
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 189
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
JjJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by usin g the driver 's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti- lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys -
tem, anti-slip regu lation (ASR), electronic
Ill>
•
•

-Blend must contain not more than 15%
MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
espec ially we ll for winter or summer driving.
During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stat ions where the sea
sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time .
(D Note
-Methanol fuels which do not meet these
requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo
nents in the fuel system .
- Do not use fue ls that fail to meet the
specified criter ia in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fue l blend meets the
specifications, ask your service station or
its fuel supp lier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents
cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the responsibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy
or driveability and performance prob l ems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac
turers is carbon deposit build- up caused by
the type of gasoline you use.
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another , they have certain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain
substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline brands include additives to keep engine and
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 209
fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec
tive .
A udi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline. For more info rmation on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended period of using inadeq uate
fuels, carbon deposit build-ups can rob your
engine of peak performance.
Q) Note
Damage or malf unct ion due to poor fue l
quality is not covered by the Aud i New Ve
hicle Limited Warranty.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
side panel behind the fuel fille r flap.
If the power locking system should fail, you
can still open the flap manually -for deta iled
instruct ions see
c::;, page 211 .
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve
hicle in
c::;,page271.
The label on the inside of the fuel fi ller flap
tells you the correct fue l for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see
c::;, page 208.
Your vehicle fue l tank has an on board refuel
li ng vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and polluting the environment while you refuel your vehicle . In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please fo llow this refueling procedure careful
ly.
_&. WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport f uel can be dangero us. Such con
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collision. If you must
•
•

216 Check ing and filling
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 traditional petrole
um-based oils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum
based engine oil, the oil that you use must
conform to Audi 's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to he lp keep your vehicle's engine
running smoothly and help prevent the for
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"s ludge ," that ove r time can lead to expensive
repairs .
At the time of pr int ing , engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifi cations of A udi oi l standard VW 502 00
a re synthetic engine oils. This does not mean,
however, that every syn thetic engine oi l wi ll
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oil.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de
posi ts use only oi l with the fo llow ing specifi
cations printed on the oil container :
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il container labe ls may carry the specif ica
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion with other des ig
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Viscosity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis
cosity. The proper viscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con
d itions where you drive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SA E SW40 across all tem
pe ratu re ranges for normal driving conditions .
However, if eng ine o il viscos ity grade
SAE SW40 is no t ava ilable, you can a lso use
viscosity grade SAE SW-30 or SAE OW -40 as
long as it meets Audi o il quality standard
VW 502 00 specifications .
Because engine oil that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be available everywhere
when you need it, we strongly recommend
that you always carry with you an ext ra quart (
li te r) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 spec ification, in case you have to
top
off the oil while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is a t or be low the
min imum mark on the o il dipstick - and no oi l
that expressly conforms to Aud i oi l standard
VW 502 00 spec ificat ions is ava ilable -may
you top
off with a high quality engine oi l, pref
erably syn thet ic-based, that meets ACEA A3
or AP I SM spec ificat ions, but even then, only
in v iscosity grades SAE SW-40, SAE SW-30, o r
SAE OW- 40. However, during the ent ire time
be twee n oil change intervals, never top
off
with more than a total of 0.5 q t/lite r engine
o il that does no t conform to Audi o il specifica
tion VW 502 00.
For more informa tion about eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, ple ase
contac t either yo ur authorized Aud i deale r or
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1 (800) 82 2-2834
or visit o ur web site at www .audiusa.com or
www.aud icanada .ca. Here you w ill also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names e tc.) tha t conform to Audi oil s tanda rd
vw 502 00 .
Changing the engine oil
The eng ine oi l and oil fi lter m ust be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified in your ve hicle's War
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil ca n reduce eng ine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repa irs .
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter
vals is so very important because the lubricat ing proper ties of oil decrease gradually during
norma l veh icle use . If you are not sure when
you have your oil changed, ask your author ized Audi Serv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld even be cha nged more frequent ly .
Change oil more often if you drive mostly
sho rt distances, operate the ve hicle in dusty
areas o r most ly unde r stop-and-go t raff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..

temperatures stay below freezing point for l ong periods.
Detergent add itives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning fo r a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am ag e or m alfun ction s due to lack of
ma intenanc e
It is essential that you change your oil at the
r ecommended inte rva ls using only engine o il
t hat complies wi th A udi oi l standard
VW 502 00 . Your Limited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
d ue to fa ilure to fo llow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manua l and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage u nless you present to
the dea ler p roof in the fo rm of Serv ice or Re
pa ir Orde rs that all s chedu led maintenance
wa s pe rformed in a t imely manner .
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle dep ends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In o rder to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of i nternal engine components, a ll in
ternal comb ustion eng ines consume a cert ain
amo unt of o il. Oil cons umption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typ ica lly, engines
with a specified break-in per iod (see
¢
page 198) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized .
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con
sumpt ion depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the amb ient
temperature and road condit ions. Furthe r fac
tors ar e the amount of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is s ubje ct to
Checkin g and fillin g 217
wear as m ileage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
Wi th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumpt ion can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
II li ghts up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 218. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
¢ page 218.
A WARNING
Before you c heck anythi ng i n the engine
com partment, always read a nd heed all
WARNINGS¢ .&.
in Working in th e engine
c ompartment on page 213.
(D Note
D riving w ith an insufficient o il level is like
ly to cause sever e damage to the engine .
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil le vel. Do not
rely on it . Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regu lar intervals, pref
erably ea ch time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression yo ur engi ne
c ons umes ex ce ss ive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consul t your Au di
de aler to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed . Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of o il con
sumption requires great care and may
take some t ime. Y our Audi dea ler has in
struct ions about how to measure oil con
sumption accurately.
-
•
•

