2013 AUDI A8 air condition

grease or dye must be patted off using ab­
sorbent material. It may be necessary to re­
treat the areas with detergent paste and wa­
ter.
In the case of general soiling of the uphols­
tery and cover material, we recommend hiring
a specialist that has the equipment to clean
the seat covers and other fabric surfaces by
shampooing and spray extraction.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
the information
Qpage 215.
Open Velcro fasteners on your clothing can
damage the seat cover. Please make sure
that Velcro fasteners are closed.
Plastic parts and instrument panel
Always use a clean cloth moistened in clear
water to clean these areas. For persistent dirt
use an Audi approved
solvent-free plastic
cleaner/protectant.
A WARNING
Solvents can change the properties of
some plastics and make it harde r for the
airbag to deploy.
- Never clean the instrument panel or the
surface of airbag modules with cleaning
products that contain solvents.
- Products containing solvents will make
the surface of this part porous.
- Serious injuries can result if plastic parts
come loose when the airbag is deployed.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information~
page 215.
(D Note
Cleaning agents containing solvents will
attack the material and can change the
way it behaves.
Cleaning and protection 223
Trim and molding
Trim and molding in the vehicle interior can
be cleaned with a dry microfiber cloth. To pre­
vent scratches, do not use any cleaning solu­
tions.
Natural leather
Appl ies to vehicles: with natural leather
Audi makes great efforts to maintain the
properties, natural look and feel of interior
leather.
General
We offer many different types of leathe r on
our vehicles. Most are different types of nappa l eather, which has a smooth surface and
comes in various colors.
Th e intensity of the color determines the visu­
al characteristics and appearance. If the sur­
face of the leather has a typical natural look,
then the leather is a nap pa leather that has
been left in a relatively natural condition. This
leather offers particularly good comfort and
breathes well. Fine veins, closed grains, insect
bites, skin folds, and subt le variations in color
remain visible. These characteristics demon­
strate that the material is natural.
Natural nappa leather is not covered by a col­
or finish. It is therefore more sensit ive to soil­
ing and wear, which is something you need to
consider if children, animals or other factors
might prove to be particularly hard on the
leather .
By contrast, leather types that are covered by
a colored finish layer are more durable. This
has a positive effect on the leather 's resist­
ance to wear and soiling in daily use. On the
other hand, the typical characteristics of natu­
ral leather are barely or not apparent. Howev­
er, this does not mean that the leather itself
is of inferior quality. •
•

236 Check ing and filling
Only if the level of the oi l is at or below the
minimum mark -and no oil that expressly
conforms to Audi o il standard VW 502 00
specifications is ava ilable - may you top off
with a high quality eng ine oil, preferably syn­
thetic -based, that meets AC EA A3 or API SM
specif ications, but even then, only in viscos ity
grad es SAE SW-40, SA E SW-30 , or SAE
OW-40. Howeve r, during the en tire t ime be­
tween oi l change intervals, never top off with
more than a tota l of 0.5 qt/liter eng ine oi l
that does not conform to Audi oil specification
vw 502 00 .
F or more informa tion about engine oil that
has been approved for yo ur vehicle , please
contact either your authorized Audi dealer or
Audi Customer Relations at 1 (800) 822-2834
or visit our web site at www.audiusa.com or
www.audicanada.ca . Here you will a lso find a
current list o f oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc .) that conform to Audi o il standard
vw 502 00.
Chang ing the engine oil
The engine oil and oi l filter must be changed
according to the m ileage (ki lometers) and
time interva ls specified in your vehicle's War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these in tervals -harmful depos it s from old
engine o il can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive eng ine repairs .
Changing the o il at the recommended inter­
va ls is so very important because the lubricat­
ing p roperties of o il decrease gradually during
norma l vehicle use. If you are not sure when
you have you r o il changed, ask you r autho r­
iz ed Audi Service Advisor.
Under some c ircumstances the engine o il
should even be changed more frequently .
Change oi l mo re often if you drive mostly
short d istances , ope rate the vehicle in dusty
a reas or mostly under s top-and-go tr affic con­
d itions , or when yo u use your vehicle whe re
temperatures stay below freezing point for l ong periods .
D etergen t add itives in the o il w ill mak e fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run- ning for a sho
rt time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfunctions due to l ack of
maintenance
It is essentia l th at you c hange yo ur oil at the
r ecommended intervals usi ng on ly eng ine oil
that comp lies with Audi oi l standa rd
VW 502 00. You r Limited New Vehicle War ­
r anty does not cover damage or ma lf u nctions
due to failure to follow recommended ma inte­
nance and use requirements as set forth in
the Aud i Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet. Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dealer proof in the form of Service o r Re­
pair Orders that all scheduled maintenan ce
w as performed in a time ly m anner.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubri cate and
cool all
of its moving por ts .
In order to p rovide effective lubricat ion and
c ooling of inte rna l eng ine compo nents, all i n­
tern al combust ion engines co nsume a cer tain
amount of oil. Oil consumpt ion varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine . Typically , engines
with a spec ified break-in period (see
¢ page 206) consume more oil duri ng the
break-i n period than they consume after o il
consumption has stabilized .
Under normal cond itions , the rate of oi l con­
s u mption depends on the q uality and viscos ity
of the oil, the RPM (revolut ions per minu te) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road conditions. Further fac­
tors a re the amount of oil dilut ion from water
c o ndensa tion or fue l resid ue a nd the oxida -
t ion level of the oil. As any engine is subjec t to
wea r as m ileage b uilds up, the oil consump-
tion may increase over time until replacement of wo rn components may become necessary. ..,..

