180 Checking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle.
Fi g. 132 Dr iver's side footwell: engine hood re lease
lever
.. Open the driver's door.
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
instrument panel
c> fig. 132 in the direction
of the arrow .
The hood pops up slight ly under spring pres
sure.
Opening the engine hood
Fig . 133 Re lease lever under the engine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make sure
that the windshie ld wipers are flat against the
windshie ld. Otherwise, they cou ld damage the
pa int on the hood.
.. Lift the hood s light ly
c> _& .
.. Pull up on the release under the hood
¢ fig. 133. This releases the catch.
.. Open the hood all the way.
A WARNING
-Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the eng ine
compartment. Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen o r heard before care
fu lly opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
.. Let the hood
drop down and latch in p lace.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en
gage
c> _& .
A WARNING
--
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv
i ng.
- When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has proper
ly engaged . The hood should be flush
with the surrounding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while dr iv ing that the hood
is not secured properly, stop at once and
close it.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment!
Wheneve r you must pe rform any wo rk in the
eng ine compartment, for e xample chec king
and filling the different fluids, ther e is a risk
of injury, burns and a ccident s. To prevent
p ers onal injury al ways obs erv e the following
WARNINGS. The eng in e c ompartm ent of an y
vehicl e is a hazardou s area!
c> .&.
A WARNING
To he lp avoid injury, before yo u check any
thing under the hood:
- Sw itch off the engine .
- Remove the ignition key.
-Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever of automatic trans-
mission to "P" (Park); put manual trans
mission in Neutral.
- Always let the engine cool down . Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment .
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool
ant system is pressurized and hot cool ant could spray out .
-Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This increases the
risk of burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in
jury while the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
-If you must perform a check or repair
with the engine running:
Checking and filling 181
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever of automatic trans
mission to "P" (Park); put manual
transmission in Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V -belts
or other moving parts, or from contact ing hot parts. Tie back hair before
starting, and wear no clothing that will hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~,& .
.8, WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- 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 harms. Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container
or filler opening, otherwise serious dam
age to vehicle systems w ill occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly. If
you see spots from oil or other veh icle flu
id s, have your vehicle inspected by an au
thorized Audi dealer . •
•
188 Checking and filling
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
alwa ys r ea d and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 180.
• Park your vehicle on a level surface.
• Switch the ignition off.
• Read the coolant level at the coolant expan
s ion tank ¢
page 182, fig . 134. With a cold
engine, it must be above the "min" mark .
With a hot engine, it ca n be a little above
the indicated range .
The location of the coolant expans ion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus
tration
¢ page 182.
To obtain an accurate read ing, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion tank in yo ur vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor .
When the coo lant level is too low, the warning
light in the A uto- Check System ¢
page 16 will
illuminate until yo u add coo lant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coo lant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
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 author ized 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 overheat ing.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator lea k seal
ant to your vehicle's eng ine coolant. Add
ing radiator repair f luid may adversely af
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could res ult in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 180 .
• Turn off the engine.
• Let the engine cool down.
• Place a thick rag over t he coo lant expansion
tank
¢ page 187, fig . 138 a nd carefully
tw ist the cap counter-clockwise ¢&_ .
• Add coo la nt.
• Twis t the cap on aga in
t ightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions ¢
page 18 7, Coolant.
Even in a n emerge ncy, if coolant add i-
t ive G1 2++, G12+ or G12 is not ava ilable , do
not use a d iffe ren t addit ive. Use plain water
instead unti l you can get the cor rect additive
and can restore the correct ratio . This sho uld
be done as soon as possible .
If you have los t a considerab le amount o f
coolant , then you sho uld add cold ant ifreeze
and co ld wate r on ly w hen the engine is cold.
Alw ays use
new engine coo la nt whe n refilling .
Do not fill coola nt above the "MAX" mark. Ex
cess coola nt wi ll be fo rced o ut through the
pressure relief valve in t he cap w hen the en
gine becomes hot.
,&. WARNING ~ -
- T he cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by followi ng
these steps.
- T urn off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect yo ur face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap w ith a large, t hick rag.
- T urn the cap s lowly a nd ve ry carefully
in a counter-clo ckwise direction while
applying light, downward pres sure on
the top of the cap.
-To avoid being burned, do not spill an
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en
gine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an
tifreeze in its original container and well out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess cool
ant will be forced out through the pres
sure relief valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze¢
page 187 must be re
stored as soon as possible.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Al
ways dispose of used coolant while observ ing all environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The electric radiator fan is controlled by ther
moswitches that switch on and off depending
on coolant and engine compartment tempera
tures.
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operation conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off.
It can even switch
on again later by itself
c::> &., , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
Checking and filling 189
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au
tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fig. 139 Engin e compart ment: cover on th e br ake fluid
re se rvoir
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 180.
~ Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c::> page 182, fig. 134 . The
brake fluid level must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located behind the
rear partition of the engine compartment on
the left side
c::> page 182.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
i,,.
This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capability over a longer period
c::>
page 156. Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, such as the interior
lights or power seat adjustment. The conven
ience functions will be ava ilable again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en
g ine .
