd b rake appli­
cat ion .
- Canada models: If both, the brake warning
ligh t. and the ABS warning light
ii] come
on at the same time, the rear whee ls co uld
lock up first under har d braking. lock -up of the rear wheel brakes can cause
loss of vehi­
cle control and an accident. Have your veh i­
cle repaired immed iately by your authorized
Aud i deale r or a qua lified workshop. Drive
slowly and avo id sudden, hard brake appli­
cation.
- If the brake warning/ind icator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the pa rk­
ing brake is released, or lights up wh ile you
are driving, the fl uid level in the brake flu id
reservoir is too low.
If you believe that it is
safe to do so, proceed immedia tely at low
speed to the nearest authorized A udi dealer
or qualified workshop and have the brake
system inspected.
- Always keep in mind that after severa l brake
applications, you will need greater press ure
on the brake pedal to stop your vehicle. Do not rely on strained brakes to respond with
maximum stopp ing power in cr itical s itua­
tions . You must allow for increased braking
distances. The ext ra d istance used up by
fading brakes could lead to an accident.
tli1 !'! r Safety systems
T he . (USA models), . (Canada mode ls) indi­
cator lig ht monitors the safety sys tems e.g. air­
bags, pretensioners and ill uminates for a few
seconds each time you switc h the ignition on .
If the . (USA models)/ . (Canada models) in­
dicator light does not go ou t, o r if i t illumin ates
whi le you a re d riving, or if it starts to blink, then
t h ere is a ma lfunction somewhere in the system .
If the light does not illum inate when yo u switch
on the ignition, this also means there is a ma l­
funct ion.
_& WARNING
-If you have a ma lfunction in the safety sys-
tems, contact you r authorized Audi dea le r i m­
mediately. Otherwise the safety systems may
not wor k properly in an accident.
13

Instruments and warning/indicator lights
4 Safety belt warning light
Applies to vehicles: with safety belt warning light
The warning light is a reminder to fasten safety
belts.
The warning light . comes on for a few seconds
after the ignition is sw itched on as a reminder to
fasten your safety belt.
Additiona l information on safety be lts
¢page 95.
D Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a malfunc­
tion in the generator or in the vehicle's electrical
system.
The. warning/indicator light ill uminates when
you switch on the ignition and must go out after
the engine has started.
• Alternator fault: Battery is not being charg­
ed
If the indicator light turns on and the message
appears, there is a malfunction in the generator
or vehicle electrical system .
D riv e to you r aut horized Aud i dea le r or qualified
wo rkshop immediately. Because the vehicle bat ­
tery is discharging, turn off all unnecessary elec­
trica l equipment suc h as the radio. Seek profes­
siona l assistance if the battery charge level is too
low.
(•) Low battery: battery will be charged while
driving
If the indicator light turns on and the message
appears, there may be limited star ting ability.
If th is message turns off after a little wh ile, the
battery charged enough wh ile driving .
If the message does not turn off, have your au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop cor­
rect the malfunct ion.
14
·~Engine oil pressure
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol re­
quires immediate service or repair .
If the . symbol appears in the display and
flashes, the o il pressure is too low. In add ition to
the symbol, the following message also appears i n the d isp lay:
Switch off engine! Oil pressure is too low
.. Pull off the road and stop the vehicle .
.. Shut the engine down.
.. Check the engine oil level¢
page 159 .
.. Contact your authorized Audi dealer for assis-
tance if necessary.
Engine oil level too low
If the engine oil leve l is too low, top off oil to the
proper level
¢page 160.
Engine oil level OK
If the. symbol starts flashing again even
though the engine oi l level checks OK on the dip­
stick,
do not sta rt driving again and do not let
the engine run at idle .
Instead, contact your au­
thorized Audi dealer for assistance .
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is not
an indicator for a low engine oil level. Do
not rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, preferably each time you refuel, and always before
going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
II
requires oil refill or workshop service with­
out delay. Do not wait until the red oil
pressure warning symbol. starts to flash
before you respond to the low oil level
warning
Ill. By then, your engine may al­
ready have suffered serious damage.
-L Engine cooling system
A malfunction in the engine cooling system must
be repaired as soon as possible.
When the. symbol in the display flashes, then
either the engine coo lant
temperature is too IJ,,

Instruments and warning/indicator lights
A WARNING
- Light bulbs are pressurized and cou ld ex­
plode while they are being changed causing
serious persona l injury.
-
- Work with due care when handling the high­
vo ltage section of gas discharge (xenon)
lamps. Fa iling to do so could result in death
or serious injury!
BRAKE LIGHT!< ®> Brake light defective
In case of a malfunction or component failure,
the symbol
!:ljf:Ul•@:U (USA models)/ ll] (Canada
models) can appear. The following electrical
components should be checked, repaired or re­
p laced, as necessary:
- Brake light bulbs
- All wiring connections
- Brake light switch
Con tact your authorized Audi dealer for assis­
tance if necessary.
(D Tips
The brake light switch is only inspected as
part of the functional check after the engine
is started.
/i. O
Light/rain sensor defective
Applies to veh icles: w ith automatic headlights
If the symbol illuminates, the light sensor has
fai led. For safety reasons, the low beams are
turned on permanently with the switch in
AUTO.
However, you ca n continue to turn the lights on
and off using the light switch . In the case of a de ­
fect in the ra in sensor, the windshield wiper lever
functions are still available . Have 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 B illuminates when the igni­
tion is sw itched on as a function check.
18
(D Tips
If the indicator lamp illuminates whi le you are
driving, there is a malfunction in the vehicle
damping. The chassis should be inspected im­
mediately by an authorized Audi dealer.
-::}. Rear spoiler
The warning/indicator light monitors the electri­
cally retractable rear spoiler.
The warning/indicator light I! has the fo llowing
funct ions :
- It comes on for about 3 seconds as a function
check when the ignition is switched on.
- It comes on if there is a malfunction in the elec­
trically retractable rear spoiler.
Additional informat ion about the e lectr ically re­
tractable rear spoiler
~ page 138.
ill Tire pressure monitoring system
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
Tire pressure that is too low must be corrected
as soon as possible.
The warning/indicator light [IJ illum inates for a
few seconds after the ignition is turned on as a
function check. If the
[IJ warning light comes on,
pressure in at least one tire is too low.
.. Stop driving as soon as possible w ithout endan -
gering yourself and other dr ivers on the road .
.. Inspect all tires .
.. Correct the tire pressure ~
page 179.
Additional informat ion about the tire pr essure
monitoring system
can be found~ page 197 .
¢ Q Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal .
Whenever you use the left B or the right R
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When you
use the emergency flasher, both indicator lights
flash .
Iii>

