2015 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET check engine

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Checking and Filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 172 Typical layout for containers and eng ine oil filler cap
(D Eng ine o il filler cap ( @ Jump start point(+) under a cover
@ Brake fluid reservoir((();) .... .. .
@ Coolant expansion tank (- L) .. .. .
® Jump start point(-) with hex head
199
206,241
203
202
screw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206, 241
@ Windshield/headlight* washer con-
tainer
(Q) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
The position of the engine oil filling hole
c:> fig. 172 (item@) can differ depending on the
engine design .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
c:> &. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 195.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact speci­
fications.
T he service interval disp lay in the instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform you when it is
time for an oi l change . W e recommend that you
have your oil changed by an authorized A udi Serv ­
ice Advisor .
If you have to top off the oil between oil changes,
use the Audi oil qua lity standard specified in the
table .
Audi oil quality standard
Ga soline
VW 502 00 or
engine vw 504 00
197

Checking and F ill in g
Using the proper engine o il is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-fi lled w ith a high-quality o il
which can usually be used throughout the ent ire
year.
@) Note
Your L imited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended ma intenance and use
requ irements as set forth in the Audi Ow ne r's
Manual and Wa rranty
& Ma intenance booklet .
- Use only a high quality eng ine oil t hat ex-
pressly comp lies w ith the Audi o il quality
standard specified for your vehicle's e ngine .
Using a ny other oil can cause se rious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants o r othe r addit ives
i nto the engine oil. Doing so can cause en ­
g ine damage.
(D Tips
If you need to add oil and there is none availa­
ble that meets the Audi o il quality standard
y o ur eng ine requires, you m ay add a total of
no more than 0.5 quart/li ter o f a h igh-quali ty
"synthet ic"oil that meets the fo llowing speci ­
fications .
- V ehicles wi th gasoline engine: AC EA A3 o r
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE 0W- 30,
SAE SW -30 or SAE SW-40 .
- Fo r more informa tion abo ut engine oi l that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either you r a uthorized Aud i dea ler
or Audi Customer Relations at
1 (800) 822-2834 or visit o ur web site at
www .aud iusa.com or www .aud icanada .ca .
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all of
its moving parts .
In order to provide effective lubrication and cool­
i n g of in ternal engine components, all interna l
combustion engines consume a certai n amount
of oil. O il consumption var ies from engine to en­
g ine and may change significant ly ove r the life of
198
the engine. Typically, eng ines with a specif ied
break-in period (see
¢ page 177) consume mo re
o il dur ing the b reak -in per iod than they consume
after oil consumption has stabili zed.
U nder normal cond itions , the rate of oi l con ­
s u mption depends on t he qu ality and viscosity of
the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem ­
perature and road condit ions. Further factors are
the amount of o il di lution from water condensa ­
tion or fuel residue and the ox idat ion level of the
o il. As any engine is s ubject to wear as mileage
builds up, t he oil consump tion may inc rease ove r
t ime unt il rep lacement of wo rn component s may
become necessary.
With a ll these va riab les coming into p lay, no
sta ndard ra te of oil consumpt ion can be estab­
li shed or spe cified . There i s no altern ative to reg­
u la r and freq uent checking o f the oil leve l, see
Note .
If the yellow e ngine oi l leve l wa rning symbo l El
in the instr ument cluster lights up, yo u should
chec k the o il level as soon as possible
¢ page 199 . Top off the oil at your ear liest con ­
venience ¢page 199.
A WARNING
Before you chec k anything in the eng ine com­
partment, always read and heed a ll WARN­
INGS¢ .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 195 .
@ Note
Driving with an insufficient oi l level is likely to
cause severe damage to the engine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressu re warning display. is not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rely on
it . Instead, check the oil level in your en­
gine at regular intervals, preferably each
time you refuel, and always before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impression yo ur engine con­
sumes excessive amounts of oil, we r ecom-
mend that yo u consult an au tho rized Audi .,.

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dealer to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that the
accurate meas urement of oil cons umption
requires great care and may take some time.
An authorized Audi dealer has instructions
about how to measure oil consumption ac­
curately.
Checking the engine oil level
Fig. 173 MMI Disp lay: Oil level indicator
Read oil level
• Park your vehicle so that it is horizonta lly level.
• Shut the engine off when it is at operating tem-
perature.
• Switch only the ignition back on.
• Wait approx. two minutes.
• Select: Function button
~IC ~A ~R~I > Oil level. Or
• Se lect: Funct ion button
ICARI > Car systems*
control button > Servicing & checks > Oil level.
