2015 AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

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-If you have the impression your engine
consumes excessive amounts of oi l, we
recommend that you consult an author­
ized Audi dealer to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that the accurate measurement of
oil consumption requires great care and may take some time. An authorized Audi
dealer has ins tructions about how to
measure oil consumpt ion accura tely.
Checking the engine oil level
F ig. 175 MMI Display: Oil leve l indicator
Read oil le vel
"' Park your vehicle so that it is horizonta lly
level.
"' Shut the engine off when it is at operating
temperature.
"' Switch only the ignition back on .
"' Wa it approx. two minutes.
"' Se lect: Funct ion button
I _C_A_R_I > Oil l e v e l. Or
"' Se lect: Funct ion button
I CARI > Car sy s-
tem s* control button > Servicing & check s >
Oil level.
"' Read the oil leve l in the MMI* Display
r:::> fig. 175. Add engine oi l if the bar of the
o il level indicator is near "min"
r:::> page 199
Depending on the way the vehicle is driven
and the operating conditions, oil consumption
can be up to 1 quart per 600 mi les (0.8 liter
per 1,000 km). Consumption may be higher
within the first 3,000 miles (5,000 km) .
(D Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI* Disp lay
is only an information display . If the oil
level is too low, a min imum oil warning ap-
Checkin g and fillin g 199
pears in the instrument cl uster . Add oil
Q page 199. If the hood has been opened,
the current oil leve l is shown in the instr u­
ment cluster the next time the ignition is
switc hed on.
F ig . 17 6 En gin e compart ment: Cover on the oil filler
n eck
"' Before you check anything in the engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys read and h eed all
WARNINGS r::> .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 195.
"' Shu t the eng ine off.
"' Unscrew the cap
't::::r. to the engine oil filling
hole
¢ fig. 176, ¢page 197, fig. 174.
"'Carefully top off with 0 .5 quarts (0 .5 liters)
of the appropr iate oil
¢page 197.
"'Check the oil level again after two minutes
r:::> page 199, Checking the engine oil level.
"'Top off the o il aga in, if necessary .
"' Screw the cap back on the fi lling hole .
.&_ WARNING
-W hile topping off, the o il m ust n ot come
in contact with hot e ngine parts -fir e
hazard !
- Th e oi l filler cap mus t be p roperly se­
cured to prevent oil from being sp rayed
on the hot engine and exhaus t system
when the engine is runn ing -fire haza rd!
- If you r skin has come in contact wi th the
e ngine o il, you must subse quently
cleanse it thorough ly.
(D Note
- Check the oil leve l using the r adio or
M MI*. I f the message
Plea se reduce oil

200 Check ing and filling
le vel appears, contact your authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop to have excess oil extracted if necessary.
- Aud i d oes not recomme nd th e use of o il
add it iv es. T he y ma y dam ag e the e ngine
and ad ve rsel y a ffect you r New Vehicle
Wa rrant y.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come
in contact with the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow lega l regu lations
when disposing of empty oil containers.
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that hove your oil changed by
on authori zed Audi dealer or a qualified serv­
ice station.
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
a lways r ea d and h eed all W ARN ·
ING S
q & in Working in the engine comport­
ment on page 195.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance book let. This is very important
because the lubricating properties of oil di­
minish gradually dur ing normal veh icle use .
Under some circumstances the engine oi l
should be changed more frequently . Change
oil more often if you drive mostly short dis­
tances, operate the vehicle in dusty areas or
under predominantly stop-and-go traffic con·
d itions, or have your veh icle where tempera·
tures remain below freez ing fo r extended pe­
riods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w ill make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run­
n ing for a short time. This is no rma l and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal ,
a long w ith the special tools and necessary ex­
pertise required, we strong ly recommend that you have your oil changed by an authorized
A
udi de ale r or a qualified service station.
If yo u choo se t o c hange y our oi l yourse lf ,
please note the follow ing important informa ­
t ion:
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protection .
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en -
gine oi l, let the engine cool down to the
touch .
- When removing the o il dra in p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the ground to help prevent hot oil from run· n ing down your arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large 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 children.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il
is harmful to your sk in . Always protect
your skin by washing oil off thoroughly
wit h soap and water.
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en­
g ine and adversely affect your Aud i Limit­
ed New Veh icle Warranty.
@ 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 eng ine oil proper­
ly. Do not dump it on garden soil, wood­
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage drains.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collect ion faci lity in you r
area, or contact a service station.

