2013 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET warning

218 Check ing and filling
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come
in contact with the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow legal regu lations
when disposing of empty oil containers.
Changing the engine oil
We recommend thot hove your oil changed by
an authorized Audi dealer or a qualified serv­
ice station.
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
a lways r ea d and heed all WARN­
ING S ¢ & in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 212.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance book let. This is very important
because the lubricating properties of oil di­
minish gradually during normal vehicle use .
Under some circ umstances the engine oi l
should be changed more frequently . Change
oil more often if you drive mostly short dis­
tances, operate the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominantly stop-and -go traffic con ­
d itions, or have your veh icle where tempera­
tures remain below freez ing fo r extended pe­
riods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w ill make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run­
n ing fo r a short time. This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oil mo re often than
recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposal ,
a long w ith the special tools and necessary ex­
pertise required, we strong ly recommend that
you have your o il changed by an authorized
Audi de ale r or a qualified service station.
If you cho ose t o c han ge your oil yours elf ,
please note the following important informa­
tion :
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protect ion.
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en- gine oil, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the o il dra in plug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible. Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run­
n ing down you r arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large enough to hold at least the tota l amount of oil in
your engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it we ll out
of the rea ch of childre n.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il
is harmfu l to your sk in. Always protect
your skin by washing oil off tho ro ughly
with soap and wate r.
@ Note
Neve r mix oil additives with your engine
oi l. These additives can damage your en­
g ine and adversely affec t you r A ud i L imit­
ed New Veh icle War ranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil, first make su re
you know where you can prope rly dispose
o f the used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oi l proper ­
ly. Do not dump it on garden soil, wood­
ed areas, into open streams o r down
sewage drains.
- Recycle used engi ne oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in you r
area, or contact a service station.

Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro ­
te cts the engine from freezing in the winter .
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
qu ires 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 G 13 antifreeze with
anticor ros ion add itives (50% for USA mode ls;
60% for Canadian mode ls). This mixtu re both
assures the ne cessa ry frost prote cti on and
p rotec ts metal components in the engine's
coo ling system from cor ros io n an d scaling. It
a lso raises the boiling point of the coolant.
D o not red uce the con cent ration o f th e coo l­
ant in the summe r by adding plain water .
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at least 50% but not more than 60%
to ma in­
tain antifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protect ion is too low,
the coolant cou ld freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system .
For yea r-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -3 1 °F (-35°C)USA
- -4 0 ° F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
A WARNING
Before yo u check any thing in the engine
compartment, always read and hee d all
W AR NIN GS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 212.
(D Note
- Before win ter se ts in, have the coolan t
checked to see if t he coolant ad dit ive i n
your vehicle is suffic ient to meet the cli­
mate cond itions . T hi s is especially imp or­
tant if you live in a regi on whe re the w in­
te r is e xtremely cold. If necessary, in -
Checking and fillin g 219
crease the propo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to yo ur
coolin g system , remembe r:
- We reco mmend us ing o nly coola nt ad­
d itive G12++ or G13 for your vehicle .
This coolan t ad ditive is availab le at a u­
thor ized Audi dealers. O ther types of
ant ifree ze can s ignific antly red uce cor­
rosion pro tec tion . The result ing corro­
sion can ca use a loss o f coolan t and se ­
rio us en gine damage.
- D o not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal­
ant to yo ur vehicle 's engine coolan t.
Adding radiator repair fl uid may adverse ­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by you r New Ve hicle
Limited War ran ty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
Fig . 1 78 Eng in e co mpa rtm ent : Cover o n the coo la nt
expans io n t an k
-... ;;; ,; a, m
.. Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 212 .
"' Park yo ur vehicle on a lev el su rface .
"' Turn off the ignition .
"' Read t he e ngine coolant level from the
coo lant expan sio n ta nk ¢
fig. 178 ,
¢ fig. 175. With a cold engine, the coolant
level sho uld be between the "MIN " and
"MAX" markings . When the engine is warm,
the level may be slightly above the "MAX"
marking.
Iii>

