
@ For the sake of the environment
-Before changing your oil, first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always dispose of used engine oil proper
l y. Do not dump it on garden soi l, wood
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in your
area, or contact a service station .
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sea led and generally re
q uir es lit tle atten tion .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac
tory with a pe rmanent coo lant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture o f spec ial ly conditioned water and the
manuf acturer 's glyco l-based cool ant ad di-
tiv e G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els) . This mixture both assures the neces
sary frost protection and p rotect s metal com
ponents in the engine's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil
i ng point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration o f the coo l
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add it ive must be at
l e a st 50 % but not mor e than 60 %
to main
tain antifreeze protection and coo ling efficien
cy .
If the coolant frost protect io n is too low,
the coolant cou ld free ze and dam age the veh i
cle heating and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for tempera tures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada.
Checkin g and fillin g 231
If you must add coo lant, use a mixture of wa
ter and coolant additive . Mix ing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
_& WARNING
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
c> .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 224.
Q) Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli mate condi tions. This is especi ally impor
tan t if you live i n a region wher e th e win
ter is ex treme ly co ld. If necessary, i n
crease t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60% .
- Whe n ad ding coolant additive t o yo ur
c ooling sys tem, reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad
d itive G12++ or G13 (check the labe l)
fo r your vehicle . This coolant additive is
ava ilable at autho rized Aud i dea le rs .
Ot he r ty pes of antifree ze can sign ifi
cantly reduce corros io n protection. The
r es ult ing co rrosion can ca use a loss of
coolan t and serious e ng ine damage.
- Do not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal
a nt to yo ur vehicle 's engine c oolant .
A dd ing radia tor repair fl uid may adverse
ly affect the f unction and pe rformance of
your cooling system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by your New Ve hicle
L imited Warranty.
-
•
•

232 Check ing and filling
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig . 191 Eng ine compartment: cover on the coolant
expa nsion tank
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
a lwa ys re ad and h eed a ll WA RN
INGS o .A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 224 .
., Park your vehicle on a level surface.
., Switch
off the ignit io n.
., Read the eng ine coolant level from the cool
ant expans ion tank
o fig . 191, o page 226,
fig. 188. With a cold eng ine, the coolant
level should be between the "min" and
"max" markings. When the engine is warm,
the leve l may be slightly above the "max"
marking.
The location of the coolant exp ans ion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus
tration
o page 226.
To obtain an accurate read ing, the engine
must be switched
off.
The expans ion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor .
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System
o page 17 will
illum inate unt il you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level senso r, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cool ing
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool- ing system shou
ld be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dea ler . It is not
enough mere ly to add coolant .
In a
sea le d system, losses can occur on ly if
the boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as
a resu lt of overheating.
A WARNING
-The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot . Red uce the risk of scald
i ng from hot coolant by fo llow ing these
steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping flu id and steam by covering the
cap with a large, th ick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise d irect ion while ap
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot engine parts . Under certa in cond i
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool
ant can catch fire.
0 Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal
ant to your veh icle's engine coolant . Add
i ng radiator repa ir fluid may adverse ly af
fe ct the funct io n and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant .
Befo re you check anyth ing in the eng ine com
partment ,
alway s re ad and h eed all WARN
IN GS o .A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 224.
., Tu rn
off the engi ne.
., Let the eng ine cool down.

234 Checking and filling
continue to run until the coolant temper
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 192 Engine compartment : cove r on the brake fl uid
reservo ir
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ~ .&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 224.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir~
fig. 192 , ~ page 226,
fig.
188. The brake fluid leve l must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings .
The location of the brake flu id reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustrat ion
~ page 226.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads . Th is is not cause for alarm.
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably be
lo w the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi
cator light
1111 (U.S. models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on~
page 15. Do not con
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali
fied facility and the ca use corrected. If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au
thorized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the
brake fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking pe rformance .
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years. Always use new brake flu id
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FM VSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be diff icult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author
ized
Audi dealer . Your dealer has the correct
tools, 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 in the closed original container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SA E
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federal 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 flui d is also ind icated on the
brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
long. This can seriously affect the effi
c ie ncy of the brakes as well as your
safety. This could result in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle .

