AUDI R8 SPYDER 2011 User Guide

(!) Adjuste r control for outside m ir-
rors .... ..... ..... ... ... . .
@ Door handle
@ Power locking sw itch
© Switches for:
- Front lid release .......... .
- Fuel filler flap release . .. .. .
® A ir outle ts ............ .... .
® Light switch ........... .... .
0 Turn signal and high beam . .. .
@ Mul tifunction steering wheel
with:
- Horn
- Driver's airbag ....... .. .. .
- Audio, telephone and voice
control system operat ing but ­
tons
- Shift buttons for manual oper- at ion (R tronic) ....... .. .. .
63
4 1
4 2
172
74
55
58
121
87
® I nstrument cluste r . . . . . . . . . . 10
@ Switches for:
- Windsh ield wiper/washer . . . 59
- Trip computer . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
- Menu disp lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- Lap Timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- Speed wa rning sys tem . . . . . . 28
@ Steering lock/ignition/starter
switch (in the steering wheel
column) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
@ Adjustable s teer ing column . . . 77
@ Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
@ Instrument lighting . . . . . . . . . 56
@) Data Link Connector (DLC) for
On Board Diagnostics (OBD II) . 21
@) Power wi ndow switches . . . . . . 44
@ Navig ation system
@ Glove compartment ( lockable) . 70
@ Fro nt passenge r's a irbag . . . . . 121
@ Rear window defogger sw itch . 7 6
@ Climate con trols . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
@ Gear shi ft leve r or selector lever
(R troni c):
- Manua l transm ission
- R tronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
@ Sw itches for:
Cockpi t 9
-Audi magnetic ride . ..... .. . 82
- Elect ron ic Stabiliza tion P ro -
gram (ES P) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
- E mergency flasher . . . . . . . . . 57
- Ret ractable rear spo iler . . . . . 152
- Aud i parking system . . . . . . . 89
@ Convertib le top switch . . . . . . . 46
@ Rear window switch . . . . . . . . . 48
@ Pa rking brake lever . . . . . . . . . . 79
(D Tips
- Some of the equipment or features
shown in the genera l ill ustration may be
standard equ ipment on your vehicle or
my be op tional eq uipme nt depending on
yo ur mode l.
- A separate brochure is p rov ided for yo ur
fac to ry-i nstalled Audi Nav iga tion Sys­
t em .

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overview of the inst rumen t cluster
(D Engine oil temperature ...... .
@ Tachometer with time and date
display ................... .
® Warning/indicator lights .. .. .
© Coolant temperature gauge .. .
® Fu el gauge .............. .. .
@ Speedometer with odometer ..
(i) Voltmeter .............. .. .
@ Set/Check button , ... .. .. .. .
® Driver information display . .. .
@ I RESET ! button for trip odome-
ter ....... ............. .. .
10
11, 11 14
11
12
12
13
11, 31 20
12
The illumination for the instrument cluster
lights up whenever you switch on the ignition
with the
vehicle headlights off. The gauges
are also illuminated when the lights are
turned on.
Engine oil temperature display
The engine oil temperature display Q page 10,
fig. 3
only operates with the ignition on. To
prevent engine damage, please observe the
following important points concerning the
temperature ranges.
Cold range
If the needle is at the bottom of the gauge,
the engine oil has not reached operating tem­ perature yet. Avoid high engine speeds, full
throttle applications and heavy engine loads .
Normal range
The engine has reached operating tempera­
ture when the needle moves into the center of
the gauge under normal driving conditions .
The needle may move higher on the gauge
with heavier engine load at high outside tem­ peratures. This is not a cause for concern as
long as the . indicator light in the display
does not flash.
Warning light.
If the symbol . in the display flashes, ei­
ther the engine oil temperature is too high or
the engine oil level is too low
Qpage 180.
If
the needle is well in the upper area of the
gauge, the engine oil temperature is too high .
Stop the vehicle, switch the engine off and
allow it to cool.
If the warning light comes on
again after driving a short distance, contact
an authorized Audi dealer.

