2015 AUDI A3 battery

prevent it from being damaged and having
to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is loca ted in the luggage compart­
men t under the floor. Before yo u check any­
thing in the l uggage compartment,
read and
hee d all WARNINGS
¢ _A .
Always heed the sa fe ty warning s, when work­
i ng on the vehicle battery or the vehi cle elec ­
trica l system to prevent injury.
The following WARNINGS are very
impo rtant when working on the battery:
Alway s heed th e following WARNING SYM-
BOLS and saf ety precaution s when working
o n the b att ery.
®
Always wear e ye protection.
A
Batter y ac id contains sulfu ric acid .
Always w ear glo ves and e ye p rote c-
t ion .
@
No
- spark s
- flames
- smo king.
~
Wh en a battery i s charge d, it produ -
ce s hy d rogen ga s whi ch i s ex plo siv e
and could cau se perso na l injur y.
®
Alway s keep the b atter y w ell o ut of
r e ach of childr en.
A WARNING
Whenever working on the bat tery or on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
injury, accident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS :
- Always wear eye p rotection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead particles get on
yo ur sk in or clothing. Sh ield your eyes.
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
-
Checking and Fillin g 221
-Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear g loves and eye protection.
Do no t tilt the ba ttery because acid
could leak out of the ventilat ion open­
ings .
- If you ge t bat tery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
med ical attention .
- If you should ingest any batte ry acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the ba tte ry to an open
f lame, e lectric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke.
- Do not in terchange t he positive and neg-
ative cables.
- When working on t he battery, be su re
not to short-cir cuit the termina ls w ith
too ls or othe r metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and pe rsonal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal inju ry.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the elect rical sys ­
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca ­
ble.
- Before performing any work on the e lec­
trical system, switch off the engine and ignit ion as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
e nough to switc h off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negat ive cab le and then
the posit ive cab le.
- Before reconnecting the battery, ma ke
sure all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch­
ed off. Reco nne ct the pos it ive cable first
•
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•

222 Checking and Fill in g
and then the negative cable . Never inter­
change the cables -this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery. It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dead battery can freeze over at 32°F (0°C).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the side of the bat­
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al­
ways replace a damaged battery.
&_ WARNING
California Propos ition 65 Warning:
- 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
t ive p roblems. Wash hands after han­
dling.
(D Note
- Do not d isconnect t he veh icle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en­
gine is running, otherwise, you will dam­
age ele ctron ic componen ts in the elec tri ­
ca l system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
l ong period of time wi thout being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
e rwise it w ill be damaged and wi ll then
have to be replaced.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged battery.
F ig . 1 54 Engine co mpartment : connectors for a charg­
er and jump start cab les
Alwa ys read and heed all WARNINGS below
c> &. and c> &. in Working on the battery on
page 221.
.. Switch off the ignition and all electrical con­
sumers.
.. Make sure the area is well ventilated when
you charge the battery .
.. Open the eng ine hood
r=;, page 211 .
.. Open the red cover on t he positive pole
r=;, fig. 154 .
.. Clamp the ch arger term inal clamps as in­
structed on the
batter y terminal (+ ) and on­
ly o n the
body ground po int (-) .
.. On ly now plug the mains lead for the charg­
ing equ ipment into the wa ll outlet and turn
iton
c> &, .
.. Make sure th e charging rate is not over
30 amps /14 .8 volts .
.. When the battery is fully charged: Turn the
charg ing equipment off and remove the
mains lead from the wall ou tlet .
.. Now remove the clamps for the cha rging
equipment .
.. Close the red cover on the positive pole .
.. Close the hood
~ page 211.
A d ischarged bat tery can freeze at tempera ­
tu res of only 32 F
0 (0 °C). Allow a frozen bat­
tery to thaw completely before attempting to charge it
r=;, .&, . However, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat­
te ry casing can be cracked due to ice forma-
t ion and can leak battery acid . ..,.

