2015 AUDI A8 coolant

228 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 197 Driver foo twell: release lever
Fig. 198 Rocker switch un der the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged.
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow
¢ fig. 197.
.,. Raise the hood slightly¢,&. .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward ~
fig. 198. This releases the catch.
• Open the hood.
&_ WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood .
'Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
Whenever you must perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling different fluids, there is a risk of injury, burns and accidents. To prevent per­
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
¢ ,&. .
A WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition .
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully 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 auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm . The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant 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 electri­
cal system is necessary:

,....,
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'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
(!) Windshield/headlight washer
t .
(~ ) con ainer ,..., .. .... ... .. .. . 244
@ Jump start point( -) with hex
h ead screw ............... .. 242, 281
® Jump start point( +) under a cov-
er . ..... .. ... .. ..... ... .. . 242, 281
@ Engine oil filler cap(~) . . . . . 234
® Brake fl uid reservo ir ((0)) . . . . . 239
® Coolant expansion tank (-L) . . . 237
0 O il dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
The engine oil filler neck (item @) may be lo­
cated in a different area depend ing on the ver­
sion of the eng ine .
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARN INGS
Q .&. in Working in the engine
c ompartment on page 228.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil .
-
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerp lant that was b uilt to exacting specifi ­
cations . This engine needs the right kind of
engine o il that meets specificat ions regarding
q ua lity and viscos ity so that it can run
smoothly and reliably . Choos ing the right oil
and changing oil within the time and mileage
in terva ls pr inted in your veh icle's War ranty
&
M aintenance book let matters a lot more to­
day than i t did yea rs ago . Audi has developed
a special quality s tanda rd fo r engine oil th at
will he lp assure that your veh icle's eng ine will
get the lubrication it needs for prope r opera ­
tion .
M odern eng ine lubrica tion has taken a qu an­
tum leap in the last few years . Many synthetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
brication that can outlast traditional petrole­
um-based o ils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your A udi.
Checkin g and fillin g 231
Whether you use synthetic o r petro le um­
based engine oil, the oil that you use m ust
conform to Aud i's oi l quality standard
VW 502 00 (vehicles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles w it h diesel eng ine) to
help keep your veh icle's engine ru nning
smoot hly and he lp prevent the format io n of
harmful deposits, sometimes ca lled "s ludge, "
t h at over time can lead to expensive repairs.
At the time of printing, engine oils ava ilab le i n
t h e U.S . and Canada that meet the exac ting
specifications of Audi oil standard VW 502 00
(ve hicl es w ith gasoline engine) o r VW 50 7 00
(ve hicl es w ith diese l engi ne) are synthet ic en ­
gine oi ls. Th is does not mean, howeve r, that
every synthetic engine oil will meet A udi oi l
standard VW 502 00 (vehicles with gasoline
engine) or VW 507 00 (vehicles with d iesel
engine). So always be sure that you use an ap­
proved o il.
To he lp prevent the formation of harmfu l de­
pos its use on ly oil with the following specifi­
cations pr inted on the o il conta iner:
- Audi oil standard VW 502 00 (gasoline en­
gine )
- Audi oil standard VW 507 00 (diesel en-
gine )
Oil containe r labels may car ry the spe cifica­
tion sing ly or in combination wi th other desig­
nations and oil quality s tanda rds .
Viscosity
Engine o ils are graded accord ing to their vis­
cosity . The proper viscos ity grade oil fo r your
engine depends o n climactic or seasona l con­
ditions where you d rive. You ca n use o il wit h a
vis cosity gr ade of SA E SW40 across all tem ­
pera ture ranges for norma l driv ing con ditions.
Howeve r, if engine oil v iscos ity grade SA E
SW40 is not available, you can a lso use v iscos­
i ty grade SA E SW -30 or SA E OW -40 as long as
i t meets Aud i oil q ua lity standard VW 502 00
(ve hicles w ith gasoline engine) o r VW 5 07 00
(ve hicles w ith diese l engine) specifications.
Be cause eng ine o il that mee ts the Audi o il
standard may no t be availab le everywhere
•
•