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes) .
You should shift to the next lowest gear when
the speed is below 1500 RPM. The beg inning
of the red zone in the tachometer indicates
the maximum permiss ible engine speed for
all gears once the eng ine has been broken in
a nd when i t is wa rm. You sho uld shift to the
n ex t hi gher gea r, switc h the R tron ic sport
mode
off or remove your foot from the accel ­
erator pedal befo re reaching this a rea in the
ga uge.
(D Note
The needle in the tachometer~ page 10,
fig.
3 @ may only be in the red area of the
gauge fo r a short time or the engine could
be damaged. The location whe re the red
zone beg ins va ries depending on the en­
g ine.
Digital clock with date display
Your vehicle is equipped with a quartz con­
trolled digital clock.
F ig. 4 I n stru ment cl uste r w ith t he d ig ita l cl ock
D ate and time are set using the knob~ fig. 4.
To set the hour
• Pull the knob (hour d isplay flashes) and turn
it to the left o r rig ht.
To set the minutes
• Pull the knob as many times as necessary
u nti l the min ute display flashes .
• Turn the knob to the left or right.
To set the date
• Pull the knob a s many times as necess ary
until the day, month o r year disp lay flashes.
• Tur n the knob to the left or rig ht.
To hide or display the date
• Pull the knob as many t imes as necess ary
until the date di sp lay fla shes.
• Turn the knob to the le ft or rig ht.
Wh en th e date d isp lay s tops blin king, this
means the time and da te have been s uccess ­
f ully s to red.
Wi th the ig nition
off, push ing or pu lling the
Set/Che ck button
~ pag e 10, fig. 3@ can
tu rn o n the display field light ing for a few sec­
on ds.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolan t ga uge ~ page 10, fig. 3@
onl y works when t he ig nition is on. To prevent
damage to your engine, please note the fol­
lowing important points.
Engine cold
As long as the need le remains a t the left end
of the gauge, the engi ne still has not reac hed
its operating tem perature. Avoid high eng ine
speeds, heavy engine loads and heavy throt­
tle.
Normal temperature
When the engine has re ached it s operat ing
temperature, the need le w ill move into the
midd le of the gauge and rema in the re .
If th e
engine is working hard at high outside tem­
peratures, the needle may turn further to the
right. This is no cause for concer n as long as
the . warn ing light i n the instrument clus ter
does not illuminate .
Warning light.
When the warning light .starts to flash, this
can mean one of two t hings : either the cool­
ant
temperature i s too h igh, or the coolant
l e vel is too low~ page 32 . IIJ,,

12 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
If the needle is well on the right side of the
gauge, the coolant temperature is too high .
Stop the vehicle, switch the engine off and
allow it to cool.
If the warning light comes on
again after driving a short distance, contact
an author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-Always observe the warni ng in
¢ page 175, Working in the engine
compartment before opening the engine
compartment lid an d checking the en­
gine coo lant level.
- Never open the engine compartment lid
if yo u see or hear steam, or if you see e n­
gine coolant dripping from the engine
compartment . You could burn yourse lf.
Let the engine coo l off first so that you
cannot hear or see any steam or engine
coolant.
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
in front of the air inlets red uces the cool­
i ng effect of the radiator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high engine load, the
engine could overheat .
- The front spo iler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, th is could reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask you r autho rized Aud i dealer for
ass istan ce.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge works only when the ignition is
on. When the needle reaches the red area, the
warn ing light in the instrument cluster will il­
lum inate
c> page 33 (il This means you
have approximately 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of
fuel left in the tank .
Time to refuel!
The total tank capacity of your vehicle is listed
in
Technical data ¢ page 228.
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry! An ir­
regular supply of fuel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter into the ex ­
haust system . The catalytic converter
could then overheat and be damaged.
· Speedometer with odometer
The speedome ter shows you the vehicle
speed, and the odometer shows you how
many miles (kilometers) you have driven .
Fig. S Speedometer close -up: odome ter d isplay
The distance driven is shown in m iles (USA
models) or in kilometers (Canada mode ls).
Lower odometer
The lower odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) dr iven .
Upper odometer (trip odometer)
The upper odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) dr iven since you last re­
set the odometer back to zero . You can use
th is odometer when you want to keep track of
how many m iles (kilometers) yo u have driven
for a single trip or errand. The last dig it ind i­
cates 1/10 of a mile (100 meters) . Yo u can se t
the trip odometer back to zero by pressing the
I RESE T! button ¢ fig . 5 .
With the ign ition off, pushing of the Set/
Check button ¢ page 10, fig. 3 @ can turn on
the display field lighting for a few seconds.
Malfunction message
If there is a malfunct ion somewhere in the in-
strument cluster,
dEF will appea r in the trip .,.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 13
odometer and will stay on. Contact your au ­
thorized Audi dealer to have the problem cor­ rected .
Immobilizer
When the ignition is switched on, the data on
the ign ition key are scanned automatically.
I f an unauthorized key was used,
SAFE is dis­
p layed cont inuously in the odometer display
f ield. The veh icle cannot be operated
~page 38 .
Voltmeter display
The vo ltmeter shows the voltage in the vehi­
cle electrical system. If the reading drops be­
low 12 volts with the engine running, you
should have the power supply (battery and
generator) inspected by an authorized Audi
dealer .
Voltage can drop below 8 volts when you
start the engine .

