152 Driving and en vironm ent
the exhaust system and this could cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignition while the ve hicle is moving .
- Do not continue to operate yo ur vehicle
under these conditions, as otherw ise fuel
can reach the cata lytic converter . This
could result in overheating of the con
verter, requ iring its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- Have your veh icle ma intained properly
and in acco rdance with the service rec
ommendations in your Wa rranty
&
Ma intenance booklet.
- La ck of proper main tenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impa ir
t he funct ion of the emission control
system and cou ld lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the environment
E ven when the Emission Contro l System is
operating p roperly, the exhaust gas can
have a s ulfur -like exhaust gas smell under
some operating states. This depends on
the s ulfur content o f the fue l being used.
Using a different brand of fuel may help,
or filling the tank w it h lead-free super
grade gasoline.
Shutting down vehicle
If you wou ld like your veh icle to remain inop
erat ive for a longer period of time, contact an
Aud i or other specialized dealer . T hey ca n ad
vise you on necessary precautions e.g . corro
sion prevent ion, ma intenance and storage.
Pay atten tion to add it iona l information con
cerning the batte ry . Re fer to ~
page 175.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex
haust and noise levels .
Fuel economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your personal driving style
- oper ating conditions
- technical limitat ions
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 1O-lS percent . This sec
t ion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your pocketbook.
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRONME NTAL PROTEC TION AG ENCY
( EP A) and Transpo rt Canada may no t corre
spond to your actual consumption on the
r oad, which will va ry depending upon vehi
cle load and speed, road and weather con
ditions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they ore ac
celerating.
Avoid unnecessary acce lerating and braking .
Vehicles use the mos t fu el when they are ac
ce le rat ing. If yo u ant icipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
t hu s, acce le rate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible -for examp le when you see
that the next traff ic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and
improves your mileage.
""Try and keep well below your car's maximum
speed.
Accelerating gently reduces fuel consump
tion, engine wear, and does not disturb the
environment.
Fu el consumption, exhaust emissions and en
g ine noise increase disproportionately at high
speeds. If you drive at approximately three
quarters of top speed, fuel consumption will
be reduced by one half. Never drive faster
than the posted speed limit and weather con
ditions permit .
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up
fuel.
""Shut the engine off when you are not driving
the vehicle.
""Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the
engine run at idle .
It makes sense to shut
off the engine in traff ic
jams, when waiting for trains to pass at ra il
road crossings, or at traffic lights that have
l ong wa its on red. Turning the engine
off for
just
30-40 seconds saves more fue l than is
burned starting the engine again .
It takes a long time for the engine to warm up
fully when it is running at idle. However, wear
and noxious emissions 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 whi le the engine
is sti ll warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended af
ter starting . If warning lights should come
on to indicate improper operation, they
would go unheeded. Extended idling also
produces heat, which could result in over-
Driving and environment 153
'
heating or othe r damage to the vehicle or
other property.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a
lot of fuel.
""H ave your veh icle serviced at regular inter-
vals.
By having your vehicle regu larly serviced by an
Audi dealer helps to ensu re that it runs prop
erly and economically. The condition of your
vehicle not only affects its safety and ability to
hold its value, it also affects
fuel consump
tion.
Check your oil each time you fill your tank.
The amount of o il used is related to engine
load and speed.
It is normal for the oil consumption of a new
engine to reach its lowest value after a certain
mileage has been driven.
You must drive your vehicle about 3,000 miles
(5,000 kilometres) before you can properly
assess oil consumpt ion.
This also app lies to fue l consumption and en
gine output.
(U) Note
- Have your vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec
ommendations in your Warranty
& Main
tenance booklet. Lack of proper mainte
nance as well as improper use of the ve
hicle will impair the function of the
emission control system and could 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 shields, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emission Control System
and other important vehicle compo
nents .
•
•
162 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
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.
@ 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 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 i ts 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 fue l 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.
