2014 AUDI A8 engine coolant

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overview of th e instr ume nt cluster
(!) Coolan t tempera ture gauge ...
@ Tachometer (engine rev counter)
® Turn signals ............. .. .
© D isp lay with
- Driver information system ...
- Warning/ind icator lights
® Tachom eter
® F uel gauge .... ..... ... ... . .
0 Reset b utton for trip odometer
(D Tips
1 0
11
48
24
11
1 1
27
The instrument illumination (for dia ls and
needles) t urns on when the ignition is on
a nd the vehicle lights are tur ned off. As
the daylight fades, the illumination of t he
dia ls likewise dims automatica lly and w ill
go o ut comple tely when the o utsi de light
i s very low. Th is feature is meant t o rem ind you
to sw itch on the head ligh ts when o ut­
s id e light condi tions become poor .
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge (!) ¢ poge 10, fig. 3
only works when the ignition is on. To prevent
damage to your engine, please note the fol­
lowing important po ints:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn o n, the engine has not reached operating
temperature yet. Avoid hig h engine speeds,
heavy engine loads and heavy throttle applica­
tions .
Normal temp erature
The eng ine has reached its operating temper-
at ure once the LEDs up to the center of the .,.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
gauge turn on under normal d riving condi ­
tions . The LEDs higher up may turn on when
the eng ine is under heavy load or the exter ior
temperature is high . This is no need to worry
as long as the. warning light in the instru­
ment cluster does not illuminate . If the LEDs
in the upper area of the display and the ind ica­
tor light . in the instrument cluster d isplay
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
¢ page 16.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warning in
~ page 231, Working in the engine
compartment,
before opening the hood
and checking the engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself. Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant .
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
in front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine co uld overheat.
- The front spo ile r has been designed to
properly distrib ute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld red uce the cooling
effect and t he engine co uld then over­
heat . Ask your aut ho rized Audi dea le r for
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red a rea
at the end of the sca le ind icates maxim um
perm iss ible engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position "D (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
@ Note
The tachometer need le should only briefly
be in the red zone: yo u could damage your
engine! The beg inning of the red zone var ­
i es dependi ng on the engine.
@ For the sake of the environment
Upsh ifting early saves fuel and reduces en ­
gine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only works when the ignition is
o n.
If the fue l level drops below 4 gallons (15
l ite rs), the bottom LE D tu rns red and the indi­
cator light~ turns on
c::> page 21. The bot­
tom LED b link s red when the fue l level is very
l ow .
The possible range based on the current fuel
level is shown in tab@~
page 24, fig. 4.
(D Note
Never run the ta nk complet ely dry. An ir­
regular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel cou ld enter the exha ust
system. The cata lytic converter could t hen
overheat and be damaged .
Warning/indicator
lights
Description
T he ind icator lights in the ins trument clus ter
blink or turn on. They indica te fu nct ions or
malfunctions
c;;> ,& .
Messages may appea r with some indicato r
li ghts. A warning signal will sound at the
same t ime. The indica tor lights an d messages
in the center of the displays may be rep laced
by other disp lays. To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us­
ing the multifunction steering whee l
c;;> page 24. If there are several malfunc­
tions, you can display them one at a time us- ing the thumbwheel. ..,.

16 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
automatically if the driver's safety be lt is fas­
tened .
Ill Parking brake!
If the II indicator light turns on and this
message appears, there is a parking brake
malfunction. Drive to your authorized Aud i
dealer or qualified wo rkshop immediately to
have the ma lf u nction corrected .
-l Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
• Switch off engine and check coolant level
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the coolant temperature is too
high or the coolant level is too low.
• Pull off the road.
• Stop the vehicle.
•Turnoff the engine.
• Check coolant level ¢
page 240.
• Add coolant if necessary ¢ page 240.
• Continue driving only after the eng ine cool­
ant warning/ indicator light goes o ut.
• Contact your authorized Audi deale r for as-
sistance if necessary .
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the
radiator fan may be the cause of the malfunc­
tion.
• Coolant temperature too high! Please let
engine run with vehicle stationary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears in trailer mode*, let the engine
run at id le for a few m inutes to cool down.
A WARNING
-If your vehicle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the engine and turn on the hazard
wa rning lights ¢
page 47, Emergency
flasher.
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escap ing from the en- gine
compartment -you risk being scald­
ed. Wait until you can no longer see or
hear steam or coolant escaping.
- The engine compartment of any vehicle
is a dangerous area. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
turn of the engine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warn ing stickers ¢
page 231.
([) Note
Do not continue dr iv ing if the . symbol
ill uminates. There is a malfunction in the
engine cooling system -you could damage
your engine .
~ Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warning/ indicator light illum inates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Add itionally, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) w ill also sound .
For more Informat ion
¢ page 145, 4'-Safety
belt warning light .
· u Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system .
The. warn ing/ indicator light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the eng ine has started.
• Alternator fault: Battery is not being
charged
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunct ion in the
generator or veh icle electrical system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immediate ly. Because the vehi­
cle battery is discharging, turn off all unnec ­
essary electrical equipment such as the radio . .,.