14 Instruments and warning /indicator light s
Warning/indicator lights
Overview
The warning/indicator lights indicate different functions or a possible malfunction.
Fig. 6 Instrument duster w ith warning/indicator lights
(D Warning/ind icator lights in the tachometer
@ Turn signals
c::> page 16
® Warning/indicator lights in the Driver In­
formation System
c::> page 30
@ Wa rning/ind icator lights in the speedome­
ter
@Warning/indicator lights in the
tachometer
Audi magnet ic r ide
<::>page 15
Tire pressure too low
<::>page 15, c::>page207
Electronic power control
<::>page 15
Convertib le top operation
r::!>page 16
Electronic Stabilizat io n Pro ­
gram (ESP)
c:>page 16
USA models:
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
( M IL)
¢page22
Canada models :
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
(MIL)
c:>page22
High beam
<::>page 16
Rear spoiler
c:>page 16
@ Warning/indicator lights in the
speedometer
I
•
Elec tron ic Sta biliza tion Pro­
gram (ESP)
<::>page 16
USA models:
Cruise control activated
<::>page 17
Canada models :
Cruise control activated
c::> page 17
USA models:
Safety systems
<::>page 17
-----·-

Instrument s and warnin g/indi cator ligh ts 15
Canada mod els :
Safety systems
¢page 17
Generator
¢page 17
Safety be lt
¢page 17
USA model s:
Brake system, parking brake set
¢page 17
Canada model s:
Brake system, parking brake set
¢ page 17
USA models:
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
defective
¢page 18
Canada mod els:
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
defective
¢page 18
& WARNING
- Failure to heed warning lights and other
important vehicle information may result
in serious personal injury or vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever sta lled or stopped for repa ir,
move the vehicle a safe distance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher ¢
page 5 7.
- The engine compartment of any motor
vehicle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down . Always exercise extreme ca u­
t io n when wor king under the engine
c ompartment l id ¢
page 175, Working
in the engine compartment .
(D Tips
-When a yellow warn ing symbol appears,
one war ning tone sounds. Che ck the
f unct ion disp laye d a s soon as poss ible.
- When a red symbol appears,
three warn­
i ng tones so und in a row. The symbo l cont
in ues to flash until the fault has
been corrected.
; Audi magnetic ride
The indicator light monitors vehicle damping.
The ind icator light E illuminates when the ig­
ni tion is switched on as a func tion check .
@ Tips
If the indicato r la mp illuminates wh ile you
a re driving, the re is a malfunction in the
vehicle damping. The ch assis should be in­
spected immed iate ly by an authori zed Au­
di dealer.
ill Tire pressure monitoring system
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h tire p ressu re mo nito ring system
Tire pressure that is too low must be correct ­
ed as soon as possible.
T he wa rning/indicator lig ht RI] ill umi nates for
a few seconds after the ignition is tur ned on
a5 a function check. If the [D] warning light
comes on, pressure in at least one tire is too
l ow.
.,. Stop d riving as soon as possib le w ithout en­
danger ing yourself and other drivers on the
road.
.. Inspect all tires.
.. Correct the tire pressure¢
page 195.
Additional in format ion about the tire pr es­
s ure monitoring system
can be found
¢ page 207 .
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control.
T he warni ng/indicator light ( Electronic Power
Control) ~ illuminates when you switch on
the ignition as a functio n check.
Iii>

