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.
226 Check ing and filling
Never use a fa st charger as a booster to
start the engine . T his will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, rad io, etc ., as well
as the battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new bat tery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery .
Intelligent energy man agement in your veh i
cle is respons ible for d istributing the e lectr i
cal energy throughout your vehicle
c::>
page 185. The intell igent energy ma nage
ment system w ill keep the engine battery
cha rged bette r then vehicles w it h out th is sys
tem. To make sure t he addi tional e lectrica l en
e rgy is availab le once again after you have
cha nged t he battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and ma nu
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations are listed on the battery hous ing. Your
author ized Audi dealer must code the battery
in the ene rgy management system to enable
you to use the ene rgy management functions
cor rectly after repla cing t he battery .
If it is not possible to use a battery of this
type, the new battery must have the same ca
pac ity, voltage ( 12-volts), ampe rage, con
s truction and plug sea ling .
When insta lling the battery , make sure the ig
ni tion and all electr ical cons umers are turned
off.
0 Note
Ma ke sure t he vent ilation hose on the s ide
of the batte ry is con nected, ot herwis e
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l
of a battery , we recommend your au thor
i z ed Audi deale r change the batte ry for you
. Batteries contain sul fur ic acid and
l ead and must a lways be disposed of prop
erly in comp liance with a ll environmental
regulations. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dangerous to the envi
ro nment .
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
Fig. 181 En gin e compa rt m en t: Cover o n the wind
s hi eld an d headlig ht• was her fluid conta iner
T he was her fluid co nta iner is mar ked w ith the
symbol
O on its c ap c::> fig. 181, c::> fig . 175.
.,. Before yo u check anything in the engine
compa rtme nt, always read and heed all
WARNINGS c::> &. in Working in the engine
c ompartment on page 212.
.. Lift th e fi ller ca p tongue to ad d washer flu
id . You can f ill the containe r to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the fi ller neck after
fi lling the container.
You can find the reservo ir
capacity in t he table
in c::>
page 267 .
Clean wa ter should be used when filling up. If
poss ible, use so ft wat er to preven t scaling o n
the washer jets . A lways ad d a glass clea ner
solution (with frost protection in the winter) .
(D Note
Do not m ix eng ine cool ant an tifr eeze o r
any other a ddi tives to fill up the win d
s hi eld washer rese rvoir .
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare tire. The compact spare tire
has been des igned specifically for your type of
ve hicle.
It must not be swapped with a com
pact spare t ire from another type of veh icle.
Snow cha in s
For technica l reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not permitted .
If you do have to dr ive with snow chains and a
front tire fails, mou nt the spare whee l w ith
tire instead o f a rea r ti re . Install the snow
chains on the rear tire and use it to replace
the defective front tire.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
o r if it is worn down to the tread wear in
dicators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex
t reme caution and careful driving .
- The spare tire is intended only for tem
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possib le w ith the
normal wheel and t ire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire, the tire pressure must be checked as soo n as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
c ompac t sp are tire must be 4.2 bar; o th
erwise, yo u risk hav ing an accident.
- Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/
h). You risk having an a ccident.
- Avoid fu ll-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing. Yo u risk h av
ing an acc iden t.
- Never drive us ing more t han one spa re
whee l and tire. You risk having an acci
dent.
- No rma l su mmer or wi nte r tires m ust not
be mounted on the comp act spare whee l
rim.
- F or technical reasons, t he use of ti re
chains on the spare tire is not permitted .
If it is necessary to drive with tire chains,
the spare whee l must be mounted on the
front axle in the event of a flat in a rear
What do I do now? 249
tire. The newly available front whee l
m ust then be insta lled in place of the
rear whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the t ire cha in before mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compart
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard bra king or in a n accide nt.
Never store the spa re tire or jack and
too ls in t he passenger compa rtment.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang
ing a wheel .
"' After you experience a t ire failure, p ull the
car we ll away from moving traffic and try to
reach
le vel ground before you stop¢ A.
"' All passengers should lea ve the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail) ¢ &, .
"' Engage the
park ing brak e to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally¢&, .
"' Move the
se lec tor lever to th e P position .
"' If you are towing a t ra iler : unhit ch the trail
er from you r vehicle.
"' Take the
jack ¢ page 248 and the spare tire
c::> page 248 out of the luggage compart
ment .
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l-
l ow these safety precaut ions :
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe d is
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use other warning devices to a le rt other mo
torists.
- Ma ke sure that passenge rs wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
-
suddenly and possib ly slipping off the ..,. •
•
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer
gency crews and working personnel who
have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
(D Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing .
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery of
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en
g ine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently
largecross section to carry the starter current
safe ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specifica
tions.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi
na l clamps which are distinctly marked:
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minus(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
injury. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your vehicle's battery.
- Always shield your eyes and avoid lean
ing over the battery whenever possible.
Emergency situations 259
-A discharged battery can freeze at tem
peratures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before
connecting a jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery completely, oth
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin . Flush any contacted area with
water immediately .
- Improper use of a booster battery to
start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies generate explosive gas
es. Keep sparks, flame and lighted c iga
rettes away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any veh icle w ith
a low ac id level in the battery.
- The voltage of the booster battery must
also have a 12-Volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged bat
tery. Use of batteries of diff erent voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rat ing
may cause an exp losion and personal in
jury.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trap
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen . The battery case may have
be weakened.
