2013 AUDI S6 engine overheat

200 Driving and en vir onm ent
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic converter) is function­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner .
• Always use lead-free gasoline¢ page 220,
Fuel supply.
• Never run the tank down all the way to
empty .
• Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine ¢
page 230, Adding engine oil~-
., Never try to push- or tow -start your veh icle.
The catalytic converter is an eff ic ient "clean­
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalytic converter burns many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be­
fore they are released into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
important for the life of the cata lytic conve rt­
e r and proper functioning of the engine.
& WARNING
-
- Do not park o r operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material which can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
man ifold, exhaust p ipes, catalytic con­
verter or heat shields . During driving, the
substance used for undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire .
@ Note
-Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already seriously de­
grade the performance of the catalytic
conve rter .
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
¢ page 230.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The eng ine could mis­
fire . U nburned f uel could a lso get into the exhaust system and this co
uld cause
the cata lytic converter to overheat .
- Do not switch off the ignition while the
vehicle is moving .
- Do not continue to ope rate your veh icle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converter. This
cou ld result in overheating of the con­
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis ­
sion Control System:
- H ave your vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance w it h the service rec­
ommendat ions in your Warranty &
M ain tenance book let.
- L ack of prope r maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the vehi cle will impair
the function of the em iss ion contro l
system and could lead to damage .
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emiss ion Control System is
operat ing proper ly, the exha ust gas can
have a sul fur -li ke exhaust gas smell under
some operating states . This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used .
Using a different brand of fue l may help,
or f il li ng the tank with lead-free super
grade gasoline .
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are d rivi ng on poor roads, or over
c u rbs, steep ramps, etc., ma ke certai n that
low- ly ing parts s uch as spoilers and exha ust
system parts do not bottom o ut and get dam ­
aged.
T his is espe cially true for ve hicles with low­
s lung chassis (spor ts chassis)* and fully load­
ed vehicles .

206 Trailer towing
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on .
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 16 .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is not properly wear ing the restraints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when towing
a trailer because of the additional weight and
different weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig .
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turn ing, stopp ing and back ing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become comp lete ly familiar with the way
your ve hicle-trai ler comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a tra iler generally requi res
steering act ion opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you wi
ll need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you norma lly would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, a llow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang ­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts , sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load¢
page 285.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on o slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake .
.. Have someone pla ce chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels.
.. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the whee l chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake.
.. Select the P selector lever posit ion .
When restarting after parking:
.. Apply the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Select the D/S selector lever position .
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.,. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
Ill-

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-
•
•