206 Cleaning and protection
Cleaning and protect ion
General information
Regular care preserves vehicle value.
Any automobile is exposed to industrial
fumes, corrosive road salt, etc. A well cared
for Audi can look like new many years after
purchase . Regular and correct care w ill con
tr ibute to maintaining the beauty and value of
your Aud i.
Furthermore, good care may be a condition
for substantiating a warranty claim should
corrosion damage or paint defects occur.
Your author ized Audi dealer has a variety of
dedicated vehicle-care products and can ad
vise which ones to use for cleaning the exter i
or and interior of your vehicle .
Whether you use products recommended by
Aud i or other commercially available clean ing
agents, please make sure you apply them cor
rectly .
A WARNING
-Cleaning agents may be poisonous. Keep
them out of the reach of children.
- Heed all caution labels.
- Always read directions on the container
before using any product. Follow the di
rect ions carefu lly.
- Most chemical cleaners are concentrated
and have to be diluted.
- Use spot removing fluids only in well
ventilated areas.
- Do not use gasoline, kerosene, d iesel
fuel, nail pol ish remover or other volatile
fluids. They may be toxic, flammab le or
hazardous in other ways. Do not wash,
wax or dry the vehicle with the ignit ion
on or the engine running.
- Do not clean the undersides of chassis,
fenders, wheel covers, etc. without pro
tecting your hands and arms. You may cut yourself on sharp-edged metal parts. -
Moisture and ice on brakes may impair
brak ing eff ic iency
c::> page 192 , General
information.
Test the brakes carefully
each time you wash the vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Select on ly environ mentally friendly clean
i ng products. Leftover cleaning products
should not disposed of in the household
waste.
Care of exterior
Washing
Frequent washing protects the vehicle.
The best p rotection against environmental in
fluences is
frequent washing and waxing. How
often this is required depends on:
- How much the veh icle is used
- Where the vehicle is parked (garage, in the
open under trees, etc.)
- The seasona l and weather conditions
- Environmental influences
T he longer b ird droppings, insects, tree resin,
road and industria l gr ime, tar, soot, road salt
and other materials remain on the vehicle
body, the more lasting their destructive ef
fects will be . High temperatures caused by ex
posure to intense sunlight intensify the corro
sive effect, particularly when humidity is high as well.
Under certain circumstances,
weekly washing
may be necessary. Under other conditions, a
monthly washing and waxing may be ade
quate .
After the winter, the underside of the vehicle
should be thoroughly washed, preferably in a
professional car wash.
A WARNING
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c::> page 206.
208 Cleaning and protection
-Never wash your car in bright sunlight.
Drops of water act as magnifying lenses
and may damage your paint.
- When you wash your car in the winter: if
you rinse your vehicle with a hose, be
careful not to aim the stream of water
directly at locks, or at door or hatch
openings - they can freeze shut.
- Never use sponges des igned to remove
i nsects, or any kitchen scouring sponges
or similar products . They can damage
your paint finish .
- Never use a dry cloth or sponge to clean
the headlights. Only use wet cloths or
sponges to prevent scratches .
It is best
to use soapy water.
- You should remove debris (such as in
sects) from the headlight lenses on a
regular basis, fo r example when refuel
ing your vehicle. Never clean the head
lig hts w ith a dry cloth or sponge. Use a
wet cloth or sponge . It is best to use
soapy water.
@ For the sake of the environment
I n the interest of the environment, the ve
hicle should only be washed in special
wash bays.
Washing your vehicle with a power
washer
Cleaning the exterior of your car with a high
pressure power washer is safe as long as you observe a few simple rules.
• Before using the power washer, make sure
you have read and understood the WARN
INGS
c:> A in General information on
page 206 .
• Always follow the operating instructions for
the power washer .
• Make sure that the jet on the spray hose pro
duces a "fan shaped spray".
• Do
not hold the spray nozzle too close to
soft materia ls.
When cleaning the vehicle wit h a power wash
er
always follow the operating instructions. T
his applies particu larly to the
operating
pressure
and the spraying distance. Keep a
distance from soft materials such as rubber
hoses or insulating material as well as sensors
and camera lenses.
Do not use a jet which sprays water in a
di rect
stream
or one that has a rotating jet .
Water temperature should not exceed 140 °F
(60 °().