Battery charging (Ma ximum charging rate
o f 30 am ps/ 14.8 volt s)
When charging at
low voltages (e.g . with a
tri ckle ch arg er), the batte ry cables do not
have to be d isconnected first. The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is also not
necessary to disconnect the cables.
F ast charging th e battery (charging rate
a bo ve 14 .8 volt s)
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
volts to charge your ve hicle 's battery .
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous .
- Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charge r manu­
fact urer when charging your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery . It may ex ­
plode because of gas t rapped in the ice .
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which we re fro ­
zen . The batte ry housing may have
cr acked and weakened whe n the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a we ll ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame o r ele c­
trical spark. Do not smoke. Hydroge n gas
generated by the battery is exp losive.
- T o redu ce the danger o f explosion , never
conne ct or disconnect cha rger cables
wh ile the charger is operating .
- F ast charg ing a battery i s dangerous and
sho uld on ly be attempted by a compe­
tent technician with the proper eq uip ­
me nt.
- Battery acid that may spill during charg ­
ing should be washed off with a so lution
of warm water and ba king soda to neu­
tralize the acid.
Checking and Fillin g 223
@ Note
Neve r use a fast charger as a booster to
start the eng ine . This w ill seriously dam­
age sens itive e lectronic components, such
as contro l units, relays, radio, etc., as well
as the batte ry charger .
Battery replacement
The new ba ttery mus t hove the some specifi­
cations and dimensions as the original equip­
ment battery .
Intelligent energy management in your vehi­
cle is responsible for distributing the electri­
ca l ene rgy throughout your vehicle
~ page 190 . The intelligent energy manage­
ment system will keep the engine battery
c h arged better than vehicles without this sys­
tem. To make sure the addition al ele ctri cal e n­
ergy is ava ilab le once again after yo u have
changed the batte ry, we recommend that you
insta ll batteries of the same type an d manu­
facture on ly (the same as those insta lled at
the time your veh icle was delivered) . Specif i­
cations are listed on the battery housing. Your
authorized dea ler must code the battery in
the ene rgy management system to enab le you
to use the ene rgy management functions cor­
re ct ly afte r repla cing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity,
vo ltage ( 12-volts) , amperage, construction
and plug sea ling .
When install ing the battery, make sure the ig­
nition and a ll electrical consumers are switch ­
ed off .
~ Note
Make sure the ventilat ion hose on the side
of the battery is con nected, otherwise
fumes o r batte ry acid can lea k out.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author ­
i zed Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and ..,.
•
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Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the maximum total loaded weight of
the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ri bs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflat ion pressure . You
may not find this information on all tires be­
cause it is not requ ired by law .
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i­
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capac ity weight, and
(d) Production opt ions weight
Ma ximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum co ld inf lation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated . Also called
"maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 k ilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the tota l seating capacity of yo ur vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a veh icle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an inflated new
tire .
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ­
ing e levations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs .
Tires and wheels 22 7
Ply
means a layer of rubbe r-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production opt ions we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standa rd items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and special trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
tially 90 degrees to the centerl ine of the
tread.
Recommended inflation pressure
see ~ page 226, Cold tire inflation pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire . Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewal l.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated .
Rim diamete r
means nominal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you wi ll have to
purchase new tires to match the new r im di­
ameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead .
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•

Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working personnel who have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
(D Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery of
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
gine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently large
cross section to carry the starter current safe­
ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi­
nal clamps which are distinctly marked :
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minus(-) cable
in most cases colored black.
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
injury. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your vehicle's battery.
- Always shield your eyes and avoid lean­
ing over the battery whenever possible.
- A discharged battery can freeze at tem­
peratures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before
Emergency situations 259
connecting a jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery completely, oth­
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Flush any contacted area with
water immediately .
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive gas­
es. Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga­
rettes away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with a low acid level in the battery.
- The voltage of the booster battery must
also have a 12-volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged bat­
tery . Use of batteries of different voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rating
may cause an explosion and personal in­
JU ry.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trap­
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
-Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen. The battery case may have
be weakened.
- Use of batteries of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat­
ing may cause an explosion and injury.
The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis­
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ page 210.
(D Note
-Applying a higher voltage booster bat­
tery will cause expensive damage to sen­
sitive electronic components, such as
control units, relays, radio, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
could already start to flow as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected. ..,. •
•
•

