
M N
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0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child restra int manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the we ight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir
bag System. When a chi ld restraint is being
used on the front passenge r seat with a typi
cal 1 year -old ch ild, the A dvanced Airbag Sys
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the information stor
ed in the electronic control unit.
The electron ic contro l unit al so registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The tension on the safety be lt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measures the
tension on the belt. The input from this sen
sor is t hen used w ith the we ight to "decide",
whether there is a ch ild restraint with a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regard less of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu
facturer for use with an airbag . Always be sure
that the chi ld restraint is p roperly instal led at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions. If in excep
tional ci rcumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefu lly read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air
bags and heed a ll of the app licable WARN
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weight-sensing
Child Sa fet y 135
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag status is always correct ly signaled
by the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restraints
have been available over t he years, new mod
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typ ically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and different 'footpr ints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the ch ild restrai nt that sits
o n the seat, when they a re insta lled on a veh i
cle seat. These diffe rences make it v irtually
impossible to certify compliance with the re
quirements for advanced airbags with each
and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 25, 2007 R ide AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century Smart Fit December 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007 22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
•
•

M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumption by 10-15 percent. This sec
tion will give you some tips on how you can help the environmen t and your pocketbook.
The consumption estimates as published by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, wh ich will vary depend ing upon vehi
cle load and speed, road and weather con
ditions, tr ip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac
celerating.
.,. Avoid unnecessa ry accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac
celerating . If you anticipate what is go ing to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
thus , accelerate less. Let the vehicle coas t
whenever poss ible -for example when you see
that the next traffic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and
improves your mileage.
.,. Try and keep well be low your car's max imum
speed.
Accelerating gently reduces fuel consump
tion, engine wear, and does not disturb the
environment. Fue l consumption, exhaust emissions and en
g ine no ise increase d isproportionately at high
speeds . If you dr ive at approximately three
qua rters of top speed, fue l consumption will
be red uced by one half. Never dr ive faste r
than the posted speed limi t and wea ther con
ditions permit.
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 163
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up
fuel .
.,. Shut the engine off when you are not driving
the vehicle .
.,. Do not warm up the vehicle by lett ing the
eng ine run at idle .
It makes sense to shut off the engine in traffic
jams, when wa it ing for tra ins to pass at rail
road crossings, or at t raff ic lights that have
l ong waits on red . T u rning the eng ine off for
just 30-40 seconds saves mo re fuel tha n is
bur ned star ting the engine again.
It takes a long t ime for the engine to warm up
fully when it is runn ing at id le. However, wear
and noxious emissions are especia lly hig h
when the eng ine is wa rm ing up. So yo u shou ld
drive away as soon as yo u start the engine and
avoid r unning at high rpms whi le the engine is
still warming up.
(D Note
D o not leave engine idling unattended af
ter starting. If warning lights sho uld come
on to indicate improper operation, they
would go unheeded. Extended idling also produces heat, w hich could res ult in over
heating or other damage to the veh icle or
other p roperty .
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a
lot of fuel .
.,. Have you r veh icle serviced at regu lar inter-
vals.
By having your ve hicle reg ularly serviced by an
a uthorized Audi dea le r helps to ensure that it
runs properly and econom ica lly. The cond ition
of your veh icle not only affects its safety and
ability to ho ld its va lue, it a lso affects
fuel
con sumption .
Chec k your o il each t ime you fill your tank.
Ill-
•
•

