2013 AUDI A5 COUPE check engine

218 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 169 Typical layout for containers and eng ine o il filler cap
(D Eng ine o il filler cap ("1::::r.) . . . . . 221
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. .... ... ....... .... ..
229, 264
@ Bra ke fluid reservo ir (0)) . . . . . 225
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) . . . 224
® Jump start point(-) with hex
head sc rew ..... .......... ..
229, 264
® W indshield/headlight* washer
. (" ') container o ....... . ... .. . 230
The pos ition o f the engine o il fi lling hole
¢ fig . 169 (item @) can differ depending on
the eng ine design.
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216.
-
Engine oil
· Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
The eng ine in your Audi is a sophist icated
power plant that was b uilt to exacting specifi­
cations . Th is engine needs the right k ind of
engi ne oil that meets specifica tions regard ing
quality a nd v iscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the rig ht o il
and changing oil within the t ime and mile age
i n tervals prin ted in you r vehicle's Warr anty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to ­
day tha n it did years ago . Aud i has deve loped
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle 's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs for proper opera-
t ion . ..,_

Modern eng ine lubrication has taken a quan­
tum leap in the last few years . Many synt hetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
brication that can outlast traditional pet role­
um-based o ils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life o f your Audi .
W hether you use synthetic or petroleum­
based engine oil, the oil that you use must
c o nform to Audi's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to help keep your vehicle's engine running smoothly and help prevent the for­
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"sludge", that ove r time can lead to expensive
r epairs .
At the time of pri nting, engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oi l standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils. This does not mean, h owever, that every synthetic engine oil w ill
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oi l.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de­
posits use only oi l with the fo llowing spec ifi­
cations printed on the oil container:
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il conta iner labels may carry the specif ica­
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion w ith other des ig­
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Viscosity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis­
cosity. The proper v iscosity grade oi l for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con­
d itions where you dr ive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SAE SW40 across all tem­
pe rature ranges for normal d riving conditions .
However, if eng ine oi l viscosity grade SAE
SW40 is not avai lab le, you can also use viscos­
ity grade SAE SW-30 or SAE OW-40 as long as
it meets Audi o il quality standard VW 502 00
specifications.
Because engine oil that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be available everywhere
when you need it, we st rongly recomme nd
that you always carry with you a n ext ra quart
Checkin g and fillin g 219
(li ter) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 specification, in case you have to
top
off the o il while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is at or be low the
minimum mark -and no oi l that expressly
confo rms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
spec ifications is available -may you top
off
with a h igh quality engine o il, preferab ly syn ­
thet ic-based, that meets ACEA A3 or API SM
specifications, but even then, only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40, SA E SW-30, o r SAE
OW-40. However, dur ing the entire time be­
tween o il cha nge inte rva ls, never top
off with
more than a tota l of 0. 5 q t/liter engine o il
that does not con form to A udi oil specification
vw 502 00.
Fo r more information about eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, ple ase
contac t either yo ur a uthorized Aud i dea le r or
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1 (800) 822 -2834
or visit our web site at www .audiusa.com or
www.aud icanada .ca. Here you w ill also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
vw 502 00.
Changing the engine oil
T he eng ine oi l and o il f ilter m ust be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified i n your vehicle's War ­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these interva ls - harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs.
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter­
vals is so very important beca use the lubricat­
ing propert ies of oil decrease gradually during
norma l veh icle use . If you a re not sure when
you have your o il cha nged, ask your author­
ized Audi Se rv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld eve n be changed more frequent ly.
Change oil more often if you dr ive most ly
sho rt distances, operate the veh icle in dusty
areas o r most ly under stop-and-go traff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..
•
•

220 Check ing and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for
long periods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run­
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am age or m alfunc tions du e to lack of
m ainten ance
It
is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended in tervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re­
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a t imely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, a ll in­
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certa in
amount of oil. O il consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typica lly, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 193) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the ox ida­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the o il lev ­
el, see
Note .
If
the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
I! in the instrument cluster lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 221. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 221.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like­
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressu re warn ing display . is
not an indic ator of the oil l evel. Do not
r el y on it . In stea d, check th e oil l eve l in
y our engin e at regular inter val s, pref ­
erably ea ch time you r efu el, and alwa ys
before go ing on a long trip .
-If you have t he impression yo ur engine
consumes excessive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consu lt an author­
ized Aud i dea ler to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in m ind that the accurate measu rement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Aud i
dealer has instructions about how to
measu re oil consumption accurately.
-

