ECU AUDI R8 SPYDER 2015 Owner's Manual

Child Safety
any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will result in serious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when ­
ever the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on whenever the igni­
tion is switched on the inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier
with great force and will smash the child
safety seat and child against the backrest,
door or roof. Have the airbag system in­
spected immediately by your Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
~ page 95, Safety belts,
¢ page 102, Airbag system
and
¢ page 122, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the front passenger can be
locked with the convertible locking retractor to
properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints . The
safety belt must be locked so that belt webbing
cannot unreel. The retractor can be activated to
lock the safety belt and prevent the safety belt
webbing from loosening up during normal driv­
ing. A child safety seat can only be properly in­
stalled when the safety belt is locked so that the
child and child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
child should always ride in the seat properly re­
strained for its age and size.
130
A WARNING ,.
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision .
-
-Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child safe ­
ty seat . An unlocked safety belt retractor
cannot hold the child safety seat in place
during normal driving or in a crash.
-Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, door or roof.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used
¢page 122. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
¢ page 103, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on whenever the igni­
tion is switched on the inflating airbag will
hit the child safety seat or infant carrier .,,.

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with great force and will smash the child
safety seat and child against the backrest,
door or roof. Have the airbag system in­
spected immediately by your Audi dealer.
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and can cause in­
jury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
-Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
Child Safety
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, door or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in­
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir­
cumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen­
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight -mat in the seat and register a heavi­
er weight in the Advanced Airbag System .
The heavier weight registered can make the
system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when
it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on and stay on
have the airbag system inspected immedi­
ately by your Audi dealer .
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the conver tible locking re trac tor to secure a
child restraint.
Always h eed the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle. To ac tiva te the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out .
.. Route it around or through the child restraint
belt path
c:> ,&. .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un­
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat. ..,.
131

Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
the trunk). Static electricity can build up
while filling and can ignite fuel vapors
causing a fire.
- Always place a portable fuel container on
the ground before f illing.
- Always keep the fi ller nozzle comp letely
inside the portable container before and
during filling.
- If filling a portable container made of
metal, the filler nozzle must always be in
contact with the container. This will help prevent static electricity from discharging
and cause a fire .
- Never sp ill fuel inside the vehicle or lug­
gage compartment. Fuel vapors are highly
f la mmab le.
- Always observe local and state/provincial
laws regarding the use, storage and trans­
portat ion of fuel containers.
- Make certain the fuel container meets in­
dustry standards (ANSI/ ASTM F8S2 -86) .
(D Note
If any fuel has spilled onto the car, it should
be removed immediately to prevent damage
to the paint .
@ For the sake of the environment
As soon as the correctly operated nozzle
switches off automatically for the first time,
the tank is full. Do not try to add more fuel
because fuel may spill out. In addition, the
expansion space in the fuel tank will be filled -
causing the fuel to overflow when it becomes
warm and pollute the enviro nment.
@ Tips
- Running your engine while refueling may
cause vapors to escape or even fue l to spill
out of the tank. This would then shut off the
fuel nozzle before the tank is full.
- Do not refuel your vehicle w ith the ignition
switched on . The fuel gauge may otherwise
not indicate the correct fuel level after refu­
e ling.
154
Unlocking the fuel filler flap by hand
You can open the fuel filler flap by hand if the
power locking system should fail .
Fig. 130 Engine compartme nt: loosening the fuel filler
flap cable
Fig. 131 Eng ine compa rtment: releasing the fuel filler flap
using the emergency re lease
You can release the fue l filler f lap using a red
emergency release loop . It is located in the right
side of the engine compartment .
.,. Open the engine compartment lid.
.,. Loosen the fuel filler flap cable from its mount
@ on the crossmember
r::;, fig. 130 .
.,. Pull the red loop in the direction of the arrow
until the fue l filler flap opens
r::;, fig. 131.
.,. Once the fuel filler flap is open, secure the ca­
ble on the crossmember again .
.,. Close the eng ine compartment lid
r::;, page 156.

