AUDI R8 SPYDER 2012 Repair Manual

Seats and storage
General recommen­
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats are correctly adjusted.
There are various ways of adjusting the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable support
for the driver and the front passenger. Adjust
your seat properly so that :
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the
switches and controls in the instrument
panel
- your body is properly supported thus reduc­ ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and airbag system can offe r
maximum protection
¢ page 109.
In the following sections, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust your seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for installing a child safety seat on the front passenger's seat. Always heed the informa­
tion regard ing child safety provided in
¢ page 130, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal injury.
- Always keep your feet on the f loor when
the vehicle is in motion -never p ut your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the w indow or on top of the seat cush­
ion! This applies espec ially to the passen­
gers . If your seating position is incorrect
you increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident. If the
airbag inflates and the seating position
is incorrect this could result in personal
injury or even death.
- It is important for bo th the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of a t
Seat s an d sto rage 59
least 10 inches (25 cm) between them­
selves and the steering wheel and/or in­
strument panel. If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the airbag system can­
not protect you properly. In addition to
this, the front seats and head restra ints
must be adjusted to yo ur body height so
that they can give you max imum prote c­
tion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible be tween yourself and the s teer­
ing wheel o r instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpected ly, caus ­
ing sudden loss of vehicle control and
personal injury . If you ad just yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, you are out
of posit ion.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjust the driver's
seat in the fo llowing manner:
.,. Adjust the seat in fo re and aft direction so
t ha t you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor whi le keeping your knee sligh tly bent
c::> A in Why is your seat adjustment so im­
portant? on page
59 .
.,. Adjust the seatback so that when you sit
w ith your back against the seatback, you can
still grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.,. Pos it ion the head restraint accord ing to the
occupant 's height
c::> page 61 . For maxi­
mum protection, the top of the head re­
straint shou ld be at least at eye level, pref­
erably higher and idea lly level with the top
of the head
¢ page 94, fig. 105 .
A WARNING
Never place any objects in the dr iver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal funct ion. In
case of sudden braking or an acc ident, you
would not be able to brake or accelerate!

60 Seats and stor age
Front passenger's seat
Always mov e th e front passeng er seat into
the rearmost position .
To avoid contact w ith the airbag wh ile it is de­
p loying, do not sit any close r to the instru­
ment panel tha n necessary and always wear
the three-point safety belt provided ad justed
correctly . We recommend that you adjust the
passenger's seat i n the follow ing ma nner:
• Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
pos it ion.
Do not r ide w it h the seat reclined .
• The idea l position for the head restra int is
with the upper edge of the rest ra in t l eve l
with the top o f your head
¢ page 61. You
sho uld
not lower the top o f the restra int be ­
l ow the level of your eyes .
• Place your feet on the floor in front of the
passenger's seat .
Power seats
Adjustment switches
The operating logic for the switches corre­
sponds to th e construction and function of
the seat.
Fig. 7 3 Adjust men t sw it c h es : locat io ns on dr iver seat
The o perating logic for the switches corre­
sponds to the constr uction, the design and
the function of the seat. Push or pull e ithe r
switch in exactly the same d irect ion you want
the correspond ing part of the seat to move.
Adjustment switch es
CD Adj usting the lumbar s upport
@ Adjusting seat height and fore-and-aft po­
sition @
Adjus ting the angle of the sea tback
@ Re leas ing the seatback
Power seat adjustment
The switches can be moved in various direc­
tions to allow precise adjus tment.
Read and heed all wa rni ngs befo re you adjust
yo ur seat. ¢.&, .
Adjusting the curvature of the lumbar
support
• Push the fo rward or rear dep ression on the
sw itch shell
CD ¢ page 60, fig. 73 to in ­
crease or decrease the backrest curvat ure.
Adjusting the height of the lumbar
support
• Push the top o r bottom depress ion on the
sw itch shell
CD to raise or lower the s upport
in the backrest.
Moving the front seat s forward or
backward
• Press the switch @forward or backward
hor izontally.
Adjusting the seat height
• Pull or push the swi tch @ even ly a t both
en ds to raise or lower the seat.
Angling the seat cushion up and down
(front )
• Pull or p ush the switch @at the front only
to ra ise or lower the seat.
Angling the seat cushion up and down
(rear)
• Pull or p ush the swi tch @ at the rea r o nl y
to ra ise or lower the seat.
Adjusting the seatback
• Push o r pull the swit ch @ in the same direc ­
t ion you w ant the sea tba ck t o tilt.
A WARNING
- Never a djust the drive r's or front passen -
ge r seat w hile the vehicle is moving. If ..,.

