2015 AUDI A3 cooling

Make sure that the cooling system has enough
f luid .
Tire pressure
When tow ing a trai ler, inflate the t ires of your
veh icle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open) .
Inflate trailer tires to trai ler and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners . When you install safety
chains, make sure they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
sepa ration from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obta in the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and trai le r, p lease note the following:
.. Do not tow a loaded tra iler when your car it ­
self is not loaded .
.. Be especially carefu l when passing other
vehicles.
.. Observe speed limits.
.. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed .
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Tow ing a loaded trailer with an empty ca r re­
sults in a high ly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
Trailer towing 199
low speeds on ly to avoid the risk of losing
steering contro l.
A "balanced " rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficu lt it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
when going downhill .
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating .
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing tra ilers are lower than for
regular veh icles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­ gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone ca n cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant tempe rature
The coo lant temperature gauge¢
page 12
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
cli nes in a low gear at high engine speeds . Re ­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on.
For more information about ind icator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 20 .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greate r risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in yo ur car
-
•
•
•

214 Checking and Filling
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 .
Detergent additives in the o il wi ll make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run­
ning for a short time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended .
Damage or malfunctions due to lack of
maintenance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended interva ls using only engine oil
that complies with Audi oil standard
VW 502 00. Your Lim ited New Vehicle War­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fa ilure to follow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage un less yo u present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re­
pair Orders that all schedu led maintenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on on ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cooling of internal engine components , a ll in­
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certain
amount of o il. Oil consumption var ies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the eng ine . Typically, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 193) consume more oil during the
b reak-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized. Under
normal conditions, the rate o f oil con ­
s u mption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolut ions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road conditions. Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil dilut ion from water
co nd ensat ion or fuel residue and the oxida­
t ion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to
wea r as mileage builds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard ra te of oil consumpt io n can be es­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the oil lev­
el , see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
Ill in the instr ument cl uster light s up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possible
¢
page 215. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
~ page 215.
A WARNING
-~
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
page 210.
(D Note
Driving wit h an insufficient oil level is like­
l y 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 Aud i dea ler to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in
mind that the accurate measurement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Audi ..,.

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.

No. Equ ipment Ampere
F49 Starter, clutch sensor
5
FS3 Rear window defogger 30
The power seats* are protected v ia
circ uit
br ea ker s
that automatically sw itch on after a
few seconds after the overload has been re­
d uced.
(D Tips
Note that the following table was accurate
at the time of pr int ing and is subject to
change.
Left engine compartment fuse
assignment
F ig. 177 Eng ine compartment: fuse assignment
M ,.._
-0
!
No. Equ ipment Ampere
Fl ESC control module 40
F2 ESC control module
40
F3 Eng
ine control module (gas-
15/30
oline)
Engine cooling, engine com-
F 4 ponents, auxiliary heater
5/10
coil relay (1 +2), secondary
a ir injection pump relay
FS Eng
ine components, tank
7,5/10/
system 15
Fuse s and bulb s 257
No. Equipment Ampere
F6 Brake light sensor
5
F7 Engine components, water 7,5/10/
pumps
15
F8 Lambda sensor 10/15
Engine components, ex-
F9 haust door, glow time con-
5/10/20
tro l module, SU LEV valve
FlO Fuel
injectors, fuel control
15/20
module
Fl l Auxiliary heater heating ele
-
40
ment 2
F12 Auxilia
ry heater heat ing ele-
40
ment 3
F13 Automatic transmiss
ion con-
15/30
trol module
FIS Horn 15
F16 Ignit ion coil 20/7.5
F17 ESC contro
l modu le, engine
7.5
control module
F18 T
ermina l 30 (reference volt-
5
age)
F19 Windshield wipers
30
F20 Horn 10
F22 Termina
l SO diagnosis
5
F23 Starter 30
F24 Auxiliary heater heating ele-
ment 1 40
F31 Vacuum pump 15
F32 L ED head lights
5
(i} Tips
Note that the follow ing tab le was accurate
at the time of printing and is subject to
change.

