2014 AUDI A8 warning

232 Check ing and filling
- 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 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:
- Fi rst, fully apply the parking bra ke,
move se lec to r lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always use extreme caution to preven t
clot hing, jewe lry, or long h air from ge t­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V -belts
or other moving parts, or from contact­ ing hot parts . Tie back hair before
start ing, and do not wear cloth ing that
will hang or droop into the eng ine .
- Min imize exposure to emission and
chemica l hazards¢ ,&..
A WARNING
California Propos ition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certa in veh icle components conta in
or emit chemicals known to the State of
Califor nia to cause cancer and b irth de­
fec ts a nd reproduct ive ha rm. In addition ,
certain fluids conta ined in vehicles and
certa in prod ucts of co mponent wear co n­
ta in o r emi t chemicals known to the
State o f Ca lifornia to cause can cer and
birth defects or ot her reproductive harm . -
Battery posts, terminals and re lated ac­
cessories conta in lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cance r and reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling .
(D Note
When adding flu 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 regularly. If
you see spots from oil or other ve hicle flu­
i ds, have yo ur vehicle inspected by a n au­
thori zed Audi dea le r.
Closing the engine hood
.,. Pull the hood down un til the pressure from
t he 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 ¢&_ .
A WARNING
-
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv ­
ing .
-When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has p roper ­
ly engaged. The hood sho uld be flush
with the surrou nding vehicle body pa rts.
- If you notice while driv ing t hat the hood
is not s ecured prope rly, stop at onc e and
close it.

234 Check ing and filling
(D Windshield/headlight washer
t . (
PP. ) con ainer ""' .......... ... . 247
@ Jump start point( -) with hex
head screw ............. ... . 245 , 283
@ Jump start point( +) under a cov-
er . ..... .............. ... . 245, 283
© Eng ine oil filler cap(~) . . . . . 237
® Brake fluid reservo ir ((0)) . . . . . 242
® Coolant expansion tank (-L) . . . 240
0 Power steering reservoir . . . . . . 203
@ Oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
The engine oil filler neck (item@) may be lo­
cated in
a different area depend ing on the ver­
sion of the engine .
& WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢ .&.
in Working in the engine
compartment on page 231.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
-
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerp lant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations . This engine needs the r ight kind of
engine o il that meets spec ificat ions regarding
qua lity and viscos ity so that it can run
smoothly and reliably . Choos ing the righ t oi l
and changing oil within the time and mileage interva ls printed in your vehicle 's Warranty
&
Maintenance book let matters a lot more to­
day than it did years ago. Audi has developed
a special quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your veh icle's eng ine will
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera­
tion.
Modern 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 trad itional petrole -u
m -based oils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi.
Whether you use synthet ic o r petro le um­
based eng ine oil, the oi l that you use m ust
conform to Audi's oi l quality standard
VW 502 00 (vehicles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles with d iese l eng ine) to
help keep your veh icle's engine running
smoothly and help prevent the format ion of
harmful deposits, sometimes called "s ludge,"
that over time can lead to expens ive repairs.
At the time of printing, engine oils ava ilab le in
the U.S. and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oil standard VW 502 00 (ve hicles w ith gasoline eng ine) o r VW 507 00
(veh icles w ith diese l eng ine) are synthet ic en­
gine o ils . This does no t mean, howeve r, that
every synt hetic eng ine oil will meet A udi oi l
standard VW 502 00 (veh icles with gasoline
engine) or VW 507 00 (vehicles with diesel
engine). So a lways be sure that you use an ap­
proved o il.
T o he lp preven t the formation of harmfu l de­
posits use on ly oil with the following specifi­
cations printed on the o il container:
- Audi oil standard VW 502 00 (g aso line en ­
gine )
- Audi oil standard VW 507 00 (die sel en-
gine )
Oil container labels may car ry the spec ifica­
t ion sing ly or in combination with othe r desig­
na tions and oil quality standa rds.
Viscosit y
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis­
cosity . The proper viscos ity grade oil for your
engine depends on climactic or seasona l con­
ditions where you drive . You can use o il with a
viscosity grade of SA E 5W40 across all tem­
perature ranges for normal dr iv ing cond itions .
However, if engine oil viscosity grade SAE
5W40 is not ava ilable, you can also use v iscos ­
i ty grade SAE 5W-30 or SAE OW-40 as long as
it meets Audi oil quality standard VW 502 00
(ve hicl es w ith gasoline eng ine) o r VW 50 7 00
(ve hicles w ith diese l engine) specifica tions. .,.

