2013 AUDI A4 engine overheat

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
,&_ WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
¢ page 213, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant .
(D Note
-Mounting additional lights or accessories
in front of the air inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the radiator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high engine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this could reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
assistance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engin e RPM
(r evolutions per minutes).
If engine RPM d rops be low 1,500 , you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area
at the end of the scale indicates maximum
permissible engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod . Before reaching this a rea, move these­
lector lever to position D/S or ease your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle@¢ page 10,
fig . 3
shou ld only briefly be in the red
zone: you could damage your engine! The
beg inning of the red zone varies depend­
ing on the engine.
@) For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise.
~ button
You can perform different functions with this
button.
Fig. 4 SET button in th e in strument cl uste r
The !SET ! button performs the following func­
tions :
Switching on time, date, temperature
display , and odometer
The display appears for approximately 30 sec­
onds when you press the
!S ET I button ¢ fig. 4
with the ignition off.
Starting the Auto-Check sequence
The Auto-Check system constantly monitors
certain individual functions and components
of the vehicle when the ignition is turned on
and when the vehicle is moving .
With the ignition turned on, you can start the "Auto-Check sequence" by pressing the
! S ET !
button . You can perform an Auto-Check se­
quence when the vehicle is stationary and the
ignition is turned on or when the veh icle is
moving slower than 3 mph (5 km/h).
In addition, the number of keys init ialised for
your vehicle is disp layed .
L2 3/3 means that
three keys have been initialised. This feature
enables used car buyers to ma ke sure they
have received all of the keys.
If you are given only two keys, for instance,
you should take the vehicle and the existing
keys to an Audi dea ler to have the missing key
II>-

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 13
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry! An ir­
reg ular supply of fuel can cause eng ine
m isfiring and fuel could enter into the ex­
haust system. The catalyt ic converter
could the n overheat and be damaged .
Warning/indicator
Lights
Description
The indicator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on . They indicate functions or
malfunct ions ¢,&. .
Messages may appear with some indicator
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same time . The messages disappear again af­
ter a short t ime . To display a message again ,
pressthelSE T!button
¢ page 11. If severa l
malfunc tions occu r, each of the indica to r/
warn ing lamps will be d isplayed in succession
for abo ut two seconds at a time .
Some ind icators lights in the disp lay can turn
on in several colors.
_& WARNING
- F ailure to heed warning lights and o ther
impor tant vehicle info rmation may result
in serious persona l injury o r vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever sta lled or stopped for repair,
move the vehicle a safe distance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
eme rgency flasher¢
page 49.
-The e ngine compartment of any motor
vehicle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme cau­
t ion when wor king under the hood
¢ page 213, Engine compartment
(D Tips
Ma lfunctions or faults w ill be identified ei­
ther with a red symbo l (pr io rity 1 -Dan- ger!) or with a yellow symbol (prio
rit y 2 -
Warning).
' Overview
Some indicator lights t urn on briefly to check
the function of that system when you switch
the ignit ion on . These systems are marked
with a../ in the fo llow ing tables . If one of
these indicator lights does not tu rn on, there
i s a ma lf u nct ion in that system.
Red indicator lights
Red symbo ls indicate a prior ity ma lfunction -
Danger!
- Pull off the road .
- Stop the vehicle.
- Tur n off the engi ne.
- Check t he malfunc tioning system. Contac t
your author ized A udi dealer or a q ualified
workshop for assistance.
USA models :
Brake system../
¢page 15
----~r~
Canada models:
Brake system ../
¢page 15
USA mod els :
Elec tromech anical parki ng br ake
¢ page 16
Canada models:
Electromechanical parking brake
¢page 16
Safety be lts
¢ page 17
Electromechanical steering ../
¢page 190
Battery
¢page 17
Engine oil pressure
¢page 17
Eng ine oil level
¢page 17

