Monitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 132
C hild safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Installing a child safety seat . . . . . . . . 140
Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Vehicle operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 144
Notice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
E lect ronic Stabilization Control (ES C) . 144
B raking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Power steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Dry sump lub rication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Driving with your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 149
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Driving and environment . . . . . 153
Break- in period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 153
Driving through water on roads . . . . . 153
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Shutting down veh icle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Operation and maintenance . . . . . . . . 154
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 156
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
167
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Fuel tank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Eng ine compartment lid . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Eng ine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Eng ine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Table of contents 3
Battery ... .. .... ... .. .......... . 184
Windshield washer container
188
•
•
Tires and wheels ........... .. . 189
Tires ..... .. .... ... .. .......... .
189
Tire pressure monitoring system
206
Do-it-yourself service ........ . 210
What do I do now? ........... . 210
Tr unk escape handle ........... .. .
210
Vehicle tool kit . .. ............... .
210
Tire repair . .. .. .. ............... .
210
What should I be aware of when
h . t· 7 c
anging a rre . . .. .............. . 214
Jump-starting .. .. ... .. .. ... ..... . 217
Em ergency towing with commercial
tow truck ... .. .. .. . ............ . 219
Fuse s and bulbs ... ........... . 221
El ectr ical fuses . .. ............... . 221
Bulbs ..... .. .. .. .. .. ........... . 222
Technical data ..... ........... . 223
General information ......... . 223
Explanation of technical data ...... . 223
Vehicle identification ........... .. .
223
Weights .. .. .. .... .. ........... .
223
Dimens ions .. .. ...... ........... . 224
Data ..... .. .... .. . .. .......... . 225
430 hp, 4.2 liter 8-cyl. engine ...... .
225
525 hp, 5.2 liter 10-cyl. engine .... .
226
Con sumer Information ...... . 227
Warranty coverages .............. . 227
Operating your vehicle outside the
U .S.A . or Canada ... . .. .. ...... .. . 227
Audi Serv ice Repair Manuals and
literature ... .. .. .. . .. .. ..... ... . 227
Maintenance . .. .. ............... . 227
Additional accessories, modifications
and parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
8 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 Ove rv iew of t he inst ru m ent cluster
(D Eng ine o il temperatu re . . . . . . . 8
@ Ta ch ome ter w ith time an d date
d isplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 9
® Coolant temperature gauge . . . 9
© Fuel gauge............ .. .. . 10
® Speedometer with odometer . . 10
@ Vol tmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
(i) Se t/Check bu tton . . . . . . . . . . . 9
@ Driver information display . . . . 20
® I RESE T! bu tton for trip odome-
ter 10
The illumination for t he instrument cluster
lights up whenever you switch on the ignition
with the
vehicle headlights off . The gauges
a re a lso illumina ted when the lights a re
turned o n.
Engine oil temperature display
The engine oil temperature display ¢ page 8,
fig. 3 only operates w ith the ignition on. To
prevent engine damage, please obse rve the
following important points concerning the
temperature ranges.
Cold range
If the needle is at the bottom of the gauge,
t h e e ngine oil has not reac hed operat ing tem
perature yet . Avoid high eng ine speeds, full
t hr ottle applicat io ns and heavy eng ine loads .
Normal range
The eng ine has reached ope rating tempera
ture when the needle moves into the center of
the gauge under normal driv ing cond itions .
T he needle may move high er on the ga uge
with heavier e ngine lo ad at hig h outs ide tem
per atures. This is not a c ause for con cern as
lo ng a s th e . indic ator light in the disp lay
does not flash.
Warning light.
If the symbol . in the d isplay flashes, ei
t h e r th e engine oil te mpera ture is too high o r
t h e e ngine o il leve l is too low¢
page 178 .
If the needle is well in the uppe r area of the
gauge, the e ngine oil temperature is too h igh .
Stop the vehicle, switch the engine off and
allow it to cool.
I f th e war ning l igh t co mes on
again afte r driving a short d istance, co ntact
an a uth o rized Audi dea le r.
10 Instrum ents a nd warning /indic ato r li ghts
& WARNING
-Always observe the warning in
¢ page 172, Working in the engine
compartment
before open ing the engine
compartment lid and checking the en
gine coo lant level.
- Never open the engine compartment lid
if you see or hear steam, or if you see en
gine coo lant dr ipping from the eng ine
compartment. You could bur n yourse lf.
Let the engine coo l
off first until you can
no longer see or hear steam or coolant
escaping .
CD Note
- Mounting additional lights or ac cesso ries
in front of the air inlets reduces the cool
ing effect of the radiator . At high outside
temperatures or high engine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spoi ler has been designed to
proper ly distribute the cooling air when
the vehicle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, th is could reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over
heat. Ask your authorized Aud i dea le r fo r
ass istance.