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 diffe r from one
manufac turer 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 systems clean, they are not equally effec
tive. Audi recommends
using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline . For more information on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas .com) .
After an extended period of using inadequate
fuels, built-up carbon deposits can rob your engine of peak performance.
(D Note
Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel
quality is not covered by the Audi 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 filler flap.
If the unlocking system should fail, you can
still open the flap manually -for detailed in
structions see
~ page 164.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve
hicle in~
page 224 .
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap
tells you the correct fuel for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see
~ page 161 .
Your vehicle fuel tank has an on-board refuel
ling 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 follow 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 fuel can be dangerous. Such con
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collision . If you must
transport fuel to use for your lawn mower, ..,.
168 Checking and filling
oils available 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 help keep your vehicle's engine
running smoothly and help prevent the for
mation of harmful deposits, sometimes called
"sludge," that over t ime can lead to expensive
repairs .
At the time of printing, engine oils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oil standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils. This does not mean, however, that every synthetic engine oil will
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oil.
To help prevent the formation of harmful de posits use only oil with the following specifi
cations printed on the oil container:
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
Oil container labels may carry the specifica
tion singly or in combination with other desig
nations and oil quality standards .
Viscosity
Engine oils are graded according to their vis
cosity. The proper viscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on climactic or seasonal con
ditions where you drive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SAE 5W40 across all tem
perature ranges for normal driving conditions.
However, if engine oil viscosity grade SAE
5W40 is not available, you can also use viscos
ity grade SAE 5W-30 or SAE OW-40 as long as
it meets Audi oil 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 extra quart (liter) of oil that expressly conforms to the VW 502 00 specification, in case you have to
top
off the oil while on the road.
Only if the level of the oil is at or below the
minimum mark on the oil dipstick - and no oi l
that expressly conforms to Audi oil standard
VW 502 00 specifications is available -may
you top
off with a high quality engine oil, pref
erably synthetic-based, that meets ACEA A3
or API SM specifications, but even then, only
in viscosity grades SAE SW-40, SAE 5W-30, or
SAE OW-40 . However, during the entire time
between oil change intervals, never top
off
with more than a total of 0.5 qt/liter engine
oil that does not conform to Audi oil specifica
tion VW 502 00.
For more information about engine oil that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dealer o r
Audi Customer Relations at 1 (800) 822-2834
or visit our web site at www.audiusa.com or
www.audicanada.ca . Here you will also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
vw 502 00.
Changing the engine oil
The engine oil and oil filter must be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified in your vehicle's War
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs.
Changing the oil at the recommended inter
vals is so very important because the lubricat
ing properties of oil decrease gradually during
normal vehicle use. If you are not sure when
you have your oil changed, ask your author
ized Audi Service Advisor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
should even be changed more frequently. Change oil more often if you drive mostly
short distances, operate the vehicle in dusty
areas or mostly under stop-and-go traffic con
ditions, or when you use your vehicle where
temperatures stay below freezing point for
long periods.
-The oil fille r cap must be properly se
cured to preve nt oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the eng ine is running -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact w ith the
engine oil, you must subsequent ly
cleanse it thoroughly.
@ Note
- The oil leve l must not be above range 0
- danger of converter or eng ine damage!
Contact an authorized Audi dealer to
draw
off oil, if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the use of o il
add itives . They may damage the engine
and adversely affect your New Vehicle
Warranty .
@ For the sake of the environment
-Un der no circ umstances ca n the o il come
i n contact with the sewage network o r
t h e soil.
- Observe and fo llow lega l regu lations
whe n disposing of empty oil con tainers.
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,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS
~ .& in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 165.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals specified in you r Warra nty
&
Ma intenance boo klet . This is very important
because the l ubr icating prope rties of oil di
m ini sh gradua lly dur ing no rma l veh icle use.
Unde r some ci rcumstances the engine o il
should b e changed more frequently . Change
oil more often if you drive most ly short dis
tances, ope rate the vehicle in dusty areas or
u nder predomin antly stop -and-go t ra ffi c con
d itions, or have your ve hicle w here tempera-
Checkin g and fillin g 171
tu res remain below freezing for extended pe
riods .
