268 Check ing and filling
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi
cator light (U .S . mode ls:
1111 , Canadian
models: .) will come on
<::> page 19 and
<::> page 32. Do not continue to operate the ve
h icle . The complete brake system should be
thoroughly checked by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low,
the brake warning/indicator light will illum i
nate . Contact an authorized Aud i dealer
im
m ediatel y.
@ Tips
The brake fluid rese rvoir is located unde r
neath the cove r.
Changing brake fluid
Hove the broke fluid changed by on experi
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh , corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime. The bo iling po int of the
brake fluid wi ll also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ver y tw o year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservo ir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that yo u
have the brake f luid changed by you r author
ized
Audi dea ler. Your dea ler has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor
ed only i n the closed orig inal container
o ut of the reach of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old or inap
propriate b rake fluid. Observe these pre
caut ions: -
Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid . The correct type of
brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id reservoir.
- T he brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the bra kes ca n cau se a vapo r lock if
the b rake fluid is left in the system too
l ong . This can seriously affect the effi
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Bra ke fluid will damage the paint of you r
vehicle .
(® For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of p roper disposal
of b ra ke fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
re commend that yo u have the brake fluid
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
Battery
General information
U nder normal ope rat ing cond itions, the bat
tery in yo ur Audi does not need any ma inte
nance. With
high o utside tempe ra tur es or
l ong dai ly drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte level checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop. The elec
trolyte level should also be checked each time
the battery is charged
<::> page 2 70.
Have the battery checked when yo u take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is o lder than 5 years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the batte ry is disconnected from the veh icle elec
trical system for safety reasons¢.&
in Re
pair , core and disposal of the airbags on
page 197.
~
272 Ch eck ing and filling
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery.
Intelligen t energy management in your veh i
cle is respons ible for d istributing the e lectr i
cal en ergy throughout your vehicle
¢
page 229. T he intell igent e nergy manage
ment system w ill keep the eng ine battery
cha rged better then vehicles w ithout this sys
tem . To make sure the additional e lectrica l en
ergy is availab le once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you install batteries of the same type and manu
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations are listed on the battery hous ing . Your
author ized dealer must code the battery in
the ene rgy management system to enable you
to use the energy management f unct ions co r
rectly after replac ing the battery.
If it is not poss ible to use a battery of this
type, the new battery must have the same ca
pac ity, voltage (12 volts), amperage , con
struction and plug seal ing.
When insta lling the battery, make sure the ig
n it ion and all e lectr ica l consumers a re turned
off.
Q;) Note
Make sure the venti lation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak o ut.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l
of a battery, we recommend your autho r
i z ed Audi dealer change the ba tte ry for
you. Bat teries con tain s ulfu ric ac id and
lead and m ust always be disposed of prop
erly in compliance with all environmental
reg ulations. Disposing of vehicle batteries
improper ly is very dangerous to the envi
ronment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
F ig . 24 8 Eng in e compar tment : cover on t he wi nds hield
and headl ig ht* washe r flu id reservoi r
The washer fluid co nta iner is marked w ith the
symbol Won its cap ¢
fig. 248, ¢ page 259,
fig. 241 .
.. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
alwa ys read and he ed all
W ARNING S
¢ & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 257 .
.. Lift the fille r cap tongue to add washer flu
id. You can fi ll the container to the top.
.. Press the cap back onto the fi ller neck afte r
fi lling the container.
You can find the reservo ir
capacity in the table
in
¢ page 315.
Clean water should be used when filling up . If
poss ible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets. A lways add a glass clea ne r
so lution (with frost prote ction in the winter).
0 Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze o r
any other additives to fill up the wind
s hi eld washer rese rvoir.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. You
may not find this information on all tires be
cause it is no t req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called "maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diamete r of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ
in g elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Tires and wheels 275
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production options we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and spec ial tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan
tia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see ¢ page 2 7 4, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
re sp onding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.
•
•
278 Tires and wheels
you have stored. The system does not recog
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor
ing system w ill be impaired if yo u store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load¢.&. .
See the illustration¢
fig. 249 for the location
of the label on driver's side 8-pillar (color of
the actua l label and exact location on the ve
hicle wi ll vary slightly).