• Read the oil level in the MMI* Display
r:::> fig. 173. Add engine o il if the bar of the oil
level indicator is near "min"
r:::>page 199
Depending on the way the vehicle is driven and
the operating conditions, oil consumpt ion can be
up to a 1/2 quart per 600 miles (O.S liter per
1,000 km) . Consumption may be higher within
the first 3,000 miles (S,000 km).
@ Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI* Display is
only an information disp lay. If the oil level is
too low, a minimum oil warn ing appears in
the instrument cluster. Add oi l
¢ page 199.
If the hood has been opened, the current oil
level is shown in the instrument cluster the
next time the ignition is switched on.
Checking and Filling
~ Adding engine oil
Fig. 174 Engine compartment: Cover on the oil filler neck
• 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 195.
• Shut the eng ine off.
• Unscrew the cap~ to the eng ine oil filling
hole
¢ fig. 174, ¢page 197, fig. 172.
• Carefully top off with 0 . S quarts (0.5 liters) of
the appropriate oi l
¢page 197.
• Check the oil level again after two minutes
¢ page 199, Checking the engine oil level.
• Top off the o il aga in, if necessary.
• Screw the cap back on the filling hole.
A WARNING
-
- Wh ile topping off, the o il must not come in
contact w ith hot engine parts -fire hazard!
- The oil filler cap must be properly secured to
p revent oil from being sprayed on the hot
engine and exhaust system when the engine
is running -fire hazard!
- If you r skin has come in contac t with the en­
g in e oi l, you must subsequently cleanse it
thoroughly.
CJ) Note
- Check the oil level using the radio or MMI*.
If the message
Please reduce oil level ap­
pears, contact your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop to have excess oil ex­
tracted if necessary.
-Audi does not recommend the use of oil
additives. They may damage the engine
and adversely affect your New Vehicle War-
ranty. ..,.
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Checking and F ill in g
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come in
contact with the sewage network or the soil.
- Observe and fo llow lega l regu lations when
disposing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that hove your oil changed by on
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified service sta­
tion.
Before you check anything in the engine compa rt ­
ment,
alway s read and heed all WARNINGS ¢ .&.
in Working in the engine comportment on
page 195.
The engine oil must be changed according to the
i n terva ls specified in yo ur Warranty
& Mainte­
nance booklet . This is very important because the
lubricat ing propert ies of o il diminish gradua lly
during normal vehicle use.
Under some circ umstances the engine oi l sho uld
be changed more frequent ly . Change oil more of­
ten if you drive most ly short distances, operate
the vehicle in dusty areas or under predom inantly
stop-and-go traffic condit ions, or have your vehi­
cle where temperatures rema in below freezi ng
for extended periods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w ill make fresh oil
look dark after the engine has been running for a
short time. This is normal and is not a reason to
cha nge the oil mo re often than recommended .
Because of the problem of proper disposa l, along
with the special tools and necessary expertise re­
qu ired, we stro ngly recommend that you have
your oil changed by an autho rized
Aud i deale r or
a qualif ied se rvice stat ion.
If you choose to change your o il yourself, please
note the fo llowing important information :
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of persona l inju ry if yo u
must c han ge the engine oil in your ve hicle
yo urself:
- Wea r eye p rotection .
200
-
-To reduce t he risk of burns from hot engine
oil, let the engine coo l down to the touch.
- W hen removing the o il drain p lug with your
fingers, stay as far away as possib le. Always
keep your forearm parallel to the ground to
he lp prevent hot oi l from running down your
arm .
- Dra in the oil into a c ontainer designed for
this purpose, one la rge 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 chi ld ren .
- Continuous contact w it h used eng ine oi l is
ha rmf ul to your skin. Always protect you r
skin by washi ng oil off tho roughly wi th soap
a nd wate r.
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine oil.
These additives can damage your e ngine and
adverse ly affect your Audi Limited New Vehi­
cle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changi ng your oil, first make su re
you know where you ca n prope rly dispose of
the used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oil properly.
Do not d ump it on garden so il, wooded
areas, in to op en st reams o r down sewage
drai ns.
- Recycle used engi ne oil by taking it to a used
eng ine oi l collect ion fac ility in yo ur area, o r
c ontact a service station.
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 sealed and genera lly re­
q u ires little attention.
The cooli ng sys tem has been filled at the f actory
wi th a permanent coolan t which does not need to
be changed. The coolant consists of a mixtu re of
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specially conditio ned water an d the manu fa ctu r­
er's glycol-basedcoolant additive Gl3 antifreeze
with anticorrosion additives (50% for USA mod­
els; 60% for Canadian models). This m ixture both
assures the necessary frost protection and pro­
tects meta l components in the engine's cooling
system from corrosion and scal ing . It also raises
the boiling point of the coolant.
Do not reduce the concentration of the coolant in
the summer by adding plain water .
