194 Trailer towing
Tire pre ss ure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver 's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac
turers' specifications.
Light s
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Saf ety chains
Be sure tra iler sa fe ty cha ins a re p roperly con
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve
hicle. Leave eno ugh slack in the chains to per
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling o f vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do no t tow a lo aded tra ile r when your car it
self is no t loaded .
.,. Be especia lly carefu l when passing other
vehicles .
.,. Observe speed lim its .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early.
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight di stribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control. A "ba
lanced" rig is easier to operate and con
tro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi
ble, while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i
ble, transfer some ca rgo to the luggage com
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rv ing
tongue load requ irements and vehicle load ing
co nsiderations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt it be
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rtic ularly
whe n goi ng downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
imm ediately if the trail
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
try t o sto p th e swaying by a ccelerating .
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
fo r vehicles tow ing tra ile rs a re lower than for
regular veh icles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . U se of
the b rakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant tempe rature
The coo lant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefu lly. If the need le
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air condi tioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
i n t he i nstrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut two min utes to prevent heat build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restra ined in a mov
i ng vehicle is a t a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in yo ur car
who is not p roper ly wea ring the rest raints
prov ided by A udi.
-
206 Checking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing and opening the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig . 159 D river' s side footwe ll: e ngin e hood re lease
lever
F ig. 160 Re lease lever u nde r the eng ine hood
Before openin g the engine hood, ma ke s ure
that the windshie ld w ipers are flat against the
windshield. Otherwise, they co uld damage the
pa int on the hoo d.
... Pull the release lever on the left unde r the
inst rument panel in the direction of the ar
row
c;, fig . 159.
... Raise the hood slightly r::;, .&,
... Press the rocke r swi tch u nder the hood up
ward
c;, fig . 160 . Th is re leases the catch .
... Ope n t he hood.
A WARNING
Hot engi ne co olan t ca n bur n you.
- T o redu ce the r is k o f being burned, never
op en t he ho od if yo u see or hea r steam
or cool an t esc aping from the en gine
c ompartment. Wait unti l no steam or co
olant can be seen or heard before care
fu lly opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
... Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
... Le t the hood
drop down and latch in p lace.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en
gage
r::;, .&, .
A WARNING
-
A ho od th at is not co mpletely latched
could fly u p an d block your view while driv
in g.
- Wh en you close the engi ne ho od, ch ec k it
t o make sure the sa fe ty ca tch has pro pe r
ly engaged . The hood s hould be flush
wit h the surroun ding vehicle body pa rts .
-If you notice while driv in g that t he hood
is not secured prope rly, sto p at once and
close it.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially ca reful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
Whenever you must perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling different fluid s, there is a ri sk of
injury , burns and accidents . To prevent per
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
r::;, ,&. .
A WARNING
-To help avo id injury, before yo u check any-
thing unde r the hoo d:
- Turn off the eng ine.
- Remove the ignition key.
- Ap ply the park ing brake .
- Move selector leve r of automatic t rans -
miss io n to "P" (Par k); pu t man ual trans
miss ion in Neu tral.
- Al ways let the eng ine cool down. Hot
components wi ll burn skin on contact .
-To reduce the r isk 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 ca re
fully opening the hood .
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment.
- Never spill flu ids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The aux ili
ary e lectr ic fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the eng ine is still warm . The cool
ant system is pressur ized and hot coo l
ant could spray out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot eng ine coolant by placing a
thic k rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any c ircumstances. Th is increases the
risk of bu rns.
- If wo rk on the fuel system or the electri
cal sys tem is ne cessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames . Fluids in the engine com
partment co uld start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately ava ilable.
- To avoid electrical s hock and persona l 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 repa ir
with the engine running:
- Fir st, fully apply the parking brake,
move se lector lever of a utomatic trans-
Checkin g and fillin g 207
mission to "P" (Park); put manual
transmission in Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewe lry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-be lts
or other moving parts, or from contact i ng hot parts . Tie back hair before
starting, and do not wear clothing that
will hang o r droop into the engine .