A WARNING
Never wash tires with a jet that sprays wa
ter in a direct stream . This could cause in
v is ible damage to the t ires and weaken
them, even if the spray is from
a relatively
long distance and for a short time. Dam
aged and weakened tires can fail and cause
accidents and personal injury .
(D Note
To avoid damaging your vehicle, always
make sure that there is suffic ient d istance
between the spray head and soft materials
like rubber hoses, plast ic parts and sound
deadening materials as well as sensors
and camera lenses. Never aim the sp ray
head at the same point for a long time.
This also applies to cleaning headlights
and painted bumpers. Remember: the
closer the nozzle is to the surface of the
mater ia l, the greater the stress on the ma
terial.
Sensors and camera lenses
- Remove snow with a hand brush and remove
ice with a de-icing spray that does not con
tain solvents .
- Clean the sensors (adaptive cruise control*,
pa rking system*) w ith a cleaning so lution
that does not contain so lvents and a soft
cloth.
- The camera lens or the area in front of the
camera lens is normally cleaned by the
w indshie ld w ipers (Audi lane assist*) or
headlight wipers (night vision system*) . If
the lens or the area is exceptionally dirty,
111-
Good anti-corrosion treatment is very impor
tant, particularly in the winter . If the vehicle
is freq uent ly driven on salt treated roads, the
entire engine compartment and plenum panel
should be thoroughly cleaned at t he end of
winter and retreated to prevent salt damage.
At the same time, the underside of the veh icle
should be washed as we ll.
If the engine compartment is cleaned at any
time with grease removing solut ions
1>, or if
you have the engine washed, the anti-corro
sion treatment is a lmost always removed as
well.
It is therefore essential to have a long
l as ting co rrosion protection reapp lied to all
surfaces, seams, joints and components in the
engine compartment.
~ WARNING
Be aware: The engine compartment of any
motor vehicle is a potentially hazardous
area.
- Before working in the engine compart
ment, be s ure to read the informat ion
o page 216.
-Be fore reaching into the front pane l, al
ways switch off the ignition. Othe rwise,
the windshield wiper system co uld un in
tent ionally be switched on, possib ly
caus ing persona l injury from the moving
wiper linkage.
- Never reach into the area around or touch the radiator fan . The auxiliary fan
is temperature cont rolled and can switch
on sud denly - even when the ign it ion is
off.
- Do not wa sh, wax or dry the engine w ith
the engine running. Moving or hot parts
cou ld injure you.
- Do not clean the underside of the cha s
sis, fen ders, wheel cove rs, or ot her hard
to reach parts w ithout protecting your
hands and arms . You may cut yourse lf on
sharp-edged metal parts.
l ) Use o nly the co rrec t cle anin g so lu tio ns. Neve r use gas
olin e or d iese l fuel.
Cleaning and protec tion 217
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c:> page 206. •
•
218 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
Fuel supply and filling
your fuel tank
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Using the righ t fuel helps keep the environ
ment clean and preven ts engine damage .
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recomme nded for you r vehicle is un
lead ed premium
g rade gasoline . See also
¢ pag e 282, Data . Audi recommends usi ng
T OP TIER D eterge nt Gaso line wi th a mini mum
octane r atin g of 9 1 AK I (95 RON). For more
info rmation on TO P TI ER De tergent Gaso line,
p lease go to t he officia l webs ite (www.toptier
gas.com).
T he re commended g asoline oct ane r ating for
your engine can a lso be fo und on a la bel locat
e d on the ins ide of the fue l filler flap . This rat
ing may be specif ied as A KI or RON.
Your veh icle m ay also be oper ated using un
l eaded regular gas oline with a min imum o c
tane rating of 87 AKI/91 R ON. However, using
87 AKI/91 RON octa ne f ue l w ill slightly re
d uce eng ine perfo rmance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded g aso
line is available th rougho ut the USA, Ca nada ,
and in most E uropean countries . We recom
mend that you do not ta ke yo ur vehicle t o
areas or countries where unleaded gasoline
may not be avai lable.
F or mo re informat io n on refue ling your ve hi
cle, see
¢ page 219.