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
possible to set the parking brake or release
it once it has been set. Seek professional as ­
s istance .
(USA models): If the warning light
1111 and
the warning light
liJ appear together, imme­
diate ly contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qua lified workshop to have all brake pads in­
spected
¢ page 20.
When the light comes on, an audib le warning
signal is also given .
A WARNING
-Always observe the warnings in
¢ page 213, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the brake flu id .
- Driv ing with low brake fluid is a safety
hazard. Stop the car and get professional
assistance.
- USA models: If the 1111 warn ing light,
the
G1 warning light and the m;B warn­
ing light come on together, the rear
wheels co uld lock up first unde r hard
braking. Rear wheel lock-up can cause
loss of vehicle con tro l an d an accident .
Have your vehicle repai red immedia tely
by your aut ho rized Audi dea le r or a quali ­
fied workshop. Drive slowly and avoid sudden, hard brake applications.
- Canada models: If the brake warn ing
light ., the
DJ warning light and the
ABS warning light
BJ come on together,
the rear wheels could lock up first unde r
hard braking. Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acc i­
dent . Have yo ur vehicle repaired immed i­
ately by your authori zed A udi dealer or a
qu alifie d wo rkshop. Dr ive slowly and
avo id su dden, hard brake appli cat ions.
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
no t go out afte r a few se con ds and the
par king brake is released, or lights up
whi le you are driving, the fluid level in
the brake f luid reservoir is too low. If you
believe that it is safe to do so, proceed
immediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair facility and have the brake system in­
spected.
- Always keep in mind that after severa l
brake applications, you will need greater
pressure on the brake pedal to stop your
veh icle. Do not rely on strained brakes to
respond with max imum stopping power
in critical s ituations . You must allow for
increased braking distances. The extra
d istance used up by fading bra kes could
le ad to an ac cident.
:l~/(®) Electromechanical parking brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electromechanical parking brake .
If the indicator light . (USA models)/ .
(Canada models) turns on, the pa rking brake
was set. If the parking brake is set when the
ignition is off, the ind icator light turns off af­
ter abo ut 20 seconds.
The wa rning/i ndicator lig ht will go out when
the pa rking brake is re leased .
• (USA models ) /. (Can ada model s) Cau­
tion: Vehicle parked too ste ep
If the indicator light b links and the message
appears, there is not enough braking power to
keep the vehicle from roll ing . The brakes have
overheated . The veh icle cou ld roll away eve n
o n a sma ll incline .
Press brake pedal to release parking bra ke
To re lease the parking brake, press the brake
pedal and press t he button(® or start driving
with starting assist at the same time
¢ page 86.
Please relea se park ing brake
T o re lease the par king b rake manually , p ress
t h e b rake peda l and press the button{®) at
the same time. The pa rking brake on ly releas­
es automatically if the driver's safety be lt is
fastened.
Ill Parking brake!
If the 11,1 indicator light turns on and t his
message appears, the re is a parki ng b rake

.. Select: ICARlfunction button> Car sys ­
t e m s*
control button > Drive r as sist >
Spe ed w arning.
Warning th resho ld 2 can be set in the speed
range starting from 20 mph to 150 mph (30
km/h to 240 km/h). Settings can each be ad­
justed in intervals of 6 mph (10 km/h).
Cruise control
Switching on
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed starting at 20 mph
(30 km/h).
®
f
®t
0
Fig. 100 Control lever wi th push -button
Fi g. 101 Disp lay: Se lected speed
.. Pull the lever to position (D ¢ fig. 100 to
switch the system on.
.. Drive at the speed to be controlled .
.. Press button @to set that speed.
The stored speed and the green symbol
[ij;jl)~i~ (US model)/ .. (Canadian model) are
shown in the display
¢fig. 101. The display
may vary, depending on the type of display in
your veh icle.
On th e road 89
The speed is kept constant by modifying en­
gine power or through an active brake inter­
vention.
_& WARNING
- Always pay attention to the traffic
around you when the cruise control is in
operation. You are always responsible for
your speed and the distance between
your veh icle and other vehicles.
- For reasons of safety, cru ise control
should not be used in the city, in stop­
a nd-go traffic, on twisting roads and
when road cond itions are poor (such as
ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydro­
p lan ing) -risk of accident .
- Turn
off the cruise control temporar ily
when enter ing turn la nes, highway exit
lanes or in construction zones .
- Please no te that inadverten tly "resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal causes
the cruise contro l not to brake. This is
because the cruise control is overridden
by the driver's acceleration.
- If a brake system malfunction suc h as
overheating occurs when the cruise con­
trol system is switched on, the braking
function in the system may be switched
off. The other cruise contro l functions re­
main active as long as the indicator l igh t
lijj(l)~i~ (US mode ls)/ Iii (Canad ian mod­
e ls) is on.
@ Tips
- Veh icles with ma nual transmiss ion: You
can attain the set speed only if the gear
that is currently engaged will a llow it, or
if it does not tax the engine a nd allows i t
t o r un smoothly. Therefore shift in to a
higher or lower gear in a time ly manner.
- The bra ke ligh ts ill umina te as soon as
the brakes app ly au tomatically.
Changing speed
.. To increase/decrease the speed in incre­
ments, tap the lever in the
010 direction
¢ page 89, fig. 100. Ill>

-Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes complete fail­
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it
in place with the brake pedal or parking
brake.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch. The clutch opens auto­
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload. An indicator lamp
[O] illu­
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 9 7 when the clutch is overload­
ed .
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving position engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and
is locked in P with the parking brake set
¢ page 213, Engine compartment . Oth­
erwise, any increase in engine speed may
set the vehicle in motion, even with the
parking brake applied .
0 Note
-S tronic ®- and tiptronic transmission:
When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator pedal while a driving gear
is selected. This can cause the transmis­
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti­
vate the parking brake or press the brake
pedal to prevent the vehicle from rolling.
- S tronic ®- and tiptronic transmission: Al­
lowing the vehicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selector lever is in N will damage the transmission be­
cause it is not lubricated under those cir­
cumstances .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driv ­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Transmission 95
Hill descent control
App lies to veh icles: w it h m ult itro nic/S tro nic/t iptro nic
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines .
Hill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is suitable for the incline. Hill de­ scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieved at the time of braking, within physical
and technical limitations. It may still be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Hill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
¢ page 89 , hill descent control is also activat­
ed when the speed is set.
.&_ WARNING
-
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to apply the brakes.

186 Intelligent technology
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys ­
tem, anti-slip regulation (ASR) , e lectronic dif­
ferential lock (EDL), dynamic steering" and
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock* /selective
wheel torque control* . ESC is switched on all
the t ime. I n certa in s ituations whe n you need
l ess t raction, you can switch
off ASR by p ress­
i ng the bu tto n
[ru ¢ page 188, fig. 176 or
¢ page 188, fig. 177. Be sure to sw itch ASR
on aga in when yo u no longer need less t rac­
tion .
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braki ng. The veh icle can still be steered
even d uring h ard br aking. Apply ste ady p res ­
sure to the brake pedal. Do no t pump the ped­
a l. A pulsing in the brake peda l indicates t hat
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assis t system can decrease b ra ki ng
d ista nce. It increases braking power w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal quic kly in eme r­
gency situations . You must p ress and hold the
brake peda l until the situation is over. In
vehicles w ith adapt ive cru ise contro l", the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d ista nce detected to t he vehicle a head is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start , accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differenti al lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if t he vehicle is equipped with
all-w heel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h).
In extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the bra ke on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL wi ll switch on again au-tomat
ica lly when conditions have ret urned to
no rma l.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic steering*, ESC he lps
st abi liz e the steer ing in cr itical situ ations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
T he elec troni c int eraxle differentia l lock (front
whee l dr ive) o r th e se lec tive whee l torque
control (all-whee l dr ive) oper ates when dr iv ­
ing t hro ugh curves. The front wheel on the in ­
side of the c urve or both whee ls on the inside
of the c urve are b raked se lectively as needed.
This m inimizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
curves . The applicable system may not acti­
vate when dr iving in wet o r snowy cond itions.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL dynam ic steering*
a nd the ele ct roni c interaxle d ifferential
lo ck* /se lective whee l torque con trol *
cannot ove rcome the laws of physics .
This is especially important on sli ppery
or wet roads.
If the systems beg in acting
to stabilize your veh icle, yo u should im­
mediately change your speed to match
the road and traffic conditions . Do not
let the increased safety prov ided by
these systems tempt you to take r isks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle cont ro l, col lision and ser ious pe r­
sonal injur ies.
- Always ada pt your speed to road, traffi c
a nd wea ther conditions. The r isk of los-
ing con trol of the vehicle i ncreases when
d riving too fast, es pec ia lly through
curves and o n slippe ry or wet roads, an d
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys­
tem, ASR, EDL dynam ic steer ing* and the
e lectronic inte raxle differentia l lock*/se­
lec tive whee l to rque control* cannot p re-
-
vent co llisi ons. ~

