2012 AUDI A3 engine coolant

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Ove rv iew of t he inst ru m ent cluster
CD Tac home ter w ith t ime and date
d is play .. .......... ....... .
@ Indicator lights ( tur n signa ls) .
®
©
®
®
0
®
Coolant temperature gauge .. .
Fu el gauge ............ .. .. .
Speedometer with odometer ..
Set/Check bu tton , ...... ... .
Warn ing/indic ator li gh ts
Reset button for
- T rip odom eter ...... ..... . .
- Se rv ice interval display
(D Note
1 0,11
1 3
11
12
12
11 , 13
1 3
12
30
The instrument cl uster and center console
illumi nat io n (gauges and need les) c omes
on when you switch on the ignition and the
vehicle headlights are off . Be aware o f the
f ollowing diffe re nc e betwee n mode ls built
t o US or C ana di an specific ati ons :
-USA models: illumination of the instru­
ment clu ster (gauges and needles),
dash and center console around the
gearshift lever is controlled by a light
sensor located in the instrument panel.
The instrument panel illumination will automatically become dimmer as the daylight fades away and eventually will
go out completely when outside light is
very low . This is to remind you, the driv­
er , to switch on the headlight s before it
gets too dark.
- Canada model s: instrum ent pan el illu­
mination will stay bright regardless of
the intensity of ambient light. Always be aware of changes in out side light
conditions while you are driving. Re­
spond in time to fading daylight by
turn ing the light switch to position
iD
(or ,;AUTO" if your car is equipped w it h
this feat ure)
to turn on your headlights .
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
The tachometer CD c> page 10, fig. 3 is the left
one of the two large clock-type d isplays.
T he eng ine turns at a speed
1 000 times the
s ingle digit in the display, e.g . if the needle
po ints at the "2", the engine t urns at
2000RPM. ~

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
If the engine RPMs drop below 1 500, you
should downshift to the next lowe r gear . The
red area at the end of the scale indicates max­
imum permissible engine RPMs after the
break-in per iod. Before reaching this area, you
should either shift i nto the next h igher gea r or
ease your foot off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle¢ page 10, fig. 3
@shou ld not move into the red range. If
it does, then o nly for a very sho rt period of
t ime. You cou ld damage yo ur eng ine by
driving at high RPM !
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fuels and red uces
eng in e no ise.
Digital clock with date display
Your vehicle is equipped with a quartz con ­
trolled digital clock .
Fig. 4 In strume nt cl uste r w it h : th e d ig ita l clock and
da te
To set the hour
.. Pu ll the knob (hour d isplay flashes) and
turn it to the left or rig ht.
To set the minutes
.. Pull the button until the min ute disp lay
flashes .
.. Turn the knob to the left or r ight unt il the
desired sett ing appears.
To set the time format (12 or 24-hour
di splay )
.. Pull the knob unti l the time format disp lay
flashes .
.. Turn the knob to the left or right .
To set the date
.. Pull the knob unt il t he day, mon th or yea r
disp lay flashes .
.. Turn t he knob to the left or rig ht.
To show or hide the date display
.. Pull the knob until t he da te display flashes .
.. Tur n the knob to the left o r right.
When the date d isp lay stops f lash ing , th is
means the t ime and da te have been s uccess ­
f ully s to red.
Wi th the ig nition off, pressi ng the button
¢
fig . 4 -depending on the instr um ent cluster
c onfiguration -can tu rn on the di sp lay field
li gh ting for a few seconds.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
T he eng ine coolan t ga uge @ ¢ page 10, fig . 3
o nl y works when the ignition is on. To p revent
damage to your engine, please note the fol­
l owing important points:
Engine cold
As long as the nee dle remains a t the left end
of the gauge, the engi ne s till has not reac hed
its operatin g tem perat ure. Avoid hig h eng ine
speeds, heavy engine loads and heavy throt ­
tle .
