2013 AUDI A5 COUPE warning

196 Driving and en vironm ent
(0 Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended af­
ter starting . If warning lights should come
on to indicate improper operation, they
would go unheeded. Extended idling also
produces heat, which could result in
over­
heating or other damage to the vehicle or
other property.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot of fuel .
.,. Have your vehicle serv iced at regular inter-
vals.
By having your vehicle regularly serviced by an
author ized Audi dealer he lps to ensure that it
runs properly and economically. The condition
of your vehicle not only affects its safety and
ab il ity to hold its value, it also affects
fu el
con sump tion .
C heck your oil each time you fill your tank.
The amount of oil used is related to engine
l oad and speed.
I t is normal for the oil consumption o f a new
engine to reach its lowest val ue after a certain
mileage has been driven.
You mus t drive yo ur vehicle abo ut 3,000 miles
(5,000 kilometers) be fo re yo u can properly
assess oi l consumption.
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and en­
g ine output.
(]) Note
-Have yo ur vehicle maintai ned properly
and in accordance with the service re c­
ommendations in your War ran ty
& Mai n­
tenance bookle t. Lack of proper mainte ­
nance as well as imp roper use of the
ve­
hicle will impair the function of the
emission control system and could lead
to damage. -
Do not alter or
remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap­
proved by the manufacturer .
- Do not alter or
remove any device, such
as heat shie lds, switches, ignition w ires,
valves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emission Control System and other important vehicle compo­
nents.
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips .
.,. Try to avoid driv ing short distances w ith a
cold engine.
The engine and cata lytic converter have to
reach their opt imal
oper ating temperature to
reduce fuel consumpt ion and nox ious em is­
s ions effectively.
Just after starting, a co ld engine in a mid-size
car on ly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 m iles
per gallon (30-40 l/100 km). After about a
half a mile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg
(20 l/100 km) . After about
2 .5 miles (4 km),
the engine is at its prope r operating tempera­
tu re and fuel economy has reached a normal
level. So you can see that yo u should avo id
short trips whenever poss ible.
T he
outside temperatur e is also cr it ical in t his
regard. Your car consumes more fue l in the
winter tha n in the s umme r.

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns.
Trailer towin g 197
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trai ler has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the lo ad in the tra iler is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 198.
Engine cooling system
T owing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard ­
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•

198 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.
-

200 Cleaning and protection
Cleaning and protect ion
General information
Regular core preserves vehicle value .
Any automobile is exposed to industr ial
fumes, corrosive road salt, etc. A well cared
for Audi can look like new many years after
p ur chase . Reg ular and correct care w ill con­
tr ibute to maintain ing the beauty and valu e of
your Aud i.
Furthermore, good care may be a condition
for substantiating a warranty claim should
corrosion damage or paint defects occur.
Your auth orized Audi dealer has a variety of
dedicated vehicle-care products and can ad ­
v ise wh ich ones to use for cleaning the ext eri­
or a nd inte rior o f you r vehi cle.
Whether you use products recommended by
Aud i or other commercially ava ilable clean ing
agen ts, pleas e make sure you apply t hem cor­
r ectly .
A WARNING
-Cleani ng agen ts m ay be poi sonous. Kee p
them o ut of t he rea ch of childre n.
- H eed a ll ca ution labels.
- Always read directions on th e co ntai ner
b efore using a ny produc t. Follow the di­
rec tions caref ully.
- Most chemical cleaners a re concentrat ed
and have to be diluted.
- Use spot removing flui ds only i n well
ventila ted areas.
- Do not use gasoline, ke rosene, d iesel
fuel, nail pol is h remov er or ot her volati le
fluid s. T hey may be to xic, flammab le or
h azar dou s in other w ays. D o not was h,
w ax or dry the vehicle wi th the ig nit ion
on or the eng ine running .
- D o not cl ean t he under sides of ch assis,
f en ders, wheel cove rs , etc. without pro­
tectin g your hands and a rms. You may
c u t yourself on s harp-ed ged metal parts . -
Moisture and ice on b rakes may impair
brak ing eff ic iency
c::> page 188. Test t he
brakes carefully each time you was h the
ve hicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Selec t on ly environ mentally frien dly clean ­
i ng products. Leftover cleaning pr oducts
s hou ld not d isposed of in the househo ld
waste .
Care of exterior
Washing
Frequent washing protec ts the vehicle .
The best p rotection against environmen tal i n­
fluences is
frequent wash ing and waxing . H ow
often t his is requ ire d d epends o n:
- How much t he ve hicle is used
- W he re the veh icle is parked (garage, i n the
open under trees, etc .)
- The seasona l and weather conditions
- Environmental infl uences
T he longer b ird d roppings, inse cts, tree res in,
r oad and indus trial grime, t ar, soo t, ro ad salt
and other mater ials remain on the veh icle
body, the more lasting their destr uctive ef­
f ects w ill be . Hig h temperatures ca used by ex ­
pos ure to intense su nlight i ntens ify the c orro­
s ive effect, particular ly when hum id ity is high
as wel l.
U nder certa in circumstances,
weekly washing
may be necessary. Unde r other cond itions, a
monthly washing and waxing may be ade­
quate .
After the winter, the unders ide of the vehicle
sho uld be thoroughly washed, preferab ly in a
professional ca r wash.
A WARNING
-A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
other info rma tion
c::> page 20 0.

