2013 AUDI A6 change time

-Blend must contain not more than 15%
MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
espec ially we ll for winter or summer driving.
During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stat ions where the sea­
sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time .
(D Note
-Methanol fuels which do not meet these
requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo­
nents in the fuel system .
- Do not use fue ls that fail to meet the
specified criter ia in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fue l blend meets the
specifications, ask your service station or
its fuel supp lier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents
cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the responsibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy
or driveability and performance prob­ l ems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac­
turers is carbon deposit build- up caused by
the type of gasoline you use.
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another , they have certain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain
substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline brands include additives to keep engine and
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 221
fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec ­
tive .
A udi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline. For more info rmation on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended period of using inadeq uate
fuels, carbon deposit build-ups can rob your
engine of peak performance.
Q) Note
Damage or malf unct ion due to poor fue l
quality is not covered by the Aud i New Ve­
hicle Limited Warranty.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
side panel behind the fuel fille r flap.
If the power locking system should fail, you
can still open the flap manually -for deta iled
instruct ions see¢
page 223 .
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve­
hicle in
Technical Data ¢ page 282.
The label on the inside of the fuel fi ller flap
tells you the correct fue l for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see ¢
page 220.
Your vehicle fue l tank has an on board refuel­
li ng vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and polluting the environment while you refuel your vehicle . In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please fo llow this refueling procedure careful­
ly.
_&. WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport f uel can be dangero us. Such con­
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collision. If you must
•
•

228 Check ing and filling
Modern engine lubrication has taken a quan­
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
brication that can outlast traditional petrole­
um-based oils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum ­
based engine oil, the oil that you use must
conform to Audi 's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to he lp keep your vehicle's engine
running smoothly and help prevent the for­
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"s ludge ," that ove r time can lead to expensive
repairs .
At the time of pr int ing , engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oi l standard VW 502 00
a re synthetic engine oils. This does not mean,
however, that every syn thetic engine oil will
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oil.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de ­
posits use only oi l with the fo llowing specifi­
cations printed on the oil container :
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il container labe ls may carry the specif ica ­
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion with other des ig­
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Visco sity
Engine oi ls are graded accord ing to their vis­
cosity. The proper viscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con­
d itions where you drive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SA E SW40 across all tem ­
pe ratu re ranges for normal driving conditions .
However, if eng ine o il viscos ity grade
SAE SW40 is no t ava ilable, you can a lso use
viscosity 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 strongly recommend
that you always carry with you an ext ra quart (
li te r) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 spec ification, in case you have to
top
off the oil while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is a t or be low the
minimum mark -and no oi l that expressly
conforms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
specifications is available - may you top
off
with a high quality engine o il, preferab ly syn ­
thet ic-based, tha t mee ts ACEA A3 or API SM
specifications, but even then , only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40 , SAE SW-30, o r
SAE OW-40. However, during the ent ire time
betwee n oil change intervals, never top
off
with more than a total of 0.5 q t/lite r engine
o il that does no t conform to Audi o il specifica­
tion VW 502 00.
For more informa tion about eng ine oi l that
has been approved for your veh icle, please
contact e ither yo ur authorized Aud i dealer or
Audi C ustome r 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 e tc.) tha t conform to Audi oil s tanda rd
vw 502 00 .
Changing the engine oil
The eng ine oi l and oil fi lter must be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified in your ve hicle's War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil ca n reduce eng ine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repa irs .
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter­
vals is so very important because the lubricat­ ing proper ties of oil decrease gradually during
normal veh icle use . If you are not sure when
you have your oil changed, ask your author­ ized Audi Serv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld even be changed more frequent ly .
Change oil more often if you drive mostly
sho rt distances, operate the ve hicle in dusty
areas o r most ly unde r stop-and-go t raff ic con-
ditions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..

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.
-
•
•

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.
•
•

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.
~
•
•

-Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open­
ings .
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention.
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables .
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury .
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca­
ble.
- Before performing any work on the elec­ trical system, switch off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected.
If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery , switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch­
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter­
change the cables - this could start a fire!
Checking and filling 237
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery . It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dis­
charged battery can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 oc).
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the side of the bat­
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al ­
ways replace a damaged battery .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems . Wash hands after han­
dling .
(D Note
-Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en­
gine is running, otherwise, you will dam­
age electronic components in the electri­
cal system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
Battery charging
Start ing the engine requires a well charged
battery.
Fig . 189 Eng in e compart ment : co nnecto rs for a charg ·
e r and jump st art cable s
1111>

Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi­
cations and dimensions as the original equip­
ment battery.
Intell igent energy management in your vehi­
cle is respons ible for d istributing the electri­
cal energy throughout your vehicle
~ page 197. The intel ligent energy ma nage­
ment system w ill keep the eng ine batte ry
charged be tte r than vehicles w ithout t his sys­
tem . To make sure the additional e lectrical en ­
ergy is available once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and man u­
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi­
cations a re listed on the battery hous ing . Your
author ized dealer must code the battery in
the energy management system to enable you
to use the energy managemen t fu nctions co r­
rectly a fter replacing the battery .
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12-vo lts), a mperage, construct ion
and p lug sealing.
When installing the battery , make sure the ig ­
n ition and all e lectr ica l cons umers are sw itch­
ed off.
CD Note
Make sure the ventilation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, ot herwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
- Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System* are
equipped with a specia l cycle-proof AGM
batte ry. Insta lling a different type of
batte ry can c ause prob lems in the vehi­
cle electrical system . When rep lacing the
vehicle battery, always insta ll one with
the same specifications as the original battery.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposa l
of a battery, we recommend your author­
ized Aud i dea ler change the battery for
you. Batter ies contain sulf uric ac id and
Checkin g and fillin g 239
lead and must always be disposed o f prop ­
erly in compliance with a ll environmental
regulations. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fi g. 1 90 Engine compar tment: cover on th e windshield
and headl ig ht* washe r flu id reservo ir
The washer fluid conta iner is marked w ith the
symbol ~ on its cap
~ fig . 190, ~fig. 184.
... Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
always r ead and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ _& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 225.
... Lift the fil le r cap tongue to add washer flu­
id. You can fi ll the containe r to the top.
... Press the cap back onto the fi lle r neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservo ir
cap acit y in the table
in
¢ page 282.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
poss ible, use soft wa ter to prevent scaling on
washer jets . Always add a g lass cleaner solu­
tion (with frost protection in the winter).
CD Note
Do not mix engine coo lant antifreeze or
any o ther additives to fill up t he wind­
sh ield washer reservoir .
•
•

242 Tire s and wheels
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. You
may not find this informat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i­
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity we ight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle .
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ­
ing elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands o r ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those insta lled
regular production options weighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory we ight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and special tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
t ia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see<=> page 241, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standa rd tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD"
' ' '
or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal d iameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di­
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
t read and bead.