you do this while the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of position. Always adjust the driver's or front passenger seat when
the vehicle is not moving .
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
height. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury could result!
- Because the seats can be electrically ad­
justed with the ignition key removed,
never leave children unattended in the
vehicle . Unsupervised use of the e lectr ic
seat adjustments may cause serious in­
jury .
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas­
sengers must neve r ride in a moving ve­
hicle with the seatback reclined. Safety
belts and the airbag system offer maxi ­
mum protection on ly when the seatback
is upright and the safety belts are prop­
erly posit ioned on the body. The more
the seatback is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating posit ion and improperly posi­
tioned safety belts!
- Always make sure the front seatbacks are
in the upright position when dr iv ing .
Head restraints
Adjusting head restraints
Fig. 7 4 Adjusting head restra ints
The head restraints can be adjusted to provide
safe support to head and neck at the optimum
h e ight. When optimally adjusted, the top of
the restraint shou ld be level with the top of
the head . If that is not possible, try to adjust
S ea ts a nd s to rage 61
the head restraint so that it is as close to this
position as possible¢
page 94.
1-Grasp the sides of the head restraint with
both hands and slide it upward/downward
until you fee l it click into place
¢ fig . 74.
& WARNING ~ -
-Driving without head restraints or with
head restra ints that are not properly ad­
justed increases the risk of ser ious or fa­
tal neck injury dramat ically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢page 94.
@ Tips
Correct ly adjusted head restraints and
safety be lts are an extreme ly effective
combination of safety features.
Cup holder
F ig. 75 Cup holder
A WARNING
0 U)
~ ., a,
-
Spilled hot liquid can cause an accident
and personal injury.
- Never carry any beverage containers with
hot liq uids, such as hot coffee or hot tea,
in the vehicle while it is moving. In case
of an acc ident, sudden braking or other
veh icle movement, hot liquid could spill,
causing scalding burns. Spilled hot liquid
can also cause an accident and personal
lnJU ry.
- Use only soft cups in the cupholder . Hard
cups and glasses can cause injury in an
accident.

62 Seats and storage
- Never use the cupho lder or adapter as an
ashtray- risk of f ire.
CD Note
On ly drink containe rs with lids should be
carried in the cupho lder. Liquid could spill
out and damage your vehicle's e lectronic
equ ipment or sta in the upholstery, etc.
Ashtray
Fig . 76 Center console: ashtray
The asht ray is inserted in the cupholder.
Opening the ashtray
.,. Fold the cover upward .
Emptying the ashtray
.,. Lift the closed ashtray up o ut o f the cu­
pholder.
A WARNING
Never put waste paper in the ashtray. Hot
ashes or other hot objects in the ashtray
could set waste paper on fire.
Cigarette Lighter/
socket
N
-"' 0 ..:. ... m
The c igarette lig hte r or socket only wo rk with
the ign ition on.
Using the cigarette lighter
.,. Slide the cover open to reach th e cigarette
lighter
qpage 62.
.,. Push the knob in.
.,. Wait un til the c igarette lighte r knob pops
out. .,.
Remove the cigarette lighter immediately
and use it.
.,. Reinsert cigarette lighter into the socket af ­
ter use.
Connecting an appliance
.,. Slide the cover open to reach the c igarette
lighter .
.,. Remove cigarette lighter .
.,. Plug in appliance to be used.
T he socket of the c igarette lighter may be
u sed for 12-volt appliances with maximum
consumption of up to 100 watts, such as a
flash light, small vacuum cleaner, etc.
A WARNING
--Improper use of the c igarette lig hter can
cause serious injury or start a fire .
- Be careful when using the c igarette light­
er. If you do not pay attention to what
you are doing when you are us ing t he cig­
arette lighter you can burn yo urself.
CD Note
-To avoid damaging the socket, only use
plugs that fit properly.
- Only use the cigarette lighter socket as a
powe r source for e lectr ica l accessories
for short durations . Use t he sockets in
the vehicle when a power source is need­ ed for longer du rat ions .
(0 Tips
-When the eng ine is off and accessories
are st ill plugged in and are on, t he vehi­
cle battery can still be d ra in ed.
- The ve hicle battery must not be charged
w ith a standard small charger that pl ugs
into the cigarette lighter or outlet .
Storage
, General
A WARNING
- Always remove objects from the instr u­
men t pa nel. A ny items not put away
-

