2013 AUDI A6 warning

temperatures stay below freezing point for l ong periods.
Detergent add itives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run ­
ning fo r a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am ag e or m alfun ction s due to lack of
ma intenanc e
It is essential that you change your oil at the
r ecommended inte rva ls using only engine o il
t hat complies wi th A udi oi l standard
VW 502 00 . Your Limited New Vehicle War ­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
d ue to fa ilure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manua l and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage u nless you present to
the dea ler p roof in the fo rm of Serv ice or Re­
pa ir Orde rs that all s chedu led maintenance
wa s pe rformed in a t imely manner .
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle dep ends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In o rder to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of i nternal engine components, a ll in­
ternal comb ustion eng ines consume a cert ain
amo unt of o il. Oil cons umption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typ ica lly, engines
with a specified break-in per iod (see
¢
page 199) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized .
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con ­
sumpt ion depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the amb ient
temperature and road condit ions. Furthe r fac­
tors ar e the amount of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is s ubje ct to
Checkin g and fillin g 229
wear as m ileage builds up, the oil consump ­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
Wi th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumpt ion can be es ­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev ­
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
II li ghts up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 230. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 230.
A WARNING
Before you check anythi ng i n the engine
com partment, always read a nd heed all
WARNINGS¢ .&.
in Working in th e engine
c ompartment on page 225.
(D Note
D riving w ith an insufficient o il level is like­
ly to cause sever e damage to the engine .
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil le vel. Do not
rely on it . Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regu lar intervals, pref­
erably ea ch time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression yo ur engi ne
c ons umes ex ce ss ive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consul t your Au di
de aler to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed . Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of o il con ­
sumption requires great care and may
take some t ime. Y our Audi dea ler has in­
struct ions about how to measure oil con­
sumption accurately.
-
•
•

230 Checking and filling
Checking the engine oil level
Fig. 185 Disp lay: o il level indica tor
• Park your vehicle on a level surface.
• Shut the engine off when it is warm.
• Switch only the ignition back on.
• Wait approximately two minutes.
• Select:
ICARI function button> (Car)* sys­
tems
control button > Servicing & checks >
Oil level.
• Check the oil level in the display c::> fig. 185.
Add engine oil if the bar of the oil level indi­
cator is near "min"
c::> page 230.
Depending on the way the vehicle is driven
and the operating conditions, oil consumption
can be up to 1/2 quart per 600 miles (0.5 liter
per 1,000 km) . Consumption may be higher
within the first 3,000 miles (5,000 km).
@ Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI Display is
only an information display. If the oil level
is low, a minimum oil warning appears in
the instrument cluster. Add oil
c::> page 230. If the hood has been opened,
the current oil level is shown in the instru­
ment cluster the next time the ignition is
switched on .
Adding engin e oil 't:::r.
Fig. 186 Engine compart men t: cover on the engine oil
fille r neck
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
c::> .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 225.
• Unscrew the cap 't=1'l to the engine oil filling
hole
c::> fig . 186, c::> fig. 184.
• Carefully top off with the appropriate oil in
0.5 liter doses.
• Check the oil level again after two minutes
<=:>page 230.
• Top off the oil aga in, if necessary.
• Screw the cap back on the filling hole.
A WARNING
-- While topping off, the oil must not come
in contact with hot engine parts -fire
hazard!
- The oil filler cap must be properly se­
cured to prevent oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the engine is running -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact with the
engine oil, you must subsequently
cleanse it thoroughly.
(D Note
- Check the oil level using the MMI. If the
message
Please reduce oil level appears,
contact your authorized Audi dealer or
other qualified workshop to have excess
oil extracted if necessary.
-Audi does not recommend the use of oil
additives. They may damage the engine ..,_.