Automatic car wash
The vehicle can be washed in almost any
modern automatic car wash .
The vehicle paint is so durable that the vehicle
can normally be washed without problems in
an automatic car wash. However, the effect on
the paint depends to a large extent on the de­
sig n of the fac ility, the filte ring of the wash
water, the type of wash and care mater ial , etc.
If the paint has a dull appearance afte r go ing
through the car wash or is scratched, bring
this to the attention of the operator immedi­
ately. If necessary, use a different car wash.
Before going through a ca r wash, be s ure to
take the usual precautions such as closing the
windows and the roof . Factory installed an­
tennas must not be removed.
If you have installed additional accessories on
the vehicle -such as spoilers, roof rack, etc. -
it is best to ask the car was h operator if these
should be removed .
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200.
(D Note
Before washing the vehicle in an automatic
car wash, p lease make sure to retract the
exterior m irrors to prevent them from be­
ing damaged.
Washing the vehicle by hand
A lot of water is needed when washing a vehi­
cle by hand.
~ Before you start washing, make sure yo u
have read and understood the WARNINGS
¢ A in General information on page 200 .
~ First soak all dried dirt until it is soft, then
rinse it off .
~ As you clean your veh icle, start with the
roof and work your way down to the bottom,
us ing a sponge , a sponge glove o r a clean
brush.
Cleaning and protec tion 20 1
~ Rinse the sponge or the sponge g love often,
flushing it clean eac h time .
~ Use spec ia l car shampoo only for very per­
sistent d irt .
~ Rinse the car thoroughly with water.
~ Use a chamois leather to gently w ipe the ex-
ter ior d ry .
U se a separate sponge for cleaning the
whee ls, door sills and other regions exposed
to road dirt . In this way, you w ill not scratch
the pa int wit h coarse particles imbedded in
the sponge the next time you wash the car.
&_ WARNING
- Do not clean the underside of the chas ­
sis, fenders, wheel covers, or o ther ha rd
to reach pa rts without protect ing you r
hands and arms. You may cut yourself on
sharp-edged metal parts .
-Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200.
(D Note
- N ever try to remove dirt, mud or dust if
the s urface o f the veh icle is dry . Never
use a dry cloth or sponge, since this
co uld scratch your vehicle's paint or win ­
dows.
- Never wash your car in bright s unlight .
Drops of wate r act as magnifying lenses
and may damage yo ur paint .
- When you wash yo ur car in the winter: if
you rinse yo ur vehicle with a hose, be
careful not to aim the stream of water
directly at locks, or at door or hatch
openings -they can freeze shut .
- Never use sponges designed to
remove
insects, or any k itche n scou ring sponges
or s imilar products. They can damage
your paint finish .
- You should remove debris (such as in­
sects) from the headlight lenses on a
regu lar bas is, for exampl e w hen refuel­
ing your veh icle . Never use a dry cloth o r
sponge to clean t he headlights. On ly use
wet cloths o r sponges to prevent
scratches. It is best to use soapy water.
-
•
•