Normal temperature
When the engine has reache d its ope ra ting
temperature, the need le w ill move into the
midd le of t he gauge and rema in there . If t he
engine is working hard at high outside tem­
peratures, the need le may tur n further to the
right. This is no cause for concer n as long as
the . warn ing light i n the instrument cluster
does not illuminate .
When the. war ning light starts to flash,
th is can mean one of two things: either the

12 Instrum ents a nd warning /indic ato r li ghts
coolant temperature is too high, or the cool­
ant
level is too low ¢ page 17.
.&_ WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
¢ page 187, Engine compartment be­
fore opening the engine hood and check­
ing the engine coo lant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the eng ine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant .
0 Note
-Mounting additional l ights or accesso ries
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo ile r has been designed to
properly distrib ute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
assistance.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge works only when the ignition is
on.
When the needle reaches the red area, the
warning light in the instrument cluster will il­
lum inate <=>
page 21 lil This means you
have approximately
1.8 gallons (7 liters) of
fuel left in the tank .
Time to re fu el!
The total tank capacity of your vehicle is listed
in¢
page 257, Data.
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry! An ir­
regular supply of fuel can cause eng ine
m isfiring and fuel could enter into the ex­
haust system. The catalyt ic converte r
could then overheat and be damaged.
Speedometer with odometer
The speedometer shows you the vehicle
speed, and the odometer shows you how
many miles (kilometers) you have driven.
F ig . S Speedometer close- up: odom eter display
The odometer and trip odometer are located
inside the speedometer .
- USA models -Miles
- Canadian models -Kilometers
Lower odometer
The lower odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) driven.
Uppe r odometer (trip odome ter)
The upper odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) driven since you last re­
set the odometer back to zero. You can use
th is odometer when you want to keep track of
how many miles (kilometers) you have driven
for a single tr ip or errand. The last digit ind i­
cates 1/10 of a mile (100 metres) . You can set
the tr ip odomete r back to zero by pressing the
rese t button
c:> fig. 5.
Malfunct ion me ssage
If there is a malfunct ion somewhere in the in­
strument cluster,
dEF w ill appear in the trip
odometer and w ill stay on . Contact your au­
thorized Audi dea ler to have the problem cor­
rected.
Immobilizer
When the ignition is sw itched on, the data on
the ignit ion key are scanned automat ically .
If an unauthorized key was used,
SAFE is dis­
played continuously in the odometer d isplay
II>

14 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
Engine coolant level too low
ii
Engine oil sensor malfunction
engine coolant temperature too
¢page20
high ¢page 17
•
Battery voltage too h igh or too low
Electro-mechanical power assist
¢page20
¢page 17
II
Low fuel level
Clutch is overheating
¢page 21
¢page 101
•
Windshield washe r fl uid level low
Y ellow indicator lights ¢page 21
D
Yellow symbols indicate a priority 2 ma lf u nc-
~:~
Defective light bulb
tion -Warning!
¢page 21
Ji]
Electronic Stab ilizat ion Program
•
U SA mod els : Defective brake light
(ESP)
./¢page 18
¢page 21
I
Electronic Stabilization Program
•
Canada model s: Defective brake
(ESP)./
<=:>page 18 light ¢ page 21
~ USA mod els : anti-lock brake system
II
Dynamic headlight range cont ro l*
(ABS) ./ defective
<=:> page 18 defective ¢ page 21
Canada models: anti-lock brake sys--
[I]
•
Adaptive Light * defective
tern ./ (ABS) defective
¢page 18
¢page 21
•
Worn brake pads
m
Light/rain sensor defective (automat-
¢ page 19 ic headlights) * defective ¢ page 22
g
Tire pressure too low
B
Audi magnetic ride
¢page 19
¢page22
ll@I@ Tire pressure monitoring system
~
USA models: Speed warning 1
¢page 231
¢page 31
[m
Electronic power control./
¢page 19
•
Canada models : Speed warning 1
¢page 31
•
USA models: Malfunction Indicator
Lamp (MIL)
¢page 19
•
USA models: Speed warn ing 2
¢page31
Canada models: Malfunction Indica-
tor Lamp (MIL)
¢page 19
•
Canada models: Speed warning 2
¢page 31
II
Glow plug system ./ (diesel engine
Electro-mechanical power assist
only) (alternative to~ )
M ¢page 17
¢page20
.,
Engine speed limitation *
Diesel particulate filter
¢page20
¢page22
Ill
Check engine oil level
¢page20

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
~ Cont act your a uth orized Audi dea ler fo r as -
s istance if necessary.