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
If this warning/indicator light illuminates
while you are driving, then there is a mal ­
function in the engine electron ics. Have
the malfunction corrected as soon as pos­
sible by your authorized Aud i dealer or
qualified workshop .
"' Convertible top operation
The indicato r light turns on IJI
- When the convertible top opens or closes or
- If the convertible top d id not open or close
completely.
The indicator light blinks if the convertible top
cannot open or close¢
page 47.
n If; Electronic stabilization program
(ESP)
If the indicator lamp Gl blinks while dr iv ing,
the ESP or ASR (Ant i-Slip Regulation) is active­
l y regulating.
If the indicator lamp
Gl illuminates, the sys ­
tem has sw itched the ESP off . In this case , you
can switch the ignition off and then on to
switch the ESP on again . The system is func­
tioning comp letely when the indicator lamp
switches off .
If the indicator lamp
I] illuminates , the ESP
was sw itc hed off with the
lliJ button.
E S P and A BS: fa u lt ! See owner's manu al
If the indicator lamp Gl and the ABS indicator
lamp
!I] illuminate and the driver message
appears, the ABS or electronic differential lock is malfunctioning . This also interrupts the
ESP . The brakes st ill function with the ir nor­
mal power, but ABS is not active .
Drive to your authorized Aud i R8 dealer imme­
d iately to have the malfunction corrected.
For more information about the ESP
¢page 150.
~D High beam
The . war ning/ indicato r light illum inates
whe n the high beams are on or when you use
the headlight flasher.
For more information ¢
page 58.
":::>'• Rear spoiler
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electrically retractable rear spoiler .
The warning/indicator lig ht (11 has the follow­
ing functions :
- It comes on for about 3 seconds as a func­
tion check when the ign ition is switched on.
- It comes on if there is a malfunction in the
electrically retractab le rear spoi ler.
Additional information about the e lectrica lly
retractable rear spoiler¢
page 152 .
& WARNING
=
Driving at higher speeds witho ut the rear
spoiler deployed can impair handling char­
acteristics, making the vehicle harder to
control.
- If the rear spo iler warning/ind icator light
in the instrument cluster comes on, the
rear spo iler may not have dep loyed. Nev ­
e r drive at speeds h igher than 87 mph
(140 km/h) if the spo iler is not deployed .
H ave the spoiler inspected as soon as
possible by an a uthorized Aud i dea le r or
qualified wor kshop.
¢ ¢Turn signals
Whenever yo u use the left II or the right R
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flasher, both indicator
li ghts f lash.
If one of the turn signa l light bulbs burn out,
the turn signal will blink twice as fast as nor­
mal.
Addi tional in formation on the turn s ignals
¢ page 58.

Instrument s and warnin g/indi cator ligh ts 17
CRUISE /vJ' Cru ise control
The warning/indicator light (ij ;jl)~1~ (USA mod­
e ls)/ . (Canasda models) illum inates when
the cruise cont rol is activated.
I I ! .!r Safety systems
This warning/indicator light monitors the air­
bag and the pretensioner systems.
The warning light I (USA models) ;II (Cana­
da models) illuminates for a few seco nds eac h
time you switch on the ignition.
If the
I (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
warn ing light does not go out, or if it illumi­
nates wh ile you are driv ing, or if it starts to
b link, then there is a ma lf u nction somewhere
in the system. If the light does not ill uminate
when you switch on the ignition, this also
means there is a ma lfunction.
A WARNING
If you have a malfunction in the airbag sys­
tem, contact your authorized Audi dealer
immediately. Otherw ise the airbag or the
belt pretensioner may not work proper ly in
an acc ident.
D Generator
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system.
The . warning/indicator lig ht illuminates
when you switc h on t he ignit ion and must go
out after the engine has started.
If the . warning/indicator light i lluminates
while you are driving, you should contact your author ized Audi dealer. Since the vehicle bat­
tery is discharging, you should switch off any
u nnecessary electrical consumers (for exam­
p le, the air conditioner).
Q) Note
If the . warn ing/ indicator light (mal­
function in the engine cooling system) in
the instrument cluste r shou ld i llum inate ¢
page 32, stop the veh
icle and t urn off
the engine. The coolant pump is not work­ i ng -this can cause engine damage!
4 Safety belt warning light
The warning light is a reminder to fasten
safety belts.
T he warning light . comes on fo r a few sec ­
onds after the ignition is switched on as a re ­
minder to fasten yo ur safety be lt. Additional­
l y, an acoustic warning (gong) will a lso sound.
Addi tional in format ion on safety belts
¢ page 109 .
BRAKE/((D) Brake system
This warning/indicator light flashes when the
broke fluid level is too low or when there is a
malfunction in the ABS .
If the wa rning/ind icator light flas hes 111111111;
• (with the parking brake re leased), stop the
vehicle and obtain qualified help¢&, .
If the ABS fails, the ABS wa rn ing/ indicator
l igh t
r.m!J,11] illumina tes along w ith the
brake sys tem warning/ ind icator light- /
. ¢&, .
(USA mode ls): If the war ning light - and
the warn ing light
Lil ill umin ate together, im­
med iate ly contact yo ur a uthorized Aud i dea le r
or qualified workshop to have all brake pads inspected ¢
page 33.
When the light comes on, an aud ible warning
s ignal is also g iven.
Parking brake set
The _ /. warning/ind icator light illumi­
nates when the parking brake is set¢&, . The
fo llow ing message appears in the d isplay:
Handbrake i s app lie d . If yo u inadvertent ly
drive off with the parking brake applied, a
buzzer (warning tone) sounds.

