2015 AUDI Q3 oil level

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
& WARNING
-Always observe the wa rning in
¢
page 179, before opening the hood
and checking the engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself. Let the engine cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant.
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
in front of the air inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
proper ly distr ib ute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld redu ce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over­
heat. Ask yo ur autho rized Aud i de aler f or
assistance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area
at the e nd of the sca le ind icates maximum
permissible engine RPM after the break- in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
l ector lever to position D/S or ease your foot
off the accelerator peda l.
(D Note
The tachometer needle@¢ page 10,
fig. 3 sho uld only briefly be in the red
zone: you could damage your engine! The
beg inning of the red zone varies depend­
ing on the engine.
@) For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fue l and reduces en-
~ gine noise. ,....,
Fuel gauge
T he fuel gauge wo rks only when the ignition is
o n.
When the needle reaches the red a rea, the
warning light
Ii] in the instrume nt cluster
will illuminate
¢ page 18. Time to refuel!
The tota l tank capacity of your ve hicle is listed
i n
¢ page 235.
(1) Note
Never run the ta nk completely dry! An ir­
regular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter into the ex­
haust system . The catalytic converter
could t hen ove rheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator
Lights
Description
T he ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or tur n on. They indica te funct io ns or
malfu nctions ¢
.&,..
Messages may appea r with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal may sound at the
same time. The indicato r lights and messages
in the disp lay can be replaced by othe r d is­
plays. In the dr iver informa tion system, you
can display the messages aga in
¢ page 21 .
Some indica tors lig hts in the d isplay can turn
on i n severa l colors.
& WARNING ~
- Failure to heed warning ligh ts and other
important vehicle information may res ult
in ser ious personal inj ury or vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever stalled or stoppe d for repair,
move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher ¢
page 43.
-The engine compartment o f any motor
ve hicle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine

12 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme cau­
tion when work ing under the hood
c::> page 179.
Overview
Some ind icator lights turn on briefly to check
the function of that system when you switch
the ign ition on. These systems are ma rked
with a ../ in the following tables. If one of
these indicator lights does not turn on, there
is a malfunction in that system.
Red indicator lights
USA models:
Brake system ../
c::>page 13
Canada models:
Brake system ../
c::>page 13
USA models:
Electromechanical parking brake
c::>page 14
Canada models:
Electromechanical parking brake
c::>page 14
Safety belts
c::>page 16
Engine cooling system
c::>page 14
Engine oil pressure
c::>page 15
Battery
c::>page 15
Electromechanical Steering../
¢ page 158
Steering column lock
¢page 16
Yellow indicator lights
Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC) ../
¢page 16
TPMS
Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC) ../
¢page 16
USA models:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) de­
fective../
¢page 16
Canada models:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) de ­
fective../
c::> page 16
Safety systems ../
c::> page 16
Worn brake pads
c::> page 17
Electromechanical park ing brake
¢ page 14
Tire pressure monitoring
system../
¢page 213
Tire pressure monitoring system
¢page 213
Elect ronic power control../
c::> page 17
• M
alfunct ion ind icator Lamp (MIL)../ ¢page 17
Engine speed limitat ion
c::> page 17
- Engine oil level
- c::>pagel7
• ·
-. Engine oil level _
1 c::> page 17
• Engine oil sensor c::> page 18
Battery
c::> page 15
-
Tank system
... c::> page 18
• Windshield
washer fluid level c::> page 18
- Ignition lock
IYiiil c::> page 18

