ECU AUDI R8 SPYDER 2012 Owner's Manual

182 Checking and filling
(D Note
- Your vehicle is equipped with a specia l
battery. Installing a different type of
battery can cause prob lems in the vehi­
cle electrical system. When replacing the
vehicle battery, always install one with
the same spec ificat ions as the original
battery .
- Make sure that the gas venting hose is
always connected to the o riginal open ing
on the battery side. Otherw ise gasses or
ba tte ry acid could leak out .
- Battery holder and term inals a lways
have to be secured cor rectly.
- Read and follow the warnings under
9 page 179, Working on the battery be­
fore performing any work on the batte ry.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author­
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you . Batteries contain sulfur ic ac id and
lead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance with a ll environmenta l
reg ulations. D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat­
tery ca nnot overbalance, otherwise sulfu­
r ic acid might escape!
Windshield washer
container
Fig. 147 Luggage compa rtment : W inds hield washer
fl uid reservo ir
The windshield washer container O is located
in the luggage compartment. You can find the
reservo ir capacity in the table in
¢page 218.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets . Always add a glass cleaner
solution (with frost protection in the winter) .
(D Note
- Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind­
shield washer reservoir.
- Do not use glass cleaners containing
pai nt so lvent; you risk damaging the
paint.

the wheel bolts. These are available from au­
thorized Audi dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi­
cle or installing them incorrectly can in­
crease the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes. Always make sure to follow the in­
structions provided by the snow chain
manufacturer .
- When driving with snow chains, never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
- Remove snow chains before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct con­
tact with the wheel rim, can scratch or
damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered . Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow chain manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­
hicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
Tires and wheels 199
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r:!> page 221.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of
control, a collision and serious personal in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ erly tightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
vehicle.
-Always maintain the correct tightening
torque for the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the wheel bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of ± 7 .4
ft lb( ± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bolts diago­
nally. After changing a wheel, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author­
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been selected specifically for your model for their superb performance, road feel
and handling under a variety of driving
IJ,,
•
•

Tightening wheel bolts
~ Fit the wheel bolt wren ch over the wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go
1l.
~ Close your gr ip around the end of the
wrenc h handle fo r maximum torque and
turn each whee l bolt
clockwi se u nti l it sits
t ight.
H ave the
tightening torque of the whee l bolts
checked as soon as possible with a torque
wrench. It shou ld be 120 Nm.
Chec k the
tir e pre ssure as soon as possible .
Return the vehicle tool kit to its proper place .
A WARNING
Loosening the wheel bo lts is prohib ited;
da nger of an accident!
@ Tips
- Never try and use the hexagona l socke t
i n the handle of the screwdr iver to loos­
en or tighten the w heel bolts.
- If yo u have dete rm ined t hat wheel bolts
a re cor roded and difficult to t urn, the
bo lts must be rep laced befo re checking
the to rque.
- Unti l the tig hte ning torque is checked,
d rive at redu ced speeds as a precaution .
Notes on wheel change
Please read the information ¢ page 193, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels ,
if you are
going to use a spare t ire which is different
from the tires on you r veh icle.
Afte r you change a tire :
- Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
diately after mounting.
- Have the wheel bolt t ightening torque
chec ked w ith a torq ue wrench as soon as
poss ib le by your author ized A udi dealer or a
qualified service sta tion .
1) You need t he appro pria te adapte r to t ig hte n th e an ti­
t h eft whee l bolt s
c:> page 206 .
What do I do now? 209
- With stee l and alloy wheel rims, the whee l
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm) .
- If you notice while changing a tire that the
wheel bo lts are corroded and difficu lt to
turn, then they shou ld be rep laced before
you check the tightening torque.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible . Remount the wheel cover.
Until then , d riv e with e xtra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
- If you are going to equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were facto ry installed, then be
sure to read the information ¢
page 193,
New tires and replacing tir es and
wheels.
- Always sto re the tools secu rely in lug­
gage compartment. Othe rwise, in a n ac­
cident o r su dden maneuver they cou ld fly
forwdrd, CciU5ing injury to pd55enger5 in
the vehicle.
(D Note
Do not use comme rcially avai lab le tire
sea lants . Otherwise, the e le ctr ic al compo­
nen ts of t he tire p ressu re monitoring sys­
tem * wi ll no longe r work proper ly and the
sensor fo r the tire pressure mon itor ing
system will have to be rep laced by a quali­
fied workshop.
Jump-starting
General
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engi ne should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
II>
•
•

Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper cable
clamps in exactly the order described below'
Fig . 160 Luggage co m pa rtme nt: connec tor s for a
ch arge r and jump start cab les
F ig . 161 Ju m p sta rt usin g t he batte ry in a not her ve hi­
cl e:
A -Fem ale so cket , B · Di scharge
The batte ry is located in the luggage compart­
ment
¢ page 179. The front lid can be opened
in an emergency
~page 37.
Do not connect the negat ive cable directly to
the negative termina l on the battery. Connect
it to a
j u mp start pin instead ¢ fig. 160.
Connect the posi tive cable (red) to the
positive t ermin al
1. Connect one end of the red jumper cable
¢ fig. 161 (D to the positive te rm inal of
d isc harged battery @.
2. Connect the other end of the red jumper
cable to the positive termina l@ of the
booster battery @.
Conn ect the negat ive cable (black ) to the
negati ve t erminal
3. Connect one end of the black jumper ca­
b le @ to the negative terminal of the
booster battery @.
What do I d o now ? 211
4. Secu re the other end to the jump start pin
@ for the discharged battery @.
Starting the engine
~ Sta rt the engine of the veh icle providing as­
sistance and al low it to run at idle.
~ Now sta rt the eng ine of the vehicle with the
discharged battery .
~ If the engine does not start: Stop trying af­
ter 10 seconds and then try again after
about 30 seconds.
~ Disconnect the cable while the engine is
running in exactly
reverse order to that de ­
scribed .
The ba ttery is vented to the ou tside to prevent
gases from entering the veh icle inter ior . Make
sure that the jumper clamps are well connect­
ed with their
metal parts in full contact with
the battery term inals .
.&, WARNING
To avoid serious person al injury and dam­
age to the veh icle, heed all warnings and
instructions o f the jumper cable manufac­
turer . If in doubt , call for road service.
- Ju mper cables m ust be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they canno t get caught in any
mov ing parts in the engine compart­
ment.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
¢ page 169, Working in the
engine compartment.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ru ­
in the generator .
- Always co nnect POSITIVE(+) to POSI ­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that all screw p lugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firm ly. If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega-
-
tive battery term inal. .,..

212 What do I do now ?
-Please note that the procedure for con ­
necting a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle be ing jump started. When
you are giving a jump start to another ve­
hicle, do
not connect the negative( -) ca­
ble to the negat ive( -) terminal on the
discharged bat tery ©-Instead, securely
con nect the negative( -) cable to either a
solid meta l comp onent that i s firmly
bo lted to the engine b lock or to the en­
gine block itself . If the battery that is be ­
ing charged does not vent to the outside,
escaping battery gas cou ld ign ite and ex ­
plode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing.
The following information is to be used by
commercia l tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safe ly.
- Never tow your A udi, towing will cause dam­
age to the engine and transmission .
- Never wrap the safety chains or winch cables
around the brake lines.
- To preven t unnecessary damage, your Audi
must be transported with a ca r carr ie r (flat
bed truck).
- To load the vehicle on to the flat bed, use
the towing loop fo und in the veh icle tools
and attach to the front anchorage
~ page 212.
A WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas­
senge rs. Never allow anyone to r ide in a
veh icle being towed, for any reason.
(D Note
The vehicle has very low gro und clea rance.
Make sure that no damage is caused to the
-
u nderside of the vehicle when it is being
l oaded onto a f lat bed t ruck .
Front towing loop
Do not install the front towing loop until it is
needed.
Fi g. 162 Righ t front bumper witho ut g rille : Tow ing
l oop
fully screwed in
On t he right fron t in the bumper, there is a
th readed hole behind the air in take grill into
which the towing loop is screwed.
"' Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
t oo l kit
~page 203.
"' Pull the lower part of the gr ill forward and
out .
"' Sc rew the towing loop tightly into the
threaded ho le as far as it wi ll go ¢
fig. 162.
When it is no longer needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the on -board
toolkit . Make su re to have the towing loop
stored in the vehicle at all times.
When installing t he grill for the air d uct, be
s u re that the tabs on the grill are f irst inse rt­
ed into their guides on the vehicle . Then push
the grill into pos ition.
A WARNING
= If the tow ing loop is not screwed in as far
as it will go, the thread can pull out when
the veh icle is towed -potent ial r is k of an
a ccident.
@ Tips
Check caref ully to make sure the hook-up
i s secure.

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.