236 Check ing and filling
Engine oil consumption
Th e e ngine in your vehicle depends on an ad e­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In o rder to prov ide effec tive l ubrication and
c o oling of i nternal engi ne components, all in­
t e rnal com bustion eng ines consume a certa in
a m ount of o il. O il consumption var ies from
engine to eng ine and may change significant ly
ove r the life o f the eng ine . T ypica lly, eng ines
with a specified break -in per iod (see
<=>
page 207) cons ume 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 oi l, the RPM (revo lutions 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
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida ­
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage bu ilds up, the oil consump­
tion may in crease over t ime un til replacement
of worn componen ts may become necessa ry.
W ith all these var iables coming into play, no
standa rd rate of o il consumption can be es­
tablished or specified. The re is no alterna tive
to regular and frequen t checking of the oi l lev­
e l, see
Note .
If the ye llow eng ine o il level warn ing symbol
in the in strumen t cluste r
II lights up, you
should c heck t he o il level as soon as possible
<=> page 236 or ¢page 237. Top off the oi l at
your ea rliest convenience <=>
page 23 7.
.&_ WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c::> ..&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 231 .
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oi l level is like­
ly to ca use severe damage to the eng ine.
-
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
r ely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref­
erably each time you refuel , and always
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression your engine
cons umes excessive amounts of oil, we
recommend that you consult your Aud i
dea ler to have the cause of your con cern
prope rly d iagnosed. Keep in m ind that
t he accurate meas urement o f oil c on­
sumption requ ires great care and may
take some t ime. Your Audi dea le r has in­
struct ions about how to measu re oil con­
sumption acc urately.
Checking the engine oil level
Applies to vehicles : wit h oil level indicator
Fig . 201 Disp lay: o il leve l in dicator
.,. Par k your vehicle o n a level su rface.
.. Shu t the eng ine off w hen it is warm.
.. Switch only the ignition back on.
.. Wait approximately two minutes .
.. Select:
!CAR I function button > Car systems
contro l button > Servicing & checks > O il
level.
.. Check the oil level in the display c::> fig. 201.
Add engine o il if the bar of the oil level ind i­
cato r is nea r "min"
c::> page 23 7.
Depend ing on the way the vehicle is dr iven
and the operat ing cond it ions, o il cons umption
can be up to 1/2 quart pe r 600 miles (0 .5 liter
per 1 ,000 km) . Consumption may be highe r
within the first 3,000 m iles (5,000 km).
1111>