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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
quires little attention.
T he cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolan t consists of a
mixture of specially conditioned water and the
manufacturer 's glycol-based coolant addi-
tive G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi­
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Ca nadian
models) . Th is mixture both assures the neces­
sary frost protection and protects metal com­
ponents in the engine's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling. It a lso raises the boil­
ing point of the coo lant.
D o not reduce the concentration o f the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water .
The
proportion of coolant additive mu st 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 eng ine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31° F(-35°C)USA
- - 4 0 ° F ( -40 °C) Canada.
I f you must add coo lant, use a m ixture of wa­
ter and coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant
addi tive wi th disti lled wate r is recommended.
A WARNING
Be fore yo u check any thing in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNI NGS
~ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 195.
(D Note
- Befo re win ter sets in, have the coolan t
checked to see if t he coolant ad dit ive in
-
Checkin g and fillin g 201
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli ­
mate conditions . This is especia lly impor ­
tant if you live in a region where the win ­
ter is extreme ly co ld. If necessary, in­
c rease the p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60% .
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We re commend using on ly coola nt ad­
d itive G 12++ or G 13 for your veh icle .
T his coolan t ad di tive is availab le a t au­
thor ized 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 engi ne coolant .
Add ing radiator repa ir flu id may adverse ­
ly affect the f unction and performance of
your cooling system and cou ld resu lt in
damage not covered by you r New Ve hicle
Li mited War ran ty.
•
•

202 Checking and filling
Checking the engine coolant level and
adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Fi g. 1 77 En g in e c ompart men t: C over on the coola nt
ex pan sion ta nk
Fig. 178 Engine co mpar tment : ma rkin gs in th e coolant
ex pan sio n ta nk
Before you che ck anything in the engi ne com­
partment,
a lwa ys r ead and heed all WARN­
INGS c> A in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page
195.
The "M IN " und "MAX " mark ings a re found o n
the bi -level disc in the in terior of the coolant
expansion tank
¢ fig . 178.
.,. Pa rk you r vehi cle on a level sur face .
.,. Turn off t he igni tion.
.,. Let the engine coo l down .
.,. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank and
c a refully turn the cap cou nte r­
clockwise
c> _&. .
.,. Read the eng ine coolant level inside the
coolant expans io n tank
c> fig . 177,
c>page 197 , fig. 174 . With a cold engine,
the coolant level sho uld be betwe en the
" M IN " and "MAX " ma rkings <=>
fig. 178
-arrows- . W he n t he eng ine is wa rm, the lev­
el may be slightly
above the "MAX" marking . .,.
Add coo lant mixed in the correct rat io, if
necessary
c> page 201 . Coolant may be a
maxim um of 1 mm above the MAX marking .
.,. Twist the cap on again
tightly.
The location of the coo lant expansion tan k
can be seen i n the engine compartment illus ­
tration
c> page 197.
T o obtain an acc urate reading, the engine
must be sw itched off.
T he ex pan sion ta nk in your vehicle is eq uipped
with an ele ctric coo lant level senso r.
When the coolant level is too low , the wa rn ing
li ght in the Au to-Check System <=>
page 17 will
blink u nti l yo u ad d coolant and the level has
been restored to normal. Eve n t hough t here i s
an e lectri c coo lant level senso r, we still rec ­
ommend you check the coola nt level from
time to t ime.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indica te a leak in the cooling
system. In t he event o f coolant loss, the coo l­
i ng system shou ld be inspected immediately
by your a uthorized Audi dea ler . It is not
eno ugh mere ly to add coolant.
In a
sealed sys tem, losses can occur on ly i f
the boili ng point o f the coo lant is exceeded as
a res ult of overheating.
Adding coolant
Rep la cement engine coo la nt must conform to
exact spe cificat ions
c> page 201, Cool ant .
We recommend using only coolant add it ive
Gl 2++ , Gl3 or in an emergency G 12 +. Do not
use a diffe rent add itive. In an emerge ncy use
plain w ater until yo u can get the correc t addi­
tive a nd can res tore the cor rect ra tio. T hi s
sho uld be done as soon as possib le .
If you have lost a considerab le amou nt of
c oolant , the n you shoul d a dd cold an tifreeze
and co ld wate r on ly w hen the e ng ine is cold.
Always use
n ew engine coo lant w hen refilling .
Do not f ill coo la nt
above the "MA X" mark. Ex-
cess coolant will be forced o ut through the .,,_