The p ropor­
tion of coolant addit ive must be at l east 50 %
but n ot mor e th an 60 %
to maintain antifreeze
protection and cooling efficiency. If the coolant
frost protection is too low, the coolant cou ld
freeze and damage the vehicle heating and en­
gine cooling system.
F or yea r-round driving, antifreeze is added at the
factory fo r temperatures dow n to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
If you must add coo lant, use a mixture of water
and coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant additive
with distilled water is recommended.
A WARNING
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 195.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant addit ive in your
vehicle is suffic ient to meet the cli mate con­
dit ions. This is especially important if you
li ve in a region where the win ter is extreme­
l y co ld. If ne cessary, i ncrease the proport ion
of coo lant add itive to 60%.
- When adding coolant a ddit ive to you r cool ­
i ng system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant addi­
tive Gl2++ or Gl3 for your ve hicle. This
coolant additive is ava ilable at authorized
Audi dea lers. Other types of ant ifreeze can
significant ly reduce co rrosion protection.
Checking and Fillin g
The resulting corrosion can ca use a loss o f
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of rad iator le ak sealan t
to your vehicle's engine coolant. Adding ra­
diator repai r fluid may adverse ly affect the
function and performance of your cooling
system and could result in damage not cov­
ered by your New Vehicle Lim ited Warranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fi g. 175 Engine compartment: Cover on the coolant ex­
pa nsion tank
.. Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
alwa ys re ad and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 195.
.. Park your vehicle on a level su rface.
.. Tu rn off the ignition .
.. Read the engine coolant level from the coolant
expansion tank
¢fig . 175, ¢page 197,
fig . 172 .
With a cold engine, the coolant leve l
should be between the "M IN" and "MAX" mark­
ings. When the eng ine is warm, the level may
be slightly above the "MAX" marking.
The location of the coo lant expansion tank can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 197.
To obtain an a ccur ate reading, the engine m ust
be switched off.
T he expansion tank in yo ur veh icle is eq uipped
with an electric coo lant level senso r.
When the coolant leve l is too low, the wa rn ing
light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 17 will
201

Checking and F ill in g
blink until you add coo lant and the level has been
restored to normal. Even though there is an e lec­
tr ic coo lant level sensor, we still recommend you
check the coo lant level from t ime to time.
Coolant los s
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in t he cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cooling
system should be inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is not enough merely
to add coolant.
I n a
s e a led system, losses can occur only if the
boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as a re­
sult of overheating.
A WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and can
get very hot. Reduce the risk of scalding from
hot coolant by following these steps .
- Turn off the engine and allow it to coo l
down .
- Protect your face, hands and arms from es­
caping fluid and steam by covering the cap
with a large, thick rag .
-Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in a
counter-clockw ise d irection while applying
light, downward pressure on the top of the
cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill ant i­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or hot eng ine parts . Under ce rtain conditions,
the ethy lene g lycol in engine coolant can
catch fire.
{il) Note
Do not add any type of rad iator leak sealant
to your veh icle's engine coolant . Adding radia­
to r repair f lu id may adverse ly affect the func­
tion and performance of your cooling system
and could resu lt in damage not covered by
your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant .
Before you check anything in the engine compart­
ment,
alway s re ad an d heed all WARN ING S
202
¢ A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 195.
Req uirement: There must be a res idual amo unt
of coo lant in the expans ion tank
~CD-
.,,. Turn off the engine .
.,,. Let the engine cool down.
.,,. Place a thick rag ove r the coolant expansion
tank ¢
page 201, fig. 175 and car efull y turn
the cap counter-clockwise
~ .&_ .
.,,. Add coo lant mixed in the correct ratio
~ page 200, Coolant up to the MAX marking .
.,,. Make sure that the flu id level remains stab le.
Add more coolant if necessa ry .
.,,. Twist the cap on aga in
tightly .
Replacement engine coo lant must conform to ex­
act specifications ¢
page 200, Coolan t.
We recommend using only coo lant additive Gl2 +
+ , Gl3
or in an emergency Gl2+. Do not use a
different additive. In an emergency use plain wa­
ter unt il you can get the correct additive and can
restore the correct ratio. This should be done as
soon as possible .
If you have lost a considerab le amount of cool­
ant, then you should add cold antifree ze and cold
water only when the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coo lant when refilling.
Do not fil l coolant above the "MAX " mark. Excess
coolant will be forced out through the pressure
relief valve in the cap when the engine becomes
hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scalding
from hot coolant by following these steps.
- Turn off the eng ine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect you r face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap s low ly and ve ry carefully in a
counter-clockw ise direction wh ile app ly ing
li ght, downward p ressu re on the top o f
the cap. ..,,.