260 Emergency situations
@ Tips
The disc har ged battery must be properly
connected to the ve hicle's electrical sys ­
tem. W hen jump starting or charg ing t he
battery, never connect the negative
grou nd cab le to the batte ry negat ive post
because the batte ry ma nager sys tem must
be ab le to detect th e ba ttery 's state o f
charge. A lways connec t the nega tive
grou nd ca b le to t he neg ative ground pos t
of the batte ry ma nager con trol unit.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper cable
clamps in exactly the order described below!
Fi g. 178 Eng ine compar tment: conne ctors for jump
start cables a nd charger
CD
--0 > ~
F ig. 1 79 Jump start ing with the battery of a nother ve·
h ide: @-di scharge d veh icle battery, @-booster bat ­
te ry
The ba tte ry i s loca ted to the left in the eng ine
compartment.
Do not jump start a frozen or
thawed battery
¢ .&. in Starting wi th jumper
cables on page 259
! Replace the battery. The
p roced ure fo r connecting jump start cab les
that is described next is designed to he lp
jump start your vehicle.
Vehicle with discharged battery:
.,. Read t he followi ng car efully¢ page 259.
.,. Se t the parking brake an d place the selector
lever in the P position.
.,. Tur n the ignition and electr ica l equ ipment
off in both vehicles.
Connect POSITIVE(+) to POSITIVE(+ )
(red )
.,. To reach the battery terminals, flip the bat­
tery cover cap to the side¢
fig. 178.
1. Clamp the end of the red jump start cab le
to the term inal
(D ¢ fig. 179 on t he dead
batte ry @
¢ (Din Starting with jumper
cables on page 259.
2 . Clamp the othe r end of the re d jump start
c able to the termin al@ on the cha rging
b atte ry @ .
Connect NEGATIVE (-) to NEGATIVE(-)
(black)
3 . Clamp the bla ck end of the j ump st art ca­
b le
preferably at the ground point , or on
the nega tive te rmi na l® on the chargi ng
battery @.
4. Clamp the othe r black end of the jump
start cab le
only on the ground point@
on your vehicle @¢(D.
S. Route the jump start cab les so they can­
not get ca ught in the moving pa rts in the
engi ne compa rt m ent.
Starting the engine
6. Start the eng ine in the vehicle giving the
charge and let it run at idle.
7 . Start the eng ine in the vehicle with the
dead battery and wait two to three m i­
nutes until it "runs smoothly" .
8.
If t he eng ine does not s tart: Stop the
sta rting procedure after 10 second s and
t h en re p eat it after approximately 3 0 sec ­
onds .
9 . In the vehicle that is being jump started,
switch the heater fan and rear window de ­
froster on to reduce any voltage peaks
that may occ ur whe n disconn ecting the
jumpe r cables. The headlights must be
switched off.
IJI,

10. With the engines running, remove the ca­
b les in
reverse order of the way they were
installed. Make sure the cables do not get
caught in moving engine components.
11. Switch the heater fan and rear window de-
froster off .
12 . C lose the battery cover.
The battery is vented to the outside to prevent
gases from entering the vehicle interior . Make
sure that the jumper clamps are well connect ­
ed with their metal parts in full contact with
the battery termina ls.
.&, WARNING
To avoid serious pe rsonal injury and dam­
age to the vehicle, heed all warnings and
instructions of the jumper cable manufac­
turer. If in doubt, ca ll for road service .
- Jumper cables must be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
surethattheycannotgetcaughtinany
moving parts in the engine compart­
ment.
- Be fore you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
~ page 210.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ru­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI ­
TIV E(+), and NEGA TIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control un it .
- Check that all screw plugs on the battery
ce lls are screwed in firmly. If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega­
tive battery terminal.
- Please note th at the procedure for con­
necting a jumper cable as described
above applies specifically to the case of
your vehicle be ing jump started. When
you are giv ing a jump start to another ve ­
hicle, do
not connect the negat ive( -) ca­
ble to the negat ive( -) term inal on the
discharged battery@~
fig. 179. In-
-
Em erg en cy si tuation s 261
stead, secure ly connect the negative( -)
cable to either a solid meta l component
that is firmly bo lted to the engine block
or to the engine block itself. If the bat­
tery that is be ing charged does not vent
to the outside, escaping battery gas could ig nite and explode!
- Make sure that the connected positive
terminal clamps have sufficient contact
with metal.
- Do not use the battery negat ive terminal
for jump start ing or a malfunct ion could
occur in the vehicle electrical system .
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing.
The following information is to be used by
comme rc ial tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
-Ne ver t ow your A udi. Towing will caus e
da mage to the engin e and tr an smi ssion .
- Nev er wrap the safet y chains or wi nch ca­
ble s around the brak e lines.
- To p revent unnecessar y damage , your Aud i
must be t ran spor ted with a flat bed truck.
- To lo ad the vehicle on to the fl at bed , u se
the to w ing loop found in the vehicle tool s
and attach to the front or rear ancho rage
~ page 262 and ~page 262.
.&, WARNING
A veh icle being towed is not safe for pas­
sengers. Neve r allow a nyone to ride in a
vehi cle be ing towed, fo r any reason.
-
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•