236 Check ing and filling
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil , first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose
of the used oil.
- Always dispose of used engine oil proper­
l y. Do not dump it on garden soi l, wood­
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in your
area, or contact a service station .
Engine 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 sea led and generally re­
qu ires little attention .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac ­
tory with a pe rmanent coolant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture of spec ia lly conditioned water and the
manufacturer 's glycol-based coo lant add i-
tive G l3 antifreeze with ant icorrosion addi ­
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els). This mixture both assures the nec es­
sary frost protection and protects metal com­ ponents in the engine's cooling sys tem from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil­
ing point of the coolant .
Do not red uce the concentration of the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add it ive mu st be at
l e a st 50 % but not more than 60 %
to main­
tain antifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy . If the coolant frost prote ct ion is too low,
the coo lant cou ld freeze and damage the veh i­
cle hea ting and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round d riving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for temperatures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada. If
you must add coolant, use a mixture o f wa ­
ter and coolant additive . Mixing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
A WARNING
-
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WAR NINGS
c::, & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 228.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­ mate conditions . This is especia lly impor­
tant if you live in a reg ion where the win­
ter is ex treme ly cold. If ne cessa ry, i n­
crease the pr opo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 60%.
- Whe n adding coolant additive to yo ur
c ooling sys tem, remembe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad ­
d itive Gl2++ or Gl3 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is availab le at au­
thor ized Audi dealers . Other types of
ant ifreeze can s ignificant ly reduce cor­
rosion protection. The resulti ng cor ro­
sion can ca use a loss o f coolan t and se­
rio us engine damage.
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak seal­
a nt to yo ur vehicle 's engine coolant.
Add ing radiator repai r fl ui d may adverse ­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by yo ur New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
-

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Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig. 204 Eng ine compartme nt: cover o n the coolant
expansion tank
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
a lway s read and he ed all WARN ­
INGS ¢ & in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 228.
Park your vehicle on a level surface.
~ Switch off the ignition.
~ Read the engine coolant leve l from the cool­
ant expansion tank¢
fig. 204, ¢ page 230.
With a cold engine, the coolant level should
be between the "min" and "max" markings.
When the engine is warm, the level may be sl ightly above the ''max" marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration ¢
page 230 .
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansio n tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When t he coo lant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 15 will
illuminate unti l yo u add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even thoug h
there is an electric coolant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolant level
from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool-
Checkin g and fillin g 237
ing system shou ld be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer . It is not
eno ugh merely to add coo lant .
In a
s ealed system, losses can occu r on ly if
the boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as
a resu lt of overheating.
A WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Red uce the risk of scald­
ing from hot coolant by follow ing these
steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping flu id a nd steam by cover ing the
cap with a la rge, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise d irect ion while ap­
p lyi ng lig ht, dow nward pressure on the
top of the cap.
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti­
freeze o r coolan t on the exhaust system
or ho t engine parts. Und er certa in cond i­
tions, the ethylene gly co l in engine coo l­
an t can catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your veh icle's engine coo lant. Add­
i ng radia to r repa ir flui d may adverse ly af­
fe ct the fun ct io n and perfor man ce o f you r
coo ling system and could result in damage
not cove red by your New Vehicle Limi ted
War ranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant .
Before you che ck a nyt hing in the eng ine com­
partmen t,
alway s re ad and he ed alt WARN­
INGS ¢ & in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 228.
~ Requirement: There must be a residua l
a mo unt of coolan t in the expansion ta nk
¢(D.
~Tu rnoff the engine . •
•

238 Check ing and filling
• Let the engine coo l down .
• Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank
¢ page 237, fig . 204 and care full y
twist the cap counter-clockwise¢ _&..
• Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢
page 236, Coolant up to the MAX mark­
i ng.
• Make sure that the fluid level rema ins sta-
ble. Add more coolant if necessary.
• Twist the cap on again
tightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications ¢
page 236, Coolant.
We recommend using only coolant additive
G12++, G13 or in an emergency G12+ . Do not
use a different additive . In an emergency use
p la in water unt il you can get the correct add i­
tive and can restore the correct ratio. This
should be done as soon as possible .
If you have lost a considerable amount of
coolant, then you should add co ld antifreeze
and cold water only when the engine is co ld.
Always use
new eng ine coolant when refilling .
Do not fi ll coolant above the "MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coolant will be forced out through the pressure relief valve in the cap when the en­
g ine becomes hot .
A WARNING
- T he coo ling system is under p ressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from ho t coolant by following
these steps.
-Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from escaping flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- T urn the cap slowly and very carefully
in a counter-clockwise d irect ion while
apply ing light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts . Under certa in cond
it ions, the ethylene g lycol in en­
gine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous . A lways store an­
tifreeze in its origina l container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you dra in the coo lant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "po ison".
@ Note
- Do not add coolant if the expansion tank
is empty. Air co uld enter the cooling sys­
tem and damage the engine. If this is
the case, do not cont inue driving. Seek
professional assistance .
- Coo lant pollutes the environment and
cou ld cause an engine f ire. Excess cool­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an eme rgency, only wate r can be
added, the co rrect ratio between water
and antifreeze ¢
page 236 must be re­
stored as soon as possible.
@ For the sake of the environment
D rained coolant should not be reused . Al­
ways d ispose of used coolant while observ­
i ng all envi ro nmental regula tions.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The rad iator fan is driven by the e ngine via the
V-belt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed of the fan acco rding to the temperatu re of the
coolant.
An auxiliary electric radiato r fan* sw itches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and ot her vehicle ope rat ing condit io ns.
After you switch the eng ine off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 m inutes
- even w ith the ignition off .
It can even switch
o n aga in later by itself¢.& , if
1111>

- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to th e heat bui ld-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
.&_ WARNING
- To reduce the r isk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electr ic fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on sudden ly
even when the engine is not runn ing.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au­ tomat ically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper ­
at ure drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
N N
-N
i
F ig . 2 05 Eng ine co mpartmen t: cove r on the b rake f lui d
r eservo ir
Before you check anything in th e engine com­
partment,
alwa ys read and he ed all WARN­
INGS c::> .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 2 28.
~ Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fl uid reservo ir ~
fig . 205, c::> page 230. The
brake f luid leve l must be betwee n the "M IN"
and "M AX" marki ngs.
The location of the brake fl uid reservo ir can be
see n in t he engi ne comp artment illus trati on
c::> page 230.
Checkin g and fillin g 239
The fluid level may d rop slightly afte r some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads . T his is not cause for alarm .
If the brake flu id leve l falls considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light . (U.S. models) . (Canadian
models) w ill come on
~ page 14 . Do not con­
tin ue to operate the vehicle . The complete
brake sys tem should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dea ler or other quali ­
fied facility and the cause corrected.
If the
brake f lu id leve l is too low, the brake warning/
indica tor ligh t will illumi nate. Conta ct an au­
thorized Aud i de aler
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
en ced technician.
B rake fluid absorbs moisture from the air . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
high, co rrosion in the brake system may resu lt
after a pe riod of time. The boiling point of the
brake f lu id will also dec rease conside rably and
decrease brak ing performance.
T herefo re , the bra ke fluid must be changed
every tw o year s. Always use new br ake f lu id
which con forms to Federal Mo tor Veh icle
Standard " FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
T he bra ke fluid reservo ir can be d iff icu lt to
reach, the refore, we recommend that you
have the bra ke fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the cor rect
tools, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
---- Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor­
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from old or inap­
prop riate brake f lu id. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- U se only brake fluid tha t meets SAE
specificat ion
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 116.

244 Checking and filling
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposa l
of a battery, we recommend your author­
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batter ies contain sulfuric acid and
lead and must always be disposed of prop­
erly in compliance w ith all environmental
regu lations . D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi­ ronmen t.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fig. 207 Engine compartment: cover on the windshield
was her flui d reservo ir
The washer fluid container is marked with the
symbol~ on its cap
c::> fig. 207, c::> page 230 .
.. Before you check anyth ing in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS c::> A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 228 .
.. lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu­
id . You can fill the container to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the filler neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservoir
capacity in the table
in
c::>page 288.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. Always add a glass cleaner solu­
tion (with frost protection in the winter).
(D Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind­
shield washer reservoir.

24 6 T ire s and whee ls
- Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
(D Note
- Please note that summer and winter
tires are designed for the cond itions that
a re typ ica l in those seasons. Aud i recom­
mends using w inter t ires d uring the win-
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items which may be rep laced)
of automatic transmission, power steering,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that these
items are available as factory-installed equip­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio of the height to the width of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in­
d icate a low sidewall for improved steer ing re­
sponse and better overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the pa rt of the tire t hat is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means t he strands forming the plies in the
tire. ter months.
Low tempe ratu res signifi­
cantly decrease the elasticity of summer
tires, which affects traction and braking ability. If summer tires are used in very
co ld temperatures, cracks can form on
the tread bars, resu lting in permanent
tire damage that can cause loud driving noise and unbalanced tires. Aud i is not
responsib le for this type of damage.
- Burn ished, polished or chromed rims
must not be used in winter weather. The
surface of the rims does not have suff i­
c ien t corrosion protect io n for this and
cou ld be pe rmanently damaged by road
salt or simi lar substances. This damage
is not covered by war ranty.
Cold tire inflat ion pre ssure
means the t ire press ure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a tire o f a des ignated
size that has not been driven for more than a
coup le of miles (ki lometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire press ure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor vehicle w ith
standard equipment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, o il, and coolant, air cond i­
tion ing and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the load-carrying capacity of a single
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in -
terfaces.
IJ>,