and adversely affect you r New Vehicle
Wa rranty .
@) For the sake of the environment
-Un der no ci rc u mstances can the o il come
in contact with the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow lega l regu lations
when disposing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by
an authorized Audi dealer or a qualified serv­
ice station.
Before you check anything in the engine com­
par tment,
a lways rea d and he ed all WARN ­
INGS
~ &. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 225.
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 gradua lly during normal vehicle use.
Under some circumstances the engine oi l
should be changed more frequently. Change
oil more often if you drive most ly short dis­
tances, operate the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominantly stop-and-go traff ic con­
d itions, or have your veh icle where tempera­
tures remain below freezing for extended pe ­
riods.
Detergent additives in the o il w ill make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run­ n ing for a short time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposa l,
along w ith the special tools and necessary ex ­
pertise required, we strongly recommend that
you have you r oi l changed by an authorized
Audi de ale r o r a qual ified servi ce station.
If y ou c hoose to c ha ng e y our o il yo urse lf,
please note the followi ng important informa­
tion :
Checkin g and fillin g 231
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 p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible. Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help p revent hot oil from run­
ning down you r arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one la rge enough to
hold at least the tota l amount of oi l in
your eng ine .
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well out
of the reach of children.
- Continuous contact wit h used eng ine o il
is harmful to your s kin. A lways p rotect
your skin by washing oil off tho ro ughly
with soap and water.
@ Note
Neve r mix oil additives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en­
g ine and adversely affec t you r Au di L imit­
ed New Vehicle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil, first make su re
you know where you c an properly 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 or down
sewage drains .
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collect ion facility in your
area, or contact a service station.
•
•

232 Check ing and filling
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 Gl3 ant ifreeze
with ant icorros ion add itives (50% for USA
models; 60% for Canad ian models). This mix­
ture both assu res the necessary frost protec­
tion 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 o f the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water .
The
propo rtion of coolant add it iv e mu st be at
l eas t 50 % but not mo re than 6 0%
to main­
tain antifree ze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protect ion is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 ° F ( -40 °C) Canada.
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c:> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 225.
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coo lant addit ive in
your vehicle is suffic ient to meet the cli­
mate cond itions. Th is is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the w in- ter is extreme
ly cold . If necessary, in ­
crease the proportion of coo lant additive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend us ing only coolant ad­
d itive Gl2++ or G l3 (check the labe l)
fo r your vehicle. This coolant additive is
ava ilable at a utho rized Aud i dea le rs.
Other types of antifreeze can sign ifi­
cantly reduce corros ion protection. The
res ulting corrosion can cause a loss of
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal ­
ant to yo ur vehicle's engine coolant .
Add ing radiator repair flu id may adverse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could resu lt in
damage not covered by your New Veh icle
Limited War ranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig. 1 87 Engin e compar tmen t: cover on t he coo la nt
expansio n ta nk
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
alwa ys read and heed all WARN­
I NGS c:> &. in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 225 .
.. Park your vehicle on a level surface .
.. Switch off the ignition.
.. Read the engine coolant level from the
coola nt expansion tank
c:> fig . 187,
c:> fig. 184 . With a cold engine, the coolant
level shou ld be between the "min" and
"max" markings. When the eng ine is wa rm, ..,.

the level may be slightly above the "max"
marking .
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration ¢ page 22 7.
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System ¢page 16will
illuminate until you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level sensor , we
still recommend you check the coolant level
from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool­
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheating.
& WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise direction while ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill anti­ freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or hot engine parts . Under certain condi­
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool ­
ant can catch fire .
Checking and filling 233
@ Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant. Add­
ing radiator repair fluid may adversely af­
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Vehicle limited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anything in the engine com ­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ & in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 225 .
.,. Turn
off the engine .
.,. let the engine cool down.
.,. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank ¢ fig .
187 and carefully twist the cap
counter-clockwise ¢&_ .
.,. Add coolant.
.,. Twist the cap on again tightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications ¢ page
2 32, Coolant. We
recommend using only coolant additive G12+
+, G13 or in an emergency G12+. Do
not use a
different additive. In an emergency use plain
water until you can get the correct additive
and can restore the correct ratio. This should
be done as soon as possible.
If you have lost a considerable amount of
coolant, then you should add cold antifreeze
and cold water only when the engine is cold.
Always use new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coolant will be forced out 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
II-
•
•

234 Checking and filling
scalding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from escaping flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully
i n a counter-clockwise direction while
apply ing l ight, downwa rd p ress ure on
the top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts . Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
gine coolant can catch f ire .
- Antifreeze is poisonous . Always store an­
tifreeze in its or iginal container and we ll
out of the reach of children .
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
@ Note
- Coolant po llutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire . Excess coo l­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure re lief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, on ly water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
c::> page 232 must be re­
stored as soon as possible .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be re used. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while observ­
ing all environmental regulat ions .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
An auxiliary e lectr ic radiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operating cond itions. After you switch the engine off, the aux
iliary
fan can cont inue running for up to 10 minutes
- even w it h the ignition off. It can even switc h
on again later by itself
c::> .&. , if
- the temperatu re of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
-- To reduce the risk of persona l injury nev-
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is temperat ure
contro lled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops .
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 1 88 En gin e compa rtme nt: cove r on t he brake fluid
reservoi r
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS c:> A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 225.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c::> fig. 188, c:> fig . 184. The
brake fluid level must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
IJ>

