2013 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET engine overheat

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
/! WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
¢ page 205, 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
(revolutions 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 area, move these­
lector lever to position D/S or ease your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle@¢ fig. 3 should
only briefly be in the red zone: you cou ld
damage your engine! The beginning of the
red zone varies depending 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 but ton in th e in str ume nt cluster
The !SE T! 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
!SE Ti button ¢ fig. 4
with the ignition off.
Starting the Auto -Check sequence
The Auto-Check system constantly monitors
certain ind iv idual functions and components
of the vehicle when the ign ition 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 i
button. You can perform an Auto-Check se­
quence when the vehicle is stationary and the
ignition is turned on or when the vehicle is
moving slower than 3 mph (5 km/h) .
In addition, the number of keys initial ised fo r
your vehicle is displayed.
L2 3/3 means that
three keys have been initialised. This feature
enables used car buyers to make 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 dealer to have the missing key
disabled.
It is also important to notify your in -
surance company about the loss .
IJJ,-

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 54.
-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 205, 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 183
Battery
¢page 17
Engine oil pressure
¢page 17
Eng ine oil level
¢page 17

temporarily to the manual shift program in or­
der to adjust the gears to the driving condi­
tions by hand
¢ page 90.
On slopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P position.
This prevents too much stress from being placed on the locking mechanism.
Vehicles with multitronic transmission : Your
vehicle is equipped with
hill hold assist allow­
ing you to start while on an incline. The sys­
tem is activated when the brake pedal is
pressed down and held
for a few seconds. The
brake p ressure will hold for a moment after
the brake pedal loosens to prevent the vehicle
from rolling backwards while starting up.
A WARNING
-The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running,
activate the parking brake and move the
selector lever to P.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
while the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running .
- Never shift into R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
- 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
Transmission 89
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 lamo
[O] illu­
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 92 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 205, Engine compartment. Oth­
erwise, any increase in engine speed may
set the vehicle in motion, even with the parking brake applied.
(D 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.

-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system only if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower d riving range . Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often. This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and dimin ish braking
effi ciency.
- Do not "r ide the b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake. This may cause the b rakes to
overheat, premat ure wear and increased
stopp ing distance .
- Under certain climatic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy rain 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 d rums . Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­ ings will be cleaned off afte r a few ca re­
f ul brake appl ications.
- Driv ing fo r an ex tended pe riod of time on
salt-covered ro ads w ithout using yo ur
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumu lated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few caref ul
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. Otherwise the brake system co uld
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 the near­
est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
wor kshop.
- Never let the v ehicle roll to a stop w ith
t he engine shu t off.
Int ellig ent technolog y 183
-If the brake booster is not working, for
examp le when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed conside rably 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 vehicle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defecti ve! Do not d rive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and t his message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed .
Do
not con tinue dr iv ing . See your author ized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
fo r ass istance.
f-r,ij Dynamic st eering: System fault! You can
continue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cu lt to move or more sensit ive tha n usual. The
stee ring wheel may a lso be at an angle when
driv ing straight .
Drive slowly to your a uthorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lfunction
correc ted .
fifl Dynamic steer ing: in itializing
If this drive r message appea rs and the indica ­
tor light is flash ing on the instrument panel,
dynamic steer ing * is being rein itia lized. Once
you start the engine after th is is finished, the
steering wheel will be easy to move. Re- init i­
al ization might be necessa ry if the steering
wheel was moved ha rd to the left a nd right
wh ile the vehicle was not moving. The display
goes ou t as soon as initialization is comp lete. .,.
•
•

188 Driving and en vironm ent
8_ 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 braking effect.
CD 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 switc h the engine off when driving
t hr ough water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep fo r you r vehi­
cle to dr ive through safely.
-
- Avoid dr iving thro ugh salt 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 on environmentally sound manner.
,,. Always use lead-free gasoli ne¢ page 207,
Fuel supply .
,,. Never run the tank down a ll the way to
empty.
,,. Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine ¢
page 217, "t':::r. Adding engine oil.
,,. Never t ry to push- o r tow-start your veh icle.
The catalytic converter is an effic ient "clean­
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalytic converter burns
many of the polluta nts in the exhaust gas be­
fore they are released into the atmosphe re. The exclusive
use of unleaded f uel is critica lly
important for the life of the catalytic convert­
er and proper funct ion ing of the eng ine .
A WARNING
= -
-Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in co ntact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire .
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
r u stp roofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, cataly tic con­
ver ter or heat shields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used for under coa ting co uld
overhea t and cause a fire.
CD Note
- Be aware that just o ne tank filling with
leaded fu el w ill already ser io usly de ­
gr ad e the per form ance o f the catalytic
c onverte r.
- Do not ex ceed t he corre ct engine oil level
r:;!) page 217.
- Do not drive until the fuel tank be co m es
completely emp ty. The engine co uld mis­
fire . Unburned fuel could also get in to
the exhaust system and this co uld cause
the cata lytic converter to overheat .
- Do not turn off the igni tion whi le the ve ­
hicle is mov ing.
- Do not contin ue to ope rate your veh icle
unde r these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalyt ic converte r. T his
co uld resu lt 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 p rope rly
and in accordance w ith the se rvi ce rec ­
ommen dat ions in yo ur Warranty &
M ain tenance boo klet.
- L ack of prope r maintenan ce as we ll as
i mprope r use of t he ve hicl e wi ll impair
the func tion of the em ission cont ro l
system and could lea d to damage .
Ill>

192 Trailer towing
Tire pre ss ure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver 's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac ­
turers' specifications.
Light s
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Saf ety chains
Be sure tra iler sa fe ty cha ins a re p roperly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve ­
hicle. Leave eno ugh slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling o f vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded tra iler whe n your car it ­
self is no t loaded .
.,. Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles .
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weigh t di stribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steer ing control. A "ba
lanced' ' rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rving
tongue load requ irements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at t he maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rtic ularly
whe n going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do n ot
try to sto p th e swaying by acc elerating .
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
fo r vehicles tow ing tra ile rs a re lower than for
regular veh icles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . U se of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant tempe rature
The coo lant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefu lly. If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
i n t he i nstrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut two min utes to prevent he at build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restra ined in a mov ­
i ng vehicle is a t a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in yo ur car
who is not p roperly wea ring the rest raints
prov ided by Audi.
-

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 ..,.