2015 AUDI A3 coolant

210 Check ing and F illin g
Only pull on the loop until you fee l resist ­
ance. You will not hear it release . Other­
w ise you could damage the emergency re­
lease mechanism .
Hood
Working in the engine compartment
Special care is required if you are working in
the engine compartment
F o r w ork in th e engine co mpartm ent such as
c h ec king an d filling fluids, there i s a ri sk of
inj ury, sca lding, a ccid ent s, and b urn s. For
t hi s re ason , fo llow all th e followin g lis te d
warn in gs a nd ge neral safe ty pr eca utions.
Th e e ngine compartment is a d ange rous
area .¢ .& .
&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury, before you
check anyth ing under the hood:
- Turn the engine off.
- Set the parking brake.
- Place the selector leve r in the P position.
- Remove the ignit io n key .
- Let the engine coo l down.
- 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 hea rd before ca re­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep chi ldren away from the engine com­
partment .
- Never spill flu ids on a hot engine. These
fluids (such as the freeze protection con­
tained in the coolant) can catch fi re.
- Avoid short circuits in the electrical sys­
tem, especially the battery.
- When working in the engine compart­
ment, remembe r that the radiator fan
can switch on even if the ignition is
switched off, which increases the risk of
persona l injury . -
Never open the cap on the coolant ex­
pans ion tank when the eng ine is warm.
The coolant system is under pressure.
- To protect your face, hands, and arms
from hot steam or coolant, cover the cap
with a large cloth when opening.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances . This increases the
risk of burns .
- If tests need to be performed with the
engine runn ing , there is add itional dan­
ger due to moving components (such as
the ribbed belt, generator and radiator
fan) and from the high voltage ignit ion
system.
- Never touch the rad iator fan . The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly.
- Pay attention to the fo llow ing warnings
listed when wo rk on the fuel system or
on the e lectr ica l equipment is req uired.
-A lways disconnect the vehicle battery
from the vehicle electr ical system
- Do not smoke
- Never work near open flames
- Always have a wo rk ing fire exting uisher
nearby
- To avo id e lectr ica l sho ck and pe rsonal in­
jury whi le the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ign it ion cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the eng ine running:
- First, fully app ly the parking brake,
move selector lever to P (Park).
- Always use extreme caut io n to prevent
cl othing, jewelry, or long hair from get­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-be lts
o r other moving parts, o r from contact­
ing hot parts. Tie back hair before
starting, and do not wear clothing that
will hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards¢,& . ..,.

,&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de­
fects and reproductive harm. In addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con­
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm .
- 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 harms. Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
When filling fluids, be sure not to mix the
fluids up. Otherwise severe malfunctions and engine damage will occur.
@) For the sake of the environment
You should regularly check the ground un­ der your vehicle in order to detect leaks
quickly .
If there are visible spots from oil
or other fluids, bring your vehicle to an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa­
cility to be checked.
Opening the hood
The hood is released from the interior.
Fig. 147 Sect ion of the driver's footwell: release lever
Checking and Filling 211
Fig. 148 Rocke r switch un der t he hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged .
The hood can only be released with the driv­
er's door open .
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow¢
fig. 147 .
.,. Raise the hood slightly¢,&. .
.,. Press the rocker switch under the hood up ­
ward
c:> fig. 148. This releases the catch.
.,. Open the hood .
.&, WARNING
Never open the hood when you see that
steam or coolant drips from the engine
compartment- there is a danger of burns!
Wait until no steam or coolant flows out.
- To reduce the risk 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 care­
fully opening the hood .
Closing the hood
.,. Push the hood down until the force of the
strut is overcome . -
.,. Then lower the hood and let it fall into the
engine hood latch -you do
not have to press
on the hood after it is locked. ¢ ,&. .
.&, WARNING -
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and block your view while driv­ ing.