could slide around inside the vehicle
wh ile driving or when accelerating or
when applying the brakes or when driv­
ing around a corner .
- When you are driving make sure that
anything you may have placed in the cen­
ter console or other storage locations cannot fa ll out into the footwells . In case
of sudden braking you would not be able
to brake, depress the clutch or acceler­
ate.
Glove compartment
The glove compartment is illuminated and
can be locked.
F ig . 77 G love compar tmen t
To op en glove compa rtm ent
... Pull the hand le ¢ fig . 77 in the direction of
the arrow, push down lid to the fully open
position.
To close glove compartm ent
.., Push the glove compartment lid upward un-
t il the lock engages.
The glove compartment light comes on as the parking or dr iving lights are sw itched on and
the compartment is opened . Yo u will find a
g lasses case in the lid .
The glove compartment has a standard 12-
volt socket for con necting e lectrica l accesso­
ries. The powe r consumpt ion at the outlet
must not exceed 100 watts. The socket works
on ly with the ignition switched on .
Sea ts a nd s to rage 63
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury in an
accident or sudden stop, always keep the
glove compartment closed while driving.
Storage compartment in the front seats
Applies to vehicles: with storage compartment in the
front seats
There is a fold -out storage compartment in
the front of the seats .
Opening
.., Lift the handle and pull the drawer out.
Closing
... Push the drawer in completely until it latch­
es.
(!) Tips
The maximum carrying capacity 2 .2 lbs.
(1 kg).
Storage compartments between the
seat backrests
The storage compartments are illuminated
and can be locked with the vehicle key.
F ig . 78 Storage compar tm ents betw een th e sea t
back rests
The CD changer* or the Audi Music Interface*
are located in the lower storage compart ­
ment .
Opening the upper storage compartment
... Fold the lid upward in the direction of the
arrow @¢
fig. 78. ..,_

64 Seats and storage
Opening the lower storage compartment
.. Fo ld t he lid dow nward in the direct ion o f
the a rrow @.
,8. WARNING
Always keep the sto rage compartments
closed when dr iving to help reduce the risk
of injury .
(D Tips
Both lids must be closed in or der to lock
the compartments .
-

Warm and cold Climate controls
Controls
W arm and cold 65
The climate controls automatically maintain the selected temperature in the vehicle interior
throughout each season .
Fig. 79 Climate contro ls
We recommend the following sett ing :
• Rotate the knob¢
fig. 79@ to the right to
switch on the air conditioning .
• Set the temperature to 72
°F (22 °().
• Press the !AUTO !¢ fig . 79 button .
Using the previously recommended setting is
the quickest way to achieve a comfortable cli ­
mate in the vehicle . Th is setting shou ld there­
fore only be changed when persona l comfort
l eve ls o r ce rtain circumstances requ ire it .
The climate controls are a combination of au ­
tomatic heating and ventilation systems and a
cooling system which dehum idifies and coo ls
the air inside the vehicle .
The climate controls automatically maintain a temperature once it has been set. The tem­
pe rat ure of the air from the v ents, fan speed
(air volume) and ai r distribu tion a re also auto ­
mat ica lly adjus ted . The system a lso takes into
account strong s unshine so that manua l ad ­
justment is not necessary . So in almost all
cases,
automatic mode offers the best cond i­
tions for the comfort of the occupants at all
times of the year ¢
page 68.
Please note:
In cooling mode, relative humidity in the inte­
r ior is reduced . This prevents the w indows
from fogg ing up . When outside temperatu res
ar e l ow (temperat ures below freezing), the air
cond it ion ing (compressor) switches off auto­
matically - a ir in the vehicle interior is not de­
humid ified.
When relative hum idity and tempera tures
outside are high,
c onden sate can drip from
t he a ir cond ition ing evaporator and form a
poo l of w at er unde r the ve hicle. This is normal
and not an ind ication of a leak!
When o uts ide temperatures are low, the fan
does not swi tch to a higher speed until the
coolant has reached an adequa te tempera­
tu re, wit h the exception of the defrost set­
ting.
When ac celera ting at w ide-open throttle, t he
air condi tioning compressor is temporar ily
swi tched off to ma intain full engine power .
In order to ensure engine coo ling under ex­
t reme engine lo ads , the compressor is switch­
ed off if coolant temperatures climb too hig h . ..,.