Consumption (fuel) ... ..... .. .. .. .. .. 2 7
Contact ing N HTSA .............. .... 129
Controls cleaning .......... .... .. .. . 203
Conven ience key
E mergency operation ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 75
I ndicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5
Starting the engine (START ENGINE STOP button) .. .. ................. .. .... 73
Stopping the engine (START ENGINE
STOP bu tton) ............ .... .. .. .. 74
Sw itch ing the ign ition on ......... ... 73
un locking/locking ........... .... ... 34
Conven ience opening/closing .. .. .. .. .. 39
Conver tible c hild safety sea ts .. .. .. .. . 173
Convertible locking retractor
Activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
179
D eactivating ................ .. .... 180
Using to secure a c hild safety sea t
1.7 7, 179
Coolant
refer to Engine coo lant ..... ... ... .. 216
Coolant system
Adding coolant . ... .... ... .. .. .. .. .
2 17
Coolant leve l check ing ..... .. .. .. .. . 217
Eng ine coolant temperature gauge .. .. 12
Cooling mode (automatic clima te con trol
system) ..... .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. .... 66
Cooling mode (manua l cl imate control sys-
tem) ...... .. ................. .. .... 65
Cooling system Indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Cornering light .... ..... ... .. .. .. .. .. 42
C ruise control system
C hanging speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
D escr ipt ion . ............. .. .. .. .. ..
79
P rese lecting speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Sw itching off .. .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. .. 80
switch ing on . ... .. .... ... .. .. .... .. 80
(upho lde rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7
Current consumpt io n . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26, 27
D
Data recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
D ate display . ............. .... .. .... 10
Daytime running lights .......... ... ... 42
Inde x 275
Declarat ion of compliance
Adaptive cruise contro l .. .... ... .. ..
2 71
A udi s ide ass ist . ... . .. ... .... ... .. 2 7 1
Ce ll phone package ................ 271
Convenience key .. .... ............. 271
Electronic immob ilizer ............. . 271
Homelink universal remote con trol ... 271
Remote cont ro l key ............... . 271
Decorative parts/tr im cleaning .... .. .. 203
De fec tive light bu lb w arning
Ind icator light ..... . .. .. ..... ... .. . 2 4
Defrost ing (w indsh ie ld)
automat ic cl imate control system .. .. .
6 7
man ua l cl imate co ntrol system ... .. .. . 65
DEF (instrument clus ter) ......... .. .. .
11
Del uxe a utomatic climate control
refer to Climate contro l system (auto -
matic) .... .. .. .. ................. .
66
Determining co rrec t load l imit .... .. .. 234
D igital compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Dimensions ....... .. . .. .. ..... ... ..
266
D imming the rearv iew mi rror ..... .. .. . 49
D isplays cleaning .. ................. 203
D istance ... .. .. .. .. . .. ... .... ... .. .
27
Door/ rear lid warning . .. .. ...... .... .. 26
Door contact switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Doors Child sa fety lo ck (mech ani cal) .... .. .. . 38
Driver informat io n system ........... ..
26
CD/rad io disp lay .. .. . .. .... .... .. .. . 26
Door/rear lid wa rni ng . ...... ... .... . 26
Drive r messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
E ff iciency program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Ind icator lights .... . .. .. ..... ... .. . 14
On-board computer .. .. ..... ... .. .. .
27
Outside temperature disp lay .. ... .. .. . 26
Serv ice interval display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
U sing the mu ltifunction steering wheel .
26
Driver seating position ... ..... ... .. .. 122
D rive select
refer to Aud i d riv e select ........... . 102
D riving safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
121
Drivi ng throug h wate r ........... .. .. 194
Driving time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
D ust filter
refer to Poll utant fi lter ......... .... . 64
•
•
•

284 Index
Weights .......... ......... ... .... . 265
What happens if you wear your safety belt
too loose? ........................ .
135
What happens to unbelted occupants? .. 132
What impairs driving safety? .......... 122
What should I do after changing a
wheel? .. .... .. .. ...... .... ... .. .. .
232
What should I do after replacing wheels? 232
Wheel bolts
Torque ..... ................ ..... .
242
Wheels ... .. ............ ... .. .. ... 225
A ll wheel drive ......... .... .. .. .. . 190
Checking tire pressure ..... .... .... . 231
cleaning ... ............. .... .. .. . 202
Cold tire inflation pressure .......... 229
General notes ................ .... . 225
Glossary of tire and loading terminolo-
gy .. .. .. ................. .. .. .. .
226
New tires and wheels ...... .... .... . 236
Tires and vehicle load limits .. .... .. . 233
Wheel wrench .............. ... .... . 247
When must a safety belt be rep laced? . .
134
When must the airbag system be inspect-
ed? ..... .. ....................... . 152
When shou ld I ad just the tire pressures?
232
When shou ld I check the tire pressures? . 232
Where are lower anchorages located? ... 181
Where can I find the tire pressu res for my
car? . .. ... .................. ..... .
231
Why safety belts? .......... .. .. .. .. . 132
Windows
cleaning/removing ice
203
W indshield
cleaning ... ................ ..... ..
46
defrosting (automatic climate contro l
system) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
defrosting (manual climate control sys-
tem) .. .. ................. .. .... ..
65
also refer to Windshield . ........ .. .. 46
Windshield washer system ... ... .. .. .. 46
Reservoir capacity .............. .. . 266
Washer reservoir ......... .... .... . 224
Windshield w ipers
C leaning wiper blades ............. . . 47
Folding up ............... ... .... .. 47
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
Replacing windshield wiper b lades . ... . 47
Switching on and
off ............ ... . 46
Winter operation
Cooling system . .. ............. .. ..
216
Winter tires . .. .. .. .... .... ..... .. .. 240
All -wheel drive ... ..... ..... ... .. .. 240
Winter use
Car washes ................... ....
201
defrosting the windshield (automatic cli­
mate control system) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Removing ice from windows . .. .. .. ..
203
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
X
Xenon-lights .. .. .. ... .... ...... .... 258
Xenon headlights . ................. .. 42