
184 Checking and filling
- If your skin has come in contact with the
engine oil, you must subsequent ly
cleanse it thoroughly.
- The oil level must not be above range
G)
-danger of converter or engine damage!
Contact an a uthorized dea lership to draw
off o il, if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the use of o il
addit ives. They may damage the engine
and adve rsely affect you r New Vehicle
War ranty .
@i For the sake of the environment
-Under no circumstances can the oil come
i n contact with the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow lega l regu lations
when disposing of empty oil containers.
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by
an authorized Audi dealer or a qualified serv
ice station .
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN·
INGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine comport·
menton page 178 .
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . T his is very important
because the l ubricating prope rties of oil di
minish gradua lly dur ing no rmal veh icle use .
Under some circumstances the engine o il
should be changed more frequently . Change
oil more often if you drive most ly short dis
tances , ope rate the vehicle in dusty areas or
u nder predominantly stop -and-go t raffi c con
d itions, or have your veh icle w here tempe ra
tures rema in below free zin g fo r ex tended pe
riods .
D ete rge nt add it ives in the o il w ill ma ke fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
n ing fo r a shor t time. This is no rm al and is not a
reason to change t he oil more often than
recommended.
B ecau se of the p rob lem of p roper dispos al,
along wi th the specia l tools and necessa ry ex
pert ise req uired, we st rongly recommend tha t
yo u have your oil changed by an a uthorized
Audi dealer or a qualified service station.
If you choo se to change your oil your self ,
please note the fo llowing important info rma
tion:
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of pe rsonal in jury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protection.
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en-
g ine oil, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the o il dra in p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possib le.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run·
n ing down your arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one la rge enough to
hold a t least the tota l amount of oi l in
your e ng in e.
- Engine oil is poisonous . Keep it we ll out
of the reach of childre n.
- Continu ous contact wit h used eng ine o il
is harmful to yo ur s kin. Always protec t
your skin by washing oil off tho ro ughly
wit h soap an d wate r.
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
o il. These additives can damage your e n·
gin e and adversely affect your Audi Limit
ed New Veh icle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
-Befo re changi ng your oil, first make s ure
you know where you can prope rly dispose
of t he used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oi l proper -
ly. Do not dump it on garden soil,
IJJ,-

188 Checking and filling
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi
cator light (U .S . mode ls: . , Canadian
models: .) will come on
¢ page 16 and
¢ page 30. Do not continue to operate the ve
h icle . The complete brake system shou ld be
thoroughly checked by an authorized A ud i
dea ler o r othe r qualified facility and t he cause
corrected. If the bra ke fluid level is too low,
the bra ke warning/ind ic a tor ligh t will illum i
nate . Contact an authorized Aud i dea ler
im
mediatel y.
Changing brake fluid
Hove the broke fluid changed by on experi
enced technician.
B rake fl uid abso rbs mois ture from the a ir. If
the water content in the b ra ke fluid i s too
h igh, corros ion in the brake sys tem may result
after a period of t ime . The boi ling point o f the
b rake fluid wi ll also decrease considerab ly and
decrease braking per formance.
T herefore, the brake flu id mus t be changed
every two year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which conforms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
T he brake flu id rese rvoi r can be difficul t to
reach, therefo re, we recommend that yo u
have the brake f luid changed by yo ur autho r
ized
Audi dealer . Your dealer has the correct
too ls, the right b rake f luid and the know-how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
- B rake fluid is poiso nous . It mus t be stor
ed only in th e closed orig inal con tainer
o ut of the reac h of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old o r inap
propriate b ra ke fluid. Observe these pre
c aut ions:
- Use o nly brake fluid t hat meets SAE
specif ication
J 1703 and confo rms to
Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your a uthorized Audi
dealer to make s ure you are using the
correct brake fl uid. T he correct type of brake flu
id is also ind icate d on the
brake f lu id rese rvoir.
- The brake fl uid must be new . Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapo r lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
long . This can se riously affect the effi
c iency of t he brakes as well as your
safe ty. This co uld resu lt in a n accide nt.
([) Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because o f the prob lem of prope r disposal
of brake fluid as well as t he spec ial too ls
required and the necessary expertise, we
recomme nd t hat yo u have th e brake flu id
cha nged by yo ur autho rize d Au di dea le r.
Battery
General information
Your ve hicl e is equipped with a specia l bat
tery, an
ACM battery. This battery is located
in t he luggage compartment and must be re
placed with an origina l equipment battery.
U nder normal opera ting condit ions, the bat
te ry is
maintenance-fr ee .
Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for se rv ice . You a re well advised to
replace a battery that is o lde r th an 5 years .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power window reg u
lators, for example) are lost if the battery te r
mina ls are disconnected. T hese functions have
to be relearned after the battery termina ls are
connected aga in . T o prevent t his, t he battery
shou ld only b e disconne cted from the ve hicle
ele ct ric al sy stem w hen abso lutely ne cessary
f o r rep air s.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you are go ing to let your vehicle stand for a
long time a nd not drive it, you should remem
ber there are elect rical components which a re
Ill-