Winte r oper ati on
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as temperatures drop. This
i s because more power 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 city traffic or when traveling only
short distances . Let your authorized Audi
dealer check the capac ity of the vehicle bat
tery before winte r sets inc::>
page 193. A we ll
charged ba tte ry w ill no t only prevent starting
prob lems when the weathe r is cold, but will
a lso last longer .
Replacing battery
The new battery must have the same capaci
ty, vo ltage ( 12 volts), amperage, cons truction
and p lug sealing, as the origina l ba tte ry. Spec
if ications are listed on the batte ry housing.
Batteries specially developed by A udi fulfill
the maintenance, output, and safety require
ments.
When insta lling the battery, make sure the ig
nition and all electrica l cons umers are switch
ed off c::>
(i).
We recommen d that yo u use ma intenance
free or
cy cle- re sis tant /leak-pr oof batteries
according to the standards TL 825 06 (from
April 2008) and VW 7 SO 73 (from Apri l
2010).
Replacing the batte ry should be carried by a
q ua lified workshop. P lease follow the instruc
tions on the battery cover.
Checkin g and fillin g 191
@ Note
-All work on the battery requires techni
cal know ledge. Please contact an Audi
dealership or another authorized fac ility
for questions about the battery - danger
of ac id burns and exp losion hazard!
- The battery must not be opened! Do not
try to change the battery 's liquid level,
otherwise detonating gas will escape
from the battery - explosion hazard!
- The AGM battery in the luggage com
partment cannot leak, because the elec
t ro lyte for this batte ry is abso rbed into a
special glass mat. This lea k-proof battery
must not be replace with a convent iona l
bat tery.
- Make su re the ventilation hose on t he
side of the ba ttery is connected, othe r
w ise fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
- Batte ry holder and termin als always
have to be sec ured correc tly.
- Before all work on the batte ry follow the
warning s below c::> .&. in Working on the
battery on page
192 .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of proper disposal
of a ba ttery, we recommend your author
i zed Audi dealer change the bat tery fo r
you. Batteries contain sulfuric acid and l ead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in comp liance with a ll environmental
regulat ions. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dangerous to the envi
ro nment. Make sure that the removed bat
tery cannot overbalance, othe rwise sulfu
r ic acid might escape!
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery shou ld be removed and
stored w here it w ill not freeze. This will
p revent it from be ing dam aged and h aving
to be replaced .
•
•
dischar ged battery can freeze over at
32 °F (0 °C).
- Make sure the vent hose is alw ays attach
ed to the opening on the side of the bat
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged .
Danger of explosion! A lways rep lace a
damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Propos ition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com pounds , chemicals known to the State of
Californ ia to cause cancer and reproduc
t ive p roblems. Wash ha nds after han
dling .
CD Note
-Do not d isconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is switched on or when
t h e engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage e lectronic components in the
ele ctr ical sy stem.
-If your vehicle is goi ng to stand for a
l ong pe riod of time wit ho ut being d riven,
p rotec t the battery from "freezing ", o th
erwise it will be d amaged and w ill t hen
h ave to be replaced.
Checking the battery acid level on magic
eye batteries*
Th e battery acid level in the batt ery can be
checked through the clear inspection window.
F ig. 140 Lu ggag e co mpart ment : Bat te ry w it h m agi c
eye.
Checkin g and fillin g 193
On top o f the battery , there is a round "win
dow" . This window (magic eye) changes co lor
as the battery charge and ac id leve l change .
.. Read and heed all WARN INGS
c::> .&_ in
Working on the battery on page 192
.. Read the acid level from the window on the
battery c:>fig .140.
Air bubb les in the window can cause an inac
cu rate reading. Carefu lly tap on the s ide of
t h e window .
- If the window is green , the batte ry acid level
is cor rect .
- If the w indow h as
no color or is bright yel
low ,
the batte ry a cid level is too low. Have
the ba ttery tested by your authori zed Audi
dea ler or a qua lified workshop .
- If the window is black , then the ba ttery is
insufficiently charged. Recharge the battery
as soon as possib le
c::> page 193.
CD Note
Do not overfill the bat tery, otherwise b at
tery ac id will ove rflow through the vent
ope ning . This ca n damage the paint and
cause corrosion .
Charging of battery
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
.. Alway s read and heed all WARNINGS be
low
c::> .&. and c::> .&. in Working on the bat
tery on page 192 .
.. Switch off the ignition and a ll electr ical con
sumers .
.. Make sure the area is well ven tilated when
you cha rge the battery .
.. Connect charger cables.
ALWAYS conne ct
charger cable s POSITIVE
G) to POSITIVE
G) ; NEGATIVE Oto NEGATIVE Q .
.. Swit ch o n the charge r .
.. Tu rn off the charger
c::> .&_ .
.. Disconnect the charger cab les.
.. Connect both battery cab les to the battery
if necessary -
first plus, then minus. II>-
remain continuous ly illuminated . This se
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the ma lfunction ex ists.