Convertible locking retractor
Activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Using to secure a ch ild safety seat 138, 140
Conve rtible top
E me rgency operation ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 4 3
Er ror message . ... .... ... .. .. .. .... 41
General info rmation ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 40
Indicator light .... .... ... .... .. .. .. 15
Malfunct ion ............. .... .. .. .. 41
Opening/clos ing ............. .... ... 40
Retract ing/extend ing rear w indow ... .. 42
W ind deflector ................ .... . 42
Coolant system ..... ....... .... .. .. . 175
Adding coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Checking the eng ine coolant leve l ... .. 176
Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4
Changing speed ... .... ... .. .. .. .... 74
Deactivating ............. .... .. .... 75
Driving in co ntrol mode .... .. .. .. .. .. 74
Sw itching
off temporarily .. .. .. .. .. .. 75
War ning/ indicato r lights ...... .... ... 20
Cup holder ... .... ...... ... .. .. .. .... 61
Curren t fuel mileage 24
D
Damping
ref er to Audi magnetic ride . .. .. .. .. .. 75
Data .. .. .. .. ................. .. ... 217
D ata recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Date display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Daytime r unning lights ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 49
D eclaration o f comp liance
Cell phone package ....... .. .. .. .. . 222
E lect ronic immobilize r .. ... .. .. .. .. . 22 2
Homelink ® universal remote control .. 222
Remote control key .... ... .. .. .. .. . 222
Tire pressure monitoring system .. .. . 222
de f ... .. .. .. ................. .. .... 10
Defective light bulb warning . . . . . . . . . . . 18
D efrosting the windows .. ... .. .. .. .. .. 68
D etermi ning cor rect load limit . .. .. .. . 19 1
Dig ita l compass ........... .. .. .. .. .. 57
D imensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216, 21 8
Dimming the rearv iew mirro r . . . . . . . . . . 56
Dipstick ... .. ............. .... .. ... 174
Inde x 225
Distance ... .. .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. . 24
Doors Emergency loc king ................. . 36
Driver informat ion system
Menu butto n .. .. .. . ... ...... ... .. . 26
Menu display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Open door or front lid warn ing ...... .. 21
Outs ide temperature disp lay . . . . . . . . . . 21
Red symbo ls . .. .. .... ............. . 11
Serv ice interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
S etting ... .. .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. . 26
Sound system disp lay .. ..... ... .. .. . 21
Trip computer . ...... .. .. ..... ... .. . 23
yellow symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Driver seat
refer to Seating position . . . . . . . . . 92 , 93
D rivi ng safely . .. .... .......... ...... 91
Driving through water ........... .... 150
Dry sump lubrica tion ... ......... .. .. 149
Duplicate key . .. .... .......... ...... 32
D ust filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
E
Elapse d time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
E lectr ical voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
E lectronic differential lock (EDL) ... .. .. 142
Warning/ind icator lights ........ .. .. . 16
El ec tronic immob ilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 33
E lectronic power control
E PC war ning/ indicator light ........ .. 17
E lectronic Stab ility Control (ESC) ... .. .. 142
Warning/ind icator lights .......... .. . 16
Emergen cy fl ashe r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SO
Warning/ind icator lights ..... ... .. .. . 20
Emergency key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
E me rgency locking . .. ........... .... . 36
Emergency oper ation
C onvertib le top . ... .. ... ..... ... .. . 43
Emergency release Front lid ........ .. ..... ........... 37
Emergency starting ................. 209
Emergency towing . .... ......... .. .. 212
Energy ma nagement . .............. . 147
Battery power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
D rive r notification .. ........... .... 148
•
•

230 Index
Safety belt position Safety belts worn by pregnant women 106
Safety belt pretens io ner
Service and disposal .... .. .. .. .. .. . 107
Safety belts Cleaning . .. .......... ...... ... .. . 162
Danger to passengers who do not wear a
safety belt ............ .. .. .. .. .. . 104
F astening .... ........... .. .. .... . 104
General notes ............ .. .. .. .. . 101
I mproperly worn .......... ... .... . 106
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Pretensioners ................ .... . 107
Safety belt position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Securing child safety seats ....... .. . 138
Special cons iderations for pregnant
women .. .. ................ ... ... 106
Unfasten ing ........... .. .. .. .. .. . 106
Warn ing/ indicato r light ...... .. .... . 101
Why you must wear them .. .. .. .. .. . 102
Worn properly ............ ... .... . 102
Safety belt warn ing light ........ .. .. .. 14
Safety compliance sticker ..... .. .. .. . 215
Safety equipment ........ .. .. .. .. .. .. 91
Safety features for occupant restraint and protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Safety guidelines Seat adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Safety instructions For using chi ld safety seats .......... 133
F or using safety belts .............. 102
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem ... .. ................. .. .... . 122
Seat adjustment Driver's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Fr ont passenger's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Power seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Safety guidelines ..... .... .. .. .. .. .. 59
Seating capacity ............ ... .... . 101
Seating position
Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Fr ont passenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
I ncorrect seat position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Seats
Number of seats
101
Selector lever
Defective ... .. .. ............. .. .. . 19
Serv ice
Airbag system ... ..... ........... . 122
Service and disposal Safety be lt pretensioner ........ .... 107
Serv ice interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Service position for windshield wipers .. . 55
Set menu ....... .. ................ .. 26
Setting the t ime ... ... .......... .. .. .. 9
Side airbags Descrip tion .... .. ... .......... .. .. 127
How they work . .. .......... ...... . 128
Side marker lights ................. .. 49
Snow cha ins .. .. . .. ............ .. .. 198
Socket . .... .... ................... . 62
Sound system display ................. 21
Sources of information about child re-
stra ints and their use . ........... .. .. 141
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Speed rating letter code .............. 194
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Spoi ler ............................ 144
Starting on hills
Hill hold assist ... ............. .... . 73
Starting the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Steering column Adjusting ..... .. ............. .... . 70
Locking the steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Steps for determining correct load limit . 191
Stopping the eng ine ..... ........... .. 72
Storage ... ..... .. .. .............. .. 62
Sun visors .. .. .. .. .... ......... .... . 53
Symbols Red symbols in the center display ...... 11
Yellow symbols in the center display .. . 12
also refer to Warning/Indicator lights .. 11
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Tank flap Unlocking the fuel filler flap by hand .. 167
T echnical modifications ........ .. .. .. 221