196 Driving and the environment
than the posted speed limit and weather con
ditions permit.
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even wh en your car is just idling it burns up
fuel.
,.. Shu t the engine off when you a re not dr iv ing
the vehi cle.
... Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the
engine run at idle.
It is efficien t to switch off the engine when
stopped at railroad crossings and long red
lights. Turning the engine
off for j ust 30-40
seconds saves mo re f uel than is burned by
start ing the engine again.
It takes a long time fo r the engine to wa rm up
fu lly 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 ru nning at h igh rpms while the engine is
still warming up.
{[) Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended af
ter starting. If warning lights s hould come
on to indicate improper operation, they
wou ld go unheeded . E xtended idling also
produces heat, which cou ld resu lt in over
heat ing or o ther da mage to the vehicle or
o ther prope rty.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a
lot of fuel .
... Have your vehicle serv iced at regular inter-
vals.
H aving your vehicle regular ly serviced by an
author ized Audi dealer helps to ensure that it
runs properly and economically . T he condition
of yo ur vehicle not only affects its safety and
ab ility to hold its value, it also affec ts
fuel
con sumption. Check
your oil each t ime you fill your tank.
T he amou nt of oi l used is re lated to engine
lo ad a nd speed.
It is normal fo r the oil consumption of a new
engine to reach its lowest valu e after a c erta in
mileage has bee n driven.
You must drive your veh icle about 3,000 m iles
(5,000 kilometers) before you can properly
assess oil consumpt io n.
This also app lies to fue l consumption and en
gine output .
(0 Note
- Have your veh icle ma inta ined properly
and in accordance with the service rec
ommendations in your Wa rranty
& Ma in
tenance boo klet . Lack of proper ma inte
nance as well as improp er use of the ve
hicle will impair the fu nction of the
em iss io n con trol system and cou ld lead
t o dam age.
- Do not alte r or remove any component of
t he Emis sio n Control Sys tem unless ap
proved by the manufacturer .
- Do not alter or remove any device, such
as hea t sh ie lds, swi tches, ig nitio n w ires,
valves, which are designed to p rotec t
your vehicle's Emission Control System
and other impo rtant vehicle compo
nents.
' Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips.
... Try to avoid dr iv ing sho rt distances w it h a
cold engine .
T he eng ine and cat alytic conver ter h ave to
re ach their opt imal
operating t emperature to
reduce fuel consumpt io n and nox ious em is
sions effectively.
Jus t aft er s tarti ng, a c old eng ine in a mid-s ize
ca r on ly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 m iles
per gallon (30 -40 l/100 km) . After about a
half a mile , fu el economy climbs to 12 mpg .,..
