2011 AUDI TT ROADSTER check engine light

1 78 Che cking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig . 135 Dr iver's side footwe ll: e ngin e hood re lease
lever
.. Open the driver's door .
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
inst rument panel
c> fig . 135 in the direction
of the arrow .
The hood pops up s light ly under spring pres­
sure.
Opening the engine hood
Fi g. 136 Release lever under the eng ine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make s ure
that the windshie ld wipers are flat against the
windshie ld. Otherwise, they co uld damage the
pa in t on the hood.
.. Lift the hood slight ly
c> .&, .
.. Pul l up on the release under the hood
c> fig . 136. This releases the catch .
.. Open the hood all the way.
A WARNING
-Hot eng ine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being b urned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo la nt escaping from the eng ine
compa rtment . Wait unt il no steam or
coo lant can be seen o r heard before care­
fu lly openi ng the hood.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressu re from
the struts is reduced .
.. Le t t he hood
drop down and latch in p lace .
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en­
gage
c> .&, .
A WARNING
--
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv­
i ng.
- W hen you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has p roper­
ly engaged . The hood sho uld be flush
wit h the surrou nding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while dr iv ing that the hood
is not s ecured properly, 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 an y wo rk in the
eng ine compartment, for example checking
and filling the different fluids, there is a risk
of injury, burns and a ccidents. To prevent
per sonal injury alway s obs erve the following
WARNINGS. The engin e compartm ent of an y
vehicle is a hazardou s area!
c> .&.
A WARNING
To he lp avo id injury, before yo u check any­
thing under the hoo d:
- Sw itch off the engi ne .
- Remove the igni tion key.

18 0 Che cking and filling
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check .
•
Fig. 137 Typ ica l layout fo r containers and eng ine oil filler cap
(D Coolant expansion tank (-L) 185
@ Eng ine o il dipstick (o range) 183
@ Engine oi l filler cap ('1:::r.) . . . . . 183
@ Brake fluid reservoir((();) . . . . . 187
® Jump start points(+) under a
cover,(-) bolt head . . . . . . . . . . 232
® Windshield/headlight washer
t . (
;;p, ) con ainer ,-!,, •••.•••. •.• •• . 192
The position of the engine o il dipstick and the
engine o il filling hole
r::> fig . 137 (items @and
@) can differ depending on the engine de­
sign .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARN INGS
c::> .& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 178.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
T he eng ine in your Aud i is a soph ist icated
powerplant that was built to exact ing spec ifi­
cat ions . T his engine needs the right kind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly . Choosing the right o il
and changing oil within the time and mileage
intervals printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to­
day than it did years ago . Audi has developed
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that you r vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubr ication i t needs fo r proper opera­
t io n.
Modern engine lubr ication has taken a quan­
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthet ic
1J.

182 Checking and filling
Deterge nt additives in the o il wi ll make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run­
n ing for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
D am ag e o r m alfun ction s due to lack of
m ainten ance
It is essent ial that yo u change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine oil
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Yo ur Limited New Veh icle War­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to failure to follow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty& Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage un less you p resen t to
the dea ler proof in the form of Servi ce or Re­
pa ir Orde rs that all schedu led maintenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports.
I n o rder to prov ide effective lubr ication and
cooling of internal engine components, a ll in­
ternal comb ustion engines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oi l consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the eng ine . Typically, eng ines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
c::;, page 157) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumpt io n depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road cond it io ns. Furthe r fac­
tors are the amo unt of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is s ubject to
wear as mileage bui lds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over t ime until replacement
of worn components may become necessary. Wi
th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es­
tab lished or spec ified. There is no alte rnative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev­
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instr ument cluster
m lights up, yo u
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
with the oil dipstick c::;, page 183. Top off the
o il at your earliest conve nience
c::;, page 183 .
A WARNING
-Before you chec k anything in the engine
compartment, a lways read and heed a ll
WAR NIN GS
c::;, .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 178.
CI) Note
D riving with an insufficient o il level is like­
l y to cause sever e damage to the engine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
re ly on it . Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at r egular interval s, pr ef­
erably e ach time you refu el, and always
before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impressio n yo ur engine
cons umes ex cessive amoun ts of oil, we
recommend that you consult your Aud i
dealer to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of o il con­
sumption requ ires great care and may
take some t ime . Your Audi dea ler has in­
struct ions about how to measure oil con­
sumption acc urately.