240 Checking 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 anticorros ion add itives (50% for USA
models; 60% for Canadian models). This mix­
ture both assures 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 of the coo l­
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 antifree ze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and engine 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 you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c:> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 232.
- 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 w in- ter
is extreme ly cold . If necessary, in­
crease the proportion of coolant additive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive Gl2++ or Gl3 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 ca use 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 .
Add ing 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. 200 Engin e compar tmen t: cover on t he coolant
expansio n ta nk
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 232 .
Park your vehicle on a level surface .
.,. Switch off the ignition.
.,. Read the engine coolant level from the
coo lant expansion tank
c:> fig. 200,
c:> page 234. With a cold engine, the coolant
level should be between the "min" and
"max" markings. When the engine is warm, ..,

254 Tires and wheels
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored . The system does not recog­
nize the load condit ion of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor ­
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor­
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi ­
cle at its max imum load
c:> &. .
See the illustration c:> fig. 204 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (color of
the act ua l label and exact location on the ve­
hicle will vary slightly). Note
that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
change. In the event of d iscrepancies, the t ire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B­
pillar always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold
t ir e inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi­
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal­
led on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory opt ion.
Tire pressure
Model/En­ gine Tire designation
normal load condition full load condition
AB/AB L: 235/55 R18 104H
3.0
liter 255/45 R19 104H
6
-cyli nd
er 265/40 R20 104H
265/40 R20 104V
275/35 R21103Y XL
AS/AS L: 235/55 R18 104H
4.0
liter 255/45 R19 104H
B-cyli nd
er 265/40 R20 104H
265/40 R20 104V
275/35 R21103Y XL
AS/AB L: 235/55 R18 104H
4.2
liter 255/45 R19 104H
B-cyli nd
er 265/40 R20 104V
ASL:
6.3 liter
12-cylin­
der
265/40 R20 104H
275/35 R21103Y XL
265/40 R20 104V
255/45 R19 104H
265/40 R20 104H
275/35 R21103Y XL
SB: 265/40 R20 104V
4.0
liter 265/35 R21101 Y
B-cyli nd
er 275/35 R21103Y XL
rearal front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
260
260
260
240
240
260
260
260
240
260
260
260
240
260
260
240
260
260
240
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side­
wall.
•> normal load condition <=>page 253 .

260 Tires and wheels
-Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
¢fig. 207.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
¢ page 2 78.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
H owever, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal­
anced , resu lting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on steering , suspens ion
and tires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect whee l alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi­
cle .
If tires show excess ive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All Wheel Drive
Vehicles with quattro® must always have ti res
of the same size, construction and tread type.
F or details see
¢page 203.
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydrop laning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years old can only be used in an emergency and then with specia
l care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in.
Fig. 208 Tir e spec ificatio n codes on the s idewall of a
tire
No.
©
®
®
0
®
®
@
Description
Passenger car tire (where applicable)
Nominal width of tire in mill imeters
Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
Rad ial
Rim diameter code
Load index and speed rating
U.S. DOT tire identification number
Aud i Original tire
Sever snow conditions
Tire ply composition and materials
used
Maximum load rating

