
th e brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too ofte n. This cou ld cause the
brakes t o get hot and dimi nish b raking
efficiency .
- Do not "r ide t he b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do n ot intend
t o brake . Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certa in climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing through wa
ter, driving i n heavy rai n or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effe ct iveness of the
brakes can be re duced. In winter, ice can
acc umulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat
ings will be cleaned off after a few care
ful brake app lications.
- Driv ing for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads w ithout using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads w ith a few caref ul
brake applicat io ns.
- If you damage the front spo iler, or if you
install a diff ere nt spoiler, be sure the air
flow to t he front b ra kes is not obstr uct
ed . Otherwise the br ake sys tem co uld
overheat red ucing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake sys tem.
- F ailure of one br ake circui t will im pair
the brakin g capability res ulting in an in
creased stop ping distance . Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to t he near
est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not work ing, the
brake pedal must be pressed considera
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Int ellig ent technolog y 191
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
t he driver when steering.
Power steer ing adap ts electronically based on
t he ve hicl e spee d.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defect ive! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and t his message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or a qualified repair facility for as
s istance.
':rij Dynamic steering: Sy stem fault! You can
continue dr iving
If the indic ator ligh t turns on and the mes
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi
cu lt to move o r more sensitive tha n usual. The
steering wheel may a lso be at an ang le when
driv ing straight.
Drive slowly to your a uth orized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lf u nction
corrected.
(;rij Dynamic ste ering : initializing
If this drive r message appea rs and the indica
tor light is flas hing on the instrument panel,
dynam ic steer ing* i s being rein itia lized. After
sta rting the engine, the stee ring w heel will
move s light ly . Re- initializa tion might be nec
essary if the stee ring wheel was moved hard
to the left and right whi le the vehicle was not
moving. The display goes out as soon as initi
alization is complete .
A WARNING
-Have the dy namic stee ring* system mal
f u nction repa ired as soon as possible by an
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop - risk of acc ident!
-
•
•

196 Driving and en vironm ent
8_ WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc ., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads . Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re
store the full braking effect.
(D Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
@ Tips
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv
i ng through it .
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switc h the engine off when driving
t hr ough water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep fo r you r vehi
cle to dr ive through safely.
-
- Avoid dr iving thro ugh salt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con
trol system (catalytic conv ert er) is function
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run
ning in on env ironm entally sound manner.
,,. Always use lead-free gaso line Q page 209,
Fuel supply .
,,. Never run the tank down a ll th e way to emp
ty.
,,. Never put too much moto r oil in your engine
Q page 219, "t':::r. Adding engine oil .
,,. Never try to push -or tow -start your ve hicle .
T he cata lytic converter is an eff ic ient "clean
up" device built in to the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The catalytic converter burns
many of the polluta nts in the exhaust gas be
fore they are released into the atmosphe re . The exclus
ive use of unleaded f uel is critica lly
important for the life of the catalytic conv ert
er and p roper funct ion ing of the eng ine .
A WARNING
=
-The temperature of the exhaust system
is high, both when driving and after stop
p ing the eng ine .
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once
they have become hot. This could result
in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle i n
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in co ntact with dry grass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire .
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
r u stp roofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, cataly tic con
ver ter or he at s hields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used fo r undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
CI) Note
- Be aware tha t just o ne tank filling with
leaded fu el w ill alre ady ser io usly de
grade the performance of the cata lytic
converter .
- Do not exceed the cor rect engine oil level
Q poge 219.
-Do not drive until the fuel t ank becomes
comple tely empty . The engine cou ld mis
fire . Unburned fuel could also get into
the exhaust system and th is co uld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignition while the ve
hicle is mov ing.
- Do not contin ue to ope rate your veh icle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalyt ic converter. Th is
co uld result in overheating of the con
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis -
sion Control System: .,..