Engine oil level too low
If t h e e ngine o il level is too low, to p off o il to
the prope r leve l¢
p age 200.
Engine oil level OK
If the . symbol sta rts flas hing again even
though the engine oil level checks OK on the
d ipst ick ,
do not start driving again and do
not let the engine run at idle .
In stea d, con­
t a ct your author ized A udi de aler for assis­
tance.
@ Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev ­
el. Do not rely on it. Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter­
vals , preferably each time you refuel,
and always before going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
1/1 requires oil refill or workshop serv ­
ice without delay. Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning symbol.
starts to flash before you respond to
the low oil level warning
Ill. By then,
your engine may already have suffered
serious damage.
- L Engine cooling system
A malfunction in th e engine cooling system
must b e re paired as so on as possibl e.
W hen th e . symbol in t he d isp lay flashes,
the n either the eng in e coolan t
temperature is
too h igh, or the coo lant
le vel is too low . In ad­
d ition to the symbol, the following message
al so a ppe ars i n the dis pla y:
Switch off engin e and check coolant level
~ Pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
~ Turn off t he e ngine.
~ Check coo lant level c> page 204.
~ Add coolant if necessa ry¢ page 204 .
~ Continue dr iving only after the eng ine cool­
an t war ning/ indica to r li ght goes o ut.
~ Contact yo ur autho rized A udi d eale r for as -
sistance if necessa ry .
If the engi ne coo lant level is correct, then t he
r adi ator fan may be the ca use of the mal func ­
tion .
If the ge nera tor war ning/ indica to r li ght
sho uld al so illum ina te
¢ page 16, then the
f an belt may be d amaged .
A WARNING
-If you r vehicle should brea k dow n for
mec hanical or other reaso ns, par k at a
safe distance fr om moving traffic, tu rn
off the eng ine and tu rn on the haza rd
warn ing lig hts ¢
page SO , Emergency
flash er.
-
- Never ope n the hood if you see or hear
steam or coo la nt escaping from the en­
g in e com part men t - yo u ris k bei ng scald ­
ed . W ait unt il yo u can no lo nger see o r
hea r stea m or cool ant escap ing.
- The engin e compa rtm en t of any vehicle
is a dange rous area. Befo re you perfor m
a ny w ork in t he engi ne c om pa rt men t,
t ur n off t he e ngine a nd allo w it to c ool.
F ollow t he warn ing s tickers
c> page 18 7,
Engine comportment.
([) Note
Do not con tinue dr iv in g if the . sym bol
ill umin ates . The re is a ma lfun ctio n in t he
engine coo ling system -yo u could dama ge
your engine .
~ Electro-mechanical power assist
If the indicato r light illum inates while yo u are
driv ing, the re is a malfunction in the electro­
mecha nica l steer ing. If t he indicator light is
showing
t~J, there may be a reduct io n in pow ­
er stee rin g assis t. If the indicato r light is
s h owing ., th ere may be a tota l loss of pow ­
er stee rin g assis t. T he s teer ing mu st be i n­
s p ecte d imme diately by a qualifie d wo rks hop
¢ .& .W ith the eng ine not ru nning (e. g. when
the car is bein g towe d), there is a lso no power
ass ist available . ..,.