204 Tires and wheels
c::>fig . 148 running across the tread. Depend
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn tires must be replaced .
Different figures may apply in other countries
c::> ,& .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out . For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 200.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For a ll four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remember the follow
ing:
- Tire rotation interva ls may differ from the
vehicle serv ice intervals outlined in your
Warranty
& Maintenance Booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacture r's suggested
t ir e rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com
pared to all-wheel drive (quatt ro ® ).
- Please rotate t ires as shown
c::> fig . 149.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rect ion-specific tires
c::> page 226.
Wheel balancing
The whee ls on new vehicles are balanced.
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steering wheel. Unbalanced
wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and t ires . A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All Wheel Drive
Vehicles with quattro ® must a lways have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
For details see c::>page
154.
A WARNING
-Sudden tire fai lure can lead to loss of con-
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do not grip well on wet roads and increase
your r isk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." O ld used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.

212 Tires and wheels
Tire pressure
monitoring system
General notes
Appl ies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold and in
f lated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has t ires of a different size than the
size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in
flation pressure label, you should determine
the proper tire inflation pressure for those
tires.)
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of your
tires is significantly under-inflated. According
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale illumi
nates, you should stop and check your tires as
soon as possible, and inflate them to the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly un
der-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation al
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's handling and
stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire maintenance, and it is the driv
er's responsib ility to ma inta in correct tire
pressure , even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to trigger illumination of the
TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
Your veh icle has also been equ ipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicato r to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS malfunction indicato r is combined with
the low tire pressure telltale. When the sys
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will
f lash for approximately one minute and then
remain continuously illuminated. This se
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the ma lfunction exists. When the
malfunction indicator is illuminat
ed, the system may not be ab le to detect or
s ignal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, including the installation of replace
ment or alternate tires or wheels on the vehi
cle that prevent the TPMS from functioning
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction
telltale after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ens ure that the re
placement or alternate ti res and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
Tire pressure indicator appears
Applies to veh icles : w ith tire pressure monitoring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 151 Display : underinflatio n warning
Fig. 152 Display: System malfunction
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni
toring system compares the tire tread circum
ference and vibration characteristics of the in dividual tires. If the pressure decreases in one
or more t ires, this is indicated in the instru
ment cluster with a warning symbol
g and a
message
r=:> fig. 151. Th e driver message in the
display goes out after 5 seconds. The driver
message can be displayed again by pressing
11--