198 Driving and en vironm ent
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up
fuel .
.,. Shut the engine off when you are not dr iving
the vehicle.
.,. Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the
engine run at idle .
It makes sense to shut
off the engine in traffic
jams, when waiting for trains to pass at ra il
road crossings, or at traff ic lights that have
l ong wa its on red . Turning the engine
off fo r
just 30-40 seconds saves more fue l than is
burned s tarti ng the eng ine again .
It takes a long time for the engine to warm up
fu lly when it is running at idle . Howeve r, wear
and nox ious em issions are especially high
when the engine is warming up. So you should
drive away as soon as you start the engine and
avoid running at high rpms while the engine is
still warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended af
ter starting . If warning lights shou ld come
on to indicate improper operation, they
wou ld go unheeded. Extended idling also
produces heat, which cou ld result in over
heating or other damage to the vehicle or
other property .
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a
lot of fuel .
... Have your vehicle serviced at regular inter-
vals.
By having your vehicle regularly serviced by an
authorized Audi dealer he lps to ensure that it
runs properly and economically . The condition
of your vehicle not only affects its safety and
ab ility to hold its value, it also affects
fuel
consumpt ion .
Check you r oil ea ch time you fill you r tank.
The amount o f oi l used is re lated to engine
load and speed.
It i s normal fo r the oil consump tion of a new
engine to reach its lowest value after a certa in
mileage has been d riven.
You must drive your veh icle about 3,000 m iles
(S,000 kilometers) before you can properly
assess oil consumpt ion.
T his also app lies to fue l consumption and en
gine o utput.
(D Note
- Have your veh icle ma inta ined properly
and in acco rdance with the service rec
ommendations in your Wa rranty
& Main
t enance boo klet . Lack of p roper ma inte
nance as well as improper use of the ve
hicle will impair the function of the
emission contro l system and cou ld lead
to damage.
- Do not alter or remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap
proved by the manufacturer.
-Do not alter or remove any device, such
as heat sh ie lds, switches, ign it ion w ires,
valves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emission Control System and other important vehicle compo
nents.
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips .
.,. Try to avoid dr iv ing short distances w ith a
cold engine .
T he engine and cata lytic converter have to
reach their opt imal
operat ing temperature to
reduce fuel consumpt ion and nox ious emis
s ions effectively .
Just after starting, a co ld eng ine in a mid-s ize
car only achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 m iles
per gallon (30-40 l/100 km). After about a
half a mile, fuel economy cl imbs to 12 mpg
(20 l/100 km) . After about
2 .5 miles (4 km), ll>

210 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
especially well for winter or summer driving. During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stations where the sea
sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time.
CD Note
- Fuels containing a high percentage of
ethanol such as ESO and E85 may only be used in vehicles with flexible fuel en
gines. Using high ethanol fuel in vehicles not equipped with flexible fuel engines
can cause severe engine damage.
- 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 fuels that fail to meet the
specified criteria in this chapter .
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fuel blend meets the
specifications, ask your service station or
its fuel supplier.
- 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
lems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Ethanol fuel (Bio -ethanol)
App lies to vehicles: with flexible fuel e ngi ne
You con recognize vehicles with a flexible fuel
engine by looking at the label on the inside of the fuel filler flap.
Vehicles with flexible fuel engines may be op
erated with bio-ethanol fuels such as E85 (8S% ethanol and
15% gasoline) or with un
leaded gasoline (91 AKI/ROZ 95). The vehicle
may also be operated with a mixture of these
fuels.
Your fuel consumption will increase when us
ing bio-ethanol fuels due to the lower amount
of energy contained per unit volume in etha
nol.
Warming up the flexible fuel engine in low temperatures
Due to the chemical composition of bio-etha
nol, a certain amount of fuel ends up in the
engine oil when driving short distances in very
low temperatures . This fuel evaporates again
when the engine is warmed up.
II Please warm up engine.
If the driver message appears in the instru
ment cluster display, drive with a warm en
gine to reduce the oil level.
CD Note
- Never fill with methanol or with a higher
percentage of bio-ethanol than 85%
(E85). A higher percentage of bio-etha
nol in the fuel can cause damage to the
engine or to the fuel system.
- If you use only E85, it is recommended
to fill the fuel tank completely with un
leaded premium grade gasoline every
5,000 miles.
- If you experience starting, rough idle or
hesitation driveability problems, fill the
fuel tank completely with unleaded pre mium grade gasoline and drive it nor
mally until the gasoline is used. See your
authorized Audi dealer if the problem
persists.
- Inform your authorized Audi dealer that
you are operating or have operated the
vehicle with E85.
- Read and follow the information and tips
about gasoline
c::> page 209. .,.