M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 15
If the indicator light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears , let the engine run at idle for a
few minutes to cool down .
A WARNING
-If your veh icle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the engine and turn on the hazard
warning lights¢
page 43, Emergency
flashers.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hea r
steam o r coolant escap ing from the en­
gine compartment - you risk being s cald­
ed . Wa it until you can no longe r see or
hear s team or coo lant escaping .
- T he e ngine compartment of any veh icle
is a dangerous a rea. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
tu rn of the engine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 179.
(D Note
Do not contin ue driving if the . symbo l
illuminates. There is a ma lf u nct ion in the
engine cooling system -you co uld damage
your eng ine.
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair . Driving
with a low-oil -pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine.
• Turn off engine! Oil pressu re i s too low.
Tu rn off the eng ine and do no t continue dr iv ­
ing . Chec k the engine oil leve l¢
page 184.
- If the engine oil level is too low, add engine
o il ¢
page 184 . Only continue dr iv ing if the
indica tor l igh t turns off.
- If the engine oil leve l is correct and the indi­
c ator lig ht st ill turns on, tur n the eng ine off
and do not contin ue d riving. See yo ur a u­
tho rized Aud i dea le r or q uali fied repa ir fa­
c ili ty.
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine o il lev­
el. Do not rely on it . Instead, check the
o il level in yo ur engine at regular inter ­
vals, preferably each time you refuel ,
and alway s before going on a long trip .
- The yellow oil lev el warn ing indication
l!I requires oil refill or workshop serv­
ice without delay . Do not wait until th e
red oil pressure warning. start s to
fla sh before you respond to the low oil
level warning
m. By then, your engine
may alread y have suffered serious dam­
age.
D Battery
The .warn ing/ indicator light i llum inates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the eng ine has started.
• Alternator fault : Battery is not being
charged.
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the generator or vehicle electrical system .
Drive to your authori zed A udi dealer or quali­
fied wor kshop immed iate ly . Because the ve hi­
cle battery is discharging, turn off all unnec ­
essary e lectrical equipment such as the radio.
Seek professiona l assistance if the battery
charge level is too low.
(•) low battery cha rge: B atter y will be
charged while driving .
If the indica to r ligh t turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited sta rting
ability .
If this message turns off afte r a little while,
the battery c ha rged enough while drivi ng.
If the message does not turn off, have you r
autho rized Aud i dea le r or qualified wor kshop
cor re ct t he malfu nction.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 17
M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
not illuminate when you switch the ignition
on, this also means there is a malfunction .
A WARNING
If you have a malfunction in the safety sys­
tems, contact your author ized Audi dealer
immediately. Otherw ise the safety sys­
tems may not work properly in an acci­
dent .
(0 ) Worn brake pads
Ill Brake pad s!
If the warn ing light illum inates, immediately
contact your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied workshop to have all brake pads inspect ­
ed. On USA models the warning light
Ill
comes on together with the warn ing light •.
Both sets of b rake pads on an axle must al­
ways be rep laced at the same time.
A WARNING
Dr iv ing with bad brakes can cause a coll i­
sion and serious personal injury.
- If the wa rning light Ill and the warning
light
. ll with the message Brake pad s!
comes on in the instrument cluste r dis­
play, immediately contact your author­
i z ed Audi dealer or qualified workshop to
have all brake pads checked or replaced if
necessary .
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
elec tronic power control .
The [31 warning/indicator light (E lectronic
Power Control) i lluminates when you switch
the ignition on as a function check .
-
If t his warning/indicator light ill uminates
while you are driving, then there is a ma lfunc ­
tion in the engine electron ics. Have the mal ­
function corrected as soon as possible by your
,....,
~ 1 ) . : USA models only
authorized Aud i dea le r or a qualified repair fa ­
cility.
· o Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Ma lfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is part
of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The symbol
('4 lights up when the ignition is
switched on and will turn off after the eng ine
has started and has settled at a constant idle
speed . This i ndicates that the M IL is work ing
properly.
The warning light illuminates when there is a
malfu nction in the e ngine electron ic system .
Co ntact you r aut ho rized Aud i dea le r and have
t h e malfunc tion corrected.
An improperly closed fuel fille r cap may a lso
cause the MIL light to illuminate
q page 177 .
For more information q page 26.
!?; Engine speed limitation
App lies to vehicles: wi th engine speed limi tati on
(fl Do not e xce ed ma x. engin e speed of
XX.XX rpm
The Ill symbol illuminate s when there is an
engine contro l ma lf unct ion. The
(31 indicator
light in the instrument cluster also illumi ­
nates . The engi ne speed is limited to the
speed displayed in the d river info rmat ion sys­
tem. Keep in mind that the engine speed w ill
not exceed the val ue d isplayed in the dr iver in­
f ormat ion system, for example when down­
shifting .
D rive to your authori zed A udi dealer immed i­
ate ly to have the ma lfunction corrected .
!:( .. Engine oil level
1!1;111 Check oil level.
If the indicator light and the message appear,
add engi ne oil immediately
<=> page 181.