Octane rating
Octa ne r ating in dicates a g aso line's abili ty to
res ist engine damaging "knock" ca used by
p remature ign ition and detonation. Therefore,
buy ing the correct grade of gaso line is very
important to help prevent possible engine
damage and a loss of engine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the Unite d
States an d Canada has the following octane r
at ings t hat can usu a lly be found on the fi ller
pump:
- Pre mium Gra de: 91 -96 A KI
- Regular Grade : 87 -90 AKI
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI = Anti K nock Index= (R+M) /2 = (RO N
+ MON)/2
R ON= Resea rch Octane Numb er
MON = Motor Octane Number .
(D Note
-Do not use a ny f ue l w it h octane rat ings
lower tha n 87 A KI or 91 RO N othe rwise
expensive engine damage w ill occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoline. The use of
leaded gasoline w ill severely damage
yo ur v ehicl e's catalytic co nve rter a nd its
ability to co ntrol exha ust em ission s.
Blended gasoline
U se of gasoline containing alcohol or
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded g asoline blende d with
alcohol o r MTBE (commonly referred to as
oxygenates) if the blende d mixture meets t he
f o llow ing criteria :
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
-Anti -kno ck index mus t be 87 A KI or higher.
- Blend must contain no mor e than 3% me th-
anol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-sol-
ve nts .
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol
or ethyl alcohol)
- Anti -knoc k index must be 87 AKI or higher .
- Blend must not conta in mo re than 10%
ethanol.
Blend of ga soline and MTBE
- Anti-knoc k index must be 87 AKI or high er. ll-
-Blend must contain not more than 15%
MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
espec ially we ll for winter or summer driving.
During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stat ions where the sea
sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time .
(D Note
-Methanol fuels which do not meet these
requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo
nents in the fuel system .
- Do not use fue ls that fail to meet the
specified criter ia in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fue l blend meets the
specifications, ask your service station or
its fuel supp lier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents
cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the responsibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy
or driveability and performance prob l ems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac
turers is carbon deposit build- up caused by
the type of gasoline you use.
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another , they have certain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain
substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline brands include additives to keep engine and
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 219
fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec
tive .
A udi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline. For more info rmation on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended period of using inadeq uate
fuels, carbon deposit build-ups can rob your
engine of peak performance.
Q) Note
Damage or malfunction due to poor fue l
quality is not covered by the Aud i New Ve
hicle Limited Warranty.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
side panel behind the fuel fille r flap.
If the power locking system should fail, you
can still open the flap manually -for deta iled
instruct ions see
¢ page 221 .
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve
hicle in
Technical Data ¢ page 282.
The label on the inside of the fuel fi ller flap
tells you the correct fue l for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see
¢ page 218.
Your vehicle fue l tank has an on board refuel
li ng vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and polluting the environment while you refuel your vehicle . In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please fo llow this refueling procedure careful
ly.
_&. WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport f uel can be dangero us. Such con
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collis ion. If you must
•
•
220 Fuel su ppl y and filli ng your fu el t ank
transport fue l to use for your lawn mower,
snow blower, etc., be very careful and al
ways observe local and state laws regard
ing the use, transportat ion and storage of
such fuel containers . Make certain the con
tainer meets industry standards (ANSI/
AS TM F852 - 86) .
(D Note
Never drive your vehicle until the fuel tank
is completely empty. The irregular supply
of fuel can cause misfiring . Gasoline could
enter the exhaust system and damage t he
catalyt ic converter.
Refuelling
Fig. 172 Rig ht rea r vehicle s ide: Ope ning t he fuel fille r
f lap
Fig . 173 Fuel filler fla p with attached fuel c ap
When activating the central locking, the fuel
fi ller flap is automatically un locked or locked.
Refue l the vehicle with the ignition switched
off.
Taking the fu el cap off
• Press the left side of the fuel filler flap to
open it
q fig . 172 -arrow-.
• Unsc rew fuel filler cap counter-clockwise
and hang it on the fuel fill er flap
¢ fig. 173 . Refuell
ing proc edur e
• Insert the fuel nozzle from the gasoline
pump into the fuel fi ller neck as far as it wi ll
go .
• Sele ct a med ium r efuelling rate so that the
no zz le switches off automatically when the
tank is full .
Putting th e fu el cap ba ck on
• After filling your tank, twist the fuel filter
cap clockwise as far as it w ill go.
• Close the fue l fill er flap.
T o avoid fuel spilling or evaporating from the
fuel tank always close fuel filter cap properly and completely. An improperly closed fuel fi ll
er cap may also cause the MIL lamp
cc> page 2 7
to come on.