Warm and cold Climate controls
Description
The air conditioner is fully automatic and is
designed to maintain a comfortable and uni­
form climate inside the vehicle .
We recommend the following settings:
... Se lect and set a temperature between 64 °F
(+ 22 °C) and 84 °F (+28 °C).
... Press the
!AU TO ! button.
With this setting, you attain maximum com­
fort in the least amount of time. Change this
setting, as desired, to meet your personal
needs.
The climate controls are a combination of
heating, ventilation and cooling systems,
which automatically reduce humidity and cool the air inside your vehicle.
The air temperature, air flow and air distribu­
tion are automatica lly regulated to achieve
and maintain the desired passenger compart­
ment temperature as quickly as possib le.
The system automatically compensates for
changes in the outside temperature and for
the intensity of the sunlight entering the vehi­
cle. We recommend you use the
Automatic
mode c> page 81 for year-round comfort.
Please note the following:
Turn on the air conditioner to reduce humidity
in the vehicle. This also p revent the windows
from fogging up .
When the outside temperature is high and the
air is very hum id,
condensation from the
evaporator may drip under the vehicle . This is
normal and does not indicate a leak.
If the outside temperature is low, the fan nor­
mally only switches to a h igher speed once
the engine coolant has warmed up sufficient ­
ly.
Warm and cold 79
T he air conditioner temporari ly switches off
when you drive off from a standstill using full
throttle to save engine power.
T he compressor also switches off if the cool­
ant temperature is too high so that the engine
can be adequately cooled under extreme
l oads.
Air pollutants filter
T he air pollutants filter (a combined particle
filter and activated charcoa l filter) reduces or
eliminates outside air pollution (dust, or pol­
l en) from entering the vehicle .
T he air pollutants filter must be changed at
the interva ls specified in yo ur Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet, so that the air condi ­
tioner can properly work.
If you drive your vehicle in an area with high
air pollution, the filter may need to be
changed more frequently than specified in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance booklet. If
in doubt, ask your authorized Audi Service Ad­
visor for advice.
Energy management
To prevent the battery from being discharged
and to restore the ba lance of energy, compo­
nents which require large amounts of energy
are temporarily cut back or switched off c> page 167. Heating systems in particular re­
quire a great deal of energy. If you notice, for
example, that the rear window heater is not
heating, then it has been temporarily cut back
o r switched off by
energy management.
These systems are available again as soon as
the energy balance has been restored.
_& WARNING
.-----
Reduced visibility is dangerous and can
cause accidents .
- For safe driving it is very important that
all windows be free of ice, snow and con-
densation.
- Fully familiarize yourself with the proper
use and function of the heating and ven­
tilation system and especia lly how to de­
fog and defrost the windows.

conditioner automatically se lects the settings
assigned to that key. This way every driver will maintain his/her own persona l settings and
does not have to reset them manually.
(D Tips
If a d ifferent driver uses your key and
changes the air conditioner settings, the
latest adjustments w ill erase and rep lace
the settings you have stored.
mP Rear window defogger
T he rear window defogger clears the rear win ­
dow of conden sation .
Fig. 98 Swi tch for rea r wi ndow defogger w ith a ir -con ·
d it io nin g
.. Press the QiP switc h to switch the rear win-
dow defogger on and off.
The defogger works on ly with the engine run ­
n ing. When the defogger is switched on, an
indicator light in the switc h comes on.
The rear w indow defogger switches
off au to­
matica lly afte r abo ut 20 m inutes.
@ For the sake of the environment
T ur n the defogger off when the rea r win­
dow is clear. When you save elec tricity, you
save fuel.
Additional heater
Applies to vehicles: with diesel engine
.. Switc h the Additional heate r to AUTO .