202 Cleaning and protec tio n
@ For the sake of the environment
In the interest of the environment, the ve­
hicle should on ly be washed in special
wash bays.
Washing your vehicle with a power
washer
Cleaning the exterior of your car with a high­
pressure power washer is safe as long as you
observe a few simple rules .
~ Before using the power washer, make sure
you have read and understood the WARN­
INGS
c::> A in General information on
page 200 .
~ Always follow the operating instructions for
the power washer.
~ Make sure that the jet on the spray hose
produces a "fan shaped spray".
~ Do not ho ld the spray nozzle too close to
soft materials.
When cleaning the vehicle with a power wash­
er
always follow the operating instructions .
This applies particularly to the
o per atin g
p re ss u re
and the s p rayin g distance . Maintain
a sufficient d istance to soft materials such as
rubber hoses and sound/vibrat ion deadening
materials (part icularly on the underside of the
engine hood). Do not use a jet wh ich sprays
water in a
dire ct st ream or one that has a ro ­
ta ting
jet.
Water temperature should not exceed 140 °F
(60 °() .
A WARNING
Never wash tires w ith a je t that sprays wa­
ter in a direc t stream. This cou ld cause in­
visib le damage to the tires and weake n
t hem, even if the spray is from a relatively
long distance and for a short time . Dam­
aged and weakened t ires can fai l and cause
accidents and persona l injury.
([) Note
To avoid damag ing your vehicle, always
make sure that there is sufficient distance between the spray head and soft materia
ls
like rubber hoses, plastic parts and sound­
deaden ing mater ials. Never aim the spray
head at the same point for a long time.
This also applies to cleaning headlights
and painted bumpers. Remember: the
closer the nozzle is to the surface of the
mater ial, the greater the stress on the ma­
terial.
Sensors and camera lenses
- Remove snow with a hand brush and remove
ice with a de -icing spray that does not con­
tain so lvents.
- Clean the sensors (adaptive c ruise control*,
parking system *) with a cleaning so lution
that does not contain so lvents and a soft
cloth.
(D Note
- If you wash your vehicle with a pressure
washer,
- make sure there is enough distance to
sensors in the rear bumper.
- do not clean the camera lenses and the
area around them with the p ressure
washer.
- Never use warm or hot water to remove snow o r ice from the camera lens. This
could cause the lens to crack.
- Never clean the camera lens with abra­
sive products .
Waxing and Polishing
Waxing
A good wax coating prot ects the vehicle paint
to a la rge extent against the envi ronmental
factors lis ted under
c::> page 200, Washing and
even against s light scra tches .
You can use a liquid car wax to protect you r
paint as soon as one wee k afte r you r vehicle
has been delivered.
Even if you regularly use a
wa xing process in
automat ic car washes, we recommend that
you manually apply a coat of wax to g ive the
1111>