General information Explanation of
technical data
Some of the technical data listed in this man
ual require further explanation.
The tecical data for your vehicle are listed in
the charts starting on
c:> page 239 . This chap
ter p rovides general informa tion, notes and
restr ictions wh ich app ly to these data .
Vehicle identification
The key data are given on the vehicle identifi
ca tion number
(V IN) pla te and the vehicle da
ta sticker.
F ig. 1 85 Vehicle Ident ificat io n Num ber {V lN) p la te: lo
cation o n dr iver's s ide dash pa nel
Fi g. 18 6 Th e ve hicle ident ificat ion label -inside the
l u ggage co mpartme nt
The Vehicle Identification Number (VlN)
is located on the d river's side so tha t it is v is i
b le from the outside through the windshield -
see
c!) fig. 185.
The vehicle identification label
i s located in the luggage compartment in t he
sp are wheel well.
General inform ation 23 7
The label c:> fig. 186 shows the fo llow ing vehi
cle data :
(D Productio n con trol No .
@ Vehicle identification No.
@ Type code numbe r
@ Type designat ion/en gine o utp ut in K ilo -
watts
® Engine and t ransmission code letter
® Pa in t No./Interior
(J) Optional equipment No.'s
Vehicle da ta 2 to 7 are a lso fo und in your W ar
ran ty
& Maintenance booklet .
The safety compliance sticker is your assurance that your new vehicle com
plies wi th a ll applicab le Fede ral Motor Vehicle
S afety S tandards which were in effect at the
time the ve hicl e was manufactured. You can
find this sticke r on the left door jamb. It
shows the month and yea r of prod uction and
the vehicle ident ificat ion number of yo ur vehi
cle (perforation) as well as the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) .
The high voltage warning label is located on the lock carrier.
The spark ignition system complies with
the Canadian standard ICES-002.
Weights
Gro ss Vehicle Weight Rating
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing (GVWR), and
the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for
front and rear are listed on a sticker on the left door jamb.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing includes the
weight of the bas ic vehicle plus fu ll fuel tank,
oi l and coo lant, plus maximum load, which in
cludes passenger we ight (150 lbs/68 kg per
designated seating position) and luggage
weight .

Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following war
ranties :
-New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding your warran
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
If you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can
ada, there is the possibility that
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane
rating. Improper fuel may cause engine
damage;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment;
- replacement parts may not be readily availa
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessari ly work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun
tries outside of North America.
Consumer Information 241
@ Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts availability.
Audi Service Repair Manuals and Literature
Audi Offic ial Factory Service Manuals and Lit
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduction. Service Manuals and liter
atu re are availabl e to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
' General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and reliability. For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty& Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions , for ex
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
in very dusty regions, etc., some service work
shou ld be pe rformed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air fi lter.
@ For the sake of the environment
By regu larly maintaining your vehicle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus min imizing adverse
effects on the environment.
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
T he increasing use of electron ics, soph isticat
ed fuel injection and emission control sys
tems, and the generally increasing technica l
complexity of today's automobiles, have ..,_
•
•

24 2 Con sum er Inf orm ation
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 p lace 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 dev ices 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 a utho rized
Aud i dealer the opportunity to perfo rm all
schedu led maintenance and necessary repairs .
Your dea ler has the facilities, original parts
and trained spec ialists to keep your vehicle
running properly .
Performing limit ed ma int enance your self
The following pages describe a limited num
ber of proced ures which can be performed on
your ve hicle 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 observe the
WARNINGS p rovided.
Before you chec k 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 178.
_& WARNING
- Ser ious 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
inju ry.
- 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.
- The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Never reach into the area around or
touch the radiator fan. It is temperature controlled and can sw itch on suddenly -
even when the engine is off and the igni
tion key has been removed. The rad iator
fan switches on automa tical ly when the
coo lant reaches a certain temperature
and will continue to run until the coo lant
temperature drops .
- Always remove the ign ition 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 supplied with
the vehicle is not adequate for this pur pose and cou ld collapse causing serious
personal injury.
- If you must work underneath the vehicle with the wheels on the ground, always
make sure the vehicle is on leve l ground,
that the wheels a re a lways secure ly
b locked and that the engine cannot be
started.