212 Checking and Filling
- When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has proper­
ly engaged. The hood should be flush
with the surrounding vehicle body parts.
Engine compartment overview
The most important check points.
- If you notice while driv ing that the hood
is not secured properly, stop at once and
close it.
Fig. 149 Typ ica l locat ion of the reservoir, en g in e oil d ipstick, and engine o il filler opening
(D Coolant expansion tank (- L) .. .
@ Engine oi l dipstick ... .... .. . .
® Engine oil filler opening (~) .
@ Brake fluid reservo ir ((0)) .. .. .
® Battery(+) under a cover .. .. .
@ Body ground point(-)
0 Washer f luid reservoir (~) ... .
@ Fuse housing ....... .... ... .
2 17
215
215
219
221
224
255
The engine oil filler opening and the dipstick (items ® and @)
c::> fig. 149 may be located in
a different area depending on engine version .
A WARNING ,...,___ -
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c::> page 210.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
The eng ine in your Audi is a sophisticated
power plant that was built to exacting specifi ­
cations . This engine needs the right kind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and v iscosity so that it can run
II>-

216 Check ing and F illin g
@ For the sake of the environment
-Oil should never enter the sewer system
or come into contact with the ground .
- Pay attentio n to lega l requ irements
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 r ea d and heed all WARN­
ING S
r=>page 210.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals specified in you r Warranty
&
Maintenance book let. This is very important
because the lubricating properties of oil di­
minish gradua lly during norma l veh icle use.
Under some circumstances the engine oi l
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 will make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine 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 disposal,
along w ith the special tools and necessary ex­
pertise required, we strongly recommend that
you have you r o il changed by an author ized
A udi de ale r or a q ual ified servi ce station.
If yo u choo se to c hang e your o il yo urse lf,
please note the following important informa­
tion :
.8, WARNING
To reduce the ris k of persona l injury if yo u
m ust change the engine oil in your veh icle
yourself : -
Wear eye protection .
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en -
gine oi l, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the oil drain p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run­ning down your arm.
- Drain the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large enough to
hold at least the tota l amount of oil in
your engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it we ll out
of the reach of childre n.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il
is harmful to your sk in . Always protect
your skin by washing oil
off tho roughly
with soap and water.
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en­
gine and adversely affect your Aud i Limit­
ed New Veh icle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil, first make sure
yo u know where you can properly dispose
of the used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oil proper­
ly. Do not dump it on garden soil, wood­
ed areas, into open st reams o r down
sewage drains.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used eng ine oil collect io n fac ility in you r
are a, or contact a se rvice station.
coolant 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 sealed and genera lly re-
quires little attention. .,..

The cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of spec ia lly conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glycol-based coolant addi-
tive Gl3 antifreeze with anticorros ion addi ­
tives (50% fo r USA models; 60% for Canadian
models) . This mixture both assures th e neces­
sary frost protect ion a nd p rotects me tal com ­
ponents in the engine 's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling.
It al so raises the boil­
ing po int o f the coo lant .
D o no t reduce the concentration of t he coo l­
an t in the summer by ad ding plain w ate r.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
lea st 50 % but not more than 60%
to main­
tain ant ifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protect ion is too low ,
the coolant cou ld free ze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system.
F or yea r-round driv ing, antifreeze is added at
the facto ry for temperatures down to:
- -3 1 °F ( -3 5°C) USA
- -4 0°F ( -4 0°C) Canada.
If you must add coolant, use a m ixture of wa ­
ter and coolant addit ive. M ixing the coolant
addi tive wi th dist illed wate r is recom mend ed.
_& WARNING
Bef ore yo u check any thing in the e ngine
comp artme nt, alw ays re ad and hee d all
WARN INGS
¢page 210.
(D Note
- B efo re winter sets in, have the coolant
c hec ked to see if the c oolan t ad dit ive i n
you r vehi cle is su fficient t o mee t the cl i­
mate cond itions. This is especially impor ­
tant if yo u live in a region whe re the win­
ter is extremely cold. If necessary, in ­
crease the proport ion of coolant additive
to 60%.
- W hen addi ng coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive Gl2 ++ o r Gl3 ( check t he label)
-
Che cking and Fillin g 21 7
for you r vehi cle. This coolan t additive is
avai lab le at authorize d Audi dea le rs .
Ot her types of antifreeze ca n sig nifi­
cantly reduce corros io n protection. The
res ulting corrosion can cause a loss of
coolant and serio us e ngine da mage .
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak seal­
ant to you r vehicle's engine coolant .
Add ing radiator repair flu id may adverse ­
ly affect t he function and performanc e of
yo ur cooling sys tem and co uld resu lt i n
damage not covered by yo ur New Ve hicle
L imi ted W arranty.
Adding coolant
Fi g. 152 En gine co mpa rtment: markin gs on t he coo l­
an t e xpan sio n t ank
Befo re you check a nyt hing in the eng ine com ­
partment ,
alway s read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ page 210.
Checking the engine coolant level
.,. Park yo ur vehicle o n a level su rf a ce .
.,. Switch t he ignition off.
.,. Read t he coolant leve l on the coo lant expan­
sion tank ¢
fig. 152. The coolant leve l must
be between the markings when the engine
in cold. When the engine is warm it can be
slightly above the upper mark ing .
Adding coolant
Req uirement : There m ust be a res idual
amount of coo lant in the expansion tank
c::> Q) .
.,. Le t the engine cool down.
.,. Place a clot h over the coo lant expans ion
tank cap a nd u nscrew the cap co unterclock-
wise
c::> _& . ..,.