220 Check ing and filling
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration ¢
page 214 .
To obtain an accurate read ing, the eng ine
must be switched off .
The expans io n tank in you r vehicle is equipped
with an e lectr ic cool ant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning light in the A uto-Check System ¢
page 18 will
b link until you add coo lant and the level has
been restored to no rm al. Even though the re is
an e lec tric coolant level sensor, we s till rec ­
ommend you check the coolant leve l from
time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolan t loss, the cool ­
i ng system should be inspected immedia tely
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
I n a
s e aled system, losses can occur only if
the boiling poin t of the coolant is excee ded as
a result of overheating.
A WARNING
The cooling system is unde r pressure and
can get ve ry hot. Reduce the risk of sca ld­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect yo ur face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and ve ry carefu lly in
a counter-clockwise direction wh ile ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avoid being b urned, do not spill ant i­
freeze or coolant on t he exhaust system
or hot eng ine parts. Unde r certain condi­
tions, t he ethy lene g lycol in engine cool­
an t can ca tch fire.
(D Note
Do not ad d any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your veh icle's engine coo lant. Add­
i ng radiator repa ir fluid may adverse ly af­
fect the funct ion and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage not cove red by your New Veh icle L imited
War ran ty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS c> &. in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 212.
.. Turn off the engine.
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank ¢
fig. 178 and carefully turn the cap
co unter-clo ckwise ¢,&. .
.,. Add coo lant.
.. Twis t the cap on aga in
t ightly.
Replacement engine coo lant must confo rm to
exact spec ificat ions
¢ page 219, Coolant. We
re commend using on ly coo la nt additive G 12+
+ , G 13 or in an eme rgen cy G12+. Do
not use a
different additive. In an emergency use plain
water until yo u can get the correct additive
and can restore the correct ratio . This shou ld
be done as soon as possible .
If you have los t a cons iderab le amount o f
coolant , then you sho uld ad d cold antifreeze
and cold wate r on ly w hen the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coo lant when refilling.
Do not f ill coo lant abov e the "MAX" mark . Ex­
cess coo la nt w ill be fo rced o ut thro ugh the
pressure relief valve in t he cap w hen the en­
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
-= -
-The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of ..,.

scalding from hot coo lant by following
these steps.
- Turn
off the engi ne and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escapi ng fl uid and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very ca refully
i n a cou nte r-clockw ise dir ect ion while
a pply ing lig ht, downwa rd p ress ure on
the top of the cap.
- T o avo id being burned, do no t sp ill an­
tifree ze o r coolan t on t he exh aust sys­
tem or ho t engine parts . Un der certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
gine coolant can catch fire .
- Antifree ze is poisono us. Always store an­
tifreeze in its or iginal co ntainer and we ll
o ut o f the reac h of children.
- If you drain the coolant , it must be
caught and safely stored in a p roper con ­
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the env ironment and
could ca use a n engine fire . Excess coo l­
ant wi ll be forced out through the pres ­
sure re lief va lve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added , the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze¢
page 219 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be re used . Al­
ways dispose of used c oolant while observ­
ing all envir onmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automa tically by
itself
T he radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-be lt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan according to the temperature of the
coolant .
Checkin g and fillin g 221
An auxiliary electric radiato r fan* sw itches on
and
off depending on coolant temperature
and othe r vehicle ope rat ing con ditions.
After yo u switc h the engi ne off, the aux iliary
f an can con tinue r unning for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself¢ & , if
- t he temperatu re of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat b uild -up from the en gine in
the engi ne compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up be cause
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal in jury nev­
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is temperat ure
contro lled and can switch on sud denly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fa n switches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coo lant temper­
ature drops .
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
qui ck glance.
Fig. 17 9 En gin e compar tment: Cover o n the brak e flu­
i d reservoi r
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment ,
always re ad and heed all WARN­
INGS c::> ,& in Working in the engine compar t-
ment on page 212 . .,..

222 Check ing and filling
• Read the brake fluid leve l from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 179, ¢ fig. 175. The
brake f lu id leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear partition of the engine compartment on the
left side ¢
page 214 .
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably be­
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi ­
cator light (U .S . mode ls:
1111 , Canadian
models :. ) will come on
¢ page 15. Do not
continue to operate the vehicle. The complete brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the b rake war ning/
i ndicato r light w ill illuminate . Contact an au­
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediately .
@ Tips
The brake f lu id reservoir is located unde r­
neath the cove r.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerably and
dec rease braking per formance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ver y two ye ars. A lways use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
S tanda rd "FMVSS 116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservoir can be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that yo u
have the brake fl uid changed by yo ur au tho r­
i z ed
Audi dealer . Your dealer has the co rrec t tools, the
right brake flu id and t he know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
'-
- Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor-
ed only in the closed or igina l container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can res ult from o ld or inap­
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only brake f luid that meets SA E
spe cifi cat ion
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehi cle Standard 1 16.
Always chec k with yo ur authorized A udi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The cor rect type of
brake flu id is also ind icated on the
brake f lu id reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long . This can se riously affect the effi­
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety . T his could result in an accident.
W Note
Brake fluid will damage the pai nt of you r
vehicle .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
r ecommend that yo u have the brake flu id
changed by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
U nder normal operat ing cond itions, the bat­
te ry in your Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance. With
high outside temperatu res or
long da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by an autho riz ed
A udi dealer or qu alified workshop. The elec­
tro ly t e level should also be checked e ach time
the battery is charged
¢ page 225. ...

Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. Yo u are well advised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 years.
W ith certa in types o f airbag deployment, the
battery is disconnec ted from the vehicle elec ­
trica l system for safety reasons
c::> &. in Re­
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 154.
Di sconn ecting the battery t erminal s
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu­
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter­
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connec ted again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
e lectrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicl es not driven for long p eriod s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo­
nents are gradually cu t back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main ­
tains starting capability over a longer per iod
c::> page 185.
Some of the conven ience functions may not
operate, such as the inter ior lights or the
power seat adjustment. The conven ience
functions will be ava ilable again whe n you
turn on the ignition and sta rt the eng ine.
Winter operation
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as temperatures drop . This
i s because more powe r is also consumed while
start ing , and the head lights, rea r window de­
fogger, etc., are used more often .
Avo id unnecessary power consumption, par­
ticularly in c ity t raffic or when t rave ling on ly
short d istances. Let you r authorized Audi
dea le r che ck t he capacity of the vehicle bat­
t ery before w inte r sets in
c::> page 225. A well
cha rged batte ry w ill no t only p revent sta rting
p rob lems when the weathe r is cold, b ut will
a lso last longer.
Checkin g and fillin g 223
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery shou ld be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze. This will
prevent it from be ing damaged and having
to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the l uggage compart­
ment under the floor. Before you check any­
th ing in the luggage compartment,
read and
h eed all WARNINGS
c::> &_ .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work­
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lec­
trical system to prevent injury.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Al ways heed the follo wing WARNING SYM­
BOLS and safety precautions when working on the battery.
® Always wear eye protection .
/).. Batte ry acid contains sulfuric acid . Al­
~ ways w ear glov es and ey e protection .
IC No
\!!51 -sparks
-flames
- smoking.
A Wh en a battery i s charged , it produces
~ hydrogen g as which i s explosive and
could cau se per sonal injur y.
~ Always keep the battery well out of
'if!:11 reach of children .
_&. WARNING
Whenever working on t he battery o r on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
injury, accident and even fire . Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
-
•
•

224 Checking and filling
-Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing . Shield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury .
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns .
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open­
ings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables.
= When working on the battery , be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­ tem, disconnect the negative ground ca­ble.
- Before performing any work on the elec­
trical system, switch
off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip ­
ment . The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected . If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch
off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you will set off the alarm. -
When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch­
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable . Never inter ­
change the cables - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery .
It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced . A dis­
charged battery can freeze over at 32°F
(QOC).
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the side of the bat­
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al­
ways replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Proposition 6S Warning:
- 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 problems. Wash hands after han­
dling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is switched on or when the engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage electronic components in the
electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced .

Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged battery .
Fig. 180 Eng ine co mpa rtmen t: Connectors for charger
an d jumper cables
Alwa ys r ea d and heed all WARNINGS below
c:> &. and c:> &. in Working on the battery on
page 223 .
.. Turn off the ignit ion and a ll electrical con­
sumers .
.. Make sure the area is well ventilated when
you charge the battery .
.. Open the engine hood
c:> page 212 .
.. Open the cover on the pos itive pole
c:>fig. 180.
.. Connect the charger connectors accord ing
to the instructions to the
j ump start b olts .
(Bolts under the cover= "positive", Bolts
with hex head= "negative") .
.. Only now plug the mains lead for the charg­
ing equipmen t into the wall outlet and turn
it on
c:> 8_ .
.. Ma ke sur e t he charging rat e is not over
30 amp s/14 .8 Vol t.
.. When the batte ry is fully charged: Turn the
charging eq uipment
off and remove the
ma ins lead from the wall outlet.
.. Now remove the clamps for the charging
equipment.
.. Close the cover on the positive pole .
.. Close the hood
c:> page 212 .
A discharged battery can freeze at tempera­
tures of on ly 32 °F (0 °C). A llow a frozen bat­
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
charge it
c:> .&. . However, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat-
Checkin g and fillin g 225
tery casing can be cracked due to ice forma ­
tion and can leak battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate
of 30 amps /14.8 Volt )
When charging at low voltages (e.g. with a
trickle cha rger ), the battery cables do not
have to be disconnected f irst . The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery.
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment.
Fas t chargin g the batter y (cha rging rat e
ab ov e 14 .8 V olt s)
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
Volts to charge your vehicle's battery.
&_ WARNING
-
Charging a battery can be dangerous .
- Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manu­
facturer when charging your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex­ plode because of gas trapped in the ice .
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out f irst.
- Do not reuse batteries which were fro­
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame or elec­
trica l spark . Do not smoke . Hyd rogen gas
generated by the battery is explos ive .
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or d isconnect charger cab les
while the charger is operat ing .
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe­
tent techn ic ian with the prope r equip­
men t.
- Battery acid that may spi ll dur ing charg­
ing should be washed
off wi th a solut ion
of warm water and baking soda to neu­
tralize the ac id.