Warm and cold Climate controls
Description
Th e climate control sy stem warms, cools and
adds humidity to the a ir in the veh icle inter io r.
It is the most effect ive when the windows and
sunroof* a re closed. If the temperature inside
the parked vehicle becomes very warm, open­ ing the window briefly will speed up the cool­
ing process.
I n all heating mode f unctions except
defrost,
the blower on ly switches to a higher speed
once the engine coolant has r eached a certain
temperature.
Condensation from the cooling system can
drip and form a puddle of water under the ve­hicle. This is normal and does not mean there
is a leak.
Pollutant filter
The po llutant filte r removes po llutants s uch
as dust and pollen from the air.
The air pollutants filte r must be changed at
t he intervals spec ified in you r Wa rra nty
&
Main tenance book let, so tha t the air condi­
tioner can properly work.
I f you drive you r vehicle in an area with h igh
ai r po llution , the fi lter may need to be
changed more freq uent ly than specified in
your Aud i Warranty
& Ma intenance booklet. If
i n doubt, ask your authorized A udi Service Ad­
visor for advice .
Key coded settings
The clima te con trol settings are a utomat ically
stored and assigned to the remote contro l key
that is in use .
& WARNING
Reduced visibility is dangero us and can
cause accidents . -
Warm and cold 79
-For safe driving it is very important that
all windows be free of ice, snow and con­
densat ion.
- Comp letely fam iliarize yourse lf with the
proper use and funct ion of the heat ing
and ve nti lation system and especially
how to defog and defrost the w indows.
- Never use the windshield wiper/washer
system in freez ing weather unt il you
have warmed the w indshield first, using
the heating and ventilation system. The
washer sol ution may free ze o n the wind­
shie ld an d red uce visib ility.
(D Note
- If you suspect that the air conditioner has been damaged, switch the system
off to avoid furt her damage and have it
i n spected by a q ua lified dea lership.
- Repairs to the Audi air condition er re­
quire specia l techni cal know ledge and
speci al tools. Contact an autho rized Aud i
dealer fo r ass istance.
@ For the sake of the environment
B y reduci ng the amou nt of f uel you use,
you also re duce the amount of pollu tan ts
emitted in to the a ir .
(D Tips
- Keep the air intake s lo ts ( in fro nt of the
w indshield) free from ice, snow and de­
br is in order to maintai n the proper f unc ­
tion of the climate control system.
- T he energy m anagement system may
switch the seat heating* or rear window
defroster off temporar i Ly . These systems
are available again as soon as the energy
balance has been restored .
- Air escapes through vents under the rear
window. When placing items of clothing
on the luggage compartment cover, en­
sure that the openings are not covered.

