Checking and Filling
-To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam or
coolant escaping from the engine compart
ment . Wait until no steam or coolant can be
seen or heard before carefully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxiliary
electric fan is temperature controlled and
can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap when
the engine is still warm. The coolant system
is pressurized and hot coolant could spray
out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
- Do not remove the engine cover under any
circumstances. This increases the risk of
burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electrical
system is necessary :
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or open
flames. Fluids in the engine compartment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher imme
diately available .
- To avoid electrical shock and personal injury
while the engine is running or being started,
never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair with
the engine running:
- First, fully apply the parking brake, move
selector lever of automatic transmission
192
to "P" (Park); put manual transmission in
Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from getting
caught in the radiator fan, V-belts or other
moving parts, or from contacting 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 chemi cal hazards
~ ,& .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents, and certain vehicle components contain or
emit chemicals known to the State of Cali
fornia to cause cancer and birth defects and
reproductive harm. In addition, certain flu
ids contained in vehicles and certain prod
ucts of component wear contain or emit
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and birth defects or other
reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related acces
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive harms .
Wash hands after handling .
(D Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container or
filler opening, otherwise serious damage to
vehicle systems will occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly. If you
see spots from oil or other vehicle fluids, have
your vehicle inspected by an authorized Audi
dealer.
M N
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rl I.O
"' N
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Checking and Filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 161 Typical layout for containers and eng ine oil filler cap
(D Eng ine o il filler cap (
@ Brake fluid reservoir((();) .... .. .
@ Coolant expansion tank (- L) .. .. .
® Jump start point(-) with hex head
195
202,237
199
198
screw ... .. ............... .. . 202, 237
@ Windshield/headlight* washer con-
tainer
(Q) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
The position of the engine oil filling hole
c:> fig. 161 (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 191.
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
193
M N
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rl I.O
"' N
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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
i::;, page 196 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 sw itch 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. 1 65 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 191 .
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the b rake fluid
reservoir
¢ fig. 165, ¢page 193, fig . 161 . The
brake fluid level must be between the
"MIN "
and "MAX " markings.
19 9
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
c!,> page 193.
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/indicator
light (U.S. models:
1111 , Canadian models: . )
will come on
c!,> 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!
200
- 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
c:!,> page 202.
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
c:!,> & in Repair, care
and disposal of the airbags on page 1 42.
® Mud and snow capability
"M/S" or "M+S" indicates the tire
has characte ris tics that make it
suitable for driving on mud and snow .
& indica tes a winter tire.
@ Composition of the tire cord
and materials
T he number of plies indicates the
number of rubber ized fabric lay
ers in the tire . In general: the
more layers, the more weight a
tire can carry. Tire manufacturers
must also specify the mater ials
used in the ti re. These include
stee l, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry .
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear , traction and tempera
ture ranges¢
page 221.
@Running direction
The arrows ind icate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires.
You must always follow the speci- fied running direction
¢
page 231.
€3) Ma ximum permitted
inflation pressure
Whe els
This number indicates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat
ing conditions .
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto matic transmission, power steer
ing, power brakes, power win
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
items are available as factory-in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low s idewall for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement . .,.
207
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Product ion options weight
Maximum (permissible)
inflation pressure
means the max im um cold infla
tion pressu re to which a tire may
be inflated . Also called "ma xi
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilog rams)
times the number of occupants
seated in the veh ic le up to the to
tal seating capacity of yo ur vehi
c le.
Occupant distribution
means d istr ibution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire .
Overall width
means the linear dis tance be
tween the exter iors of the side
walls of an inflated tire , including
elevations d ue to labe ling, deco
rations , or protective bands or
ribs .
Whee ls
Ply
means a layer of rubbe r-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the comb ined weight o f
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs . (2 .3
kg) in excess o f those s tandard
items which they re place , not pre
viously conside red in c urb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rac k, heavy d uty batte ry, and
specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic t ire in which
the ply cords that ex tend to the
beads are la id at substantially 90
degrees to the centerli ne of the
tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 208, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in
flat ion pressures than the corre
spon ding standard tire . Rein
f orced tires may be identified as
2 0 9
_& WARNING -
-Only use tire/rim combinations and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident
could result.
- For technical reasons, it is not
possible to use tires from oth
er vehicles -in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from
the same vehicle model.
- Make sure that the tires you
select have enough clearance
to the vehicle. Replacement
tires should not be chosen simply based on the nominal
size, because tires with a dif
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged
and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of
an accident.
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al low enough air circulation to
Wheels
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 169 Tire profile: Treadwear indica
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
- Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves,
rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear.
- Have an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized repair facility
check the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear.
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel. If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly.
213
...
Wheels
plus maximum load. The maxi
mum load includes the number of
passengers that the vehicle is in
tended to carry ("seating capaci
ty") with an assumed weight of 150 lbs. (68 kg) for each passen
ger at a designated seating posi
tion and the total weight of any luggage in the vehicle. If you tow
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer must be includ
ed as part of the vehicle load .
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
vehicle's two axles.
The fact that there is an upper
limit to your vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating means that the
total weight of whatever is being
carried in the vehicle (including
the weight of a trailer hitch and
the tongue weight of the loaded
trailer) is limited . The more pas
sengers in the vehicle or passen
gers who are heavier than the
standard weights assumed mean
that less weight can be carried as
luggage.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Axle Weight Rating
218
are listed on the safety compli
ance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar
¢ page 215,
fig . 170.
.&_ WARNING ~ -
Overloading a vehicle can cause
loss of vehicle control, a crash
or other accident, serious per
sonal injury, and even death.
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to
carry will prevent the vehicle
from handling properly and in
crease the risk of the loss of
vehicle control.
-The brakes on a vehicle that
has been overloaded may not
be able to stop the vehicle
within a safe distance .
-Tires on a vehicle that has been overloaded can fail sud
denly, including a blowout and
sudden deflation, causing loss
of control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the to tal load being transported -
including the weight of a trail
er hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer
does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.