you have the engine washed, the anti-corrosion treatment is a lmost always removed as
wel l. It is therefore essential to have a long
lasting corrosion protection reapplied to all
surfaces, seams, joints and components in the
engine compartment .
A WARNING
Be aware: The engine compartment of any
motor vehicle is a potentially hazardous
area.
- Before working in the engine compart
ment, be sure to read the informat io n
c::.>page 172.
- Before reaching into the front plenum
pane l, always remove the ignition key.
O therw ise, the windshield wipe r system
cou ld unintentiona lly be switched on,
poss ibly causing pe rsonal injury from the
moving wiper linkage .
- 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 ign it ion is
off.
- Do not wash, 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 chas sis, fenders, wheel covers, or other hard
to reach parts w ithout protecting your
hands and arms. You may cut yourse lf on
sharp-edged metal parts .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c::.> page 162.
Cleaning and protec tion 173
•
•
-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. Wa it 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.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in
jury 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:
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever to "P" (Park).
Checking and filling 179
-Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact ing hot parts . Tie back hair before
starting, and wear no clothing that will
hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards
9 .&, .
&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- 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 harms. Wash hands after handling .
(D Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container
or filler opening, otherwise serious dam
age to vehicle systems will occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly . If
you see spots from oil or other vehicle flu
ids, have your vehicle inspected by an au
thorized Audi dealer. •
•
-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'-