Fuel gauge
The fuel ga uge works only when the ignition is
on. When the needle reaches the red area, the
warning light in the instrument cluster will i l
luminate ¢
page 18 lil]. Tim e to r efu el!
CD Note
Never run the tank completely d ry! An ir
regular supply of fue l can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter into the ex
haust system . The catalyt ic converter
co uld then overheat and be damaged. Speedometer with odometer
The
speedometer shows you the vehicle
speed, and the odometer shows you how
many miles (kilometers) you have driven.
1S3.9
miles S2YY
F ig . S Speedometer close-up: odometer display
The distance driven is shown in m iles (USA
models) or in kilometers (Canada mode ls) .
Lower odomet er
The lower odomete r shows the tota l number
of miles (kilometers) driven.
Upper odometer (trip odometer )
The upper odometer shows the total number of miles (kilometers) driven s ince you last re
set the odometer back to zero. You can use
t hi s odometer when you want to keep track of
how many m iles (kilometers) yo u have driven
f o r a si ngle tr ip or e rrand. The last dig it ind i
cates 1/10 of a mile (100 meters). Yo u can set
the trip odometer back to zero by pressing the reset button ¢
fig. 5.
With the ignit ion off, pushi ng of the Set/
Check button
~ page 8 , fig . 3 0 can turn on
the display fie ld lighting for a few seconds.
Malfunction message
If there is a malfunct ion somewhere in the in
strument cluster, dEF will appea r in the trip
odometer and w ill s tay on. Co ntact your au
thorized Audi dea ler to have the prob lem cor
rected .
Immobilizer
When the ignition is sw itched on, the data on
the ignition key are scanned automatic ally. .,..
12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
Engine oil pressure too low
¢page 14
Engine coolant level too low/
engine coolant temperature too high
¢page 15
Gearbox malfunction*
¢page 81
Yellow indic ator lights
Yellow symbols indicate a priority 2 malfunc
tion -Warning !
Convertib le top operation ./
¢page 15
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
.f ¢ page 15
Electronic Stab ilizat ion Control (ESC)
.f ¢ page 15
n USA models: anti-lock brake sys tem
~ (ABS) ./ defective ¢ page 16
Canada models : anti-lock brake sys
tem (ABS) ./defective ¢
page 16
Worn brake pads
¢page 17
Tire pressure too low
¢page 207
I Tire pressure monitoring system
11il~, 1 ¢
page206
~ Electronic power control./
~ ¢page17
l!'a USA models: Malfunction Indicator
Bil Lamp (MIL) ¢page 17
Can ad a mo dels: Ma lfunction Indica
tor Lamp (MIL)
¢ page 17
l"ill Engine speed limitation*
lill ¢page17
11111 Check engine oil leve l
lill ¢ page 17
-----
Engine oil sensor malfunction
, ¢page 18
•
Battery voltage too h igh or too low
¢page 18
Low fuel level
¢page 18
• Windshield washer fl
uid level low ¢ page 18
l:J
Defective light bulb
¢page 18
•
USA mod els: Defective brake light
¢ page 18
[ll
Canada models : Defective brake
light¢
page 18
tm
Light/rain sensor defective (automat-
ic headlights)* defective ¢
page 19
B
Audi magnetic ride
¢page 19
--
Ill
Rear spoiler./
¢page 19
•
USA mod els : Speed warning 1
¢page 72
-
•
Canada mod els : Speed warn ing 1
¢ page 72
•
USA model s: Speed warning 2
¢page 72
•
Canad a models : Speed warning 2
¢page 72
rm
Gearbox malfunction*
¢page81
Other indic ator lig ht s
II
II
Turn signals
¢page 19
USA mod els : Cruise control acti-
-
CRUISE
vated ¢ page 19 ll>
14 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
braking. Lock-up of the rear wheel brakes
can cause loss of vehicle control and an
accident. Have your vehicle repaired im
med iately by your authorized Audi dealer
or a qualified workshop. Drive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ion .
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the
parking brake is released, or lights up
wh ile you are driving, the fluid level in
the brake fluid rese rvoir is too low. If you
believe that it is safe to do so, proceed
immediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop and have the brake system inspect
ed.
- Always keep in m ind that afte r several
brake applicat ions, yo u will need greater
pressure on the brake peda l to stop your
vehicle. Do not re ly on stra ined brakes to
respond w ith maximum stopp ing power
in c ritical situations. You must a llow for
increased bra king distances. The extra
dis tance used up by fad ing br akes could
lead to an acc ident .
~/ !lr Safety systems
The I (USA models)/ . (Canada models) in
dicator light monitors the safety systems e.g .
airbags, pretensioners and i llum inates for a
few seconds each time you switch the ignition
on.
I f t he
I (USA models) • (Canada models)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi
nates wh ile you are dr iv ing, or if it starts to
bli nk, then there is a ma lfunction somewhere
in the system . If the light does not illuminate
when you sw itch on the ignit ion, this also
means there is a ma lfunction .