Checking the engine oil level
Fig . 170 MMI Disp lay: Oil l eve l ind icator
Re ad oil le vel
.,. Park you r vehicle so that it is horizontally
level.
.. Shut the engine off when it is at operating
temperature.
.,. Switch only the ignition back on.
.,. Wait approx . two minutes .
.,. Select : Funct ion button
ICAR I > Oil l evel. Or
.,. Se lect: Function button
ICA RI > Car syste m s
control button > Servic ing & c he ck s > Oil
l e v el.
.,. Read the oil leve l in the MMI * Display
r:!> fig . 170 . Add engine oi l if the bar o f the
oi l level ind icator is near "Min"
c> page 221
D epending on the way the veh icle is driven
and the operating conditions, oil consumption
can be up to a 1/2 quart per 600 miles (0 .5
li­
ter per 1,000 km) . Consumption may be high­
er within the first 3,000 mi les (S,000 km).
@ Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI* Disp lay
is only an information display.
If the oi l
level is too low, a min imum oil warning ap­
pears in the instrument cluster. Add oil
¢ page 221 . If the hood has been opened,
the current oil level is shown in the instru­
ment cluster the next time the ign ition is
sw itched on . Checkin
g and fillin g 221
~ Adding engine oil
Fig. 171 Eng in e compa rtm en t: Cove r on the oil filler
n eck
.,. Before yo u check anything in the engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys read and h eed all
WARNING S
c> .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216 .
.. Unscrew the cap
'e:;r. to the engin e oil filling
hole ¢fig . 171, r:!>page 218, fig. 169 .
.,. Carefully top off with the appropr iate oil in
0 .5 liter doses .
.. Check the oil level aga in after two minutes
r:!> page 221 .
.,. Top off the o il aga in, if necessary.
.,. Sc rew the c ap back on the filling hole .
&_ WARNING
-Wh ile topping off, the o il m ust not come
in contact with hot engine parts -fire
hazard!
- The oi l filler cap mus t be p roperly se ­
cured to prevent oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the engine is running -fire hazard!
- If you r skin has come in contact with the
engine o il, you must subsequently
cleanse it thoroughly.
(D Note
- Check the oil leve l using the radio or
M MI* . If the message
Plea se reduce oil
level
appears, contact yo ur authorized
Audi dea ler or other qualified workshop
to have excess oil extracted if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the u se of o il
addit iv es. They m ay damage the engine
and adversely aff ect your New Vehi cle
W arranty .

222 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 216.
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 ­
tects the engine from freezing in the winter .
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
quires 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 G13 antifreeze with
anticorrosion additives (50% for USA models;
60% for Canadian models). This mixture both
assures the necessary frost protection and
protects metal components in the engine's
cooling system from corrosion and scaling. It
also raises the boiling point of the coolant.
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at least 50% but not more than 60%
to main­
tain antifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the vehi­
cle heating and engine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35 °C)USA
- -40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­
mate conditions . This is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the win­
ter is extremely cold. If necessary, in-
Checking and filling 223
crease the proportion of coolant additive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive G12++ or G13 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is available at au­
thorized Audi dealers. Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor­
rosion protection. The resulting corro­
sion can cause a loss of coolant and se­
rious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding radiator repair fluid may adverse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
Fig. 172 Engine compar tment: Cover on the coola nt
expansio n tank
-... ;;; ,; a, m
.. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216.
"' Park your vehicle on a level surface .
"' Turn off the ignition .
"' Read the engine coolant level from the
coolant expansion tank¢
fig. 172 ,
¢ page 218, fig. 169 .
With a cold engine,
the coolant level should be between the
"MIN" and "MAX" markings . When the en­
gine is warm, the level may be slightly above
the "MAX" marking.
Iii>

224 Check ing and filling
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration
¢ page 218.
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 w ill
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
partmen t,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ &. in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 216.
.. Turn off the engine.
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank ¢
page 223, fig. 172 and carefully turn
the cap counter-clockwise ¢
,&..
.,. Add coo lant.
.. Twist the cap on aga in
t ightly.
Replacement engine coo lant must confo rm to
exact spec ificat ions ¢
page 223, Coolant. We
recommend using on ly coo la nt add itive G 12+
+ , G 13 or in an eme rgency 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 sho uld
be done as soon as possible .
If you have los t a considerab le amount o f
coolant , then you sho uld add cold antifreeze
and cold wate r on ly w hen the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coo lan t when refilling.
Do not f ill coo lant abov e the
"MAX" ma rk . Ex­
cess coo la nt w ill be fo rced o ut through the
pressure relief valve in the cap when 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 223 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 225
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 3 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 216 . .,..