A WARNING
Improper refue ling or handling of fuel can
cause fire, explosion and severe burns.
- Fuel is highly flammable and can cause
severe burns and other injur ies .
- Fai lure to shut the engine off while refu
eling and/or to insert the pump nozzle
fully into the fuel filter neck could cause
fuel to spray out of filler neck or to over
flow. Fue l spray and overflowing fuel can
cause a fire .
- Never use a ce llular telephone whil e re
fue ling . T he electromagnet ic rad iat io n
can cause sparks that can igni te fuel va
pors and cause a fire.
- Never get back into your vehicle whi le re
fuel ing.
If in exceptional circumstan ces
you must get back in your vehicle while
ref ueling, make certain that you close
the door and touch metal to discharge
static electricity before touching the fill
er nozzle again . Static electricity can
cause sparks that can ignite fuel vapors
released during refueling .
- Never smoke or have an open f lame any
where in or near your veh icle when refu
eling or filling a portable fue l conta iner .
- For your safety, we strongly recommend
that you do not travel with a portable
fuel container in your vehicle. The con
tainer, full or empty may leak and co uld
cause a fire, especially in a crash.
- If, under exceptional circumstances, yo u
must transport a portable fuel container,
please observe the following:
- Never fi ll a po rtable fue l container
while it is anywhe re in or on the vehicle
(for examp le, in the luggage compar t
ment, or on the tr unk). Static electric i
ty can bui ld up while fi lling and can ig
n ite fue l vapors causing a fire .
- Always p lace a portable fuel container
on the gro und before filling.
- Always keep the fi ller nozzle comp lete
ly inside the po rtable conta iner before
and during filling.
- If filling a portable container made of
metal, the filler nozz le must always be
in contact with the container. Th is w ill
he lp prevent static electricity from dis
charging and cause a fire .
- Never sp ill fuel inside the vehicle or
luggage compartment. Fue l vapors are
h ighly f lammable .
- Always observe local and state/provi n
cial laws regarding the use, storage
a nd tra nsporta tion of fuel co ntainers .
- Make certai n the fuel container meets
ind ustry standards (ANSI/ ASTM
F852 -86) .
(D Note
If any f uel has spilled onto t he car, it
should be removed immediate ly to prevent
damage to the paint.
~ For the sake of the environment
As soon as the correctly operated nozzle sw itches off automatically fo r the fi rst
time, the tank is full . Do not try to add
more fue l because fue l may spill out . In
add it io n, th e expans ion space in the fuel
t ank will be fi lled -cau sing the fue l to
overfl ow whe n it be come s w arm and pol
lu te the env iro nment.
Fuel suppl y and filling your fuel t ank 221
@ Tips
- Running your eng ine whi le refue lli ng
may cause vapors to escape or even
cause fuel to sp ill out of the tank. T his
would t hen shut off the fuel nozzle be
f o re the ta nk is f ull.
- Do not refuel your vehicle with the ign i
tion switched on. The fuel gauge may
ot herwise not ind icate the correct fue l
lev el after ref uell ing .
- The fue l filler flap of yo ur vehicle is not
locked when you lock t he veh icle from
t he ins id e.
Fuel filler flap emergency release
You can open the fuel filler flap by hand if the
power locking system should fail .
Fig. 1 74 R ig ht s ide tr im panel in t he luggage compart
m en t: emerge ncy re lease mechan is m
The emergency release mechanism is located
behind the right side trim panel in the lug
gage compar tment .
.,. Loosen the loop
¢ fig. 174 from t he reta iner
and then pull on the loop carefully
¢ (D.
.,. Press on the left side of the fue l filler door
to open
¢ page 220, fig . 172 .
(J) Note
Only p ull on the loop until yo u feel res ist
a nce . You w ill not hea r it release. Other
wis e yo u could damage the eme rg ency re
l ease mec hani sm .
222 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 175 Driver foo twell: release lever
AUD I
Fig. 176 Rocker switch un der the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged.
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow
¢ fig. 175.
.,. Raise the hood slightly¢,&. .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood up
ward ~
fig. 176. This releases the catch.
... Open the hood.
&_ WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fully opening the hood .
' 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 different fluids, there is a risk of injury, burns and accidents. To prevent per
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
¢ ,&. .
/n.. WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition .
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- 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
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm . The cool
ant system is pressurized and hot cool
ant 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 electri
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.