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_& WARNING
-When you close the engine compartment
lid, check it to make sure the safety catch
has properly engaged . The engine compart-
Engine compartment
Checking and filling
ment lid should be flush with the surround­
ing vehicle body parts.
-If you notice while driving that the engine
compartment lid is not secured properly,
stop at once and close it.
These ore the most important items that you con check.
Fig. 134 Typical l ayout for conta iners , engine oil dipst ick and engin e oil fille r cap (manual tran smis sion)
Fig. 135 Typica l layout for conta iners, engine o il dipst ick and e ng in e oil fille r cap (S tronic)
With manual transmission:
(!) Power steering fluid reservoir(@).
@ Engine oil filler cap ("1::r.) , ... .. .
@ Engin e oil dipstick ............ .
With S tronic transmission:
(!) Power steering fluid reservoir(@).
139
160
159
139
@ Engine oil filler cap ("1::r.) with en-
gine oil dipstick, ............ .. 161,160
_& WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ~ .&. in Working in the engine compart-
ment on page 155. ..,.
157

Checking and filling
Checking the engine oil level
App lies to veh icles: w ith S tro nic
Fig. 138 Inst rumen t cl uste r: Eng ine oil temperature dis­
play
Fig. 139 Markers on o il dipstic k
Before you check anything in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS .
Determining oil level
• Warm up the engine by driv ing until the inst ru­
ment cluster display shows an o il temperature
of 210 ° F (100 °C) to 230 ° F (110 °C)
¢fig. 138.
"Park your vehicle so that it is horizonta lly level.
• Allow the warm engine to run for about two mi-
nutes at idle.
• Shut the engine off and wait two minutes.
• Remove the design cover.
" Unscrew the cap
'l:::,-: to the engine oil fil ling
hole¢
page 157, fig . 135 .
• Check the oil level on the engine oil dipstick
¢ fig . 139.
To check the oil level, the dipstick must be in­
serted completely and the bayonet catch must
be locked (audible locking, turn all the way to
the stop).
160
Oil level within range (v
" Do not add oil.
Oil level within range@
• Add 1 quart (1 liter) of o il. A~erwards, the oil
level should be w ithin range
(v .
Depending on the way the vehicle is driven and
the operating cond itions, oil consumption can be
up to 1 quart per 600 miles (1 liter per 1,000
km). Consumption may be higher within the first
3,000 miles (5,000 km).
Adding engine oil~
Applies to vehicles: wi th manual t rans miss ion
Fig . 140 Engine compartment: Oil fille r cap location
Befo re you check anyth ing in the eng ine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine compartment on
page 155.
"Unscrew the cap ce:;,, to the eng ine oi l filling
hole ¢
fig. 140 .
"Carefully top off with the appropriate oil
<=)page 158.
"Check the oil level again ¢ page 159 .
"Top off the oil again, if necessary.
" Screw the cap back on the filling hole and slide
the oi l dipstick in as far as it will go.
A WARNING
- Wh ile topping off, the o il must not come in
contact with hot engine parts - f ire hazard!
- The oil filler cap must be properly secured to
prevent oil from being sprayed on the hot
engine and exhaust system when the engine
is runn ing - fire hazard! .,._