paint extra protection, particularly if water no
l onger beads on the clean paint .
P rotec t plastic body pa rts with ca r wax in the
same way as the vehicle body.
During warm weather dead insects tend to
collect on the front bumper and on the for­
ward area of the hood . They a re much easier
to remove from paint that is waxed
often.
Poli shing
Polish your vehicle only if the pa int has lost its
shine and the g loss cannot be brought back
with wax.
If the polish used does not conta in preserva ­
tive compounds, the paint must be waxed af­
terwards .
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200.
(D Note
Do not use car wax on
- matte or anod ized metal trim
- rubber or rubber-like tr im .
Trim strips
Metal trim needs special core.
For env ironmenta l reasons , Aud i fabricates
the bright tr im strips and trim pieces from
pure chromium-free a lum inum.
Dir t and mar ks on the trim str ips should be
removed with a
pH-balan ced cl eaning agent
(do not use a chrome cleaner) . Authorized
Audi dealers ca rry clea ning products w hich
have been tested for use on your vehicle and
are not harmful to the env ironment.
To avoid cor ros ion on the exterior trim str ips,
only a pH-balanced sol ution should be used
for the windshield washer.
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200.
Cleaning and protec tion 203
Plastic and vinyl
Plastic needs special core .
Use a clean, damp cloth or sponge to remove
dust and light surface dirt. For o ther soil, use
a lukewarm all-purpose cleaning so lu tion or a
mild saddle soap for v inyl tr im . Remove water
spots and traces of soap with a clean, damp
cloth or sponge. Use a clea n, soft cloth to rub
dry.
Grease, tar or oil stains can be removed w ith a
clean cloth or sponge soaked with all-purpose
cleaner or with a so lvent designed espec ially
to clean v inyl.
Occas ionally app ly a colorless v inyl or leather
preservative to retain the material's luster
and pliability .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other information
¢ page 200 .
Aluminum trim
Use only neutral-pH products to remove spots
and deposits from a luminum surfaces .
Chrome care products and a lkaline cleaners
will attack a luminum surfaces and can dam ­
age them over t ime.
A WARNING
A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200 .
Touch-up paint
Minor point damages should be touched up
immediately.
.. Use either a touch-up paint stick or spray
paint to cover m inor scratches and nicks.
Your a uthorized Audi dea ler has touch -up
paint for minor scratches and stone chips.
Scratches sho uld be touched up soon after
they occur to prevent corrosion .
•
•

204 Cleaning and protec tio n
If a spot starts to rust, however, a simple
touch-up job will not be enough . The affected
surface must be sanded smooth and coated
with an anti-rust pr imer before the pa inted
f inish can be restored.
The number for the origina l vehicle paint can
be found on the vehicle ident ificat ion labe l
c::>page269.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c::> page 200.
Windows
Clear vision to all sides.
C lean a ll windows regularly to remove road
fi lm and car wash wax b uildup.
"' Remove snow from windows using a brush.
"' Use a plast ic ice scraper to remove ice from
windows and mirrors .
"' Remove other residue on the windows with
a spray •on glass cl eaner .
"' Wipe the windows dry with a clean p iece of
cloth or kitchen paper towel.
The best way to remove snow from windows
and mirrors is to use a brush . Use a non-abra­
sive
pla stic ice sc raper -better still, a spray
de icer -to remove
ic e from windows and mir­
rors .
The windows must not be cleaned with insect remover or wax s ince these can interfere with
the function of the windshield wiper blades (chatter) .
O il, grease, or silicone residue can be removed
with
g lass clea ner or silicone remo ver . How­
ever, wax residue requires the use of a special­ ly formulated solvent . Please contact your au ­
thor ized Audi dealer for adv ice on safe prod­
ucts for wax removal.
W indows should also be cleaned on the inside
at regular intervals .
Never dry w indows with the same chamois
that you use to dry painted surfaces . Wax resi- due on the chamois can impai
r vision through
the windows.
A WARNING
-- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c::> page 200.
-The windshield must not be treated with
water-repellent materials. They can in­
crease glare under poor v is ibility condi­
tions such as wetness, darkness, or when
the sun is low on the hor izon. In addi­
tion, they can cause the w indshield w ip­
ers to chatter.
(D Note
- Never use warm or hot water to remove
snow and ice from windows and mirrors .
Th is could cause the glass to crack .
- To prevent damage to the wires of the
rear defogger, do not place any adhesive
st ickers on the ins ide of the rear window
over the wires .
- To help prevent dirt from scratching the
window, always sc rape in a forward di ­
rection -pushing the sc raper away from
yo u -never bac k and fort h.
- Wate r lea king from the ins ide of the rear
w indows may damage sens it ive elec trical
components located ei ther under the
rear parcel shelf or in the rear trunk area .
Always ensure that water never leaks
through the body section of the vehicle.
You can do this by using waterproof pro­
tection over the vehicle's electrical com­
ponents (e .g. when installing window
tinting) .
- Damage or malfunction of electrical
components due to water damage or any
other outside infl uence is not covered by
the Audi New Veh icle Limited Warranty.
See you r Wa rranty
& M ain tenance book ­
le t for addit ional deta ils abou t your war­
ranty.