18 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
't':r.,. Engine oil sensor
1!11a Oil level sensor: System fault!
If the symbol illuminates, contact your au ­
thor ized Audi dealer a nd have the oil sensor
inspected. Until you have th is done, check the
oil level each time you refuel just to be on the
safe side~
page 184.
Bil Tank system
DD Please refuel
If the indicator light turns on for the first
time and the message appears, there are
about 1.8- 2.2 gallons (7.0 -8.5 li ters) of fue l
l eft in the tank . Time to refuel
~page 176.
ID'J Fuel tank system malfunction! Contact
dealer.
If the indicator light turns on and th is mes ­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
tank system.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
B Please refill washer fluid.
If the symbol illuminates, add windshield
washer fluid to the windshield washer system .
©-Engine start system
Ill Engine start system: Malfunction! Please
contact dealer.
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, do
not sw itch the ignition off
because you may not be able to switch it on
again.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
Engine start system: Malfunction. Please
contact dealer.
There is a malfunction in the engine start sys ­
tem . Drive to
your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the ma lfunction corrected.
i§i Defective light bulb warning
If the J:I indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed. The message ind icates the location of
the bu lb .
Vehicle lights: System fault!
If the message appears, there is a malfunc­
tion in the headlights or lig ht switch.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
&, WARNING
-Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex­
p lode whi le they are being changed caus­
ing serio us personal injury.
- Work with due care when handling the
high-vo ltage section of gas discharge
(xenon) lights*. Failure to do so could re­
sult in death or serious injury.
{D Tips
Have the bulb replaced or the connect ion
r epaired by your authorized Audi Service
department.
~0 Headlight range control
II Headlight range control: System fault!
If the symbol II illuminates , the dynamic
headlight range control is no longer working
proper ly . Have the system checked and re­
paired at your a uthorized Audi dea ler.
§0 Audi Adaptive Light
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h Audi adapt ive light
mfl Audi adaptive light: System fault!
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
adaptive light system. The headlights still
funct ion.

162 Driving and en vironm ent
The cata lytic converter is an efficient "clean­
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the veh icle. The catalytic converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be­
fore they are released into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
important for the life of the catalytic convert­
er and proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
-The temperature of the exhaust system
is high, both when driv ing and after stop­
ping the engine.
- Never touch the exhaust tail p ipes once
they have become hot. This could result
in burns .
- Do not park or operate the veh icle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material which can
c ause a fi re.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on o r near the exhaust
man ifold, exhaus t pipes, catalytic con­
verte r o r heat shie lds. D uring driving, the
substance used for undercoating cou ld
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware th at just one tank fi lling with
leaded fue l will already seriously de ­
grade the performance of the catalytic
conve rter .
- Do not exceed the correc t engine oil leve l
~page 184.
-Do not drive un til the fue l tank becomes
completely empty . The engine could mis­
fire. Unburned f uel could a lso get into
the exhaust system and this could cause
the catalyt ic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignit ion while the ve­
hicle is moving.
- Do not continue to operate yo ur vehicle
u nder these conditions , as otherw ise fuel
can reac h the catalytic converter. This
could result in overheat ing of the con­
verter, requ iring its replacement. -
To assu re efficient operation of the Emis ­
sion Control System :
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and in accordance w ith the service rec­
ommendat ions in your Warranty &
M ain tenance book let.
- L ack of prope r maintenance as we ll as
i mproper use of t he vehicle wi ll impair
the function of the em ission cont ro l
sys tem an d could lea d to damage.
~ For the sake of the environment
Eve n when the Emiss io n Control System is
ope rat ing proper ly, the exha ust gas c an
have a sul fur- like ex haust gas smell under
some ope rat ing states . This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used. Using a different brand of fue l may help,
or f illing the tank with lead-free super
grade gasoline.
Shutting down vehicle
If you would like your vehicle to remain inop­
erative for a longer per iod of time, contact an
Audi or other specialized dealer. They can ad­
vise you on necessary precautions e .g . corro­
s ion p revention, maintenance and sto rage .
Pay attent ion to additional info rmat io n con­
ce rn in g the battery. Refe r to~
page 190.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
Gene ral
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex­
haust and noise levels .
Fuel economy, e nvir onme nta l impact, and
we ar on your eng ine, b rakes and tires la rgely
depend on three fac to rs:
- your personal driving style
- operati ng conditions
- technical limitations

