2013 AUDI A4 oil viscosity

Checking and fillin g 221
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 184 Typical layout for containers and engine oil filler cap
(D Eng ine oi l filler cap ( @ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. ... ....... ........ .. 232, 270
@ Brake fl uid reservo ir
((0)) . . . . . 228
@ Coolant expansion tank (J-) . . . 227
® Jump start point(-) with hex
head screw ..... .......... .. 232, 270
® Windshie ld/headlight* washer
container
(0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
The pos ition of the engine o il fi lling hole
¢ fig . 184 (item @) can differ depending on
the engine design.
A WARNING
-
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢ &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 219.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil .
The eng ine in your Audi is a sophisticated
power p lant that was bu ilt to exacting specifi­
cations . This eng ine needs the right k ind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the rig ht o il
and changi ng oil within the t ime and mileage
i n tervals printed in you r vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to ­
day than it did years ago . Audi has developed
a specia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs for proper opera-
tion. .,..

222 Check ing and filling
Modern engine lubrication has taken a quan­
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
brication that can outlast traditional petrole­
um-based oils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum ­
based engine oil, the oil that you use must
conform to Audi 's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to he lp keep your vehicle's engine
running smoothly and help prevent the for­
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"sludge ", that ove r time can lead to expensive
repairs .
At the time of pr int ing , engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifi cations of Audi oi l standard VW 502 00
a re synthetic engine oils. This does not mean,
however, that every syn thetic engine oil will
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oil.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de ­
posits use only oi l with the fo llowing specifi­
cations printed on the oil container :
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il container labe ls may carry the specif ica ­
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion with other des ig­
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Viscosity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis­
cosity. The proper viscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con­
d itions where you drive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SA E SW40 across all tem ­
pe ratu re ranges for normal driving conditions .
However, if eng ine o il viscos ity grade SA E
SW40 is not avai lab le, you can also use viscos­
ity grade SAE SW -30 or SAE OW-40 as long as
it meets Audi o il quality standard VW 502 00
specif ications .
Because engine oil that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be available everywhere
when you need it, we strongly recommend
that you always carry with you an ext ra quart (
li te r) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 spec ification, in case you have to
top
off the oil while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is a t or be low the
min imum mark -and no oi l that expressly
conforms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
specifications is available - may you top
off
with a high quality engine o il, preferab ly syn ­
thet ic-based, tha t mee ts ACEA A3 or API SM
specifications, but even then , only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40 , SAE SW-30, o r SA E
OW-40. However, dur ing the entire time be­
tween oil change inte rva ls , never top
off with
more than a total of 0.5 q t/ liter engine o il
t h at does not con form to Audi oi l specification
vw 502 00.
For more informa tion about eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, please
contac t either yo ur authorized Aud i deale r or
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1 (800) 822 -2834
or visit our web site at www .audiusa.com or
www.aud icanada .ca. Here you w ill also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names e tc.) tha t conform to Audi oil s tanda rd
vw 502 00 .
Changing the engine oil
The eng ine oi l and oil fi lter must be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified in your ve hicle's War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil ca n reduce eng ine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repa irs .
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter­
vals is so very important because the lubricat­ ing proper ties of oil decrease gradually during
norma l veh icle use . If you are not sure when
you have your oil changed, ask your author­ ized Audi Serv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld even be cha nged more frequent ly .
Change oil more often if you drive mostly
sho rt distances, operate the ve hicle in dusty
areas o r most ly unde r stop-and-go t raff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..

temperatures stay below freezing point for l ong periods.
Detergent add itives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run ­
ning fo r a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am ag e or m alfun ction s due to lack of
ma intenanc e
It is essential that you change your oil at the
r ecommended inte rva ls using only engine o il
t hat complies wi th A udi oi l standard
VW 502 00 . Your Limited New Vehicle War ­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
d ue to fa ilure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manua l and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage u nless you present to
the dea ler p roof in the fo rm of Serv ice or Re­
pa ir Orde rs that all s chedu led maintenance
wa s pe rformed in a t imely manner .
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle dep ends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In o rder to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of i nternal engine components, a ll in­
ternal comb ustion eng ines consume a cert ain
amo unt of o il. Oil cons umption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typ ica lly, engines
with a specified break-in per iod (see
¢
page 194) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized .
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con ­
sumpt ion depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the amb ient
temperature and road condit ions. Furthe r fac­
tors ar e the amount of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is s ubje ct to
Checkin g and fillin g 223
wear as m ileage builds up, the oil consump ­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
Wi th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumpt ion can be es ­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev ­
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
1\1 in the instrument cluster lights up , you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 224. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 224.
A WARNING
Before you check anythi ng i n the engi ne
compartment, always read a nd heed all
WARNINGS¢ .&.
in Working in th e engine
c ompartment on page 219.
(D Note
D riving w ith an insufficient o il level is like­
ly to cause sever e damage to the engine .
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil le vel. Do not
rely on it . Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regu lar intervals, pref­
erably ea ch time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression yo ur engi ne
c ons umes ex ce ss ive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consul t an a uthor­
ized Aud i dea ler to have the cause of
your concern properly d iagnosed. Keep in
mind that the accurate measu rement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some t ime. An authorized Aud i
dealer has instructions about how to
measu re oil consumption accurately.
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