-If your skin has come in contact with the en­
gine oil, you must subsequently cleanse it
thoroughly.
0 Note
- The oil level must not be above range
¢ page 159, fig. 137 0-danger of convert­
er or engine damage! Contact an authorized
Audi dealer to draw off oil, if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the use of oil ad­
ditives. They may damage the engine and
adversely affect your New Vehicle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come in
contact with the sewage network or the soil.
- Observe and follow legal regu lations when
disposing of empty oil containers.
Adding engine oil~
Applies to vehicles: with S tron ic
0 N
-N
~
"' a,
F ig . 141 Engin e co mp artm en t: cove r on t he engin e oil fi ll­
er neck
Before you check anything in the engine compart ­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢.&. in Working in the engine compartment on
page 155.
.,. Shut the engine off .
.. Remove the design cover, if necessary .
.,. Unscrew the cap
'l=?1 to the engine oil fill ing
hole ¢
fig. 141 .
.. Carefully top off with the appropriate o il
¢page 158.
.. Check the oil level again ¢ page 160.
.. Top off the oil again, if necessary .
.. Slide the oil dipstick in and screw the cap back
on the filling hole.
Chec king and filling
A WARNING
- While topping off, the oil must not come in
contact with hot engine parts -fire hazard!
- The oil filler cap must be properly secured to
prevent oil from being sprayed on the hot
engine and exhaust system when the engine
is running -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact with the en­
g ine oil, you must subsequently cleanse it
thoroughly .
(D Note
-The oil level must not be above range
¢ page 160, fig . 139 0 -danger of convert­
er or eng ine damage! Contact an author ized
Audi dea ler to draw off oil, if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the use of oil ad­
ditives . They may damage the engine and
adversely affect you r New Vehicle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come in
contact with the sewage network or the soil.
- Observe and follow legal regulations when
disposing of empty o il containers .
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­
tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
T he coo ling system is sealed and genera lly re­
quires little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the factory
with a permanent coolant which does not need to
be changed. The coolant consists of a mixtu re of
specially conditioned wate r and the manufactur­
er's glycol-basedcoolant additive Gl3 antifreeze
with anticorrosion additives (50% for USA mod­ els; 60% for Canadian models). This mixture both
assures the necessary frost protection and pro­
tects metal components in the engine's cooling
system from corrosio n and scaling. It also ra ises
the boiling point of the coolant .
1111-
161

Tires and wheels
-The use of incorrect tire pres­sure values can lead to acci­
dents or other damage. There­
fore it is essential that the driver observe the specified
tire pressure values for the
tires and the correct pressures
for the function of the tire pressure monitoring system.
-Always inflate tires to the rec­ ommended and correct tire
pressure before driving off.
-Driving with underinflated tires bend more, letting them get too hot resulting in tread
separation, sudden tire failure
and loss of control.
-Excessive speed and/overload­
ing can cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure and loss of
control.
-If the tire pressure is too low
or too high, the tires will wear
prematurely and the vehicle
will not handle well.
-If the tire is not flat and you do not have to change a wheel
immediately, drive at reduced
speed to the nearest service
station to check the tire pres­
sure and add air as required .
182
d) Note
Driving without valve stem caps
can cause damage to the tire
valves. To prevent this, always
make sure that factory instal­
led valve stem caps on all
wheels are securely mounted on the valve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires will also in­
crease the fuel consumption.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of
load or weight that any vehicle
and any tire can carry. A vehicle
that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overloading can not only lead to
loss of vehicle control, but can al­
so damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden
tire failure, including a blowout and sudden deflation that can
cause the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on making
sure that load limits are not ex­
ceeded. Vehicle load includes ev­
erybody and everything in and on
the vehicle. These load limits are ...

Tires a nd wh eels
Tire ply composition and
materials used
The number of plies indicates the
number of layers of rubber-coat­
ed fabric in the tire. In general,
the greater the number of plies,
the more weight a tire can sup­
port . Tire manufacturers also
must indicate the materials in the
tire, which include steel, nylon, polyester, and others .
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that can be carried by the
tire .
Tire quality grading for
treadwear , traction , and
temperature resistance
Tread wear, traction and tempera­
ture grades ~
page 192.
Maximum Permissible
Inflation Pressure
This number is the greatest
amount of air pressure that
should ever be put in the tire un­
der normal driving conditions .
190
Replacing tires or rims on
vehicles equipped with tire pressure monitoring sy stem
The wheels on your vehicle are
equipped with a sensor which
constantly monitors the air pres ­
sure inside the tire, and then
transmits this information to the
tire pressure monitoring system.
If you are go ing to replace the
wheel rims on your vehic le, make
sure the new rims also have these
sensors. The sensors must be
compatible with the tire pressure monitoring system on your vehi­
cle.
If you install rims, which do not have the sensors, or have sensors
which are not compatible, then
the tire pressure monitoring sys­
tem will not work properly . In this
case, the tire pressure monitoring
system would not be able to mon­ itor the tire pressure or warn you
if it is necessary .
-The battery inside of the tire pressure sensor has a limited
service life.
-Always drive with the valve stem caps securely mounted . We rec­
ommend using factory installed ""

