2012 AUDI A3 towing

252 Emergency situations
A WARNING
If the towing loop is not screwed in as far
as it will go, the thread can pull out when
the vehicle is towed -potential risk of an
accident .
Rear towing loop
Do not install the rear towing loop until it is
needed.
Fig. 196 Rear bumper: cover
Fig. 197 Rear b umper: t owing loop inser ted
On the right side of the rear bumper there is a
threaded hole for the towing loop. The
threaded hole is behind a cover. Note that the
towing loop has a
left-hand thread!
.. Remove the towing loop from the veh icle
toolkit ¢
page 234 .
.. Place the screwdriver against the upper
edge of the cover and carefu lly pry it out
¢ fig. 196.
.. Insert the towing loop into the threaded
hole ¢
fig. 197 and turn it all the way in un­
til it is seated securely , then tighten it with
the wheel bolt wrench .
When it is no longe r needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the vehicle toolkit.
Be sure to have the towing loop stored
in the vehicle at a ll times.
A WARNING
--
If you do not screw the towing loop com-
pletely, it could come out of the threaded
hole while the vehicle is being towed caus­
ing damage to the vehicle and possible se ­
rious personal injury .
Loading the vehicle onto a flat bed truck
Fig. 198 Vehicle on flat bed truck
Front hook up
.. Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp .
.. Attach the winch hook to the front towline
eye
¢page 251, fig. 195 previously instal­
led .
Rear hook up
.. Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp .
.. Attach the winch hook to the rear towline
eye¢
page 252, fig. 197 previously instal­
led .
(D Tips
Check carefully to make sure the hook-up is secure before moving the car up the flat­
bed truck ramp .
Lifting the vehicle
Important safety precautions
Be aware of the following hazards before lift­
ing the vehicle with a workshop hoist or floor
jack: ..,.

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 259
Audi cannot be re sponsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts availability.
Q) Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, serv ice or parts availab ility.
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 lit­
erature are available to o rder 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 regu lar mainte­
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and re liability .
For detailed vehicle maintenance consult your
Warranty
& Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions, for ex­
amp le at extreme ly low outside temperatures,
in very dusty regions , when towing a trailer
very frequently, etc., some service work
shou ld be performed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or rep lacing the air fi lter.
@ For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your veh icle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus minimizing adverse
effects on the environment.
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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

Lifting jack .... .... .... ... .. .. .. ... 239
Lifting po ints ...................... 253
Light coming/leaving home ............... 48
Exterior lighting .......... .......... 48
Light/ra in sensor defective . ... .. .. .. .. 22
Lights .. .. ..... ........... ...... ... 47
E mergency flasher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SO
Fr ont fog l igh ts .......... .... .. .. .. 49
H eadlig hts ... .... .... ... .. .. .. .... 47
High beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47, 50
Instrument panel i llum ination . ... .. .. 49
Side marker lights ........ ...... .... 47
Turn signals .. ........... .. .. .. .... 50
Xeno n headlights ................... 47
L oading the l uggage compartment . ... . 109
L oading the roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Locking Manual back-up .......... .. .. .. .. .. 41
Power locking switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Rear lid .. ..... ........... ...... ... 40
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7
Using the fo ld-out key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Lower universa l anchorage bars (Canada) 155
L ower universa l anchorages (Canada) 155
L uggage
Stowing . .. ..... ....... .... ... .. . 109
Luggage compartment
Cargo net .. ............. .... .. .... 69
Fasten ing eyes .................. ... 68
Increasing size ... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 67
L ight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Re tractable cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Ski sack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
also refer to Loading the l uggage com ­
partment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
L umbar support ..................... 64
M
Maintenance ............... ...... .. 259
M alfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) . . 1 9, 25
M anual tra nsmission ................. 96
G ea rshift lever ........... .. .. .. .. .. 96
Master key . ................ ...... ... 35
Battery replacement ................ 35
Master key remote control ... .. .. .. .. .. 35
Inde x 271
Menu bu tton . ..... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. . 28
Menu display Drive r Infor mation Display ........... 27
Mirrors Activating the dig ital compass ........ 59
Adjus ting the exterior m irrors . . . . . . . . . 53
dimming ........ .. ................ 54
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag System 133
Mo unti ng hoo ks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
N
Natura l leather .. .. .. ..... .......... 185
New t ires and wheels ................ 223
N HT SA
Co ntacting . ... .... . ... ...... ... .. 111
Number of sea ts ... .. ............... 113
0
Occupant seating positions .......... . 104
Octane rating ....... . .. .. ..... ... .. 189
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Oil Wha t kind of oil should I put in my en-
gine? ........ ... .. ............... 197
also refer to Engine o il ... ... ..... .. 197
On-Board D iagnost ic System ........... 25
E lectronic speed limiter .............. 2S
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) ..... 25
On-Boa rd Diagnostic System (OBD) ... .. . 24
Data Link Connector ( DLC) .... ... .. .. . 24
Open door o r fron t lid wa rn ing ......... 23
Operate your vehicle economically and
minimize pollution ... . .. .... ...... .. 171
Optional eq uipment
Marked with an asterisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
O ther equ ipment (e fficiency program) ... 29
Out lets ............................ 75
Outside ai r poll ution
How to prevent from entering the vehi-
cle ............................... 83
Outs ide mir ro rs
refer to E xterio r mi rro rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Outs ide temperature disp lay ......... .. 23
Owner's manual How the Owner 's Manual is organ ized ... 6
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