oil level AUDI R8 SPYDER 2012 User Guide

A WARNING
-While top ping off, the oil must not come
in contact with hot engine pa rts -fire
hazard!
- The oil fille r cap must be prope rly se­
cured to preve nt o il from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the eng ine is r unning -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact w ith the
engine oil, yo u must subseque ntly
cl eanse it tho roughly.
(D Note
- The oil level must not be above range G)
- danger of conver ter or eng ine damage!
Co ntact an authorized Audi dea ler to
draw off oil, if necessa ry.
- Audi does not recommend the use of oil
additiv es. They may damage the engine
and adverse ly affec t your New Vehicle
Warr an ty.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Under no ci rcumstances ca n the o il come
i n cont act w it h the sewage network o r
the soil.
- Observe and fo llow lega l regu lations
when d isposing of empty oil con taine rs.
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The coolant provides cooling for the engine.
The percentage of the coolant additive deter­
mines the freeze protection of the coolant in the winter.
The cooling system is sea led and generally re­
q ui res little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the fac ­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not
need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture o f water and the man ufacture r's g ly­
col-based coolant additive Gl3 ant ifreeze
w ith a nticorros ion add itives (50% for USA
models; 60% for Canad ian models). This mix­
ture bot h assures the n ecessary frost protec-
Checkin g and fillin g 175
tion and protects meta l components in t he
engine's cooling system from corrosio n and
sca ling . It a lso raises the boiling point of the
coolant.
Do not reduce the concen tration of the cool ­
ant in the s ummer by adding p lai n wate r.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50 % but not more than 60 %
to main­
ta in antifreeze protect io n and coo ling eff ic ien­
cy. If the coo la nt frost protection is too low,
t h e coolant could freeze and damage the vehi­
cle heating and engine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory fo r temperatures dow n to:
- -31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada .
A WARNING ~
Before you chec k anything in the engi ne
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS¢
& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 169.
-
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli ­
mate condit ions. This is especially impor­
t ant if you l ive i n a region where the win-
t er is extremely cold. If necessary, in-
cr ea se t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 6 0%.
- Whe n ad ding coolant addi tiv e to yo ur
c oo ling sys te m , reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coo lant ad­
d itive Gl2 ++ or Gl3 (check the labe l)
for your vehicle. This coolant additive is ava ilable at authorized Aud i dea lers .
Othe r ty pes of antifreeze ca n sig nifi­
ca ntly reduce cor ros io n protec tion . The
r esu lting co rrosion can cause a loss of
coo lant a nd serio us e ng ine da mage.
- Do not add any type of rad iator l eak seal­
ant to yo ur vehicle's engi ne coo lant .
A dd ing radia to r r epair f luid m ay adverse-
ly affect the f unction and pe rformance of .,.. •
•

1 7 6 Che cking and filling
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty .
Checking the engine coolant level
Proceed carefully when checking the coolant.
Fig . 1 43 Co nvert ible top: se rv ice pos it ion
F ig . 14 4 Convert ib le top storage bay: coolant expan·
sio n tank
Before you check anything in the engine com ­
partment,
a lwa ys r ead and heed all WARN ­
INGS ¢.&.. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page
169 and park your vehicle on a
level surface .
The coolant expansion tank is located in the right s ide of the convertible top storage bay
under the round metal cover¢
fig. 144 . The
convertible top must be in the service position
to check the coolant leve l
¢fig . 143 .
Bringing the closed con ve rtible top into
th e s ervic e position
~ Switch the ignition on .
~ Pull and hold the convert ible top switch .
~ Press and hold the rear window switch too
u nti l the convertib le top moves into the
service position¢
fig. 143.
Bringing the op en conv ertible to into the
service position
~ Switch the ignition on.
~ Press and hold the convertible top switch.
~ Press and hold the rear window switch too
until the convertible top moves into the
service position¢
fig . 143 .
Opening the coolant e xpan sion tank cover
~ Stop the engine and allow it to cool.
~ Switch the ignition off.
