2013 AUDI A6 oil viscosity

Checking and filling 22 7
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 184 Typical layout for conta iners and engine o il filler cap
@ Jump start poin t(-) with hex
head screw .. .............. . 237,274
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
®
©
®
©
er .. .. ... ..... ...... ...... 237,274
Brake fluid r eservo ir
((0)) . . . . . 234
Eng ine oil filler cap
("1:::r.) . . . . . 230
Coolant expansion tank
(-L) .. .
Windshield/headlight washer
t . ('"') con ainer O ......... .... .
232
239
The engine oil filler neck (item@) may be lo­
cated in a different area depending on the
ver­
sion of the eng ine.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c::> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 225.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations. This eng ine needs the right kind of
engine oil that meets specifications regardi ng
quality and viscosity so that it can run smoothly and reliably. Choosing the right oil
and changing oil within the time and mileage
intervals p rinted in you r vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to­
day than it did years ago . Audi has developed
a special quality standard for engine oil that
will hel p assure that your vehicle's engine will
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera­
tion.

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.
-
•
•

294 Index
------------------------------------
Data .... ....... ......... ... .... . 282
Start-Stop-System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
start ing .. .. ................ ..... .. 71
Startingwithjumpercables .. .. ..... 274
Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Engine compartment ........ .... ... . 227
C losing the hood .......... ... .... . 226
Opening the hood ................. 225
Safety instructions ........ .. .. .... . 225
Working in the engine compartment .. 225
Engine coolant .................... . 232
Adding coolant ............ ... .... . 233
Checking the engine coolant level .... . 232
Expansion tank ........... .. .. .. .. . 232
Malfunction symbol ....... .. .. .... .. 16
Radiator fan .............. ... .. .. . 234
Temperature gauge ........ ..... .. .. 11
Engine oil ... ................ ..... . 227
Adding .. .... ........... .... .... . 230
Additives . .. ............. .. .. .. ... 230
Changing .... ... .... .... .. .. .. .. . 231
Check ing the engine oil level .. .. .. .. . 230
I ndications and cond it ions requ iring ex-
tra checking .. ........... .. .. .... . 230
I ndicator light ........... .. .. .. .. .. 18
O il consumption .......... .... .... . 229
Oil grades . ................. ..... . 227
Oil level symbol .................... 21
Pressure malfunction ....... ... .. .. .. 17
Recommended oil check intervals ..... 230
Sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Specification and viscosity .. .. .. .. .. . 227
Engine sound .............. ... .... .. 98
E ng ine speed limitation ....... .. .. .. . . 21
Engine start-stop mode
refer to Star t-Stop-System ... .. .. .. .. 78
Engine start system (indicator lights) . ... 18
Environment Break-in period ......... .. .. .. .. .. . 199
Cata lytic converter ........ .. .. .. .. . 200
Disposing of your vehicle battery . ... . 239
Driving at high speeds .............. 202
Driving to minimize pollution and noise 201
Fuel . .. .. ............... .. .. .... . 222
Fuel economy ............ .... .... . 201
Leaks under your vehicle ... .. .. .. .. . 225
Lett ing the vehicle stand and warm up . 202
Proper disposal of drained brake fluid . 235 Proper disposal of d
rained engine cool-
ant ..... ..... .. .. .............. . 233
Proper disposal of drained eng ine
oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230,231
Recycling used engine oil ........ .... 230
Unleaded fuel .. .. ................ . 220
What should I do with an old battery? . 239
ESC (Electronic Stabilization Control) Warning/indicator lights ........ .. .. . 19
Event Data Recorder (EDR) ........ .. .. 192
Exhaust tail pipes .. .......... ...... . 214
Expansion tank .... ................ . 232
Exterior lighting . ... ............ .. .. . 41
Exterior mirrors Adjusting ..... .. .. ........ ...... .. 48
Dimming .. .. .. .. .. ..... ...... .. .. . 48
Heating ...... ... .. .............. .. 48
Exterior temperature display ...... .. .. . 23
F
Fastening
Booster seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Convertible child safety seats . . . . . . . . 178
Infant seats ... .. ............. .... 177
Floor mats . ..... .. ................ . 131
Foot pedals ..... .. ..... ........... . 131
For the sake of the environment Gasoline fumes and the environment .. 222
Reducing engine noise by early upshift-
ing ...... .... ... .. ................ 11
Refueling ... .. .. ....... ...... .. .. 222
Sav ing fuel by early upsh ifting . .. .. .. . 11
Four- zone automatic climate control . .. . 67
Front airbags
Description .... .. ................ . 149
How they work ... ................ . 155
Frontal coll is ions and the laws of phys ics 137
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Adjusting ... .. .. ....... ...... .. .. 128
Child restraints in the front seat ...... 147
Fuel Additives .. .... .. ............. .... 220
Blended gasoline .............. .... 220
Current consumption .............. .. 24
Economy messages (efficiency program) 26
Fuel filler flap emergency release ... .. 223