The location of the brake fl uid reservo ir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
c::> page227.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be­
l ow the "MIN" mark, the bra ke wa rning/ind i­
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on
c::> page 15. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system sho uld be thoroughly checked
by an author ized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied fac ility and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au­
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of t he
brake fluid w ill also decrease consider ably and
dec rease b raking per formance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ever y two years . Always use new b rake fluid
whi ch confo rms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoir ca n be difficult to
r eac h, therefo re , we re commend that yo u
have the brake fl uid changed by y our autho r­
i z ed
Audi dealer . Your deale r has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake fluid is po isonous . It must be stor­
ed only in the closed orig inal container
out of t he reac h of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old o r inap ­
propr iate brake fluid. Observe these pre­
caut ions:
Checkin g and fillin g 235
-Use only brake f luid that meets SAE
spec ificat ion
J 1703 and conforms to
Federal Motor Ve hicle Standard 116.
Always check with your autho rized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid . The correct type of
brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id rese rvoi r.
- The bra ke fluid must be new. Heavy us e
of the brakes can cause a vapo r lock if
the b ra ke fluid is left i n the system too
l ong . This can se riously affec t the effi ­
ciency of the b rakes as well as your
safety . This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
B rak e fluid wi ll damage the pa int o f you r
vehicle .
~ For the sake of the environment
Because o f the p rob lem of pro per disposal
of bra ke fluid as well as the spe cial too ls
r equired an d the necessary exper tise, we
r ecommend that yo u have the brake flu id
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
U nder normal ope ra ti ng cond itions , the bat­
te ry in yo ur Audi doe s not need any ma inte ­
nance. With
high outside tempera tures or
l ong daily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte level checked by a service fa­
c ili ty. The electrolyte leve l should a lso be
checked each t ime the battery is charged
c:> page 237.
Have the battery checked when yo u take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to
replace a batte ry that is older than 5 years .
Wi th certain types of airbag deployment, the
battery is disconnected from the vehicle elec­
trical system for safety reasons
c> & in Re­
pair , care and disposal of the airbags on
page 161.
~
•
•

236 Check ing and filling
Di sconnect ing the batt ery terminal s
Some vehicle functions (power window regu­
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter­
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
electrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicles not dri ven fo r lo ng period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo­
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and main­
tains starting capab ility over a longer period
¢ page 19 7 . Some of the convenience func­
tions may not operate, such as the inte rior
lights or powe r seat adjustme nt. The conven ­
ience functions will be ava ilable again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en­
gine.
Winter operati on
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as tempe ratures drop . This
is because more powe r is also consumed while
start ing, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par­
ticularly in c ity traffic or when trave ling on ly
short distances. Let your authorized Audi
dea ler check the capacity of the vehicle bat ­
tery before winter sets in
¢ page 237. A well
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold, but will
also last longer .
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
veh icle battery should be removed and
sto red where it will not freeze. This w ill
prevent it from being damaged and hav ing
t o be replaced.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart­
ment under the floor. Before you check any­
th ing in the luggage compartment,
read and
h ee d all WARNINGS
¢ ,&,
Always heed the safet y warnings , when work­
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lec ­
trical system to prevent injury.
The following WARNINGS are very
important wh en wor king on the battery :
Alway s heed the following WARNING S YM­
BOLS and safety prec autions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye protection.
Battery acid contain s sulfuric acid.
Alwa ys wear glove s and ey e protec­
tion.
No
- sparks
-flames
- smoking .
1
When a b atter y is charged, it pr odu­
ces hydrogen gas which i s ex plosive
and could cau se per sonal injury.
Always keep the battery well out of reach of children .
.&_ WARNING ~
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
i njury, accident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery ac id or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing. Shield your eyes. Exp losive gases can cause blindness or
other inju ry.
- Battery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.