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surfaces, seams, joints and compon ents in the en gin e comp art
ment.
& WARNING
Be aware: The engine compartment of any motor vehicle is a
potentially hazardous area .
• Before working in the engine compartment, be sure to read the
information
=> page 209 .
• Before reaching into the front plenum panel, always remove the
ignition key . Otherwise , the windsh ield wiper system could unin
tentionally be switched on , possibly causing personal injury from
the moving wiper link age .
• Never reach into the area around or touch the radiator fan . The
auxiliary fan is temperature controlled and can switch on suddenly
- even when the ignition is off.
• Do not wash, wax or dry the engine with the engine running .
Moving or hot parts could injure you.
• Do not clean the underside of the chassis , fenders , wheel
covers , or other hard to reach parts without protecting your hands
and arms. You may cut yourself on sharp -edged metal parts.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other informat ion
=> page 198 . •
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•
Closing the engine hood
- Pull the hood down until the pressure from the struts is
reduced .
- Let the hood
drop down and latch in place. Do not try to
push it shut;
it may fail to engage => &.
& WARNING
A hood that is not completely latched could fly up and block your
view while driving.
• When you close the engine hood, check it to make sure the
safety catch has properly engaged. The hood should be flush with
the surrounding vehicle body parts.
• If you notice while driving that the hood is not secured prop
erly, stop at once and close it. •
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in the engine
compartment!
Whenever you must perform any work in the engine compartment,
for example checking and filling the different fluids, there is a risk of injury, burns and accidents. To prevent personal injury always
observe the following WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area!
~ &
& WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check anything under the hood :
• Switch off the engine.
• Remove the ignition key.
• Apply the parking brake .
& WARNING (continued)
• Move selector lever of automatic transmission to "P" (Park);
put manual transmission in Neutral .
• Always let the engine cool down. Hot components will burn
skin on contact.
• To reduce the risk of being burned, never open the hood if you
see or hear steam or coolant escaping from the engine compart
ment. Wait until no steam or coolant can be seen or heard before
carefully opening the hood .
• Keep children away from the engine compartment.
• Never spill fluids on hot engine components . They can cause a
fire.
• Never touch the radiator fan. The auxiliary electric fan is
temperature controlled and can switch on suddenly.
• Never open the coolant reservoir cap when the engine is still
warm. The coolant system is pressurized and hot coolant could
spray out.
• Protect your face, hands and arm from steam or hot engine
coolant by placing a thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir.
• If work on the fuel system or the electrical system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or open flames. Fluids in
the engine compartment could start a fire .
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher immediately available.
• To avoid electrical shock and personal injury while the engine
is running or being started, never touch :
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage electronic ignition
system.
• If you must perform a check or repair with the engine running: ..,
Vehicle care
I t •
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-Pla ce a t hick ra g o ver the coola nt e xpansion tank
=>
page 225, fi g. 142 an d carefully tw ist the c ap counter
cl ockw ise=> &.
- Add coo lan t.
- Twist the cap on again
tightly .
Replacement engine coolant must conform to exact specifications
=>
page 224, "C oolant" . Even in an emerge ncy, if coo lant add it ive
G 12+ +, G 12+ or G12 is not availab le, do
not use a different additive.
Use p lain water instead until you ca n get the c orrec t addit ive and
can restore the correct ratio. This should be done as soon as possible.
If you have lost a considerable amount o f coo lant, then you should
add co ld antifreeze and cold water only when the engine is cold.
A lways use
new e ngine c oolan t when refil ling .
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Excess coolant will be
forced ou t through the pressure relief va lve in the cap when the
engine becomes hot.
& WARNING
• The cooling sy stem is under pre ssure and can get very hot .
Reduce the risk of scalding from hot coolant by following these
s teps.
- Turn off the engine and allo w it to cool down .
- Protect your face, hands and arms from esc aping fluid and
steam by covering the cap with a large , thick rag .
- Turn the cap slo wly and very carefully in a counter -clockwise
dire ction while applying light , downward pressure on the top
of the cap .
- To avoid being burned, do not spill antifreeze or coolant on
the e xhaust system or hot engine parts . Under certain condi
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine coolant can catch fire .
& WARNING (continued )
• Antifreeze is poi sonous. Always store antifreeze in its original
container and well out of the re ach of children .
• If you drain the coolant , it must be caught and safely stored in
a proper container clearly marked "poison ".
0 Note
• Coo lant po llutes the environment and could cause an engine
fire. Excess coolant will be forced out through the pressure re lief
va lve in the cap when the engine becomes hot.
• If , in an eme rgency, o nly wa te r can be added, the correct rat io
between water and antifreeze=>
page 224 must be restored as soon
as possib le .
ffi For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Always dispose of used
coo lant whi le observ ing all environmen tal regulat io n s. •
Radiator fan
The radi ator f an s witches on au tomati cally by itself.
T he e lectric radiator fan is control led bythe rmoswitches that switch
on and off depending on coolant and engine compartment temper
atures.
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on and off depending on
coo la nt tempe rature a nd other veh ic le operati on cond itio ns.
After you switch the engine off, the aux iliary fan can continue
running for up to 10 m inutes -even with the ignition off. It can even
sw itch o n again later by itself=> & , if
• the temperature of the engine coo lant rises due to the heat
b ui ld-up fro m the eng ine in the eng ine co m partment, or
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• the engine compartment heats up because the vehicle is parked
in intense sunlight.
& WARNING
• To reduce the risk of personal injury never touch the radiator
fan.
• The auxiliary electric fan is temperature controlled and can
switch on suddenly even when the engine is not running .
• The auxiliary radiator fan switches on automatically when the
engine coolant reaches a certain temperature and will continue to
run until the coolant temperature drops. •
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a quick glance.
Fig. 143 Engine
compartment: brake
fluid reservoir
Before you check anything in the engine compartment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS=> & in "Working in
the engine compartment" on
page 217.
-Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid reservoir
=> fig. 143. The brake fluid level must be between the
"MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located behind the rear partition of the
engine compartment on the left side~ page 218.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some time due to the auto
matic adjustment of the brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls considerably below the "MIN" mark, the
brake warning/indicator light (U.S. models:
BRAKE, Canadian models:
(Cf))) will come on~ page 19 and~ page 33. Do not continue to
operate the vehicle. The complete brake system should be thor
oughly checked by an authorized Audi dealer or other qualified
facility and the cause corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low, the
brake warning/indicator light will illuminate. Contact an authorized
Audi dealer
immediately. •
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced techni
cian.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If the water content in the
brake fluid is too high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the brake fluid will also
decrease considerably and decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years. Always
use new brake fluid which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle Stan
dard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach, therefore, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid changed by your autho
rized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct tools, the right brake
fluid and the know-how to do this for you.
~
Vehic le care I I irechnical data