@ Treadwear, traction and temperature grades
@ ·· Maximum permissible inflation pres­
. . sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design. The tires and r ims approved
by Aud i are specially matched to the charac­
ter istics of the vehicle and can make a major
contribution to good road ho ld ing and safe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated ¢
&.
We recommend that all work on tires and
wheels be performed by an authorized Audi
dea ler. They a re familiar with recommended
procedu res and have the necessary spec ial
too ls and spare par ts as we ll as the prope r fa ­
cilities for disposing of the old tires.
Author ized Audi dealers have the necessary
informat ion about techn ica l requ irements for
installing or changing tires and r ims.
R eplacing t ires and whe els
Tires should be replaced at least in pairs and
not individua lly (for example both front tires
or both rear tires togethe r) .
Be sure to read and heed the information to
the t ire pressure monitoring system*
¢page 267 .
Always buy replacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the tires approved
for your vehicle by Audi . Replacement t ires
must always have the same load rating speci­
fication as the or iginal equipment or app roved
optional ti res listed in the table ¢
page 253.
Audi-approved specification tires are specially
matched to you r vehicle and its load lim its,
and can cont ribute to the important road ho ld­
i ng, d riving character istics, and safety of the
vehicle . The table(¢
page 253) lists spec ifica ­
tions of the tires approved for the A udi mod­
e ls covered by your Owner's Literature.
The ti re p ress ure label located on dr iver's side
B-pillar
(¢page 253, fig. 205) lists the speci­
fications of the original equipment tires in-
Tire s an d wheel s 261
stalled on your vehicle at the time it was man­
u factured.
Federa l law requ ires tire man ufactu rers to
place standardized info rmation on the side­
wall of all tires¢
fig. 208. This information
identifies and descr ibes the fundamenta l
characteristics, the q uality grade of the t ire
and also provides a t ire identification number
for safety standard certification and in case of
a reca ll.
Tir e s pecific ation s
Knowledge of tire specifications makes it eas­
ier to choose the correct tires . Radial tires
have the tire specifications marked on the
s idewall, for example:
2 55 /45 R 19 104 H
T his conta ins the following information:
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
(where app licab le)
2 55 Nom inal tire w idth in mm of the t ire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge . In
general, the larger the number, the wider
the tire
45 Height/w idth ratio in perce nt (aspect ra-
t io)
R Tire construct ion : Radial
19 Rim diameter code (in inches)
104 Load rating code
H Speed rating letter code
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF") Indicates
that the tire is a "Reinforced" or an "Extra Load" tire
M+S (or "M/S") Indicates that the tire has
some mud and snow capability
T he tires could also have the informa tion of
direction of rotat ion ¢
page 249.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufactu ring date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly on ly on the
inner
s ide of the whee l):
"DOT ... 2212 ... " means, for example, the t ire
was produced in the 22nd week of 2012 . ..,.
•
•

262 Tire s and wheels
Speed rating (letter code)
The speed rating letter code on the wheels in­
dicates the maximum pe rmissib le road speeds
¢ & in Winter tires on page 265 .
p up to 93 mph (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (158 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
s up to 110 mph (180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
u up to 124 mph (200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)1l
z over 149 mph (240 km/h)1l
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)1l
y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)1l
Your vehicle is normally factory equipped with
tires, which possess excellent driving charac­
teristics and give your Audi optimum driving
comfort. An electronic speed limiter
<=> page 29 will normally prevent your vehicle
from go ing faster than the tire speed rating
<=> & .
U.S . DOT Tire Identification Numbe r (TIN)
and tire manufacture date
This is the t ire's "serial number". It begins
with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal standards. The next two
numbers or letters indicate the plant whe re it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of manufacture.
F or example, the numbers 2212 mean the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of 20 12. The
other numbers are marketing codes that may
or may not be used by the t ire manufacturer.
This information is used to contact consumers
if a tire defect requires a recall.
Audi original tire
Tires with the identification "AO" or "RO" have
been specially matched with your Audi. We
recommend using only these tires because
they meet the highest standards regarding
ll For tires wit h a max imum speed capab ility over 149
mph (240 km/h), tire man ufactur ers sometimes use
the letters "ZR."
safety and driving characterist ics when used
correct ly . Your authorized Audi dealer will
gladly provide you w ith more information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The number of plies indicates the number of
layers of rubber-coated fabric in the tire. In
genera l, the greater the number of plies, the
more weight a tire can support. Tire manufac ­
turers also must indicate the materials in the
tire, which include steel, nylon, polyester, and
others.
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the maximum load in
kilograms and pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear,
traction , and temperature resistance
Tread wear, traction and temperat ure grades
<=> page 2 63.
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
Th is number is the greatest amount of air
pressure that should ever be put in the tire
under normal driving conditions.
A WARNING
-Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
comb inat ions can lead to loss of control,
coll is ion and serious personal injury.
- Always use tires, rims and wheel bolts
that meet the specif ications of original
factory- installed tires or other combina­
tions that have been specifically ap­
proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- T ires age even if they are not being used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with specia l care and at lower
speeds.

-Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- All four wheels must be fitted with radial
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir­
cumference) and the same tread pattern.
Driving with different tires reduces vehi­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
tires that are mounted on the vehicle -
for example with winter tires - only use
the spare tire for a short period of time and drive with extra care. Refit the nor­
mal road wheel as soon as safely possi­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un­
derinflated .
- For technical reasons it is not always
possible to use wheels from other
vehicles - in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat,
increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing a collision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on
vehicles that were equipped with them
at the factory. The vehicle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires. Incor­
rect use of run flat tires can lead to vehi­
cle damage or accidents. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire specialist
to see if your vehicle can be equipped
Tires and wheels 263
with run flat tires. If run flat tires are
used, they must be installed on all four
wheels. Mixing tire types is not permit­
ted.
@ Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth­
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve­
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive with
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap .
The valves could get damaged.
(® For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the
local requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
~ page 260,
fig. 208 .
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
unde r contro lled conditions on a specified
government test course. •
•