2012 AUDI A3 coolant temperature

@ For the sake of the environment
To avoid unnecessary engine wear and to reduce exhaust emissions, do not let your
vehicle stand and warm up. Be ready to
drive off immediately after start ing your
veh icle. Mainta in moderate speed until the
engine is completely warm . Remember,
the engine performs best at operating
temperature .
Stopping the engine
.. Turn the ignition key to position@
¢page 89, fig. 102.
_& WARNING
-Never turn off the engine unti l the vehi­
cle has come to a complete stop.
- The brake booster and servotronic on ly
work when the engine is running . With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply
more force when steering or braking.
Since you cannot steer and stop normal­ ly, this can lead to accidents and serious
injuries.
- The rad iator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 minutes even after you have
tu rned off the eng ine and removed the
ignition key. The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build-up in the engine compartment.
(D Note
Do not stop the engine immediate ly after
hard or extended dr iving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up .
On the road 91
Parking brake
Parking brake
When the parking brake is set, it prevents the
vehicle from rolling away unintentionally .
Fig. 104 Cente r co nso le: Park ing b rake set
Setting the parking brake
.. Pull the park ing brake lever all the way up.
Releasing the parking brake
.. Pull the parking brake lever up slightly and
press the release button at the same time
¢fig. 104-arrow-.
.,. Keep the release button pressed and lower
the parking brake¢&_ .
If you should drive off with the parking brake
still set, a warning tone will sound and the
follow ing will appear in the instrument clus­
ter to remind you to release the parking
brake:
Parking brake set
The parking brake warning comes on only af­
ter you have driven for longer than 3 seconds
and faster than 5 mph (5 km/h) .
The parking brake warning light_
(USA)/ . (CON) illuminates when the park­
ing brake is set and you switch on the ignition .
A WARNING
Always release the parking brake com -
pletely. A partially engaged brake will
overheat the rear brakes, reduce their ef­
fectiveness and cause excessive wear. This
could lead to brake failure and an accident. .,.

176 Trailer towing
Always app ly bra kes early . When driving
downhill, shift into lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow down the vehicle.
Use of the brakes alone can cause them to
overheat and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge ¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immed iate ly and/or switch
off the
a ir cond itioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light in
the instrument cluster starts flashing
J_, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build-up.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing veh icle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is not prope rly wear ing the restra ints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your veh icle handles different ly when towing
-
a trailer because of the addit io nal weight and
weight distribution . Safety, performance and
economy w ill greatly depend on how carefu lly
you load your trai ler and ope rate your rig .
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turn ing, stopp ing and back ing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have comp letely become fam iliar w ith the way
your ve hicle-trai ler comb ination behaves and
responds .
Backing up is d iff icu lt and requires practice .
Backing up with a tra ile r genera lly requ ires
steer ing act ion opposite of tha t when backing
up your veh icle without a trailer .
Ma intain a g reater distance between your ve­
h icle and the one in fro nt of you. You will need
mo re room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, yo
u will need a
larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac ­
ce le rate as fas t as you no rma lly would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure yo u have
enough room to pass . After passing, a llow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang ­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts , sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break -in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, yo ur Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load ¢
page 2 59.
Parking on a slope
Do not park with a trailer on a slope . If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone p lace cho cks under both the
veh icle and the trailer wheels.
.. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes unti l wheel b locks absorb th e load.
.. Turn the whee ls towards the cu rb.
.. App ly the parking brake.
.. Place an automat ic transm ission in
P, re­
spectively a manual transmission in first or
reverse gear .
When restarting after p ark ing:
.. Start the engine.
.. Shift transm ission into gear .
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel blocks.
.,. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
b locks .
Ill-

-Set the parking brake fully.
- Move selector lever of automatic trans-
mission to "P" (Park); put manual trans­
mission 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
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.
- 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 of automatic trans-
Checking and filling 195
mission to "P" (Park); put manual
transmission in Neutral.
- 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 do not wear clothing that
will hang or droop into the engine .
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&. .
A 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.
Q) 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. •
•

luggage compartment. Make sure the
container is securely stored and mount­
ed.
0 Note
-If you use engine oil that does not ex­
pressly conform to Audi oil specification
VW 507 00, very serious and very expen­
sive damage to your vehicle 's engine will
occur . Engine damage caused by using
the wrong engine oil is not covered by
your New Vehicle limited Warranty .
- Not all commercially available oils con ­
form to this very rigid Audi oil quality
standard even though they may be syn­
thetic-based and have the same viscosi­
ty.
Engine cooling system
Coolant
T he engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­
tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
quires little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of water and the manufacturer's gly­
col-based coolant additive Gl2++ antifree ze
with anticorrosion additives (50% for USA models; 60% for Canadian models). This mix ­
ture both assures the necessary frost protec­
tion and protects metal components in the
engine 's cooling system from corrosion and
scaling.
It also raises the boiling point of the
coolant.
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50% but not more than 60%
to main­
tain antifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the vehi­
cle heating and engine cooling system.
Checking and filling 203
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
--31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
You can mix the Gl2 ++ coolan t additive with
other additives Gl2 + or Gl2. Always check
with your authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS~
& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 194.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­
mate conditions. This is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the
win­
ter is extremely cold. If necessary, in­
crease the proportion of coolant additive
to 60% .
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember :
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive G 12++ (check the label) for your
vehicle. This coolant additive is availa­
ble at authorized Audi dealers. Other
types of antifreeze can significantly re­
duce corrosion protection. The result­
ing corrosion can cause a loss of cool­
ant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding radiator repair fluid may adverse­ ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
•
•