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
Model/ Tire designation
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tir e
pressure label located on the driver's side 8-
pillar always takes precedence.
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal
l ed on the respective models as original
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Engine normal load condition full load condition
front rear
front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
255/55 Rl8 109H XL
35 240 35 240 44
300 49 340 All Season
265/50 Rl9 llOH XL
35 240
35 240
44
300 49 340 All Season
Q7: 275/45 R20 llOH XL
3 .0 liter
35 240
35 240 44
300 49 340 All Season
6-cylinder
275/45 R20 llOYXL
35 240 35 240 44 300 49 340 High Performance
295/35 R21 107V XL
36 250 35 240 44 300 49 340
High Performance
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side 8-p illar .
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equipment dur ing the model year, al
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the
tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire
size info rmation on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be
l ongs to someone else or you bought the vehi
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of yo ur pas
sengers also depends on making s ure that load
limits are not exceeded . Veh icle load in
cludes everybody and eve ryth ing in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are techn ica lly refer
red to as the veh icle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle We ight Rat
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two ax les.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety comp liance sticker label located on the
driver's side 8-pillar . The tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the veh icle can carry . For the
location of the tire pressure label¢
fig. 249. ..,_
292 Tires and wheels
TPMS malfunction indicato r is combined with
the low tire pressure telltale . When the sys
tem detects a malfunct ion, the te lltale will
flash for approximately one minute and then
remain continuously illuminated. This se
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction exists.
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low t ire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, includ ing the installat ion of replace
ment or alt ernate tires or wheels on the vehi
cle that prevent the TPMS from functioning
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunct ion
tellta le after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
Tire pressure indicator appears
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 254 D isplay: underinflat ion wa rning
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni
toring system compares the tire tread circum
ference and vibration characteristics of the in
dividual tires. If the pressure decreases in one
or more tires, this is indicated in the instr u
ment cluster with a
[D] warning symbol and a
message ¢
fig. 254. The driver message in the
display goes out after S seconds. The driver
message can be displayed again by pressing
the
! CHECK I button . If only one tire is affect
ed, the display will indicate its position . The tire pressure
monitoring must be reset via
MMI each time the pressures are adjusted (e.
g. when switching between partial and full
load pressure) or after changing or replacing a
tire on your vehicle¢
page 293. The TPMS in
dicator on ly monitors the tire pressure that
you have prev iously stored . You can find the
re commended t ire pressures for your vehicle
on the label on driver's s ide B-pillar
¢page 277.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- the t ire pressure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the t ire has structural damage,
- the t ire pressure was changed, wheels rotat-
ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢page 293.
Warning symbols
[D] Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢.&. .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repa ir if
necessary. The
[I] indicator light in the instru
ment cluster also illuminates
¢page 14.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires
and reset TPMS via MMI.
@m (T ire Pressure Mon itor ing System) Tire
pressure: System malfunction!.
If ffiim appears afte r switching the ignition on
or whi le dr iving and the
[D] indicator light in
the instrument cluster blinks for approx i
mately one minute and then stays on, there is
a system malfunct ion .
Attempt to store the correct tire pressure
¢
page 293. If the indicator light does not
turn off or if it turns on shortly thereafter, im
med iate ly drive your vehicle to a n author ized
Audi dealer or authorized repair facility to
have the malfunction corrected.
.&_ WARNING
- If the tire pressure indicato r appears in
th e ins trum ent cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significantly under
inflated . Reduce your speed immediately ..,_
It has always been Audi's policy to continu
ously improve its products . Audi, therefore,
reserves the right to make changes in design
and specifications, and to make additions or improvements in its products, without incur
ring any obligation to install them on prod
ucts previously manufactured.
Text, illustrations and specifications in this manual are based on the most up-to-date in
formation available at the time of printing.
All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or
translated in whole or in part without the written consent of AUDI AG. Specifications are
subject to change without notice.
Editorial deadline: 03/29/2013
@ For the sake of the environment
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
(bleached without chlorine, recyclable).
Printed in Germany
© 2013 AUDI AG