190 Intelligent technology
to brake. This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climatic and operating
condit ions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy ra in or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced . In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test . B rakes will dry a nd ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few ca re ­
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing for an extended pe riod of time on
salt -covered roads without using you r
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads w ith a few careful
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed . O therwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­ creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to t he near­
est author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied
workshop.
- Never let the vehicle roll to a stop w ith
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your ve hicle, or
because the b rake booste r has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed considerab ly harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steer ing adapts electronically based on
the veh icle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Ste ering d efe ct ive ! Do not d rive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
a nd this message appears, the power steering
may have failed .
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
for assistance.
'Tij D ynamic steer ing: Sy stem f au lt! You c an
cont inue d riving
If the indicator l ight turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the stee ring may be more diffi­
c ul t to move o r more sensitive than usua l. The
steering wheel may a lso be at an ang le when
driv ing straight.
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lf u nction
corrected.
'Tij Dynamic stee rin g: initializing
If this driver message appears and the indica­
tor light is flashing on the instrument panel, dynamic steer ing* is being re initia lized . On ce
you start the engine after t his is finished, the
steering wheel will be easy to move . Re-initi­
alizat ion might be necessary if the steering
whee l was moved hard to the left and right
whi le the vehicle was not moving. The display
goes out as soon as initiali zation is complete.
A WARNING
-Have the dynamic steering* system mal­
function repa ired as soon as possible by an
authorized Audi dealer or any qualified
workshop - r is k of accident!
-

A WARNING ,~ ~
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
store the full brak ing effect.
([) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
@ Tips
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
th rough water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for you r vehi­
cle to drive th rough safely.
- Avoid dr iving through sa lt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic converter) is function ­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner.
11-Always use lead-free gasoline q page 214,
Fuel supply .
"'" Never run the tank down a ll the way to
empty.
11-Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine
q page 224, ~ Adding engine oil .
11-Never try to push -or tow-start your veh icle .
The catalytic converter is an efficient "clean­ up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The catalytic converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be­
fore they are released into the atmosphere .
Drivin g and en vironm ent 195
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
important for the life of the catalytic convert­
er and proper funct ion ing of the engine.
A WARNING
-
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other mate rial wh ich can
cause a fir e.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or rustp roof ing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con­
ve rter or heat shields. During driv ing, the
substance used for undercoating co uld
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fu el w il l already ser iously de­
gra de the performance of the catalytic
c onverte r.
- Do not ex ceed t he cor rect eng ine oil level
qpage 224.
- Do not drive until the fue l tank becomes
comple tely empty. The engine co uld m is­
fire . Unburned fuel could also get in to
the exhaust system and th is co uld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat .
- Do not turn off the ignition while the ve ­
hicle is moving.
- Do not continue to ope rate your veh icle
unde r these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converte r. T his
cou ld result in overheating of the con­
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis ­
sion Control System:
- H ave you r vehicle maintained prope rly
and in accorda nce w ith the serv ice rec­
ommendat ions in yo ur Warranty &
M ain tenance boo klet.
- L ack of prope r maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the vehi cle w ill impair
the function of the em ission contro l
system and could lead to damage . ..,. •
•