(D Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI Display is
only an information d isp lay. If the oil leve l
is low, a minimum oi l warning appears in
the instrument cluster. Add oil
r::;, page 23 7 . If the hood has been opened,
the cu rre nt oil level is shown in the instru­
ment cluster the next time the ign ition is
sw itched on.
Checking the engine oil level
Ap plies to vehicles: with oil dipstick
Fig. 202 Oil dips tick: marking fields
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
alway s read an he ed all WARN­
INGS r=;,page 231.
Determining th e oil le ve l
.. Park your vehicle on a level surface.
.. Let the engine run in idle briefly while it is at
operating temperature and then shut the
engine off .
.. Wait approximately two minutes .
.. Remove the oil dips tick. W ipe off the oil dip­
stick with a clean cloth and insert it all the
way in again.
.. Remove the dipstick again and then read the
oil level
¢ fig. 202. Add engine oil if neces­
sary
r::;, page 23 7.
Oil l evel in th e (v area
.. Do no t add any oil.
Oil level in the @area
.. You may add oil. After adding oil, the level
should be in the
(v area.
Checkin g and fillin g 237
Oil le vel in the 0 a rea
.. Yo u must add oil. After add ing oi l, the level
should be in the
0 area.
Depend ing on the way the vehicle is dr iven
and the ope rat ing cond itions, oi l consumption
can be up to
1/2 quart pe r 600 miles (0.5 liter
per
1 ,000 km) . Consumption may be higher
within the first
3,000 miles (5,000 km). Be­
cause of this, the engine oil leve l must be
checked regularly.
It would be best to check
each time you refuel your vehicle and before
long drives .
Adding engine oil 9=:1-
0 N
N
"' :l!
Fig. 203 En gin e compart ment: cover on th e eng ine oil
filler neck
Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
partment,
alw ay s re ad and heed all WARN­
INGS r::;, .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 231 .
.. Shut the eng ine off .
.,. Unscrew the cap~ to the eng ine o il filling
hole
¢ fig. 203, r=;,page 233 .
.. Carefully top off with 0.5 quarts (0 .5 liters)
of the appropriate oil
r::;, page 234 .
.. Check the oil level aga in after two minutes
r::;, page 236, Checking the engine oil level or
r::;, page 23 7, Checking the engine oil level.
.. Top off the oil aga in, if necessary.
.. Screw the cap back on the filling hole .
A WARNING
-
-Wh ile topping off, the o il must not come
in contact with hot engine parts -fire
hazard!
II-

238 Check ing and filling
- 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 running - fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact w ith the
engine oil, you must subsequently
cleanse it thoroughly .
(D Note
-Check the oil level. If the message
Pl ea se r educe oil le vel appears, contact
your authorized Audi dea ler or other
qualified workshop to have excess o il ex­
tracted if necessary .
-Aud i do es not recommend the use of o il
addit ive s. They ma y damag e the engin e
and ad versely affect yo ur New Vehicle
Warrant y.
@, For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come
in contact w it h the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow lega l regulations
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,
al ways read and h eed all WARN ­
INGS c::> &. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 231.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals spec ified in your Warra nty
&
Maintenance book let . This is very important
because the lubricating prope rties of oil di­
minish gradua lly dur ing normal veh icle use .
Under some c ircumstances the eng ine o il
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 -tu res remain below freezing for extended pe­
riods.
Detergent additives in the oil will make fresh
o il look dar k after the engine has been run­
ning for a sho rt time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more oft en than
recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposal,
along with the specia l tools and necessary ex­
pertise required, we strongly recommend that
you have your oil changed by an authorized
Aud i deale r or a qualified service station.
If yo u choo se to chan ge your o il yours elf ,
please note the fo llowing important informa ­
t ion:
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 oil dra in p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the ground to help prevent hot oil from run­
n ing down you r arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large enough to hold at least the tota l amount of o il in
your engine .
- Engine oil is poisonous . Keep it well out
of the rea ch of children.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il
is harmful to your sk in . Always protect
your skin by washing oil
off tho roughly
wit h soap and wate r.
(D Note
Neve r mix oil additives with you r engine
oi l. These additives can damage your en­
gine and adversely affect your Audi Limit­
ed New Veh icle War ranty.

@ 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 lit tle atten tion .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac ­
tory with a pe rmanent coo lant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture o f spec ial ly conditioned water and the
manuf acturer 's glyco l-based cool ant ad di-
tiv e G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi ­
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els) . This mixture both assures the neces­
sary frost protection and p rotect s metal com ­
ponents in the engine's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil­
i ng point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration o f the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add it ive must be at
l e a st 50 % but not mor e than 60 %
to main­
tain antifreeze protection and coo ling efficien­
cy .
If the coolant frost protect io n is too low,
the coolant cou ld free ze and dam age the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for tempera tures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada.
Checkin g and fillin g 239
If you must add coo lant, use a mixture of wa ­
ter and coolant additive . Mix ing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
_& WARNING
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
c> .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 231.
Q) 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 condi tions. This is especi ally impor­
tan t if you live i n a region wher e th e win­
ter is ex treme ly co ld. If necessary, i n­
crease t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60% .
- Whe n ad ding coolant additive t o yo ur
c ooling sys tem, reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad­
d itive G12++ or Gl3 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is availab le at au­
thor ized Audi dealers . O ther types of
a ntifreeze can s ignifica ntly reduc e cor­
rosion prote ction. The result ing cor ro­
sion can cau se a loss o f coolan t and se­
rio us engine d amage .
- Do not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal­
a nt to yo ur vehicle 's engine c oolant .
A dd ing radia tor repair fl uid may adverse ­
ly affect the f unction and pe rformance of
your cooling system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by your New Ve hicle
L imited Warranty.
-
•
•

