234 Check ing and filling
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil , first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always dispose of used engine oil proper
l y. Do not dump it on garden soi l, wood
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in your
area, or contact a service station .
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 sea led and generally re
q uir es little attention .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac
tory with a pe rmanent coolant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture of spec ia lly conditioned water and the
manufacturer 's glyco l-b ased coo lant add i-
tive G l3 antifreeze with ant icorrosion addi
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els). This mixture both assures the nec es
sary frost protection and protects metal com ponents in the engine's cooling sys tem from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil
ing point of the coolant .
Do not red uce the concentration o f the coo l
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add itive mu st be at
l e a st 50 % but not more than 60 %
to main
tain antifreez e protection and cooling efficien
cy . If the coolant frost prote ct ion is too low,
the coo lant cou ld freeze and damage the veh i
cle hea ting and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round d riving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for temperatures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada. If
you must add coolant, use a mixture o f wa
ter and coolant additive . Mixing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
A WARNING
-
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WAR NINGS
c::, & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 22
7 .
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli mate conditions . This is especia lly impor
tan t if you live in a reg io n where the win
t er is ex treme ly cold. If ne cessa ry, i n
crease the pr opo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 60%.
- Whe n adding coolant additive to yo ur
c oolin g sys tem, remembe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad
d itive Gl2++ or Gl3 (check the label)
for your vehicle . This coolant additive is
ava ila ble at autho rized Aud i deale rs.
Other types of antifreeze ca n sig nifi
ca ntly reduce co rr os io n protection. The
r es ult ing co rrosion c an c ause a los s o f
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak seal
a n t to y our vehicle 's engine coolant.
Add ing radiator repai r fl uid may adverse
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by yo ur New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
-
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig. 196 Eng ine compartment: cover on the coolant
expansion tank
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
alwa ys read and hee d all W ARN
ING S ¢.&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 22
7 .
.,. Park your vehicle on a level surface.
.,. Switch off the ignit ion.
.,. Read the engine coolant level from the cool
ant expansion tank¢
fig. 196, ¢ page 229 ,
fig. 193 .
With a cold engine, the coolant
level should be between the "min" and
"max" mar kings. When the engine is warm,
the leve l may be slightly above the "max"
marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus
tration¢
page 229 .
To obtain an accurate read ing, the eng ine
must be switched off.
The expans ion tank in you r 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 17 will
illum inate u ntil you add coolant a nd the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolan t leve l
from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cool ing
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool-
Checkin g and fillin g 235
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer . It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
In a
s ea led system, losses can occur on ly if
the boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as
a result of overheating.
A WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald
ing from hot coolant by follow ing these
steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing f lu id and steam by cover ing the
cap with a la rge, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise d irect ion while ap
plyi ng light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot engine parts. Under certa in cond i
tions, the ethylene gly col in engine coo l
a nt can catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak sea L
ant to your veh icle's engine coo lant . Add
i ng radiato r repa ir flui d may adverse ly af
fect the funct io n and performa nce o f your
cooling system and could result in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
War ranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant .
Before you che ck anyth ing in the eng ine com
partmen t,
alway s read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢.&_ in Working in the engine compart
ment on page
227 .
.,. Tur n off the engi ne.
.,. Let the engine cool down.