66 Warm and cold
Functions are set by turning the rotary knob
or switched on and
off by tapping the buttons.
The LED in the buttons illuminates when the
function is active.
Button(s) Meaning Page
Rotary knob Temperature ¢ page 66
CD selection
Switch air con-
Rotary knob ditioning on/
¢page 67
@ ~ off
Fan
Rotary knob Air distribu-
¢ page 67
® tion
~ Defrost ¢page 68
~
Rear window ¢page 69
defogger
I Heated seat
I-"' +I driver/passen-¢page 69
ger side*
~ Recirculation ¢ page 68
l(g]
Switch on
cooling sys-
¢page 68
I tern
Pollutant filter
The pollutant filter (particle filter) ensures
that contaminants in the outside air (such as
dust or pollen) are greatly reduced or stop­
ped. The air is also filtered in recirculation
mode.
The pollutant filter element must be changed
according to the intervals specified in the maintenance schedule so that the air condi­
tioning system's performance is not adversely
affected.
If the filter 's effectiveness is weakened by
driving the vehicle in areas with heavily pollut­
ed outside air, the filter element should also
be changed between the listed services.
Energy management
To prevent the battery from being discharged
and to restore the balance of energy, compo­
nents which require large amounts of energy
are temporarily cut back or switched
off
¢ page 147. Heating systems in particular re­
quire a great deal of energy. If you notice , for
example, that the rear window heater is not
heating, then it has been temporarily cut back
or switched
off by energy management.
These systems are available again as soon as
the energy balance has been restored.
A WARNING ,..__
For safety reasons, it is important that all
windows are free of ice, snow, and conden­
sation. Only then is good visibility ensured.
Please familiarize yourself with the correct
operation of the air conditioning and how
to dehumidify/defrost the windows.
@ Note
- If
you suspect that the climate controls
have been damaged, switch the system
off to avoid damaging it , and have it in­
spected by an authorized Audi dealer.
- Audi climate control system repairs re­
quire special expertise and the proper
tools. You should contact an authorized
Audi dealer in the event of malfunctions.
(D Tips
-To avoid adversely affecting heating and
cooling performance and to prevent con­
densation on the windows, the air intake
in front of the windshield must be free of
ice, snow, and leaves .
- Climate control works most effectively if
the windows are closed. However, if the interior of a parked vehicle is extremely
hot from the sun's rays, briefly opening
the windows can speed up the cooling
process.
Setting temperature
.,. Turn the rotary knob CD¢ page 65, fig. 79
to the desired temperature setting.
To set a lower temperature, turn the rotary
knob to the left. To set a higher temperature,
turn the rotary knob to the right. There are .,..