24 0 Ch eck ing and filling
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig . 204 Eng ine compartment: cover on the coolant
expa nsion tank
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
a lwa ys re ad and h eed a ll WA RN­
INGS o .A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 231 .
Park your vehicle on a level surface.
• Switch
off the ignition .
• Read the engine coolant leve l from the cool­
ant expansion tank
o fig. 204, o page 233.
With a cold engine, the coolant level should
be betwee n the "min" and "max" markings.
When the engine is warm, the level may be slightly above the "max" marking .
The location of the coolant expans ion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus ­
tration
o page 233.
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System
o page 16 wi ll
illuminate unti l 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 l oss
Coolant loss may indicate a le ak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool- ing system shou
ld be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dea ler . It is not
enough mere ly to add coo lant .
In a
sea le d system, losses can occur on ly if
the boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as
a res ult of overheating.
A WARNING
-The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Red uce the risk of scald­
i ng from hot coolant by fo llow ing these
steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping flu id and steam by covering the
cap with a large, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise d irect ion while ap­
plying 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 glycol in engine cool­
ant can catch fire.
0 Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your veh icle's engine coolant . Add­
i ng radiator repa ir fluid may adverse ly af­
fect the funct io n 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 anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
alw ay s re ad and h eed all WARN­
IN GS o .A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 231.
• Tu rnoff the engi ne.
• Let the eng ine cool down.

~ Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank
¢ page 240, fig . 204 and car efull y
twist the cap counter-clockwise ¢ ,A.
~ Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢ page 239, Coolant.
~ Tw ist the cap on again tightly .
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications ¢
page 239, Coolant .
We recommend using on ly coolant additive
G12 ++, G 13 or in an emergency G12 +. Do
not
use a different additive. In an emergency use
pla in water until you can get the correct addi­
tive 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 co ld antifree ze
and cold water only when the eng ine is co ld.
A lways use
new engine coolant when ref illing.
D o not fill coolan t above the "M AX " mar k. Ex­
cess coolan t will be forced ou t th rough the
p ress ure re li ef va lve in the cap when the en ­
gine becomes hot .
&_ WARNING
- The coo ling system is under press ure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca ld ing from hot coolant by f ollowing
these steps .
-Tu rn off the engine and a llow i tto cool
down.
- P rotec t your f ace, hands an d ar ms from
escaping f lu id and ste am by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Tu rn the ca p slowly and very ca re fully
in a counte r-clockwise d irect ion while
app ly ing light, downwa rd p ress ure on
the top of the cap.
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys ­
tem or hot engine parts . Under certa in
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
g ine coolant can catc h fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and well
o ut of the reac h of children .
Checkin g and fillin g 241
-If you dra in the coo lant, it m ust be
caught and safely stored in a pr oper con ­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
([) Note
-Coo lant poll utes the environment and
co uld cause an engine fi re . Excess cool ­
ant will be forced out th ro ugh the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an eme rgency, only wate r can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze ¢
page 239 must be re­
stored as soon as poss ible .
@) For the sake of the environment
Drained coola nt should not be reused. A l­
ways d ispose of used coolant while observ­
i ng all env iro nmental regula tions .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
The rad iator fan is dr iven by the engine via the
V-belt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan acco rding to the temperature of the
coolant .
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* sw itches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and othe r vehicle operat ing cond it io ns.
After you switch the engine off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 m inutes
- even w ith the ignition off . It can even switch
o n aga in later by itself¢
A, if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build- up from the engine in
the engi ne compa rtment, or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlig ht.
&_ WARNING
- To reduce the risk of perso nal inj ury nev-
er touch the radiator fan .
II>-
•
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