unbalanced, resulting in vib rations you can
usually feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels mus t be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on s teer ing, suspens ion
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Inco rrect whee l alignment can cause exces
sive tire wea r, impair ing t he safety of the veh i
cle. If t ires show excess ive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel d rive
Ve hicles w it h quattro must always have tires
of the s ame s ize, construction and tread type.
F or detai ls see
¢ page 198 .
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con
trol, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a veh icle when the tread on
any t ire 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"hydrop lan ing" and loss of
co ntrol.
- 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
sp eeds.
- Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used ti res may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to s udden tire failure
and loss o f vehicle control.
Tires and wheels 251
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in.
Fig. 199 Tire spec ification codes on the s idewall of a
tire
No . Description
@ Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal w idth of t ire in millimeters
@ Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Rad ial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rati ng
0 U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and ma terials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and tempe rat ure
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
T he tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The ti res and rims approved
by Audi a re spec ia lly matched to the charac
teris tics of the ve hicl e and can m ake a major .,.

chains because the vehicle will be ex
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev
el, the snow chains might severe ly dam
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle .
@ Tips
Where snow cha ins are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all -wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts mu st always be tigh tened to the
correc t torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory in sta lled r ims. If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used . This ensures that wheels are f itted
secure ly and that the brake system f unctions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a d iffe rent vehicle -even if it
i s the same mode l
¢page 285.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tig hte ned or maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose causin g loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
jury .
- Alw ays keep the w heel bolts and the
th reads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the w heel h ubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
o iled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
- Always maintain the co rrect tightening
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
Tire s an d wheel s 257
risk of a wheel loss. If the tighte ning tor
que of t he wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is mov ing . If the tighte ning torque is
too h igh, the wheel bol ts and threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
(I) Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb ( 120 Nm) with a tole ranc e of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torq ue whee l bolts diago
nally. Afte r cha nging a whee l, the torq ue
must be checked as soon as possible wi th a
torque w rench -prefe rably by an au thor
i z ed Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is facto ry-eq uipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance , road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving cond i
tions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size
designation . The numera l rep resents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewall height in relation to its
t read width ex pressed in perce ntage. Conven
tion al tires have a he igh t/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-aspe ct-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitiv e to improper infla tion
pres sure. It is therefore important that l ow
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure is
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pres·
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
¢ page 246, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w it h potholes , curbs, gul lies ..,.
•
•

272 Fu ses and bulb s
No. Equ ipment Amps
8
Headlight range adjustment/
5/7,S
adaptive lighting system
10 Left headlight
(headlight with
7,5
adaptive light)
11 Supplementary heater
s
Fu
se p ane l@ (b ro w n)
No . Equipment Amps
1 Climate control
10
2 Climate control system blower 40
3 Diagnostic interface
10
4 E lectrical ignition lock
s
s
Power steering column adjust-
s ment
6 Steering column switch module
10
7 Power
steering column adjust-
ment 25
8 Light switch
s
Luggage compartment fuse assignment
Fig
. 217 Luggage compartment: fuse panel with plas
tic bracket
Fuse p anel @ (b la ck )
No. Equipment Amps
4 E lectromechanical parking brake 30
s Electromechanical parking brake
30
6 Front door
(front passenger's
30
s ide)
7 Rear exter ior lighting
30
Rear sun shade, closing aid, lug-
8 gage compartment
lock, con-
20
venience key, START ENGINE
STOP, fuel filler door
No. Equipment Amps
9 Power seat adjustment
15
10 Parking system
s
11 Rear seat
heating
30
Fuse pan el@ (r e d )
No . Equipment Amps
l Left belt tensioner
25
2 Right belt tensioner 25
3 Socket/cigarette
lighter
20
4 Socket 20
5 Electromechanical
parking brake
5
6 adaptive ai r suspension 15
7 Rear door
(front passenger's
30
side)
8 Rear exterior lighting 30
9 Luggage compartment
lid con-
30
t rol modu le
10 Telephone 5
11 Sound amplifier 30
12 Rear
spoiler (Sportback)
20
Fuse pan el© (brown)
No . Equipment Amps
1 Radio receiver,
Sound amplifier/
30/20
MMI unit/drives
2 Tank leak detection system
s
4 AEM
control module/battery
10/15
module
6 Battery fan 35
7 Rad
io receiver 7,5
8 Rear Seat Entertainment 7,5
9 Automatic d
imming interior
5/15
rearview mirror/battery module
10 Parking system 5
Fuse pan el@ (gre en)
No . Equipment Amps
1 pre sense 5
2 Electromechanical parking brake
s
3 adaptive
air suspension
5
4 Automatic transmission 7,5