additional intermediate settings available to
adjust the temperature as needed .
Switching climate control on /off
Sw itching the clim ate cont rol sy stem on /
off
• Turn the knob@¢ page 65, fig. 79 to the
rig ht to sw itch cl imate control on. The LED
next to the word OFF goes out .
• Turn the knob@¢
page 65, fig. 79 to the
left to switch the cl imate control system off .
The L ED next to the word O FF comes on.
Setting fan speed~
• Turn the knob@¢ page 65, fig. 79 to the
setting you want to adjust fan speed (a ir
quantity) .
Air distribution
F ig. 80 Instr ument pane l: Locat io n of air vents
• Turn the rotary knob@¢ page 65, fig. 79
to the desired setting.
• To open and close the outlets , turn the ad­
just ing ring .
• To ad just the direct ion of the a irflow from
the outlet, move the tab in the center of the
outlet in the desi red d irect ion. The direction
of the air de livered from the ven ts can be
adjusted horizontally and vertically.
Air dist ribution :
- In sett ing
0, air flows only to the w indows,
vents
(I) and @are open. To defrost the
W arm and cold 6 7
If the difference between the desi red temper­
ature set by you and the vehicle's interior tem­
perature is too great, the fan speed w ill
change automatically. This is done so that the
desired temperature setting is reached as
quick ly as poss ible .
(D Tips
If the difference between the desired tem­
perature you have set and the veh icle's in­
terior temperature is too high, the fan
speed will change automat ica lly. This is
done so that the desired tempera ture set­
ting is reached as quickly as poss ible.
driver and front passenger side windows most effective ly, the vents @sho uld be di­
rected toward the side windows .
- In setting®, ai r flows only to the driver/
passenger, vents@and @ are open.
- In setting
-0-, air flows only to the footwell,
vents @ are open.
- In setting~. air flows only to the windows
and the footwell, vents
(I) , @ and © are
open.

68 Warm and cold
There are additional combinations (through
intermediate settings) avai lable to adjust air
d istribution as needed.
(D Tips
I f the climate cont rols are runn ing in cool ­
ing mo de, air shou ld flow mainly from
vents @and
@. To achieve suff ic ient coo l­
ing, you shou ld neve r close these vents
comp letely .
Defrost ~
The windshield and side windows are defrost ­
ed or cleared of condensa tion a s quickly a s
possible.
.. To turn on the de fogger/defroster, press the
C!:J button c> page 65 , fig . 79 .
.,. To turn the defogger/defroster
off, press
the ~ button aga in , or the
!AU TO ! button .
Temperature is controlled automatically. The
maximum amount of a ir flows main ly from
ve nts 1
<=> page 67.
A sma ll amount of air flows from vents 2 -if
they are open
<=> page 67 .
P ress ing the ~ button switches
off recircu la­
tion mode.
Automatic operation ~
Standard operating mode at all times of the
year.
Turning on automatic operation
.. Set the temperature you want .
.,. Press the
!AUTO I bu tton c> page 65, fig. 79.
Automatic operation ensures constant tem ­
pe ratures in the int erio r and dehum idifies the
a ir i nside t he vehi cle. Ai r temperature, vol­
ume, and dist ribution a re controlled a utoma t­
i ca lly to reach o r maintain the desire d interio r
temperature as q uickl y as possib le . Fluct ua ­
tions in exterior temperature and the effects
of tempe rat ur e from the position of the sun
are compensated for automat ica lly.
Manual air recirculation mode~
The recirculation mode prevents polluted out­
side air from entering the vehicle interior.
Switching on air recirculation
.. Press the button ~ c> page 65 , fig. 79,
c> _& .
Switching off air recirculation
.,. Press the b utton !,.;,,I ag ain, or
.. Press the
!AU TO ! button, or
.. Press th e ~ button .
In recirc ulation mode, air is drawn from t he
vehicle interior, filte red, and recircula ted . We
recommend that yo u se lect rec irculatio n
mode
briefly <=>.&. under the fo llowing cond i­
tions:
When driving thro ugh a tunne l or in a traff ic
jam so that exha ust fumes an d odors cannot
enter the vehicle inte rior.
A WARNING
You sho uld not use the recirculation mode
for an extended pe riod s ince no fresh air is
d rawn in, and with the air co ndit ioning
switched
off the windows can fog up - this
i nc reases the r is k of an accident!
A/C operation ~
Switching on A/C
.. Press t he !AC ! button c> page 65, fig . 79.
Switching A /C off
.. Press the !AC ! button again .
The cooling sys tem is swi tched on d uring A/C
operation - the heat ing and ventilation system
is contro lled automatically .
{I) Tips
If the LED in the sw itch stays on a fter A/C
ope ration has been switc hed
off( = switch­
i ng the A/C
off), there is a fault in an air
cond itioning component. P lease cons ult .,.