164 Driving and en vironm ent
The amount of oil used is related to eng ine
load and speed.
I t is normal for the oil consumption of a new
engine to reach its lowest val ue after a certain
mileage has been driven.
You must drive your vehicle about 3 ,000 miles
(5,000 kilometers) before you can properly
assess o il cons umption .
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and en
g ine output .
0 Note
-Have your vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec
ommendations in your War ranty
& Main
tenance booklet. Lack of proper mainte
nance as well as imp roper use of the ve
hicle will impair the function of the
emission control system and could lead
to damage.
- Do not a lter or remove any component of
the Emi ssion Contro l System unless ap
proved
by the manufacturer.
- Do not a lter or remove any device, such
as heat shields, switches, ignition wires,
va lves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emiss ion Control System
and other important veh icle compo
nents .
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips .
• Try to avo id driving sho rt distances with a
cold eng ine.
The engine and catalytic converter have to reach their optimal
ope rating tempe ratu re to
reduce fuel con sumption and noxious emis
sions effect ively.
Just after starting, a cold engine in a mid-size car on ly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 miles
per gallon (30-40 l/100 km) . After about a
half a m ile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg
(20 l/100 km) . After about
2. 5 miles (4 km), the engine is at its proper operating tempera
ture and fuel economy has reached a normal
l evel. So you can see that you should avo id
short trips whenever possible.
T he
out sid e tempe rature is also critical in this
regard . Your car consumes more fue l in the
winter than in the s ummer.
Driving offroad
General information
When driving off road, the functions fo r the
electron ic stabiliza tion control ( ESC) are ex
panded . The ESC-Offroad-Mode can be activat
ed in driving situations in which a wheel lock
or a differential lock function is needed
c> page 155.
Your Audi i s howev er, n ot an offroad vehicle.
Ne ver dri ve the vehicle in te rrain wh ich i s n ot
suitable for the vehicle , o r w hich ex ceeds
y ou r driv ing skill s. Ne ver tak e an y u nneces
s ar y risk s!
Aft er d riving offroad
-After driving offroad, remove branches and
other debris from the radiator gri lle, under
body, and wheels. Look especially for objects
(stones) that have been caught in the tire
tread.
- Clean the body and the vehicle underbody
and inspect the vehicle for possible damag
es.
- Clean off the dirty windows, headlights, tail
lights and the license plate .
- Pe rform a brake test (especially after driving
through water).
A WARNING
- Be especially aware and attent ive when
driving under difficult condit ions . Dam
ages to the vehicle and injur ies may oc
cur when driv ing at an excessively high
speed or with incor rect driving maneu
vers.
- Always adjust you r speed and hand ling
to the roads, terrain, t raff ic and weather
~

186 Checking and filling
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 sealed and generally re
qu ires little attention .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac
tory with a permanent coo lant which does not
need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of spec ially conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glycol-basedcoolant addi-
tive G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi
tives (50% for USA models; 60% for Ca nada
models) . This mixture both assures the neces
sary frost protection and protects metal com
ponents in the engine's cooling system from
corrosion and scaling.
It a lso raises the boil
ing point of the coo lant.
Do not reduce the concentration o f the coo l
ant in the summer by adding plain water .
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50% but not more than 60%
to main
tain antifree ze protection and cooling efficien
cy. If the coolant frost protect ion is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the veh i
cle heating and engine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada.
I f you must add coo lant, use a mixture of wa
ter and coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
_& WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
~ &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 179.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
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 extreme ly cold. If necessary, in
crease the proportion of coolant add itive
to 60% .
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad
ditive G12++ or G13 for your vehicle.
This coolant additive is available at au
thorized Audi dealers. Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor rosion protection. The resulting corro
sion can cause a loss of coolant and se
rious engine damage .
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak seal
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding radiator repair flu id may adverse
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
Fig. 148 E n gin e compart men t: Cover on the coo la n t
expans io n tank
.,. Before you check anything in the engine
compa rtment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ~ ,& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 179.
.,. Park your vehicle on a level surface .
.,. Tur n off the ignition.
.,. Read the engine coolant level from the coo l
ant expansion tank
c:> fig . 148, c:> page 181,
fig. 145.
With a cold engine, the coolant Iii>-

M N M N
0 ::i co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
N
N
;:;;
" 03
"'
Fi g. 149 Eng ine compartment: Cover on the brake flu
id reservoir
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
a lwa ys read and heed all WARN
ING S c:> .&.. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 179 .
~ Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c:> fig. 149, <=> page 181,
fig . 145.
The brake flu id level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the
left side <::;>
page 181 .
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably be
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi
cator light (USA models: ., Canada models:
• will come on
<::;> page 13. Do not continue
to operate the vehicle . The complete brake
system should be thorough ly checked by an
author ized Audi dealer or qua lified workshop
and the cause corrected.
If the brake fluid lev
e l is too low, the brake warning/indicator ligh t
will illuminate . Contact an authorized A ud i
dealer
immediately.
@ Tips
The brake f luid reservoir is located under
neath the cover .
Checking and fillin g 189
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by on experi
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the
brake flu id will also dec rease considerably and
decrease braking pe rformance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
ev ery two years. Always use new brake flu id
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "F MVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservo ir can be d iff icult to
reach, the refore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author
i zed
Audi d ealer. Your dealer has t he correct
tools, the right brake fl uid and t he know-how
to do this for you .
A WARNING -.
-Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor
ed only in the closed original container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap
propriate brake f luid. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
spe cificat ion
J 1 7 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicl e Standard 116.
Always check with yo ur authorized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct bra ke fluid. The correct type of
brake f luid is also indicated on the
brake f luid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
l ong . This can seriously affect the effi
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This cou ld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle .

200 Tires and wheels
you have stored. The system does not recog
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monito r
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load¢.&. .
See the illustration¢
fig. 152 for the location
of the label on driver's side 8-pillar (color of
the actua l label and exact location on the ve
hicle wi ll vary slightly).
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
Model Tire designation
Engine
Q3: 235/50
Rl8 97H
2.0 liter All Season
4 -cylinder
235/50 Rl8 97V
All Season
255/40 Rl9 96Y
High Performan ce
255/35 R20 97Y xl
High performance
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tir e
pressure label is located on the driver's side 8-
pillar always takes precedence.
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal
l ed on the respective models as original
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
normal load condition full load condition (up to 3 occupants)
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
33 220 33 220 34 230 36 250
33 220 33 220 34 230 36 250
34 230 34
230 44
300 47
320
34 230 34 230 44 300 47 320
xl= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as XL, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side 8 -pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehi cle equipment dur ing the model year, al
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure labe l on your vehicle with the
tires on your vehicle . Make sure that the tire
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the size of the t ires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be
longs to someone else or you bought the vehi
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas
sengers also depends on mak ing sure that
load limits are not exceeded . Vehicle load in- eludes
everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are technically refer
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rat ing ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle We ight Rat
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance sticker label located on the
dr ive r's side 8-pillar. The tire pressure labe l on
you r Audi lists the max imum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the ve hicle can carry. For the
location of the tire pressure label
~fig . 152. .,..

212 Tire s and wheel s
driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all wheel drive .
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design o f whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled rims . If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right l ength and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are f itted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model¢
page 239.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious p ersona l in
Jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in t he wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be prop
erly tigh tened.
- N ever grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torq ue.
- O nly use wheel bo lts that be long to the
rim being installed.
- N ever use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Alw ays mai nta in the co rrec t tighte ning
tor que fo r the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the veh i- cle is moving.
If the tig
hte ning torq ue is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
105 ft lbs. (140 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lbs. (± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts
diagonally . After changing a wheel, the
torque must be checked as soon as poss i
ble with a to rque wrenc h - preferab ly by an
a uthorized Aud i dea le r or qualified wor k
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your A udi is factory -eq uipped w it h low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving condi
t ions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
t read width exp ressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
pa rticularly sen sitive to improp er inflation
pre ssure. It i s therefor e important that low
a spe ct ratio tir es are inflated to the spe cified
pre ssure and that the inflation pre ssure i s
regula rly checked and mainta ined. Tire pre s
sure s should be checked at lea st once a
month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 201, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avo id tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gul lies
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated . ..,.

218 What do I do no w?
checked as soon as possible and, if necessary,
replaced by an Audi dea ler or qualified work
shop.
P lease no te the following restr ictions when
using the spare tire . The spa re tire is designed
specifica lly for this model. For t his reason, do
not use a spare tire from a different type of
vehicle.
Re moving the spare tire
.. Take out the floor pane l.
.. Remove the wing screw ¢
fig. 161 and take
out the retainer underneath .
.. Remove the bass box* ¢
page 217.
.. Take out the spare tire.
Snow cha in s
For technica l reasons, snow chains must not
be used on the spare tire .
Should you have a flat tire on one of the front
wheels when using snow chains, fit the spare
tire in place of one o f the rear whee ls. You can
then attach the snow chains to the whee l tak
en from the rear and use this wheel to replace
the flat front twheel.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in
dicato rs .
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex
t reme caution and careful d riving .
- The spare tire is intended only for tem
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possib le w ith the
normal wheel and t ire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire,
the tire pressu re must be checke d as
soon as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
c om pac t spa re tire must be 4.2 bar; oth
erwise, you risk hav ing an accident .
- Do not drive faster than 50 mph (8 0 km/
h). You risk having an acc iden t.
- Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing . Yo u r isk hav
ing an ac ciden t. -
Never drive using more than one spare
wheel and tire. You r isk having an acci
dent.
- Normal summer or winter t ires must not
be mounted on the compact spare wheel
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the spare tire is not permitted.
If it is necessary to drive with tire chains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
front ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front wheel
m ust then be installed in place of the
rea r whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the tire chain be fore mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compart
ment can cause se rious personal injury
during hard braking or in an accident. Never store the spare tire or jack and
too ls in t he passenger compartment.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang
ing a wheel.
.. After you experie nce a t ire failure, pull the
car well away from mov ing traffic and try to
reach
level ground before you stop
¢ page 216, ¢,& .
.. All passengers should leave th e car and
move to a safe location ( for ins tance, behind
the guardrail) ¢&, .
.. Engage the
pa rking brake to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally
c> &, .
.. Move the
selector lever to the P posit ion .
.. If you are towing a trailer : unhitch the trail
er from your vehicle.
.. Take the
jack ¢ page 216 and the spare tir e
¢page 217 out of the luggage compart-
ment. .,.