& WARNING
-The cooling system is under p ress ure and
can get very hot . Reduce the risk of
sca ld ing from hot coo lant by following
these steps.
- Tur n off the engine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap wi th a large, thick rag.
- Tu rn the cap slowly and very ca refully
i n a cou nte r-clockw ise d irect ion w hile
ap ply ing ligh t, downw ard press ure on
the top of the cap.
- To avo id being burned, do no t sp ill an­
tifreeze o r coolan t on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certa in
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
gine coolant can catc h fir e.
- An tifreeze is poisonous . Always store an ­
tifreeze in its or iginal co ntainer and we ll
o ut o f the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a p roper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l­
ant wi ll be forced out throug h 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 between water
and antifreeze
c:> page 203 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le.
@) For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant shou ld n ot be re used. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while obse rv­
ing all environmental regulations.
Checkin g and fillin g 205
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
The electric radiator fan is controlled by ther­
moswitches t hat sw itch on a nd off depending
o n coo lant and eng ine compartment tempera ­
tures .
An a uxiliary electric radiator fan* sw itches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and othe r vehicle operat io n conditions.
After switching off the eng ine, the auxiliary
fan -even with the ignition off -can continue
runn ing for up to 10 minutes. It ca n even
switch on aga in later by itself
c:> A , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engi ne compartment , or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlig ht.
& WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal in ju ry nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
contro lled a nd can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not ru nning.
- The a uxiliary radiator fa n sw itches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certa in te mpera tu re and w ill
con tinue to ru n until t he coo lant temper­
a ture drop s.
•
•

268 Index
Eme rgency towing ......... .. .. .... . 251
E ne rgy management ........... .. ... 167
Ba ttery power ........... .... .. .. . 168
Dr iver notific ation ...... .. .. .. .. .. . 16 8
Eng ine
4-cylinder diesel (140 hp) ....... .... 197
4-cyl ind er g asoline (200 hp) .. .. .. ... 196
Coolant .. ... ............ .. .. .. .. . 203
H ood .. ...... ........... .. .. .... . 194
Pr ehea ter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Start ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 90
Starting with j umper cab les . ..... .. . 248
Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
E ng ine compartmen t ................ 196
Safety instruc tions .......... .. .... . 194
Working in the engine compar tment .. 194
Eng ine coolant system ........... .... 203
Adding coo lant ............ ... .. .. . 204
Chec king coolan t leve l ..... .. .. .... . 204
Che cking the eng ine coolant leve l ..... 204
M alfunct ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Radiator fan . .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 205
E ng ine coolant temperature
Gauge ... .. ................ ... .. .. 11
Eng ine data .. ............... ...... . 257
Engine fault Warning light .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... .. 20
E ng ine hood
C lo sing .. .. ............. .. .. .. .. . 194
Release lever . ........... .... .... . 194
Releasing and open ing . ... .. ... ... . 194
Eng ine malfunction (diesel engine)
War ning light ............ .. .. .... .. 20
Eng ine oil . ............... .. .. .... . 197
Adding .. .. ............... .... .. . 200
Addit ives . .. ................ ... ... 200
C hanging .. ... .... ...... ... ... .. . 20 1
Chec king the eng ine o il level .. .. .. .. . 200
Di ese l eng ine ............ .. .. .... . 20 2
I ndications and con ditions req uiring ex-
tra check ing . .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 200
Oil consumption .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 199
Oi l grades . .... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 197
Recommended oil check intervals ..... 200
Specification and viscos ity .... .. .... . 197
Specifications Diesel engine .. .... ... 202
Specifications gasoline engine .. .. ... 197
Tempe ratu re d isplay ...... .. .. .. .. . . 31 E
ngine oi l leve l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
E ngine o il pressu re (malfunction) ....... 16
Engine oil sensor defective ............ 20
En gine preheate r .................... 86
C onnect ing . ..... .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 86
E ngine speed limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Environment Break-in per iod . .. ............. .... 169
Catalytic converter ............. .... 170
Diesel particulate f ilter ............ . 171
D ispos ing of your veh icle battery ... .. 210
D riv ing at high speeds .............. 172
D riving to minimize pollution and noise 171
F uel ............................. 192
F uel economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Leaks under your vehicle ..... ... .. .. 194
Letting the vehicle stand and warm up . 172
Proper d isposal of drained bra ke fluid . 206
Proper disposal of drained eng ine cool-
ant ............................. 204
Proper d isposal of drained eng ine
o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200, 201
Recycling used engine oil ............ 200
U nleaded fuel . ... ................ . 189
Wha t shou ld I do w ith an o ld b att ery? . 210
EPC
refer to E lect ron ic power co ntrol ... .. . 19
Event Data Recorder (EDR) ........ .... 161
E xh aus t tai l pipes
Cleaning .. .... .. ............. .... 183
Expansion tank .. .. ................ . 204
Exterior mirrors Adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Dimming .......................... 54
Heating ........................... 53
F
Fahrenheit
Switching between Fa hrenhe it and Centi-
grade ....... .... .... ........... .. 83
F an
Adjusting the fan speed ...... .... . .. . 83
Climate controls ............... .. .. . 83
Radiator ......................... 205