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&. .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its const ituents,
a nd certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
Ca lifornia to cause cance r and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition, certain fl uids contained in veh icles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemica ls known to the
State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories conta in lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive harms. Wash hands afte r handling.
Q) Note
When adding f lu ids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper conta iner
or f iller 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 regular ly . If
you see spots from oil or other veh icle flu
i ds, have your vehicle inspected by an au
thorized Audi dealer. •
•
208 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig . 161 Typical layout for containers and eng ine o il filler cap
(D Eng ine oi l filler cap ("1::::r.) . . . . . 211
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. .... ... ....... .... ..
219, 256
@ Bra ke fluid reservo ir (0)) . . . . . 216
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) . . . 214
® Jump start point(-) with hex
head sc rew ..... .......... ..
219, 256
® Windshield/headlight* washer
. (" ') container o ....... . ... .. . 220
The pos ition o f the engine o il fi lling hole
¢ fig . 161 (item @) can differ depending on
the engine design.
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢.&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 206.
-
Engine oil
· Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
The eng ine in your Audi is a sophist icated
power plant that was b uilt to exacting specifi
cations . Th is engine needs the right k ind of
engi ne oil that meets specifica tions regard ing
quality a nd v iscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the right o il
and changing oil within the t ime and mile age
i n tervals prin ted in you r vehicle's Warr anty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to
day tha n it did years ago . Aud i has deve loped
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle 's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs for proper opera-
t ion . ..,_
Modern eng ine lubrication has taken a quan
tum leap in the last few years . Many synt hetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu
brication that can outlast traditional petrole
um-based o ils, 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 help keep your vehicle's engine running smoothly and help prevent the for
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"sludge", that ove r time can lead to expensive
r epairs.
At the t ime of pri nting, engine o ils available in
the U.S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oi l standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils. This does not mean, h owever, that every synthetic engine oil w ill
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oi l.
To help preve nt the format ion of harmful de
posits use only oi l with the fo llowing spec ifi
cations printed on the oil container:
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il conta iner labels may carry the specif ica
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion w ith other des ig
nations and oil qua lity standards.
Viscos ity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis
cosity. The proper v iscosity grade oi l for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con
d itions where you dr ive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SAE SW40 across all tem
pe rature ranges for normal d riving conditions .
However, if eng ine oi l viscosity grade SAE
SW40 is not avai lab le, you can also use viscos
ity 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 st rongly recomme nd
that you always carry with you a n ext ra quart
Checkin g and fillin g 209
(li ter) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 specificatio n, in case you have to
top
off the o il while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is at or be low the
minimum mark -and no oi l that expressly
confo rms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
spec ifications is available -may you top
off
with a h igh quality engine o il, preferab ly syn
thet ic-based, that meets ACEA A3 or API SM
spec ifications, but even then, only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40, SA E SW-30, o r SAE
OW- 40. However, dur ing the entire time be
tween o il cha nge inte rva ls, never top
off with
more than a tota l of 0. 5 q t/liter engine o il
that does not con form to A udi oil specification
vw 502 00.
Fo r more information abo ut eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, ple ase
contac t eit h er yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r or
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1 (800) 822 -2834
or visit our web site at www .a u diusa.com or
www.aud icanada.ca. Here you w ill also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
vw 502 00.
Changing the engine oil
T he eng ine oi l and o il f ilter m ust be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified i n your ve hicle's War
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these interva ls - harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs.
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter
vals is so very important beca use the lubricat
ing propert ies of oil decrease gradually during
norma l veh icle use. If you a re not sure when
yo u have your o il cha nged, ask your author
ized Audi Se rv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld eve n be changed more frequent ly.
Change oil more often if you dr ive most ly
sho rt distances, operate the ve hicle in dusty
areas o r most ly under stop-and -go traff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..