and adve rsely affect you r New V ehicle
Wa rrant y.
@) For the sake of the environment
-Under no ci rc u mstances can the o il come
in contact with the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow lega l regu lations
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,
a lways rea d and he ed all WARN
INGS
~ &. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 213.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance book let. This is very important
because the lubricating properties of oil di
minish gradually during normal vehicle use.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
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
tures remain below freezing for extended pe
riods.
Detergent additives in the oil w ill make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run
n ing for a short time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposa l,
along with the special tools and necessary ex
pertise required, we strongly recommend that
you have your oi l changed by an authorized
Au di de ale r or a qual ified servi ce station.
If y ou c hoose to c ha ng e y our o il yo urse lf,
please note the following important informa
tion :
Checkin g and fillin g 219
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 o il dra in p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help p revent hot oil from run
ning 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 oi l in
your eng ine .
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well out
of the reach of children.
- Continuous contact wit h used eng ine o il
is harmful to your s kin. A lways protect
your skin by washing oil off tho ro ughly
with soap and water.
@ Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en
g ine and adversely affec t your Aud i Lim it
ed New Vehicle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil, first make su re
you know where you can properly dispose
o f the used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oi l proper
ly. Do not dump it on garden soil, wood
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage drains .
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collect ion facility in your
area, or contact a service station.
•
•

Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always r ead and heed all W ARN
ING S ~ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 213.
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 192, ~ page 215,
fig . 188.
The brake fluid level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fl uid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 215.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on
~ page 14. Do not con
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali
f ied fac ility and the cause corrected . If the
b rake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
hi gh, cor rosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerab ly and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two ye ars. A lways use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r ca n be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that yo u
h ave the brake fl uid changed by you r autho r
i zed
Audi de aler . Your dea le r has the correct
Checkin g and fillin g 223
tools, the right brake fl uid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only b rake fluid tha t meets SA E
spe cificat ion
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicl e Standard
116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of
brake f luid is also ind icated on the
brake f luid reservoir .
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes ca n cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long. This can se riously affect the effi
c iency of the b rakes as well as your
safety , T his could result in an accident.
(!) Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
r ecommend that you have th e brake flu id
changed by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operating cond itions, the bat
tery in your Audi does not need any ma inte
nance . With
high outside temperatu res or
lo ng da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by a se rv ice fa
c il ity. The ele ctroly te leve l should also be
chec ked each t ime the battery is cha rged
~ page 226 . Iii>
•
•

-Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing. Shield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Sulfu
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open
ings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg -
ative cables .
= When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca ble .
- Before performing any work on the elec
trical system, switch off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected . If you are just go
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other
wise you will set off the alarm.
Checking and filling 225
-When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable . Never inter
change the cables -this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery . It could explode! If a battery has
frozen , then it must be replaced . A dis
charged battery can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 °C) .
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach
ed to the opening on the side of the bat
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al
ways replace a damaged battery.
&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive problems. Wash hands after han dling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en gine is running, otherwise, you will dam
age electronic components in the e lectri
cal system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
- When opening the doors, the windows
lower approximately 10 mm automati
cally . This function is not available when
the battery is disconnected, which
means there is a risk that the door sea l
or the window could be damaged.
•
•

CD Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc., as well
as the battery charger .
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery .
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle is respons ible for distributing the electri
cal energy throughout your vehicle
c::> page 195. The intelligent energy manage
ment system w ill keep the engine battery
charged bette r than vehicles w ithout t his sys
tem. To make sure the additional electr ica l en
ergy is available 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 energy management system to enable you
to use the energy management functions cor
rectly after replac ing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, const ruct ion
and p lug sealing.
When installing the battery, make sure the ig
n ition and all electr ical consumers are sw itch
ed off .
CD Note
Make sure the ventilation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Aud i dealer change the battery for
you . Batteries contain su lfuric ac id and
Checkin g and fillin g 22 7
lead and must always be disposed o f prop
erly in compliance with a ll environmental
regulations. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dangerous to the envi
ronment .
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
Fig. 194 Engine compart ment: cover on th e windshield
and headl ig ht* washer fluid reservo ir
The washer fluid conta iner is marked w ith the
symbol~ on its cap
c::> fig. 194, c::>page 215,
fig. 188.
.,. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS c::> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 213.
.. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu
id. You can f ill the container to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the fi ller neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservoir
capacity in the table
in
c::> page 271.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. Always add a g lass cleaner solu
tion (with frost protection in the winter).
([) Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind
shield washer reservoir .
•
•