Index 273
-----------------------------------.......
Audi drive select . ... .... ... .. .. .. .. . 102
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Aud i magnetic ride
refer to Adaptive dampers . .. .. .. .. . 102
Aud i Service Repa ir Manuals and Litera-
ture .. .. .. ... ............. ... ... .. 268
AUTO Automatic climate control system . .. .. 67
Automatic headlights . .... .. .. .. .. .. 42
Auto Lock (centra l locking system) . ... .. 32
Automatic belt retracto r .. .. .. .. .. .. . 134
Automatic climate control system
refer to Climate control system (auto-
mat ic) ... .. ................. .. .... 66
Automatic headlights .... ... .. .. .. .. .. 42
Automatic transmission ............ .. 105
Dr iving t ips . ............. .... .. .. . 107
E mergency mode ......... .... .. .. . 111
H ill descent co ntrol ....... .. .. .. .. . 10 9
I gnition key safety in terlock . . . . . . . . . . 70
K ick -down .. .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... 110
L aunch Contro l-Program ... .. .. .. .. . 1 11
malfunction ............. .... .. .. . 106
Selector lever emergen cy rele ase .. .. . 112
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Selecto r lever pos it io ns ....... .... .. 105
Shift ing ma nua lly ............ .... .. 110
St eer ing whee l w ith shift paddles .. .. . 110
S tron ic .. .. .... ............. .. .. . 105
tiptronic . .. .... ........... .. .. .. . 110
Automatic wipe/wash system .. .. . ... .. 46
Auto Safety Hotline ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 129
Average consumpt ion ....... .. .. .. .. .. 27
Average speed .. ........... .. .. .. .. .. 27
B
Battery ... .. .. .. ........... .. .. ... 220
C harge level ............. .... .. .. . 190
C ha rging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 222
Energy management .......... ... .. 190
Impor tant war nings ....... ... ... .. 22 1
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
J ump starti ng ............ .... .. .. . 259
L ocat ion . .. .. .. ........... .. .. ... 22 1
Replacing the ba ttery .. ... .. .. .. .. . 223
Wo rking on the battery . ... .. .. .. .. . 22 1
B efore dr iving ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 121 B
lended gaso line .... . .. .. ..... ... .. 206
B lowe r
automat ic Climate contro l system .. .. . 67
Manua l cli mate control system ... .. .. . 65
Booster seats . .. .. .. . ... ...... ... .. 175
B rake fluid
Changing the brake fluid ..... ... .. .. 219
Checking the brake fluid level ...... .. 219
Wha t is the correct brake fluid level? .. 219
Wha t should I do if the brake fluid warn-
. l' h ? mg 19 t comes on ................ . 219
Brakes ... .. .. .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. 187
Brake assist system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Brake booster .. .. .... ............. 187
Ind icator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 24
New brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Pa rking brake .. .. .. .......... ...... 76
Brake system Brake fluid .. .. .. ................. 219
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re-
placeme nt ... .... ................ 219
B ra ke pads .. .. .. .. . .. .... .... .. .. 193
Fl uid reservo ir ..... ... .. ..... ..... 219
W orn brake pads symbo l . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Brak ing
Emergency brak ing funct ion ........ .. 78
Starting on inclines .. .. .. .. ... ... .. . 78
Break -in per iod .. ...... ............. 193
Brake pads .. .. .. ............... .. 193
Tires ..... .. .. .. ................. 193
Bulb s .... .. .. .. .... . ... ...... ... .. 258
C
Cali forn ia Pr oposition 65 War ning . .. .. 211
B attery specific .... . .. ... .... ... .. 222
Capacities Fuel tank .. .. .. .... .......... ..... 266
Washe r fl uid reservo ir .......... .... 266
Care ....... .. .. .. ................. 201
also refer to Cleaning ......... .... . 201
Cargo area . ... .. .... . ... ...... ... .. 127
Cargo net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Catalytic converter . ................. 194
CD -RO M playe r (nav igat ion) . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Cent ral indicator light .............. .. 14
•
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