186 Checking and filling
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
alwa ys r ea d and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine
comportment on page 178.
• Switch the ignition off .
• Read the coo lant level at the coolant expan­
s ion tank ¢
fig. 141 . With a co ld engine, it
must be above the "min" mark. W ith a hot
engine, it can be a little above the indicated
range.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration .
To obtain an accurate reading , the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in you r vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor .
When the coolant level is too low, the warning light in the Auto- Check System ¢
page 31 will
blink until you add coo lant and the level has
been restored to no rma l. Even though there is
an electric coolant level sen sor, we still rec­
ommend you check the coolant leve l from
time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system . In the event of coolant loss, the cool­
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant .
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheating.
@ Note
Do not add any type of ra diator leak seal­
ant to yo ur vehicle's eng ine coolant. Add ­
ing radiator repair f luid may adversely af­
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine comport­
ment on page 178 .
•Turnoff the engine.
• Let the eng ine cool down.
• Place a thick rag ove r the coolant expansion
tank
¢ page 185, fig . 141 and carefully
tw ist the cap counter-clockwise ¢&_ .
• Add coolant.
• Twis t the cap o n aga in
tightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions
¢ page 185, Coolant.
E ven in a n emerge ncy, if coo lant addi -
t ive G1 2++, G12+ or G12 is not ava ilable , do
not use a d ifferen t addit ive. Use plain water
instead unti l you can get the cor rect additive
and can restore the correct ratio . This sho uld
be done as soon as possible .
If you have los t a considerab le amo unt o f
coolant , then you sho uld add cold ant ifreeze
and co ld wate r on ly w hen the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coo la nt whe n refilling .
Do not fill coola nt above the "MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coo la nt wi ll be fo rced o ut through the
pressure relief valve in t he cap w hen the en­
gine becomes hot.
,&. WARNING ~ -
- T he cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by followi ng
these steps.
- T urn
off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect you r face, hands and a rms from
esca ping fluid and steam by covering
the cap w ith a large, t hick rag.
- T urn the cap slowly a nd ve ry carefully
in a counter-clo ckwise direction while
applying light, downward pres sure on
the top o f the cap.

-To avoid being burned, do not sp ill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­ tem or hot engine parts. Under certa in
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
g ine coolant can catc h fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its or iginal co ntaine r and well
o ut of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly ma rked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and
could cause a n engine fire. Excess cool­
ant wi ll be forced out through the pres­
su re re lief va lve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the cor rect ratio be tw een wate r
and antifreeze
¢page 185 must be re­
store d as soon as possib le.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant s hould no t be reused. Al­
ways dispose of use d coolan t w hile obse rv ­
ing all envir onmental reg ulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
i tself
The electric radiator fan is contro lled by ther­
moswitches that switch on and off depend ing
on coolant and eng ine compa rtment tempera­
tures.
An aux iliary electr ic radiator fa n* switches on
and off depen ding on coolant t emperature
and other ve hicl e operation conditions.
After you switch t he engine off, the a uxiliary
fan ca n cont inue runn ing fo r up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off .
It can even sw itch
on agai n later by i tself
c::> &., , if
- the temperature of the eng ine coolant rises
due to the heat bui ld-up from the eng ine in
t h e engine compartment, o r
Checking and fillin g 187
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parke d in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of persona l in ju ry nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The a uxiliary electric fan is tempe rat ure
contro lled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certa in temperature and w ill
continu e to run until the coo lant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
T he brake fluid level can be checked wi th a
qui ck gl ance.
Fi g. 142 Engin e compart ment : brake flu id reservoir
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
alw ays read and heed all WARN­
INGS c::> A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 178 .
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c::> fig. 142. 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
c::> page 180.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
IJ1'-