Dete rgent additives in the oil will make fres h
o il look dar k after the engine has been run
ning for a sho rt time. This is normal an d is not
a reaso n to cha nge the oil more often t han
recommended.
Bec ause of t he prob lem o f proper disposal,
along with the specia l tools and necessa ry ex
pertise req uired, we st ro ngly recommend that
you have your oil changed by an a uthorized
Audi dealer or a qualified service station.
If you choose to change your oil yourself ,
please note the following important info rma
tion:
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of pe rsonal inj ury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protect io n.
- To reduce t he risk of burns from hot en-
gine oil , let the engine c oo l down to the
touch.
- When removing the o il dra in p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep you r forearm parallel to the
grou nd to help p revent hot o il from run
ning down you r arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one la rg e enough to
hold at l east the tota l am ou nt of oil in
your engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well o ut
of the rea ch of childre n.
- Con tinuous contact wit h used eng ine o il
is harmful to yo ur ski n. A lways protect
your skin by washi ng oil
off th oroughly
w it h soap and w ater.
(D Note
N eve r mix oil additives wi th you r engine
oil. Th ese additives can damage your en
g ine and adversely affect your Au di Li m it
e d N ew Vehicle Warr anty.
•
•
172 Checking and filling
@ 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 o il 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 little attention .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac
tory with a pe rmanent coolant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture of spec ia lly condi tioned water and the
manuf acturer 's glyco l-b asedcoolan t addi -
tive G l3 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els). This mixture both assures the nec es
sary frost protection and p rotects metal com
ponents in the engine's cooling system from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil
ing point of the coo lant .
Do not red uce the concentration o f the coo l
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add itive must be at
l e a st 50 % but not more than 60 %
to main
tain antifreez e protection and cooling efficien
cy . If the coolant frost prote ct ion is too low,
the coo lant cou ld free ze and damage the veh i
cle hea ting and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round d riving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for temperatures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada. If
you must add coolant, use a mixture o f wa
ter and coolant additive . Mixing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
A WARNING
-
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WAR NINGS
c::, & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 165.
(D 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 m ate conditions . This is especia lly impor
tan t if you live in a reg io n wher e the win
t er is ex treme ly col d. If ne cessa ry, i n
crease the proportion of coo lant add itive
t o 60%.
- Whe n adding coolant additive to yo ur
c oolin g sys tem, remembe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad
d itive Gl2++ or Gl3 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is avai lab le at au
thor ized Audi dealers . Other types of
ant ifre eze can s ignificant ly reduce cor
rosion prote ctio n. T he resulti ng cor ro
sion can ca use a lo ss o f coolan t and se
rio us en gine d amage.
- Do not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal
a n t t o y our vehicle 's engine coolant.
Add ing radiator rep air fl uid may adverse
ly affect the function and performance of
yo ur cooling system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by yo ur New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
-
176 Check ing and filling
Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than S years .
Disconn ect ing the battery terminals
Some veh icle functions (power w indow regu
lators, for example) are lost if the battery ter
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be d isconnected from the vehicle
electr ical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
V ehicles not dri ven for l ong period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo nents are gradually cut back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main tains starting capab ility over a longer period
c:::>
page 147. Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, suc h as the inte rior
l ights or power seat adjustme nt. The conven
i ence functions wi ll be ava ilable aga in whe n
you switch on the ignition and start the en
gine.
Winter operati on
During the winter months, batte ry capacity
tends to decrease as tempe ratu res d rop . This
is because more powe r is also consumed while
start ing , and the headlights, rea r window de
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticularly in c ity traffic or when t rave ling on ly
short distances. Let you r authorized Aud i
dea ler check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before winter sets inc:::>
page 179 . A we ll
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold, but will
a lso last longer .