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-To avoid being burned, do not spi ll anti­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or hot engine parts. Under certain condi­
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool­ ant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store anti­
freeze in its original conta iner and well out
of the reach of ch ildren .
-If you drain the coolant, it must be caught
and safely stored in a proper container
clearly marked "poison" .
(D Note
-Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty . Air could enter the cooling system
and damage the eng ine .
If this is the case,
do not continue driving. Seek profess ional
ass istance.
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and could
cause an eng ine fire . Excess coolant will be
fo rced out through the pressure relief valve
i n the cap when the eng ine becomes hot.
- If, i n an emergency , only water can be add­
ed, the correct ratio between wa ter and an­
tifreeze
~ page 200 must be restored as
soon as possib le .
@) For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Always
dispose o f used coolant while observ ing all
environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by it­
self.
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the V­
be lt . The viscous clu tch regulates the speed of
the fan ac cording to the temperature of the cool ­
ant.
An auxiliary e lectr ic rad iator fan* switches on and
off depend ing on coolant temperat ure and othe r
veh icle operati ng conditions.
Afte r you switch the engine off, the auxiliary fan
can continue runn ing for up to 10 minutes -even
Ch eck in g and Fillin g
with the ignition off . It can even switch on again
later by itself¢& , if
- the temperatu re of the engine coo lant rises due
to the heat build- up from the engine in the en­
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the
veh icle is parked in intense sun light .
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of persona l injury never
touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature con­ trolled and can switch on suddenly even
when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on auto­
matica lly when the engine coolant reaches a
certain temperature and will continue to run
until the coolant temperature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a quick
glance .
Fig. 17 6 Engine compar tment : Cove r on the b rake fl uid
r e servoir
Before you check anyth ing in the engine compart ­
ment,
al way s read and h eed all WARNIN GS
¢ _.& in Working in the engine compartment on
page 195 .
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the b rake fluid
reservoir ¢
fig. 176, ¢ page 197, fig . 172 . The
brake fluid level must be between the
"MIN "
and "MAX " markings.
20 3

Checking and F ill in g
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on t he left
side ¢
page 197.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the b ra ke fluid level fal ls considerably below
the "MIN" mark, the brake warn ing/indi cator
light (U.S. models:
1111 , Canadian models: . )
will come on ¢
page 15. Do not contin ue to oper­
ate the vehicle . The complete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an author iz ed
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected . If the brake fluid level is too low, the
brake warning/ind icator light w ill illuminate .
Contact an authorized Audi dealer
i mmed iately .
{D) Tips
The brake fluid reservoir is located under­
neath the cove r.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moist ure from the a ir. If the
water content in the brake fluid is too high, cor­ rosion in the brake system may result after a peri­
od of time . The boiling point of the brake flu id
w ill also decrease conside rably and dec rease
b rak ing perfo rmance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ve ry
two year s.
Always use new brake fluid w hich con­
forms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
1 16 DOT 4".
The brake fluid rese rvoir can be difficult to reach,
therefo re , we recommend that you have the
b rake fluid changed by your author ized
Audi
dealer .
Your dealer has the correct too ls , the
right brake fluid and the know-how to do t his for
you.
A WARNING
- B rake fluid is poisonous. It must be stored
on ly in the closed original container out of
the reach of children!
204
- Brake fail ure can resu lt from o ld or inappro­
priate brake fluid. Observe these precau ­
tions:
- Use only b rake fluid that meets SAE spec i­
f ica tion
J 170 3 and conform s to Federa l
Motor Vehicle Standard 116. Always check
with yo ur autho rized Audi dea le r to make
su re you are using the correct brake fl uid.
The correct type of brake flu id is also ind i­
cated on the brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fl uid must be new. Heavy use of
the brakes can cause a vapor lock if the
brake f luid is left in the system too long.
This can seriously affect the efficiency of
the brakes as well as your safety. This
could result in an acc ident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your vehi­
cle.
@ For the sake of the env ironment
Because of the prob lem of prope r disposal of
brake fluid as well as the special tools re­
qu ired and the necessary expert ise, we rec­
omme nd that you have the brake flu id
changed by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
, General information
U nder normal operating conditions, the battery
i n your Audi does not need any maintenance.
Wi th
high outside temperatures or long daily
drives we recommend that you have the e lectro ­
lyte level checked by an a uth orized Aud i deale r o r
qualified workshop . The electrolyte leve l should
a lso be checked each time the batte ry is c ha rged
~ page 206.
Have the battery checked when yo u take your ve­
hicle in for service . You a re well adv ised to re­
pla ce a battery that is older tha n 5 years.
With certain types of airbag deployment, the bat ­
te ry is disconnected from the veh icle elect rical
system for safety reasons
¢ & in Repair, care
and disposal of the airbags on page 1 45.