-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 ca re
fully opening the hood .
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment.
- Never spill flu ids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The aux ili
ary e lectr ic fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the eng ine is still warm . The cool
ant system is pressur ized and hot coo l
ant could spray out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot eng ine coolant by placing a
thic k rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any c ircumstances. Th is increases the
risk of bu rns.
- If wo rk on the fuel system or the electri
cal sys tem is ne cessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames . Fluids in the engine com
partment co uld start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately ava ilable.
- To avoid electrical s hock and persona l in
jury while the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repa ir
with the engine running:
- Fir st, fully apply the parking brake,
move se lector lever of a utomatic trans-
Checkin g and fillin g 215
mission to "P" (Park); put manual
transmission in Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewe lry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-be lts
or other moving parts, or from contact i ng hot parts . Tie back hair before
starting, and do not wear clothing that
will hang o r droop into the engine .
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&. .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its const ituents,
a nd certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
Ca lifornia to cause cance r and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition, certain fl uids contained in veh icles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemica ls known to the
State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories conta in lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive harms. Wash hands afte r handling.
Q) Note
When adding f lu ids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper conta iner
or f iller opening, otherwise serious dam
age to vehicle systems w ill occur .
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regular ly . If
you see spots from oil or other veh icle flu
i ds, have your vehicle inspected by an au
thorized Audi dealer. •
•

216 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 182 Typical layout for containers and eng ine o il filler cap
(D Eng ine o il filler cap ("1::::r.) . . . . . 219
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. .... ... ....... .... ..
227,267
@ Bra ke fluid reservo ir (0)) . . . . . 224
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) . . . 222
® Jump start point(-) with hex
head sc rew ..... .......... ..
227, 267
® W indshield/headlight* washer
. (" ') container o ....... . ... .. . 228
The pos ition o f the engine o il fi lling hole
¢ fig . 182 (item @) can differ depending on
the eng ine design.
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢.&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 214.
-
Engine oil
· Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
The eng ine in your Audi is a sophist icated
power plant that was b uilt to exacting specifi
cations . Th is engine needs the right k ind of
engi ne oil that meets specifica tions regard ing
quality a nd v iscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the rig ht o il
and changing oil within the t ime and mile age
i n tervals prin ted in you r vehicle's Warr anty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to
day tha n it did years ago . Aud i 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 lubr ication it needs for proper opera-
t ion . ..,_

Modern eng ine lubrication has taken a quan
tum leap in the last few years . Many synt hetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu
brication that can outlast traditional pet role
um-based o ils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life o f your Audi .
W hether you use synthetic or petroleum
based engine oil, the oil that you use must
c o nform to Audi's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to help keep your vehicle's engine running smoothly and help prevent the for
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"sludge", that ove r time can lead to expensive
r epairs .
At the time of pri nting, engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oi l standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils. This does not mean, h owever, that every synthetic engine oil w ill
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oi l.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de
posits use only oi l with the fo llowing spec ifi
cations printed on the oil container:
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il conta iner labels may carry the specif ica
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion w ith other des ig
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Viscosity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis
cosity. The proper v iscosity grade oi l for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con
d itions where you dr ive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SAE SW40 across all tem
pe rature ranges for normal d riving conditions .
However, if eng ine oi l viscosity grade SAE
SW40 is not avai lab le, you can also use viscos
ity 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 st rongly recomme nd
that you always carry with you a n ext ra quart
Checkin g and fillin g 217
(li ter) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 specification, in case you have to
top
off the o il while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is at or be low the
minimum mark -and no oi l that expressly
confo rms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
spec ifications is available -may you top
off
with a h igh quality engine o il, preferab ly syn
thet ic-based, that meets ACEA A3 or API SM
specifications, but even then, only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40, SA E SW-30, o r SAE
OW-40. However, dur ing the entire time be
tween o il cha nge inte rva ls, never top
off with
more than a tota l of 0. 5 q t/liter engine o il
that does not con form to A udi oil specification
vw 502 00.
Fo r more information about eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, ple ase
contac t either yo ur a uthorized Aud i dea le r or
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1 (800) 822 -2834
or visit our 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 etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
vw 502 00.
Changing the engine oil
T he eng ine oi l and o il f ilter m ust be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified i n your vehicle's War
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these interva ls - harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs.
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter
vals is so very important beca use the lubricat
ing propert ies of oil decrease gradually during
norma l veh icle use . If you a re not sure when
you have your o il cha nged, ask your author
ized Audi Se rv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld eve n be changed more frequent ly.
Change oil more often if you dr ive most ly
sho rt distances, operate the veh icle in dusty
areas o r most ly under stop-and-go traff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..
•
•

218 Checking and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for long periods.
Detergent additives in the oil w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfun ctions due to lack of
maintenance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, all in
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certain
amount of oil. O il consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 195) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the oxida
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With all these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
Ill in the instrument cluster lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 219. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 219.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 214.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref erably each time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impression your engine
consumes excessive amounts of oil, we
recommend that you consult an author
ized Audi dealer to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in
m ind that the accurate measurement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Aud i
dea ler has instructions about how to
measure oil consumption accurately.
-