218 Check ing and F illin g
• Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢page 216 up to the upper marking.
• Make sure that the fluid level rema ins sta-
ble. Add more coolant if necessary.
• Clove the cap securely.
A coo lant loss suggests a leak. Immediately
drive your vehicle to an authorized repair fa­
cility and have the coolant system inspected.
If the coolant system is not leaking, a loss can
come from the coolant cooking through over­
heat ing and being pushed out of the coolant
system.
.8, WARNING
The cool ing system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps .
- Do not open the coo lant expansion tank
cap with the engine hot . There is a risk of
burns.
- T urn off the engine and allow it to cool
down .
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- T urn the cap slowly and ve ry carefu lly in
a counter-clockwise direction wh ile ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap.
- To avoid being b urned, do not spill anti­
freeze or coo lant on the exhaust system
or hot eng ine parts. Under certain condi­
t ions, the ethylene g lycol in engine cool­
ant can catch fire.
- The coo lant add itive and the coolant can
be dange rous to your hea lth. For th is
reason, keep the coolant in the or ig inal
conta iner away from children. There is a
risk of poisoning.
- Whe n work ing in the engine compart­
ment, remembe r that the radiator fan
can swit ch on even if the ignition is
switched off, wh ic h increases the risk of
persona l inju ry .
(D Note
Do not add coo lant if the expansion tank is
empty. Air cou ld enter the cooling system
and damage the engine. If this is the case,
do not continue dr iving. See your author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified repair fac ility .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
An a uxiliary electric radiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operat ing condit ions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxi liary
fan can continue running for up to 10 m inutes
- even w ith the ignition off.
It can even switch
on again later by itself¢.&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build- up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
.8, WARNING ,-
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev-
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is temperat ure
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not ru nning.
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.

224 Checking and Filling
lead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance with a ll environmental
regulations. D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment.
Windshield washer
fluid container
Fig. 155 Engine co mp artmen t: cove r on the wind shield
an d h ead ligh t* washer fluid rese rvo ir
The washer flu id container is marked with the
symbol Won its cap
~fig. 155, ~page 212 ,
fig. 149 .
.. Before you check anyth ing in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ~page 210 .
.. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu­
id. You can fill the container to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the f iller neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservoir
ca pa city in the table
in ~
page 266 .
C lean water should be used when filling up.
If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. A lways add a glass 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.
- Do not use a glass cleaner that contains
paint solvents, there is a risk of damag­
ing the paint.

226 Tire s and wheel s
-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden t ire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
(D Note
- Please note that summer and winter
tires are designed for the cond itions that
a re typ ica l in those seasons. Aud i recom­
mends using w inter t ires d uring the win-
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those standard items which may be rep laced)
of automatic transmission, power steering,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that these
items are availab le as factory-installed equip­
ment (whether installed or not).
A spect ratio
means th e ratio of the height to the width of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in­
d icate a low sidewall for improved steer ing re­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement .
Bead
means the part of the tire th at is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead s eparation
means a breakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means t he strands forming the plies in the
tire. ter months.
Low tempe ratu res signifi­
cantly decrease the elasticity of summer
tires, which affects traction and braking ability. If summer tires are used in very
co ld temperatures, cracks can form on
the tread bars, resu lting in permanent
tire damage that can cause loud driving
noise and unbalanced tires. Aud i is not
responsib le for this type of damage.
- Burn ished, polished or chromed rims
must not be used in winter weather. The
surfa ce of the rims does not have suff i­
c ien t cor rosion prote ct io n for this and
co uld be pe rmanen tly damaged by road
salt or simi lar substances. This damage
is not cove red by war ranty.
Cold tire inflat ion pre ssure
mea ns the t ire press ure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a tire o f a des ignated
size that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (ki lometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire press ure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor vehicle w ith
standard equipment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, o il, and coolant, air condi­
tion ing and additional weight of optional
equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-carrying capacity of a single
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in-
terfaces.
IJ>,