Checking and fillin g 229
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 193 Typical l ayout for conta iners and engine o il filler cap
@ Jump start poin t(-) with hex
head screw .. ....... ... .. .. . 240, 276
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
®
©
®
©
er .. .. ... ..... ...... ...... 240, 276
Brake fl uid reservo ir
((0)) . . . . . 237
Engine oil filler cap
("1:::r.) . . . . . 232
Coolant expansion tank
(-L) .. .
Windshield/headlight washer
t . ('"') con ainer O ...... .... ... .
235
241
The engine oil filler neck (item@) may be lo
cated in a d ifferent a rea depend ing o n the
ver
sion of the eng ine.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c::> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 227.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi
cations. This eng ine needs the right k ind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can r un
smooth ly and reliably. Choosing the right o il
and changing oil within the t ime and mileage
intervals p rin ted in you r vehicle's Wa rranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to
day than it did years ago . Audi has deve loped
a specia l quality sta ndard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine will
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera
tion.
230 Check ing and filling
Mo dern engine lubrication has taken a quan
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu
brication that can outlast traditional petrole
um-based oils, 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 (vehicles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (veh icles with diesel engine) to
he lp keep your vehicle's eng ine running
smoothly and help prevent the fo rmation of
harmf ul depos its , somet imes ca lled "sludge,"
that over t ime can lead to expensive repairs.
At the time of printing , engine oils availab le in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifi cations of A udi oi l st andard VW 502 00
(vehicles wi th gasoline engine) or VW 507 00
(vehicles with diesel engine) are synthetic en
gine oils . This does not mean, however, that
every synthetic engine oil will meet Aud i oil
standard VW 502 00 (vehicles with gaso line
engine ) or VW 507 00 (veh icles w it h diese l
engine). So always be sure that you use an ap
proved oil.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de
posi ts use only oi l with the fo llow ing spec ifi
cations printed on the oil containe r:
- Aud i oil standard VW 50 2 00 (ga soline en
gine )
- Audi oil sta nd ard VW 50 7 00 (diesel en -
gine )
Oil container labe ls may carry the specif ica
tion s ingly or i n comb ination with other desig
nations and oil q ua lity standards.
Visco sity
Eng ine oi ls are graded according to thei r vis
cosity. The prope r viscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on climac tic or seasonal con
d itions whe re you drive. You can use oi l w ith a
viscosity g rade of SAE 5W40 across all tem
perat ure ranges for normal driving conditions .
H oweve r, if eng ine o il viscos ity grade
SAE 5W40 is not av ailable, you can a lso use viscosity grade SAE 5W-30 or SA
E OW-40 as
l ong as it meets Audi oil quality standard
VW 502 00 (veh icles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles with d iesel eng ine) spec
ifications.
Beca use engine oi l that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be availab le everywhere
when you need it, we strong ly recommend
that you a lways carry with you an ex tra qua rt
( li ter) of oil that express ly conforms to the
VW 502 00 (veh icles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles w ith d iese l eng ine) spec
ifica tion , in case you have to top off the oil
wh ile on t he road.
Applies to vehicle s with gasoline engine on
l y:
Only if the level of the o il is at or be low the
min imum ma rk on the o il dipstick - and no oi l
t h at expressly conforms to A udi o il standard
VW 502 00 spec ificat ions is available -may
yo u top off with a high quality engine oi l, pre f
erab ly synthetic-based, that meets ACEA A3
or AP I SM spec ificat ions, but even then, only
in v iscosity grades SAE 5W-40, SAE 5W-30, or
SAE OW-40. However, during the ent ire time
betwee n oil change intervals, never top off
with more than a total of 0 .5 qt/liter engine
o il that does not conform to Audi o il specifica
t ion VW 502 00.
Applies to vehicle s with die sel engin e only:
Only if the level of the oil is at or below the
min imum ma rk on the o il dipstick - and no o il
t h at expressly conforms to Audi o il standard
VW 507 00 spec ificat ions is available -may
you top off with a high quality engine oil, that meets ACEA C3 or API CF specifications, but
even then , on ly in viscosity grades SAE
5W-40, SAE 5W-30, or SA E OW-40 . However,
during the entire time between o il change in
terva ls, never top off wi th more than a total
of 0 .5 qt/liter engine oil that does not con -
fo rm to Aud i oil spec ification VW 50 7 00 .
For more info rmation about eng ine oi l that
has been approved for your veh icle, please
contact e ither your authorized Aud i dealer o r
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1 (800) 822-2834
o r vis it our web site at www.audiusa .com or
www.aud icanada .ca. He re you w ill also find a .,.
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
VW 502 00 (vehicles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles with diesel engine).
C hanging the engine oil
The engine oil and oil filter must be changed
according to the mileage (kilomete rs) and
time intervals specified in your vehicle's War
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs .
Changing the oil at the recommended inter
vals is so very important because the lubricat
ing properties of oil decrease gradually during
normal vehicle use. If you are not sure when
you have your oil changed, ask your author
ized Audi Service Advisor .
Under some circumstances the engine oil
should even be changed more frequently .
Change oil more often if you drive mostly
short distances, operate the vehicle in dusty
areas or mostly under stop-and-go traffic con
ditions, or when you use your vehicle where
temperatures stay below freezing point for long periods.
Detergent addit ives in the oil will make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning for a short time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfunctions due to lack of
maintenance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine oil
that complies with Audi oil standard
VW 502 00 (vehicles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles with diesel engine). Your
Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not cover
damage or malfunctions due to failure to fol
low recommended maintenance and use re
quirements as set forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty
& Maintenance booklet.
Your dealer will have to deny warranty cover
age unless you present to the dealer proof in
Checking and filling 231
the form of Service or Repair Orders that all
scheduled maintenance was performed in a
timely manner.
Engine 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
cooling of internal engine components, all in
ternal combustion engines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumption varies from engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specified break-in period (see ¢
page 204) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under normal 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 conditions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil dilution from water
condensation or fuel residue and the oxida
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary .
With all these variables coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent checking of the oil lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbol
in the instrument cluster
II! lights up, you
should check the oil level as soon as possible
¢
page 232. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
9 page 232.
.&, WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢.&.
in Working in the engine
comportment on page 22
7.
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