~ Carefully remove the bolts in the cover (D
using a screwdriver and remove the cover.
The coolant reservoir is located below
¢fig. 144.
Chec king the engine cool ant level
~ Place a rag or cloth on the cap of the cool­
ant expansion tank and turn the cap
careful­
ly
to the left (counter-clockwise) ¢ .&_.
~ Read the coolant level inside the coolant ex­
pans ion tank ¢
fig. 144 . With a co ld engine,
it must be above the "min" mark. With a hot
eng ine, it can be a little above the indicated
range.
T o obtain an accu rate reading, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion ta nk in your vehicle is equ ipped
with an electric coo lant level sensor
¢page 15. We still recommend you check the
c oolant level from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system . In the event of coolant loss, the cool­
i ng system shou ld be inspected immediately
by your aut horized Audi dea ler. It is not
eno ugh me rely to add coolant.
In a
s ea le d system, losses can occur on ly if
the boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as
a resu lt of overheating.

220 Consumer Inf ormation
steadi ly reduced the scope of maintenance
and repairs which can be carried out by vehicle
owners.
Als o, sa fe ty a nd en vir onm ent al con­
cerns place very strict limits on the nature of
repairs and adjustments to engine and trans­
miss ion parts which an owner can perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repa irs usua lly
require special tools, testing devices and oth­
er equipment available to specially trained
workshop personnel in order to assure proper pe rformance, reliab ility and safety of the vehi­
cle and its many systems.
Improper maintenance, adjustments and re­
pa irs can impair the operation and reliab ility
of your vehicle and even void your vehicle war­
ranty. Therefore, proof of servic ing in accord­
ance w ith the ma intenance schedule may be a
condition for upholding a poss ible warranty
claim made within the warranty period.
Above all, operational safety can be adversely
affected, c reating unnecessary risks for you
and your passengers.
If in doubt about any se rv icing, have it done
by your author ized Audi dealer or any other
p roperly equipped and qualified workshop.
We strong ly urge you to give yo ur autho rized
Audi dealer the opportunity to perfo rm all
schedu led maintenance and necessary repairs.
Your dea ler has the facilities, original parts
and trained specialists to keep your vehicle
running properly.
Performing limit ed m aint enance yours elf
The following pages describe a limited num­
ber of proced ures which can be performed on
your vehicle with ordinary too ls, shou ld the
need arise and trained personnel be unavaila­
ble. Before performing any of these proce­
dures, always thoroughly read all of the app li­
cable text and carefully follow the instruc­
tions given . Always rigorously obse rve the
WARNINGS p rovided.
Before you ch eck anything in th e eng ine
co mpartm ent , alway s re ad and h eed all
WA RNINGS
c::> .&. and c::> ..&. in Working in the
engine compartment on page 169.
A WARNING
- Serious personal injury may occur as a re­
sult of improperly performed mainte­
nance, adjustments or repa irs.
- Always be extremely careful when work­
ing on the vehicle. Always follow com­
monly accepted safety pract ices and gen­
eral common sense. Never r is k personal
injury.
- Do not attempt any of the maintenance,
checks or repairs descr ibed on the fol­
lowing pages if you are not fu lly fam iliar
with these or other procedures with re ­
spect to the vehicle, or are uncertain how
to proceed .
- Do not do any work without the proper
too ls and equipment. Have the necessa ry
work done by your author ized A udi deal­
er or another proper ly equipped and
qualified workshop.
- Always remove the ignition key before
anyone gets under the vehicle.
- Always support your veh icle with safety
stands if it is necessary to work under­
neath the vehicle. The jack* is not ade­
quate for this purpose and cou ld collapse
causing ser ious personal inju ry.
- If you must work underneath the vehicle
with the wheels on the ground, a lways
make sure the vehicle is on level ground,
that the wheels a re a lways secure ly
b locked and that t he engine cannot be
s tarted.