Stee ring lock
The stee ring locks when you t urn the engine
off us ing the
I S TAR T ENGINE STOP! button
and open the driver 's door . The locked steer­
i ng he lps pr event ve hicle theft.
E mergenc y off
If necessary , the eng ine can be sw itched off
with the selector leve r in the R, Dor S pos i­
tions . The engine stops i f you press the
I S TART ENGINE STOP! button at speeds below
6 mph (10 km/h) .
.&_ WARNING
- Never turn off the eng ine before the ve­
hicle has come to a complete stop. The
full function of the brake booster and the power steering is not quaranteed. You
must use mo re force to turn or brake if
necessary. Because you cannot steer and
brake as you usua lly would, this could
lead to crashes and serious injur ies.
- For safety reasons, you shou ld always
par k your vehicle with the se lector lever
in P. Otherwise, the veh icle co uld inad ­
vertent ly roll away .
- After the engine has been switched off,
the radiator fan can continue to r un for
up to 10 mi nutes -even with the ignition
switched off.
It can a lso switch on aga in
after some time if the coolant tempera­
ture rises as the result of a heat buildup
or if the engine is hot and the engine
compartment is addit ionally heated by
the sun's rays .
0 Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended dr iving . Keep the engine
r u nning for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up.
Driver message in the instrument
cluster display
Turn off ignition before leaving car
On th e ro ad 85
This message appears and a warning tone
sounds if you open the driver's door when the
ignition is sw itched on.
Pre ss brak e pedal t o sta rt engine
This message appears if yo u press the
I STAR T ENG IN E S TOP I button to start the en­
gine and do not dep ress the br ake pedal. The
engine can only be s tarte d if the brake pedal
is depressed.
I!! I s key in th e vehi cle?
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the remote control key was re­
moved from the vehicle whi le the engine was
run ning . If the ignition key is not in the veh i­
cl e you will not be able to swi tch on the igni­
tion or res tart the engine after i t has been
switched off. You will a lso not be able to lock
the ve hicle from the outsid e.
Shift to P, oth erwi se v ehicle can roll aw ay.
Do ors d o n ot lo ck if lever is not in P .
This dr iver message appears for safety rea­
sons if the transmission has not bee n shifted
to the P position when you switc h the ign ition
off . Move the selec to r l ever to the P posi tion .
Otherwise the vehicle is not protected from
ro lling and cannot be locked.
fl Key is not r ecognized. Hold back of key
again st marked area . See ow ner' s m anu al.
If the indicato r light turns on and this mes­
sage appea rs, there is a malfunct ion
~ page 86.
Turn off ign ition before lea ving ca r. Battery
is d is c harging
This message appears if the driver's door is
opened wh ile the ignition is switched on . Al­
ways switch off the ign it ion if you a re leav ing
the ve hicle . See also
Q page 90 .
Shift to P and turn off ignition before lea v­
ing car, otherwi se v ehicle can roll away
T his messag e app ears if the driver's door is
opened wh ile the ignition is switched on and
the selector lever is not in the P posit ion. Shift
the selecto r lever into the P pos ition and .,..

214 Trailer towing
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind condit ions are unfavorable -part icu larly
when going downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immedi atel y if the trail ­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
tr y to stop th e sway ing by acceler ating .
Observe speed limi ts. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
A lways apply brakes early. When driv ing
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes a lone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant t emperature
The coolant temperature gauge ¢ page 10
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem­
perat ure can increase if you drive on long in ­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediate ly if the L EDs in
the top part of the display turn on.
F or more in formation about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 16.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing veh icle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wear ing t he restra ints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when towing
-
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
d ifferent weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and back ing up in an area
away from traffic . Keep practicing until you have become completely familiar with the way
your vehicle-trailer combination behaves and responds .
Backing up is diffi cult and requ ires practice .
Backing up with a trailer gene rally req uires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a tra iler.
Maintain a greater d ista nce between you r ve­
hicle and the one in front of you . You wi ll need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you w ill need a larger than normal
turning rad ius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac ­
ce lerate as fast as you norma lly would be­
ca use of the added load. Make sure yo u have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow
plenty of room for your trailer be fore chang­
ing lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle .
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re ­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load ¢
page 292.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not b e avoided, do so only after doing th e fol­
lowing:
When par king:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.,. Have someone p lace chocks under both the
vehicle and the tra iler wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes unt il the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.,. Turn the whee ls towards the curb .
.,. Apply the parking brake .
.,. Select the P se lector lever posit ion.
When re starting after parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.

Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 197 Dr ive r foo twell: re lease leve r
AUD I
Fig. 198 Rocker sw itch under the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the w indshield. Otherw ise the paint
could be damaged.
.. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the d irect ion of the arrow~
fig. 197.
.. Raise the hood slightly~ &-
.. Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward
~ fig. 198. This re leases the catch .
.. Open the hood .
A WARNING
Hot engine coo lant can burn you.
- 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 care­
fully opening the hood.
Checkin g and fillin g 231
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
When ev er y ou must p erform an y wor k in the
en gine com pa rtm ent , for e xample checking
a nd filling diff ere nt fluid s, th ere is a risk of
inju ry, burn s and accid ent s. To pr eve nt per­
so nal injury alwa ys observ e the foll owing
W ARNING S. The engin e compartm ent of any
v e hicle i s a h aza rdou s area
~ ,& .
h WARNING
To help avoid injury, before yo u check any ­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Sw itch off the ignition .
- Apply the parki ng brake.
- Move selector leve r to "P" (Park).
- Always let the eng ine cool down. Hot
components w ill burn skin on contact .
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the engine
compa rtment. Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fu lly opening the hood.
- Keep ch ildren away from the engine com­
pa rtment.
- Never sp ill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the rad iator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperat ure controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm . The cool­
ant system is p ressu rized and hot cool­
a nt cou ld spray o ut.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by plac ing a
thick rag ove r the cap when you open the
coo lant rese rvoir.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This inc reases the
ris k of burns.
- If work on the fue l system o r the elec tri ­
cal system is necessary:

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. .,.