still functioning and they will draw energy
from the battery and drain it, for example, the
engine immobilizer . To prevent this, you can
e ither charge the battery occasionally to keep
it in good working condi tion or you can d is­
connect the negat ive cable on the battery .
Winter ope ration
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as temperatures drop . This
is because more power is also consumed while
start ing, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc ., are used more often .
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par­
ticularly in c ity traffic or when traveling on ly
short distances. Let your authori zed Audi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat ­
tery before winter sets in
¢ page 192. A well
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
p rob lems when the weathe r is cold, but will
a lso last longer .
Replacing b attery
The new battery m ust have the same capaci ­
ty, voltage (12 volts), amperage, construction
a n d p lug sealing, as the origina l batte ry. Spec­
ifications are listed on the batte ry housing.
Batteries specially developed by A udi f ulfill
the ma intenance, output, and safety require ­
ments.
When insta lling the bat tery , make sure the ig­
n ition and all e lectr ica l cons umers are sw itch­
ed
off ¢ (j) .
We recommend that you use ma intenance­
free or
cy cle-re sis tant /le ak -proof batteries
according to the standards TL 825 06 (from
December 1997) and VW 7 SO 73 (from Au ­
gust 200 1).
Replacing the battery should be ca rried by a
qua lified workshop. Please follow the instruc­
tions on the battery cover.
(D Note
- All work on t he battery requires techni­
ca l knowledge. Please contact an A udi
dealership or anothe r authorized facili ty
Checkin g and fillin g 189
for questions abo ut the batte ry - danger
of acid burns and exp losion hazard!
- T he battery must not be opened! Do not
try to change the battery's liquid level,
otherwise detonating gas will escape
from the battery - explosion hazard!
- The AGM battery in the luggage com­
partment cannot leak, because the elec ­
tro lyte for this battery is absorbed into a
special glass mat. This leak-proof battery
must not be replace with a convent iona l
battery.
- Make sure the ventilation hose on the
side of the battery is connected, other­
w ise fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
- Battery holder and terminals always
have to be secured correctly.
- Before all work on the battery follow the
warnings below ¢.&. in Working on the
battery on page 190.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author ­
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and
l ead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compl iance with a ll environmental
regulat ions. Disposing of vehi cle batter ies
improperly is very dangerous to the envi ­
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat­
tery cannot overbalance, otherwise sulfu­ ric acid might escape!
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery shou ld be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze. This will
prevent it from be ing damaged and having
to be replaced . •
•

190 Checking and filling
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery!
Fig . 14 3 Luggage compartment: AGM battery
The battery is loca ted in the luggage compart­
ment.
~ Swing up the luggage compartment floor.
The positive( +) battery terminal is p rotected
by a plast ic cover . This cover must be removed
to access the positive( +) termina l when con­
necting jumper cables to start the eng ine .
Always heed the
safe ty war nings, when work­
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system to prevent injury .
The following WARN INGS are ver y
import ant when w orking on the battery:
Alw ays heed t he follow ing W ARNING SYM ·
BOLS a nd safety precautions wh en working
on th e bat tery.
® Always wear eye protection .
I).. Battery acid contain s sulfuric acid. Al ­
~ ways wear gl oves a nd e ye prot ecti on.
I/£ No
\l:!S' -spar ks
• flames
- smoking.
When a batter y is ch arged , it pr odu ce s
h y d rogen g as which i s ex plosi ve and
could cau se personal injury.
----Always keep the battery well out of
re ach of children .
®
.&_ WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on
the elect rical system, there is the risk of
i njury, accident and even fire. Read and
heed the fo llowing WARNINGS:
-Always wear eye protection. Do not let battery ac id or any lead particles get on
your skin o r clothing. Shield your eyes.
E xp losive gases can cause blindness or
o ther inju ry.
- Ba ttery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can ca use blindness and severe
burns .
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilat ion open ­
ings .
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse w ith
cold water for several minutes and get
medica l attent ion.
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open flame, e lectr ic sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables.
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects . Th is would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explos ive and
could cause pe rsonal in ju ry.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reac h of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negat ive g round ca­
b le.
- Before performing any work on the e lec­
tr ica l system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion as well as any elec trical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the bat tery

must be disconnected. If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch­
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter­
change the cables -this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out battery. It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dis­
charged battery can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 oc).
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the side of the bat­
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
Danger of explosion! Always replace a
damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems. Wash hands after han­
dling.
CD Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is switched on or when
the engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage electronic components in the
electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
erwise it will be damaged and will then have to be replaced.
Checking and filling 191
Checking the battery acid level on magic
eye batteries*
The battery acid level in the battery can be
checked through the clear inspection window .
Fig. 144 Luggage compartment: Battery With magic
eye.
On top of the battery, there is a round "win­
dow". This window (magic eye) changes color
as the battery charge and acid level change.
.. Read and heed all WARNINGS
c::> &_ in
Working on the battery on page 190
.. Read the acid level from the window on the
battery
c:> fig. 144.
Air bubbles in the window can cause an inac­
curate reading . Carefully tap on the side of
the window.
- If the window is
green, the battery acid level
is correct.
- If the window has no color or is bright yel­
low ,
the battery acid level is too low . Have
the battery tested by your authorized Audi
dealer or a qualified workshop.
- If the window is
black , then the battery is
insufficiently charged . Recharge the battery
as soon as possible
r:::, page 192 .
CD Note
Do not overfill the battery, otherwise bat­
tery acid will overflow through the vent
opening. This can damage the paint and
cause corrosion .