- Always make sure the transmission se­
lec to r l ever is in
"N" (Neut ral) (R t ron ic)
or Neutral (manual transmission) and
the hand bra ke is f irmly app lied.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Changing the engine sett ings will ad­
verse ly affect emission leve ls. Th is is det­
r imental to the environment and increas­
es fuel consumpt ion .
- Always observe environmenta l regu la­
tions when disposing of old eng ine oil,
used brake flu id, dirty engine coo lant,
spent batteries or worn out tires.

226 Index
Eng ine
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 5
Eng ine compartment lid ... .. .. .... . 170
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70, 71
Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
E ng ine compartment .. ... .. .. ... ... . 17 1
Safety instructions ..... ... .. .. .... . 169
E ng ine compartment lid
C losing ...... ........... .. .. .... . 170
Release lever .......... .. .. .. .. .. . 170
Eng inecoolantsystem ............... 175
Malfunct io n .................. ..... 15
Tempe ratu re ga uge .................. 9
Eng ine data ........................ 217
E ng ine oil ... .. . .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 17 2
Adding ..... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 174
Additives ... ... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 174
Check ing the eng ine o il level . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Dry sump lubrication ............... 149
Indications and condit ions req uiring ex-
tra check ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
o·t t· 1 consump 10n .... ...... .. .. .. .. . 173
O il grades .. .......... ...... ... .. . 172
Specif ication and vi scos ity ... ... .. .. . 17 2
T empe ratu re d ispl ay ................. 8
Eng ine oil level ................. ..... 18
Engine oi l pressure (malfunction) ... .. . . 14
E ng ine o il sensor defective .. .. .. .. .. . . 18
Eng ine speed limitat ion ..... .. .. .... .. 17
E nvi ronment
Cata lytic conve rter ..... ... .. .. .... . 150
Fu el . .. .... ... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 166
Un leaded fuel .............. .. .... . 164
E PC
refer to Electronic power control . . . . . . 17
ESC (Elec tronic S tability Control)
War ning/ indica to r lights ....... .. .... 16
Event Data Recorder ( EDR) ... .... .... . 142
E xha ust tail p ipes
C leaning .... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 15 8
E xp ansion ta nk .. .... ...... .. .. .. .. . 176
E xterior mirrors
Ad justing .. .. . .......... .. .. .... .. 57
o· . 1mming ... ............... ...... .. 56
H eating .. ................. ...... .. 57
F
Fan ... ... .. .... .. ... .. .. ..... ... .. . 67
Fasten ing
Boos ter seats .. .. .. ........ ...... . 137
Co nvertib le child safety seats ........ 136
Infan t se ats ... .. ... .......... .... 135
Flat bed truck ..... .......... ....... 212
Flat tire Changi ng ..... .. .... ...... ... .. .. 206
Floo r ma ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Folding top
Care and cleaning . ................. 156
Foot peda ls ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 96
F o r th e sake of the envi ronment
Gasoline fumes and the e nvir onme nt .. 166
L etting your eng ine warm up . ... .. .. . 71
Ref ueling ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. 166
Front a irbags
Des cription .. .. .. ... .......... .. .. 113
How they wor k ................ .... 118
Frontal collis io ns and the laws of phys ics 103
Front lid
Emergency release .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 37
light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Power locking system .......... ..... 37
Trunk escape handle ... ....... ... .. 203
F ront passenger
refer to Seating position . . . . . . . . . 92, 93
F ron t seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Childrest rain tsinthefrontseat ......
111
Front towing loop .................. . 212
Fuel Additives ......................... 164
B lended gaso line .............. .... 164
Current fuel mileage ................ 24
Filler neck ... .. .. .. ... ....... ... .. 16S
Fuel supply too low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Gasoli ne addit ives ................ . 165
O ctane rat ing .. .. ... .......... .... 164
Recommendation .............. .. .. 164
Ref ueling ..... .. ... .. ..... .... . .. 166
Reserve ... .... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 10
Tank capac ity .... ... .. ..... ... .. .. 217
Unlocking the fuel fi ller flap by hand .. 167
F uel gauge . .. .. .. ............. .... . 10
Fuel range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24