- Use of batter ies of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat
ing may cause an exp losion and injury .
The ca pa city (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
page 205, Engine com
partment.
(D Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster bat
tery will cause expensive damage to sen
sit ive electronic components, such as
control units, relays, rad io, etc .
- There must be no electrical contact be
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
could already start to flow as soon as the
posit ive(+) terminals are connected. ..,. •
•
-Jumper cables must be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart
ment.
- Do not bend over the batteries - danger
of chemical burns!
- The battery ce ll locking screws must be
tightened securely .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢
page 205, Engine com
partment .
(D Note
Improper hook -up of jumper cables can ru
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that a ll screw plugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firmly. If not, tighten plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega
tive battery terminal.
- Please note that the procedure for con
nect ing a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle be ing jump started . When
you are giving a jump start to anothe r ve
hicle, do
not connec t the negat ive( -) ca
ble to the negative( -) term inal on the
discharged battery@¢
fig. 202. In
stead, securely connect the negative(-)
cable to either a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted to the engine block
or to the engine block itse lf. If the bat
tery that is being charged does not vent
to the outside, escaping battery gas
could ignite and exp lode!
Em erg en cy si tuation s 261
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow
ing.
T he following information is to be used by
commercial tow t ruck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Nev er t ow your Audi , tow ing will c aus e
damage t o the engine a nd transmi ssion.
- Never wrap th e safet y chain s or winch c a
ble s around th e brak e lin es.
- To prev en t unne cessary dam age, your Aud i
mu st be t ran spo rted with a flat bed tru ck .
- To load th e vehi cle on to the fl at bed, use
the t owing loop found in the vehicle t ool s
a nd atta ch to the front or rear anch o rage
r=:> page 262 and ¢page 262 .
A WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle being towed, for any reason.
-
•
•
264 Emergency situations
fall from a lift if there is a change in ve
hicle weight distribution and balance.
This might happen, for example, when
heavy components such as the engine
block or transmission are removed .
- When removing heavy components like
these, anchor vehicle to hoist or add cor
responding weights to maintain the cen
ter of gravity. Otherwise, the vehicle
might tilt or slip off the hoist, causing
serious personal injury.
(D Note
- Be aware of the following points before
lifting the vehicle:
-The vehicle should never be lifted or
jacked up from underneath the engine
oil pan, the transmission housing, the
front or rear axle or the body side
members. This could lead to serious
damage.
- To avoid damage to the underbody or
chassis frame, a rubber pad must be
inserted between the floor jack and
the lift points.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
check that the vehicle weight does not
exceed the permissible lifting capacity
of the hoist.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
ensure that there is sufficient clear
ance between the hoist and low parts
of the vehicle.
General information Explanation of
technical data
Som e of t he technical data listed in this man
ual requires further explanation.
The technical data for your vehicle is listed in
the charts starting on
c:> page 267. This sec
tion provides general information, notes and
r estr ictions wh ich app ly to this data.
Vehicle identification
The key data is given on the vehicle identifi ca
tion number ( VIN) plate and the vehicle data
sti cker .
Fig. 20 9 Vehicle Identificat ion Num ber (VlN) p la te: lo
cation o n drive r"s side dash pa nel
Fi g. 2 10 The ve hicle identificat ion label -in side the
l u ggage compartme nt
The Vehicle Identification Number (VlN)
is located on the d river's side so tha t it is v is i
b le from the outside throug h the windshield
c:> fig . 209. You can also d isplay the Vehicle
Identification N umber of your vehicle in the
radio or in the MM!*. Select: ICAR!function
button
> Vehicle ID number (VIN) or select :
I CA R
I function butto n > Car systems* control
button
> Servicing & checks > VIN number .
General inform ation 265
The vehicle identification label
is lo cated in the l uggage comp artment near
the battery.
T he label
~fig. 210 shows th e fo llow ing vehi
cl e d ata:
(D Product ion cont ro l No.
@ Vehicle identific ation No.
@ Type code number
© Type designat ion/e ngine o utput in K ilo-
wat ts
® Engine and transm ission code letter
® Pa int No./lnterior
0 Option al eq uipmen t No.'s
Vehicle data 2 to 7 are a lso fo und in your War
ranty
& Mai nte nance bookle t.
The safety compliance sticker
is your assurance that your new vehicle com
plies wi th a ll applicable Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Safety S tandards which were in effect at the
tim e the ve hicle was manufactur ed. You ca n
find this sticke r o n the left doo r jamb.
It
sh ows the m onth and ye ar of pro duction and
t h e ve hicl e ident ifi cat io n number of yo ur vehi
cle (perfora tion) as well as the G ross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVW R) and the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) .
The high voltage warning label
is lo cated on the l ock ca rrie r.
The spark ignition system complies with
the Canadian standard ICES-002.
Weights
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
T he Gro ss Vehicle Weigh t Rat ing (GVWR), and
the Gross Axle We igh t Ra tin g (GAWR) for
fron t and rear are listed on a sticker on the
l eft door jamb .
T he Gro ss Vehicle Weigh t Rat ing incl udes the
weig ht o f the bas ic vehicle plus f ull fuel t ank,
oi l and coo lant, p lus maximum load, which in
cludes passen ger we ight (150 lbs./68 kg per ..,.