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CD Note
-Remove snow chains before driving on roads
not covered with snow to avoid damaging
tires and wearing the snow chains down un­ necessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct contact
with the wheel rim, can scratch or damage
it. Therefore, make sure that the snow
chains are suitably covered . Check the posi­
tion of the snow chains after driving a few
yards and correct if necessary. Follow the in­
structions from the snow chain manufactur­
er when doing so.
(j) Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
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 fac­
tory installed rims. If different rims are fitted,
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.
In certain circumstances, you may not use wheel
bolts from a different vehicle -even if it is the
same model ¢
page 217.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose causing loss of con­
trol, a collision and serious personal injury.
-
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads
in the wheel hubs clean so the wheel bolts
can turn easily and be properly 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.
Tires and wheels
- Never use different wheels bolts on your ve­
hicle.
- Always maintain the correct tightening tor­
que for the wheel bolts to reduce the risk of
a wheel loss. If the tightening torque of the
wheel bolts is too low, they can loosen and
come out when the vehicle is moving. If the
tightening torque is too high, the wheel bolts and threads can be damaged and the
wheel can become loose.
CD 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 diagonally. Af­
ter changing a wheel, the torque must be
checked as soon as possible with a torque
wrench -preferably by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect ra­
tio 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 conditions . Ask your au­
thorized Audi dealer for more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated by
a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size designa­
tion. The numeral represents the ratio of the
tire's sidewall height in relation to its tread width
expressed in percentage. Conventional tires have
a height/width ratio of 60 or more.
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is par­
ticularly sensitive to improper inflation pres­
sure. It is therefore important that low aspect
ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure
and that the inflation pressure is regularly
checked and maintained. Tire pressures should be checked at least once a month and always
before a long trip
c> page 179, Checking tire
pressure.
195

What do I do now? Trunk escape handle
Appl ies to vehicles: with trunk escape handle
In case of an emergency, the front lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk escape
handle.
.. To open the front lid pull the handle.
The trunk escape handle inside t he luggage com ­
partment is made of fluorescent material to glow
in the dark .
.&_ WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only in
an emergency.
Vehicle tool kit
The tools are stored underneath the floor panel
in the luggage compartment.
Fig. 151 Luggage compartment: veh icle tool kit
"' Swing the luggage compar tment floo r up-
wards .
.. Remove the vehicle tool kit.
The onboard tool kit incl udes:
- Hook for removing hub cap
- Lug wrench
- Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdr iver w ith reversible blade
- Towing eye
- Jack* (not a vehicle component; contact your
,..... authorized Aud i dealer i f needed)
N
I'-
~ Some of the on board items listed above are pro-
.... :5: vided on certa in models only or are optiona l ex-
N l/1 .... tras.
What do I do no w?
Before returning the jack* to its p lace, retract the
jack arm fully.
.&_ WARNING
-
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause se-
rious personal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bo lts, since the bolts cannot
attain the necessary tightening torque if yo u
use the hex head, potentially causing an ac­
cident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended only
for your veh icle model. Under no circum­
stances should it be used to
lift heavy
veh icles or other loads; you risk injuring
yourse lf.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle is
raised, which could cause an accident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appropri­
ate stands if work is to be pe rformed under­
neath the vehicle; otherwise, the re is a po­
tential risk fo r injury.
- Never use the jack supplied with your Aud i
on another vehicle, part icularly on a heavier
one. The jack is only suitable for use on the
vehicle it came with.
Tire repair
General and safety pointers
Applies to vehicles: with Tire Mobility System
Tire repair is intended only for temporary, short­
term use.
Fig. 152 Tire damage for which the Tire Mobility System Is
not suited
Your vehicle is equipped with a tire repa ir kit, the
T ire Mob il it y Sy stem ( TMS). .,.
19 9