When the malfunct ion indicator is ill uminat
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signa l low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, including the installat ion of replace
ment or alternate tires or wheels on the veh i
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct io ni ng
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunct ion
tellta le afte r replacing one or more t ires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
Tire pressure indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
F ig. 1 47 Disp lay : under infla tion warn ing
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni
toring system compares the t ire tread circum
fe rence and vibration characteristics of the in
d iv idual tires . If the pressure decreases in one
or mo re tires, th is is indicated in the instru
ment clus ter with a warning symbol
RE and a
message
'* fig. 147. The dr iver message in the
d isp lay goes out after 5 seconds. The driver
message can be d isplayed again by pressing
the
! CHECK I button @¢ page 10, fig . 3 . If on
ly one tire is affected, the display will indicate
its pos ition.
The ti re pressure monito ring m ust be reset in
the menu display each time the pressures are
ad justed (e.g. when switching between parti-
Tire s an d wheel s 215
al and fu ll load pressure) or after changing o r
replacing a tire on your vehicle '*
page 216.
The TPMS indicator on ly mon itors the t ire
pressure that you have previously stored . You
can f ind the recommended tire pressures for
your vehicle on the label on the driver's door
pillar ¢
page 200.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- the t ire press ure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the tire has structural damage,
- the t ire press ure was changed, wheels rotat -
ed or rep laced but the TPMS was not reset
¢ page 216.
Warning symbo ls
RE L oss of pressure in a t least one tire ¢ ,&..
Check the tire or tires and rep lace or repa ir if
necessary . The indicator light
RE in the inst ru
ment cluster a lso i lluminates
¢ page 13 .
Check/correct the press ures of all four tires
and reset TPMS in the menu display .
Iii;~, (T ire Pressure Monitoring System) Ti re
pre ssure! System malfun ction .
Ifllilff' ap
pears after switching the ignition on or whi le
driv ing and the indicator light
RE in the in
strument cluster blinks for approx imately one
minute and then stays on, there is a system
malfunction .
Attempt to store the correct tire pressure '*
page 216. If the indicator light does not
turn off or if it turns on shortly thereafter, im
med iate ly dr ive your vehicle to a n author ized
Audi dealer or author ized repair fac ility to
have the malfunct io n cor rected.
.8, WARNING
-
- If the tire pressure ind ic a tor ap pears in
the ins trumen t cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significant ly under
inflated . Reduce yo ur speed immediately
and avoid any hard steer ing or braking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible and
check the tires and their pressures.
~
•
•
@ Tips
-Before resetting the TPMS, the current
pressures of
all four tires must corre
spond t o the specified va lues. Adjust the
tire pressu re and reset the pressure in
the tire pressure mon itor ing system ac
cord ing to the load yo u are carry ing
c::> page200.
- Do not store the tire pressure if there are
snow cha ins on the tire .
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
(Step2)
A pplies to vehicles: with t ire pressure monitoring syste m
Fig. 150 D isplay: Tire pressure
Fig. 151 D isp lay: Tir e pressure
I Reset ! button @ and rocker sw itch @
c::> page 216, fig. 148 functions:
Storing tire pressure s
.,. Turn on the ignition.
.,. Se lect the menu :
> Adjusting* > Tire pres-
sure
> Store .
Entering and confirming
.,. Se lect the menu: Store now
.,. Press the
!Reset I button @.
.,. Se lect the menu: Confim
.,. Press the
!Reset I button @. Tires and wheels 21
7
Returning to the Start menu
.,. Press t he I Reset l butto n longer tha n 2 sec
onds to re turn from any menu level to the
Start men u.
(D Tips
-Before rese tt ing the TPMS, the c urrent
pressures o f
all four tires must corre
spond to t he spec ified values . Adj ust t he
t ir e pr essure and reset the pressure in
the tire pressu re monitoring system ac
co rding to the load you are ca rrying
c::> page 200.
- Do not store the tire pressure if there are
snow chains on the tire.
Run-flat tires
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: wit h Run-fla t tires
Run-flat tires help keep you moving if a tire
goes flat.
Re inforced sidewalls give the t ires r un-flat ca
pabili ty if tire pressure is lost .
We recommend that run-flat tires o nly be
mounted on vehicles that were orig inally
equipped with these special t ires at the facto
ry an d have a Tire Pressu re Monitoring Sys
tem .
Run-flat tir es can be identifi ed by th e letters
"RSC" on the tire sidewall.
If you do change the tires on your veh icle from
no rma l to run-flat tires, you must buy the
special rims required fo r run-flat tires, and the
T ire Pressu re M on itor ing System must be re
programmed by an authorized Aud i d ealer o r
othe r qualified wo rkshop .
What do run -flat tires do?
These special tir es have run-flat capab ilities
that help keep you moving if a tire loses pres
s ur e and goes flat. Under favorab le condi tions
t ir es can be dr iven
at least 30 miles (SO km) ,
but you mus t not drive fa ster than SO mph
( 80 km/h)
c::> page 218, Driving with run-fla t
tires .
Ill-