.... N
l'­
N "1: .... I.O
"' N
"' ....
Lap timer
Introduction
You can record and evaluate lap times with the
lap timer in the display¢
page 25, fig. 17. The
time is measured in minutes, seconds and 1/10
seconds. The hours are also shown when the lap
time exceeds
60 minutes . The maximum individ­
ua l measurement is
99 hours.
A WARNING
Please devote your full attention to driving.
As the driver, you have complete responsib ili­
ty for safety in traffic. Only use the functions
in such a way that you always ma inta in com­
plete control over your vehicle in all traffic sit­
uations.
0) Tips
When the lap t imer stopwatch is running, you
can call up the trip computer information
w ith the
! RESET I button.
Calling up the lap timer and timing
A ppl ies to vehicles: with la p t ime r
'---- ®
Fig. 16 Controls
Fig. 17 D isplay: Lap timer
Driver inform atio n sy stem
Calling up the lap timer
.,. Press the I RESET !¢ fig. 16 @ button until the
lap timer ¢
fig. 17 appears.
Timing laps
"' To start timing, press the upper section of the
w iper sw itch @. The time meas urement is
shown in line(!)¢
fig. 17.
.,. To stop timing, press the upper section of the
wiper switch @again. This a lso starts timing
the next round. The previous time moves one
line up, first to line @and then to line@. Line
@ shows the current lap number, for example
LAP 5.
Di splaying inte rm ed iat e time and pau sing
timing
"' To display an intermediate time, press the low­
er section of the wiper switch@. The inter­
mediate time appears in line(!) and is marked
w ith *.
"' To pause timing, press the lowe r section of the
w iper sw itch @again.
"' To conti nue tim ing, press the uppe r section of
t he wiper swi tch @ .
If timing is paused, you can continue it later even
if you sw itch the igni tion off.
Evaluating times and continuing or
resetting timing
You can evaluate the fastest, slowest and aver ­
age lap times.
LAP 5
+ 45:12 .9
59:08.8
9J 51:10.8
F ig. 18 Display: lap time evaluat ion
"' To evaluate lap times, press and ho ld the
IRESE TI ¢ page 25, fig . 16 @ button for ap-
proximately 2 seconds. The display shows the
Iii>
25

.... N
l'­
N "1: .... I.O
"' N
"' ....
on the vehicle to make sure it is properly
l ocked.
- Do not use the remote control if you are in­
side the car, otherwise you may unintention­
ally lock the vehicle, and then you would set
off the ant i-theft a larm when you try to
start the engine or open a door . In case this
happens anyhow, push the unlock button©.
- Use the panic funct ion only if you are in an
emergency situa tion.
Resetting the remote control
The remote control must be reset if the vehicle
does no t unlock .
.. Press the unlock button 0 on the remote con­
trol.
.. Manually unlock the driver's door lock with the
mechan ical key wi thin 30 se cond s.
.. Press e ither the lock-
{fl or the unlock CD button
to comple te the reset sequence .
Operating locks with the key
To lock and unlock the vehicle from the outside ,
turn the key in the lock of the driver's door .
Fig. 24 Key turn s for op ening and closin g
.. To un lock the vehicle, tu rn t he key to the open ­
ing position @¢
fig. 24 .
.. To lock the vehicle , turn the key in the lock of
the driver's door to the lock position @
c:> .&_.
A WARNING
Always read and heed WARNING c> A in Gen­
eral description on page 29 .
Opening and clo sing
Locking and unlocking the vehicle from
inside
The vehicle can be locked or unlocked from the
inside using the power locking swi tch .
Fig . 2 5 Sect ion fro m drive r's door : Powe r loc king switc h
.. Press the upper part of the powe r lock ing
sw itch@ to lock the vehicle ¢,&. .
.,. Press lower part o f the sw itch@ to unlo ck the
veh icle .
If you lock the veh icle using the power locking
switch, p lease no te t he following:
- You cannot open the doors from the
outside
(increased security, for examp le when you are
stopped at a red light) .
- The LED in the switch~ lights up when all the
doors and the front lid a re closed and locked.
- Yo u can un lock and open the doors from the in­
side by pulling on the door hand le .
- You ca nnot lock the ve hicle w it h the central
locking switch when the d river's door is open .
- If you have a crash and the airbag is activated,
the doors a utomatically unlock.
A WARNING
-
- If you use the power loc king switch with the
doors closed, remember that all the veh icle
doors w ill lock.
- Locked doors make it more difficult for
emergency workers to get into the veh icle,
which puts lives at r isk. Do not leave anyone
behind in the vehicle, especially children .
31