A WARNING
If you have a malfunction in the safety sys
t ems, cont act your author ized Audi dealer
immediate ly. Otherw ise the sa fety sys
tems may not wo rk p roperly in an acci
dent.
4 Safety belt warning light
Applies to vehicles: with safety belt warning light
The warning light is a reminder to fasten
safety belts .
The warning light . comes on for a few sec
onds after the ignition is sw itched on as a re
minder to fasten your safety belt .
Additional informat ion on safety belts
¢ page 103.
' 0 Generator '
This warning/indicator light detects a mal
function in the generator or in the vehicle 's
electrical system.
The . warning/indicator light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the eng ine has started.
If the . warning/indicator light illuminates
whi le you a re d riving, you shou ld contact yo ur
authorized Aud i dea ler. Since the vehicle bat
tery is discharging, you shou ld sw itch off any
unnecessary electr ica l consumers (for exam
ple, the air conditioner).
"l!:r. Engine oil pressure
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair .
If the . symbo l appears in the disp lay and
flashes, the o il pressure is too low . In add ition
to the symbol, the following message also ap
pears in the display:
Switch off engine! Oil pres sure is too low
.,. Pull off the road and stop the veh icle.
.. Shut the engine down.
.. Check the engine oil level¢
page 178 .
.. Contact your authorized A udi dealer for as-
sistance if necessary.
Engine oil level too low
If the engine oil leve l is too low, top off oil to
t h e proper level~
page 180 . 1J11>
Instruments and warning/indicator lights 15
Engine oil level OK
If
the . symbol st arts flash ing again even
though the engine oil leve l checks O K on the
d ipst ick,
do not start driving again and do
not let the engine run at idle .
Instead, con
tact your author ized Audi dealer for assis
tance.
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev
el. Do not rely on it. Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter
vals, preferably each time you refuel,
and always before going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
1\1 requires oil refill or workshop serv
ice without delay . Do not wait until the
red oil pre ssure warning symbol.
starts to flash before you respond to
the low oil level warning
11-By then,
your engine may already have suffered
serious damage.
- L Engine cooling system
A malfunction in the engine cooling system must be repaired as soon as possible .
When the. symbol in the disp lay fla shes,
then either the eng ine coo lan t
temperature is
too h igh, or the coo lant
level is too low. In ad
d ition to the symbol, t he fo llowi ng message
a ls o appears in the display:
Switch off engine and check coolant level
~ Pull off the road and stop th e vehicl e.
~T urnoff th e e ngine.
~ C heck coolan t leve l c:>page 182.
~ Add coolant if ne cessary c:> page 18 3.
~ Co ntinu e dr iving only after the eng ine coo l
ant war ning/ indicato r light goes o ut.
~ Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler for as-
s istance if necessary .
If the engine coolant level is co rrect, then the
radiato r fan may be t he cause of the malf unc
tion . I
f the generator warn ing/ indicato r light
sho uld also illum inate
c:> page 14, then the
fan belt may be damaged .
_& WARNING
- If you r vehicle should brea k down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance fro m moving traff ic , tu rn
off th e eng ine and tu rn on the haza rd
warn ing ligh ts
c:> page 48, Em ergen cy
fla sher.
-
- N ever op en the eng ine c omp artmen t lid
i f you see or he ar stea m or co olan t es
c a p ing from t he eng ine compar tment -
you risk being s ca lde d. Wa it unt il you can
no lo nger see o r hear s team or coolan t
escapin g.
- Th e engine compa rtment o f any vehi cle
is a dangerous area. Befo re you perform
a ny wo rk i n the engine com partment,
turn off the en gine and allow it to cool.
Follow t he war ning stickers
c:> page 172,
Working in th e engine compartment.
(D Note
Do not continue dr iv in g if the . symbo l
ill umina tes . There is a mal function in the
engine cooli ng system -you c ould damage
your engin e.
~ Convertible top operation
T he ind icator light tu rns o n II
- W hen the convert ib le top opens or closes or
- If the convert ible top did not open or close
comp letely .
T he ind ic a tor light blinks if the converti ble top
cannot open or close
c:> page 38.
;;,/ {); Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC)
If the G1 i ndicator lamp blinks while dr iv ing,
t h e ESC or ASR (Anti-Slip Reg ulat ion) is ac tive
ly reg ulati ng .
If the
DJ indicato r lamp ill uminates, the sys
tem has sw itched the ESC off. In th is case, you .,.
Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 17
the rear wheels could lock up first under
hard braking. Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci
dent . Have your vehicle repaired immed i
ately by your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Dr ive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ions.
(0 ) Worn brake pads
IJ Che ck brake pad s!