Replacing battery
The new battery must have the same capaci
ty, vo ltage (12 volts), amperage, construction
and p lug sealing, as the origina l battery. Spec
if ications are listed on the battery housing.
Batteries specially developed by Audi fulfill the maintenance, outp
ut, and safety require
ments .
When install ing the battery, m ake su re the ig
ni tion and a ll ele ct rical consumers are switch
ed off
c:::> (i) .
We recommend that you use maintenance
free or
cy cle-re si stant /leak -proof b atter ies
accord ing to the s tanda rds TL 825 06 (from
Apri l 2008) and VW 7 SO 73 (from April
2010) .
Rep lac ing the bat tery shou ld be car ried by a
qualified wo rkshop. Please fo llow the instruc
tions on the battery cover .
(D Note
- All wo rk on the ba tte ry req uire s techn i
c al know ledge . Please con ta ct an Aud i
dealership o r another authorized faci lity
for questions abo ut the batte ry -danger
o f ac id burns and exp losion hazard!
- The battery must not be opened! Do not
try to change the battery's liquid level,
otherwise detonating gas will escape
from the battery - explosion hazard!
- The AGM battery in the l uggage com
partment cannot leak, because the elec
tro lyte for this battery is absorbed into a
special glass mat. This leak-proof battery
must not be replace with a convent ional
battery.
- Make sure the ventilation hose on the
side of the battery is connected, other
w ise fumes or battery ac id can leak out .
- Batte ry holder and termina ls always
have to be secured correctly .
- Before all work on the battery follow the
warnings be low c:::> .&. in Working on the
battery on page 177.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
iz ed Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and
l ead and must a lways be disposed o f prop-
erly in compliance wi th al l envi ronmental ..,.
-If the tire pressure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wear prematurely and the
vehicle will not handle we ll.
- If the tire is not flat and you do not have
to change a wheel immed iate ly, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta
t ion to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
([) Note
Driving without va lve stem caps ca n cause
damage to the tire va lves . To prevent this ,
always make su re that facto ry installed
valve stem caps on all wheels a re secure ly
mounted on the va lve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires will a lso increase the
fue l consumption .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to t he amount of load or
weight that any veh icle and any t ire can carry.
A veh icle that is overloaded w ill no t handle
well and is more diff icult to stop. Overloading
can not on ly lead to loss of veh icle contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
ve hicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the veh icle to crash .
Your safety and that of yo ur passengers a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
no t exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle . These
load limits a re techn ica lly refer red to as the
ve hicle's
Gro ss Vehicl e W eight Rat ing
(" GVWR ").
T he "GVWR " includes the we ight of the basic
vehicle, all factory installed accesso ries , a full
tank of fue l, oil, coo lant and other fluids pl us
maximum load. The maximum load includes
the number of passengers th at the ve hicl e is
i ntended to carry ("seating capacity") with an
assumed weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) for eac h
passenger at a designated seating position
Tire s an d wheel s 189
and the total weight of any luggage i n the ve
hicle .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating ( " G AWR ") is
the max imum load th at can be applied at each
of the vehicle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and the
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are l iste d on the
s af ety comp liance s ticke r label lo cated on the
driver's side 8-pillar . Your Audi has 2 seating
positions. Each seating position has a safety
belt ~
page 101, Safety belts.
The fac t that there is an upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weight Rating means
that the total weight of whatever is being car ried in the vehicle is lim ited . The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mea n that less we ight can be carried as lug
gage .
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of a ll of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
t h e ve hicle can ca rry . Fo r th e locat ion of the
label
~ page 185, fig . 138 .
_&. WARNING
Overloading a veh icle can cause loss of ve
h icl e co ntro l, a crash or o ther accide nt, se
rio us pe rsonal inj ury, and even dea th.
- Ca rrying more we igh t tha n your ve hicle
was des igned to carry wi ll prevent the
veh icle from handling properly an d in
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con
trol.
- T he b rakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance .
- Tires on a vehicle that has been over load
ed can fail suddenly, incl uding a blowo ut
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
•
•