•
•
210 Check ing and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for
long periods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am age or m alfunc tions du e to lack of
m ainten ance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended in tervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a t imely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, a ll in
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certa in
amount of oil. O il consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typica lly, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 188) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the ox ida
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
Ill in the instrument cl uster lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 211. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 211.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 206.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressu re warn ing display. is
not an indic ator of the oil l evel. Do not
r e ly on it . Instea d, check the oil level in
y our engin e at r egular in ter val s, pref
erably ea ch time y ou r efu el, and alwa ys
befor e go ing on a long trip.
- If you have the impression you r engine
cons umes excessive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consu lt an author
ized Aud i dea le r to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in m ind that the accurate measu rement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Aud i
dea ler has instructions about how to
measu re oil consumption accurately.
-
Checking the engine oil level
Fig . 162 MMI Disp lay: Oil l eve l ind icator
Re ad oil le vel
.,. Park your vehicle so that it is horizonta lly
level.
.,. Shut the engine off when it is at operating
temperature .
.,. Switch only the ignition back on .
.,. Wait approx . two minutes .
.,. Select: Function button
ICARI > Oil l evel. Or
.,. Se lect: Funct ion button
ICARI > C ar sys-
tem s*
cont rol button > S ervicing & ch e ck s >
Oil level.
.,. Read the oil leve l in the MMI* Display
¢
fig . 162 . Add engine oi l if the bar o f the
oi l level ind icator is near "min"
c::> page 211
Depending on the way the veh icle is driven
and the operating conditions, oil consumption
can be up to a 1/2 quart per 600 miles (0 .5
li
ter per 1,000 km) . Consumption may be high
er within the first 3,000 m iles (S,000 km).
@ Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI* Disp lay
is only an information display.
If the oi l
level is too low, a min imum oil warning ap
pears in the instrument cluster. Add oil
c::> page 211 . If the hood has been opened,
the current oil level is shown in the instru
ment cluster the next time the ign ition is
sw itched on.
Checkin g and fillin g 211
~ Adding engine oil
Fig. 163 Eng in e compart men t: Cove r on the oil filler
n eck
.,. Before yo u check anything in the engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys rea d and h eed all
WARNING S ¢.&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 206 .
.,. Shut the engine off.
.,. Unscrew the cap~ to the engine oi l filling
hole
r:!> fig. 163, r:!>page 208, fig. 161 .
.,. Carefully top off with 0.5 quarts (0.5 liters)
of the appropriate oil¢
page 208.
"' Check the oil level again after two minutes
r:!> page 211, Checking the engine oil level .
"'Top off the o il aga in, if necessary .
"' Screw the cap back on the filling hole .
_&. WARNING
- While topping off, the oil must not come
in contact with hot e ngine parts -fir e
hazard!
- The oil filler cap must be properly se
cured to prevent oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the engine is runn ing -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact with the
engine o il, you must subsequently
cleanse it thoroughly.
(D Note
- Check the oil level using the radio or
M MI*. If the message
Plea se redu ce oil
le vel
appears, contact yo ur authorized
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop to
have excess oil extracted if necessary .
-Audi does not recommend the u se of o il
additiv es. They m ay damage the engine .,.
212 Check ing and filling
and ad versely a ffect yo ur New Vehicl e
W arr ant y.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come
in contact with the sewage network o r
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
partment,
a lw ays rea d an d h eed all WARN
INGS c::> .& in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 206.
The engine oil must be changed accord ing 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 ci rcumstances 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 traffic con
ditions, or have your vehicle where tempera
tures remain below freezing for extended pe
riods .
Detergent addit ives in the oil 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 disposal,
along w ith the special tools and necessary ex
pertise required , we strongly recommend that
you have your o il changed by an authorized
Audi de ale r or a qual ified servi ce station.
If y ou choo se to c hang e y our oi l y our self,
please note the followi ng important informa
tion :
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 plug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from runn ing down you r arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large enough to
hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it we ll out
of the rea ch of childre n.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il
is harmfu l to your sk in. Always protect
your skin by washing oil off tho roughly
with soap and wate r.
@ Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oi l. These additives can damage your en
g ine and adversely affect you r A ud i Limit
ed New Veh icle War ranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil, first make su re
you know where you can prope rly 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 engi ne oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in you r
area, or contact a service station.