If the warn ing light illum inates, immediately
contact your author ized Audi dealer or quali
fied workshop to have all bra ke pads inspect
ed. O n USA models the wa rning lig ht
IJ
comes on togethe r wi th the warn ing light
1111 . Both sets of brake pads on an axle
must always be replaced at the same time .
& WARNING
Driving with bad brakes can cause a colli
sion and serious personal injury.
- If the wa rning light IJ and the warning
l ight
11111
) w ith the message B rake
pads !
comes on in the instrument cluster
display, immediately contact your au
thorized Aud i deale r or qualified work
shop to have all brake pads checked or replaced if necessary .
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control .
The~ warn ing/ indicator light (Electron ic
Power Control) illuminates when you switch
on the ignition as a function check .
(D) Tips
If this warning/indicator light ill uminates
while you are dr iving, then there is a mal
function in the engine electron ics . Have
the malfunction co rrected as soon as pos
sible by you r authorized Aud i dea le r or
qualified workshop.
1) - : USA mod els on ly
-
~ Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
T he Ma lfunction Indi cato r Lamp ( MIL) is pa rt
of the On-Board Diagnos tic (OBD II) system .
T he symbo l
fl lights up when the ign ition is
turned on and will turn off after the eng ine
has started and has settled at constant id le
speed . This indicates that the MIL is work ing
properly.
T he warning lig ht ill uminates when there is a
malfunction in the engine electronic system .
Contact your a uthori zed Aud i dea ler and have
the malfunction corrected.
An improperly clo sed fuel filler cap may al so
cause the MIL l ight to illum inate
¢ page 169.
For more information ¢ page 26 .
!7, Engine speed limitation
Ma ximum 6000 RPM
T he eng ine speed is automatically limited to
6 000 RP M. T his pro tects the engine fr om
overheating .
T he eng ine speed limitation
lll deact ivates
once the eng ine is no longe r in t he cr itica l
tempe rature range and you have released the
acce le rator pedal once.
(D Tips
When co ld, the engine speed is l imited to
6000 R PM (w ith the
VlO engine) or
7000 R PM (with the VB engine) to p rotect
the engine. The limit is deactivated once
the oil temperature r ises above 140 °F
(60 °C) and the engine is at operating tem
perature .
~ .. Checking the engine oil level
II Please add ma x. 1 qt of engine oil!
If the II symbo l comes on, add 1 quart (1 li
ter) of oil at the next opportunity
¢ page 180.
18 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
't':r.,. Engine oil sensor defective
If the Ill symbo l illuminates, contact your
author ized Audi dealer and have the oil sensor
inspected .
0 Battery voltage low
(•) Low batter y ch arg e: batt ery wi ll be
charged while dri ving
If the indicator light turns on and t he mes
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ability.
I f th is message turns off after a litt le wh ile,
the battery cha rged enough wh ile driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
author ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop
correct the malfunction.
~ Fuel supply too low
When the~ symbo l illuminates, this means
there are about 2 .6 gallons (10 liters) of fue l
l eft in the fuel tank. Time to refuel!
c::> page 168.
If the symbol lights up, even when the re is
ample fuel in the tank, and the text
Tank sys
tem m alfunct ion! Plea se cont act workshop
appears in the display, there is a fault in the
system. Contact a qualified workshop to have
the fault rectified.
<;:> Windshield washer fluid level too
low
If the -· "ymbol illum inates, add w indshield
washer f luid to the washer system
c::> page 188.
~ Defective light bulb warning
The defective light bulb warning tells you
when a vehicle light bulb has become defec tive .
If a defect ive b ulb has been detected by the
sys tem or a ligh t bu lb burns out , the
l',sl sym
bol with a message appears in the disp lay to te
ll yo u which bulb is burnt out and where it is
located. For example:
Rear left turn sign al
After 5 seconds, the message disappears . If
you want to reca ll the message into the dis
play, p ress the CH ECK button
c::> page 8, fig. 3
(J).
The re are three reasons why the defective
bulb message would appear in the disp lay:
- The light bulb has burnt out
c::>page 222.
-The fuse is "blown" c::> page 221, Replacing
fuses.
- The wire connection to the light bulb is de-
fective.
Have the bulb replaced or the connection re
paired by your authorized Audi Service depart
ment.
A WARNING
-- Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex- plode wh ile they are being changed caus
ing serious personal injury.
- Work with due care when handling the
high-vo ltage sect ion of gas discharge
(xenon) lamps. Fa iling to do so could re
sult in death or serious injury!
BRAKE LIGHT t<@> Brake light defective
In case of a ma lfunction or component fail-
u re, the symbo l (USA models)/
¢@ )
repaired or rep laced, as necessary:
- Brake light bulbs
- All wir ing connections
- Brake light switch
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler for assis
tance if necessary.
(D Tips
The brake light sw itch is on ly inspected as
part of the functional check after the en
gine is started.