Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
too high, or the coolant level is too low
¢ page 32.
If the needle is well in the upper area of the
ga uge , the coolant temperature is too high.
Stop the vehicle , switch the eng ine off and
allow the engine to cool.
If the warning light
comes on again after driving a short distance,
contact an authorized dealer.
A WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
¢
page 257, 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 bu rn yourself. Let the engine
cool off first until you can no longer see
or hear steam or coolant escaping.
0 Note
- Mount ing additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool
i ng effect of the radiator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load , the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over heat. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
The tachometer @¢ page 10, fig. 3 is the left
of the two large clock-type displays.
The engine turns at a speed 1,000
times the
single digit in the display, e.g . if the needle is
pointing at the "2" the engine is turning at
2,000 RPM.
If engine RPM drops be low 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area at
the end of the scale indicates maximum
permissible 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.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should not move
into the red range. If it does, then only for
a very short per iod of t i me. You could
damage your engine by driving at high RPM .
@) For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en
gine noise .
Digital clock with date display
Fig. 4 In st ru m en t cluster : time a nd da te
The date, time of day, and time and date for
mat can be set in the MMI. You can learn more
about this in the MMI manual.
(D Tips
-When open the driver door, the time,
date and odometer are disp layed for an
add itional 30 seconds.
- You can also call up the display with the
!CHECK I button q page 12 while the ig
nition is switched off.
Checking and fillin g 259
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check .
Fig. 2 41 Typ ical layout for conta iners, e ngin e oi l dipst ick and engine oi l fille r cap
(D Windshield/headlight washer
t .
(~) con ainer ,.,., ....... ... .. .. .
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) .. .
®
@
®
®
(f)
Eng ine oi l filler cap ("1:::r.) ..... •
Engine oi l dipstick .. .... .... .
Brake fluid reservo ir
(0)) ..... .
Power stee ring reservoir ... .. .
Jump start connector(+) under 272
265
263
262
267
228
a cover, (-) with hex head screw 270, 307
The pos ition of the engine o il filling hole and
the eng ine oil dipstick¢
fig. 241 (position @
and @) can
vary according to the type of en
g ine.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARN INGS ¢.&.
in Working in the engine
compartment on page 257.
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 spec ifi
cations . Th is eng ine needs the right k ind of
engine oil that meets specifications regardi ng
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the right o il
and changing oil within the time and mileage
intervals printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to
day than it did years ago . Audi has deve loped
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine w ill
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
IIJ>,
26 6 Ch eck ing and filling
Coolant lo ss
Coolant loss may indicate a l ea k in t he cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
I n a
se ale d system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant 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 following these
steps .
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter -clockwise direction wh ile ap
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avoid being burned, do not spill ant i
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot eng ine parts. Under certain condi
t ions, the ethy lene g lycol in engine cool
an t can ca tch f ire.
0 Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal
ant to your vehicle's eng ine coolant. Add
ing radiato r repair fluid may adve rsely af
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could res ult in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anything i n the engine com
pa rtmen t,
a lwa ys rea d and h eed all WARN
INGS c:::> A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 257.
.. Tu rn off the engine .
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coo lant expansion
tank
c> page 265 , fig. 245 and car efully
twist the cap counter-clockwise c> ,&. .
.. Add coo lant m ixed in the correct rat io
c:::> page 264, Coolant.
.. Twist the cap on again tightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions
c> page 264, Coolant.
We recommend using only coo lant additive
G12 ++, G13 or in an emergency G12 +. Do
not
use a different add itive. In an emergency use
plain water until you can get the correct addi
t ive and can restore the correct ratio . This
shou ld be done as soon as poss ib le.
If you have lost a considerable amount of
coolant, then you should add cold ant ifreeze
and co ld water only when the eng ine is cold .
Always use
new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fi ll coolant above the "MAX" mark. Ex
cess coolant will be forc ed out through the
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by following
these steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap s low ly and very carefully
in a counter-clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill an
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
cond it ions, the ethylene g lycol in en
gine coolant can catch fire .
274 T ire s and wheel s
-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden t ire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam
age.
(D Note
Please note that summer and winter tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic tra nsmission, power steer ing,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that th ese
items are availab le as factory -installed equip
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio of the he ight to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re
sponse and better overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire . typ
ica l in those seasons . Audi recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
decrease the e lasticity of summer tires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer tires are used in very co ld tem
peratures, cracks ca n form on the tread
bars, res ulting in permanent tire damage
that can cause loud driving no ise and un
balan ced t ires. Audi is not responsible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire p ressu re recommended by t he
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire of a des igna ted
s iz e that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
t h e three hour period before the tire pressure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicl e w ith
standard equipment including the max imum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
me ans a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
responding standard tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l" , "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the lo ad -c a rry ing c apac ity of a s ingle
axle system , measured a t the tire-ground in
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicl e. .,.
284 Tires and wheels
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must always have tires
of the same size , construction and tread type.
For details see Qpage 228.
~ WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con
trol, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage , such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires .
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you a re not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 253 Tir e specificat ion c odes on t he s idewall o f a
t ire
No. Description
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
(J) U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and materials
used
@ Maximum load rat ing
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
T he tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle 's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major .,..