18 Instrument s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
&_ WARNING
-USA models: If both, t he - warning
light a nd
th em war ning light com e
o n at the same t ime, the rear whe els
c ou ld lock up first under hard braking .
Lock-up of the rear whee l brakes can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci­
dent. Have yo ur vehicle repaired immedi­
ately by your authorized A udi dealer or a
qualified workshop . Drive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ion.
- Canada models: If both, the brake warn­
ing light . and the ABS warning light
ti] come on at the same time, the rear
wheels could lock up first under hard
braking. Lock-up of the rear wheel brakes
can cause loss of vehicle control and an
acc ident . Have you r vehicle repaired im­
med iately by your authorized Audi dealer
or a q ualified wor kshop . D rive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ion
- If the brake warning/indicator ligh t does
not go o ut after a few seconds and the
par king brake re leased, or lights up while
yo u are d riving, the fluid level in the
brake fl uid reservoir is too low . If you be­
lieve that it is safe to do so, proceed im­
med iately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop and have the brake system inspect­
ed .
- Please be very carefu l and always keep in
mind that after seve ral brake applica­
t ions, yo u will need g reater pressure on
the brake pedal to stop you r vehicle.
C onsequently, you must allow for in­
creased braking d istances. Trying to
brake as quickly as usual could lead to an
acc ident.
ABS/( @) Anti-Lock Brake System
This warning/indicator light monitors the ABS
and the electronic differ ential lock (EDL).
The m light w ill come on fo r a few seconds
when the igni tion is sw itched on . The light will go out after an automatic check sequence
is comp leted .
There is a malfunction in the ABS when:
-The warn ing/indica to r li gh t does no t illum i­
nate when you sw itch o n the ign ition.
- The warning/ indicato r light does not go out
after a few seconds.
- The warning/ indicator light illum inates
while d rivi ng.
The brake system will still respo nd even with­
out the assistance of the ABS system. See
your autho rized Aud i dea le r as soon as possi­
ble to restore full braking performance . Fo r
more inform ation regard ing the ABS
r::?v page 150 .
The ABS war ning light and the brake warning
li ght come on together. The A BS will not work
and yo u will no tice a change in brak ing re ­
sponse and perfo rmance .
Malfunction in the brake system
USA models: If both, the -warning light
and
the m warn ing light come on
r::?v page 32 whe n the par king b rake is re­
l eased , there may be a ma lf u nct ion in the
ABS, and there may a lso be a malf unct ion in
t h e brake system itse lf
r::?v &. .
Canada models: If bo th, the brake warn ing
li gh t. and the ABS wa rning light
£1 come
on
r::?v page 32 when the parking brake is re ­
leased , there may be a malf unct ion in the
ABS, and there may also b e a malfunction in
the brake system itself ¢ &. .
Malfunction in the electronic differential
lo ck (EDL)
The two systems EDL and ABS work together.
The m warning light will come on if there is
a malfunction in the EDL system
r::?v page 150.
See your au thor ized Audi dealer as soon as
poss ible .
&_ WARNING
-If the m warning light does not go
out, or if it comes on wh ile driving, the
ABS system is not working properly. The