Vehicles w it h diese l eng ine s are equipped
with an add it ional heate r to warm the interior
of the vehicle mo re q uick ly. The additional
W arm and cold 85
heater switches itse lf on and off automatically
when the o utside temperature is below 50 °F
(10 °C) and the engine is running, depending
o n the coolant temperature , interior tempera ­
ture and the selected temperature.
Electrically heated
front seats
Applies to vehicles: with electrically heated front seats
With the ignition on , the seat cushion and
backrest of the front seats can be heated.
F ig . 99 Ce nter co nsole: t hu m bwhee ls for front seat
h eat ing
Use the t humbwheels in the center conso le
c;:> fig . 99 to turn on and adjust front seat
heating. An infin ite range of positions are pos ­
sible .
.. Ro ll t he thumbw heel
(D (dr iver's seat) or@
(front passenger's seat) from pos ition
( 0 )
upward in order to activa te the heati ng e le ­
ments .
.. Select the desired temperat ure setting from
positions 1 t hrough 6.
When the hea ting element is activated, the
numbers on the thumbwheel will illuminate .
& WARNING
Individuals wit h reduced sensitiv ity to pai n
or temperature cou ld deve lop burns when
using the seat heating funct ion. To reduce
the r isk of injury, these ind ividuals should
not use seat heating .

86 Warm and cold
(D Note
To prevent possible damage to the heating
elements, do not kneel on the seats or ap­
ply a heavy load to relatively small areas of
the seat.
Engine preheater
Applies to vehicles: with engine p reheate r
Use of the engine pre heater is recommended
when the ambient temperature is below
-5 °F
(-20 °C) .
Fig. 100 In t he l eft fron t bump er: en gine preheater
co nn ect ion socket
The engine preheater slowly w arms the en­
gine coolant using a heating element when
the vehicle is parked. The included cable
1>
must be connected to a 120 Volt Ground Fault
Circuit (GFI) protected outlet that is protected
from water (in your garage, for instance).
When the coolant is preheated, the engine
reaches its operating temperature more quick­
ly and will use less fuel and produce fewer
polluting emissions during the warm-up
phase.
Preheating the engine can take up to 3 hours
depending on the temperature outside.
Connecting the engine preheater
- Only use the cable provided.
-All cables and connectors that are used
must not be damaged
¢ .&.­
-Open the cover Q fig. 100 @.
l) Th e cabl e is de live red w it h veh icles i n Canada a s
s tandard e quipmen t. The cable c an be o btain ed fro m
an a uth orize d Au di d ea le r fo r veh icl es in the USA.
- Plug the connecting cable into the socket @
Q.ii_.
-Connect the connecting cable to the power
cord.
- Attach the extensions cord to the connector
cable. Always use a 12 gauge or heavier
heavy -duty extension cord that can be prop ­
erly grounded to a three-prong Ground Fault
Circuit (GFI) wall outlet and is not longer
than 100
ft (30 meters).
- Always plug the preheate r into an 120 Volt
Ground Fault Circuit (GFI) wall outlet that is
properly protected against rain and other
moisture. Never plug the preheater into a
normal outlet regardless of whether it is
grounded or not .
- Always disconnect the connecting cable and
close the cover
Q fig . 100 @ before starting
the engine.
_&. WARNING
-
Using incorrect or damaged outlet and
power cords, using electrical accessories
incorrectly or ignoring safety precautions
can lead to short circuits, accidents, inju­ ries and life-threatening electric shocks.
- Always plug the preheater into a
120 Volt Ground Fault Circuit (GFI) wall
outlet that is properly protected against
rain and other moisture.
- Always check the fuse protection of the
120 Volt power source before using the
connecting cable .
- Always use a 12 gauge or heavier heavy­
duty extension cord that can be properly
grounded to a three-prong GFI outlet .
The extension cord must not be longer
than 100
ft (30 meters).
- Always connect the cable to a 120 Volt
outlet that is grounded and protected
from water .
- Check the cable for damage before every
use . Never use a damaged cable.
It must ~