heavy components such as the engi ne
b lock or transmiss ion are removed.
- W hen removing heavy components like
these, ancho r vehicle to hoist o r add cor
respond ing weig hts to ma inta in the cen
ter of g ravity . Otherwise, the vehicle
m ight tilt o r sli p off the hoist, causi ng
ser ious p erso na l in ju ry.
([) Note
-Be awa re of the fo llowing points befo re
li fting t he vehicle:
- The vehicle should never be lifted or
jacked up from underneath the engine oil pan, the transmission housing, the
front or rear axle or the body side
members. This could lead to serious
damage.
- To avoid damage to the underbody or
chassis frame , a rubber pad must be
i nserted between the floor jack and
the lift points.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
check that the veh icle weight does not
exceed the permissible lifting capacity
of the hoist.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
ensure that there is sufficient clear
ance between the hoist and low parts
of the vehicle.
Emergency situations 2 79
•
•

Gros s Axle Wei ght Rati ng
The G ross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle
c::> &. .
Vehicle capacit y weight
The vehicle capacity we ight (max. load) is list
ed eithe r on the dr iver's side B-pillar or inside
the fue l filler flap.
& WARNING
-
- The actual Gross Axle Weight Rating at
the front and rear axles shou ld not ex
ceed the perm iss ible weights, and their
combination must not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rat ing.
Dimensions
Length in (mm)
Width in
(mm)
Width (across mirrors) in (mm)
He ight (unloaded)a) in (mm)
Turning circle diameter
ft (m)
T e chn ic a l da ta 281
- Exceeding permiss ible weight ratings can
result in vehicle damage, accidents and
personal injury.
([) Note
-The vehicle capacity weight figures apply
when the load is d istr ibuted evenly in the
vehicle (passengers and luggage). When
transport ing a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, carry the load as near to
the rear axle as poss ible so that the vehi
cle's handling is not impaired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible axle loads or the maximum gross veh icle
we ight. Always remember that the vehi
cle's handling w ill be affected by the ex
tra load. Therefore, ad just yo ur speed ac
co rdingly.
- Always observe local regulat ions.
A6 S6
193.9 (4925) 193.9 (4925)
73.8 (1874) 73 .8 (1874)
82.1 (2086) 82.1 (2086)
57.8 (1468) 57.8 (1468)
39.0 (11.9) 39.0 (11. 9)
•
•
aJ The he ight of the veh icle depen ds on the t ires and the suspe nsion .
When driving up steep ramps, on rough roads,
over curbs, etc. it is important to remember
that some parts of your ve hicle, such as spoil-
Capacities
Fuel ta nk: total capacity
Windshield flu id container
Windsh ield and headlight washer fluid containe r* ers
or exhaust system components, may be
close to the ground. Be careful not to damage
them .
gal (liters) approx. 19.8 (75.0)
quarts (liters) approx. 3.7 (3.5)
quarts (liters) approx. 5.2
(4.9)