182 Checking and filling
Mo dern engine lubrication has taken a quan­
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 Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum ­
based engine oil, the oil that yo u use must
conform to Audi 's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to he lp keep your vehicle's engine
running smoothly and help prevent the for­
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"sludge ", that ove r time can lead to expensive
r epairs .
At the time of pr int ing , engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifi cations of A udi oi l standard VW 502 00
a re synthetic engine oils. This does not mean,
however, that every syn thetic engine oi l wi ll
meet A udi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oil.
To help prevent the format ion of harmful de ­
posi ts use only oi l with the fo llow ing spec ifi­
cations printed on the oil container :
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il container labe ls may carry the specif ica ­
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion with other des ig­
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Viscosity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis­
cosity. The proper v iscosity grade oil for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con­
d itions where you drive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SA E SW40 across all tem ­
pe ratu re ranges for normal driving conditions .
However, if eng ine o il viscos ity grade SA E
SW40 is not avai lab le, you ca n also use viscos­
ity grade SAE SW -30 or SAE OW-40 as long as
it meets Audi o il quality sta ndard VW 502 00
specif ications .
Because engine oil that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be available everywhere
when you need it, we strongly recommend
that you always carry with you an ext ra quart (
li te r) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 spec ification, in case you have to
top
off the oil while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is a t or be low the
min imum mark -and no oi l that expressly
conforms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
specificat ions is available - may you top
off
with a high quality engine o il, preferab ly syn ­
thet ic-based, tha t mee ts ACEA A3 or API SM
specifications, but even then , only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40 , SA E SW-30, o r SA E
OW-40. However, dur ing the entire time be­
tween oil change inte rva ls , never top
off with
more than a to ta l of 0.5 q t/ liter engine o il
t h at does not con form to Audi oi l specifica tion
vw 502 00.
For more informa tion about eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, ple ase
contac t either yo ur authorized Aud i deale r or
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1 (800) 82 2-2834
or visit o ur web site at www .audiusa.com or
www.aud icanada .ca. Here you w ill also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names e tc.) tha t conform to Audi oil s tanda rd
vw 502 00 .
Changing the engine oil
The eng ine oi l and oil fi lter m ust be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified in your ve hicle's War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil ca n reduce eng ine performance and
can lead to expensive eng ine repa irs .
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter­
vals is so very important because the lubricat­ ing proper ties of oil decrease gradually d uring
norma l veh icle use . If you are not sure when
you have your oil changed, ask your author­ ized Audi Serv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld even be cha nged more frequent ly .
Change oil more often if you drive most ly
sho rt distances, operate the ve hicle in dusty
areas o r most ly unde r stop-and-go t raff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..

M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
temperatures stay below freezing point for l ong periods.
Detergent add itives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run ­
ning fo r a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am ag e or m alfun ction s due to lack of
ma intenanc e
It is essential that you change your oil at the
r ecommended inte rva ls using only engine o il
t hat complies wi th A udi oi l standard
VW 502 00 . Your Limited New Vehicle War ­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
d ue to fa ilure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manua l and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage u nless you present to
the dea ler p roof in the fo rm of Serv ice or Re­
pa ir Orde rs that all s chedu led maintenance
wa s pe rformed in a t imely manner .
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle dep ends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In o rder to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of i nternal engine components, a ll in­
ternal comb ustion eng ines consume a cert ain
amo unt of o il. Oil cons umption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typ ica lly, engines
with a specified break-in per iod (see
c::;, page 161) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con ­
sumpt ion depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the amb ient
temperature and road condit ions. Furthe r fac­
tors ar e the amount of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is s ubje ct to
Checkin g and fillin g 183
wear as m ileage builds up, the oil consump ­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
Wi th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumpt ion can be es ­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev ­
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
E\I in the instrument cl uster lights up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
c::;, page 184. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
c::;, page 184.
A WARNING
Before you c heck anythi ng i n the engine
com partment, always read a nd heed all
WARNINGS
c::;, .&. in Working in th e engine
c ompartment on page 179.
(D Note
D riving w ith an insufficient o il level is like­
ly to cause sever e damage to the engine .
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil le vel. Do not
re ly on it. In stead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref­ erably ea ch time you refuel, and alway s
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression you r engi ne
c ons umes ex ce ss ive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consu lt an author ­
ized Aud i dea ler to have the cause of
your concern properly d iagnosed. Keep in
m ind that the accurate measu rement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some t ime. An authorized Aud i
dealer has instructions about how to
measu re oil consumption accurately.
-
•
•