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pressure relie f valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca lding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- T urn off the engine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Tu rn the cap slowly and very ca refully
in a counte r-clockw ise d irection while
applying light, downward p ress ure 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 certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
g ine coolant can catch f ire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and we ll
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
Q) Note
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your veh icle's engine coolant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adverse­
l y affect the function and performance of
you r cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Wa rra nty.
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l­
ant w ill be forced ou t through the pres­
su re re lief va lve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, t he cor rect ratio between wate r
and an tifreeze<=> page 201 must be re ­
stored as soon as possib le .
Checkin g and fillin g 203
'
@) For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant sho uld not be reused. A l­
ways d ispose of used coolant while observ­
i ng a ll environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
T he radiator fan is dr iven by the engine via the
V-belt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan according to the temperature of the coolant.
An a uxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and othe r vehicle ope rat ing cond it ions.
After yo u switch the eng ine off, the aux iliary
f an can continue running for up to 10 m inutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself<=>.&. , if
- t he temperatu re of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build -up from the engine in
the engine compa rtment, or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
=
- To reduce the risk of personal inju ry nev-
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is tempe rat ure
contro lled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan switches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coo lant temper­
ature drops.
•
•

204 Checking and filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance .
N N ~ N
" (X) (0
Fig. 179 Engine compartme nt: Cover on the brake flu ·
id reservo ir
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
a lwa ys re ad and heed all WARN·
ING S ¢.&._ in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 195 .
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
¢ fig . 179 , ¢page 197,
fig . 174.
The brake fluid 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 197.
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 (U.S. models:
11111 , Canadian
models :. ) will come on
¢page 15. Do not
continue to operate the vehicle. The complete brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop and the cause corrected .
If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
indicator light w ill illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dealer
immedi atel y.
@ Tips
The brake fluid reservoir is located under­
neath the cover.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an 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 decrease conside rably and
decrease braking pe rformance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two year s. Always use new brake flu id
which conforms to Federal Motor Veh icle
Standard "F MVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be diff icult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi d ealer . Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fl uid and the 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 flu id. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only brake f luid that meets SA E
specifica tion
J 1 7 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicle Standard 1 16.
Always check with yo ur authorized Aud i
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of brake f lu id is also indicated on the
brake fluid 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 .

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@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the pr oblem of proper d isposa l
of brake flu id as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte ­
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ives we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by an authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop . The elec­
trolyte leve l should also be checked each time
the battery is charged c>
page 207.
Have the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . You are well adv ised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
battery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system for safety reasons c>
.&. in Re­
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 144.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu­
lators, for example) are lost if the battery ter­
m inals a re d isconnected. These func tions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry term inals a re
connected agai n. T o prevent this, the bat tery
should only be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec tric al system when absolu tely necessa ry
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive you r vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical compo­
nen ts are gr adually cut b ack o r swi tched off .
This redu ces energy cons umption and main­
tains starting capab ility over a longer per io d
c> page 177.
Some o f the conven ience f unctions m ay not
ope rate, su ch as the in ter ior lig hts or t he
Checkin g and fillin g 205
power seat adjus tment. The convenience
funct io ns w ill be available again when yo u
turn o n the ign ition and start the engine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the w inte r mon ths, bat tery capa city
tends to dec rease as tempera tures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed wh ile
starting, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary powe r consumpt ion, pa r­
ticular ly in city traffic or when traveling only
sho rt distances. Let yo ur authorized A udi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat ­
tery before w inter sets inc>
page 207. A well
charged battery will not on ly prevent starti ng
problems w hen the weather is cold, but w ill
also last longer.
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery s hou ld be removed and
stored where it will not freeze . This will
p revent it from be ing damaged and having
to be repla ced.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the bat tery.
The battery is located in the luggage compar t­
ment under the floor . B efo re you che ck any­
thi ng in the luggage compartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
c> ,&. .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work­
i ng on the veh icle batte ry or t he vehicle e lec­
t rical sys tem to p reven t inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM· BO LS and safety precautions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye protection.
•
•

206 Check ing and filling
&
Batter y aci d contain s sulfuric acid . Al·
w ays we ar glo ves and e ye prote ction .
@
No
- spar ks
- flam es
- smoking .
~
When a battery i s ch arg ed , it p roduce s
h y d rogen ga s whi ch i s ex plosi ve and
c ould c au se per sonal inju ry.
®
Alwa ys keep the battery well out of
r ea ch of children .
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
injury , acc ident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
-Always wear eye protection. Do not let battery acid or any lead part icles get on
your sk in or cloth ing . Sh ield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury .
- Battery acid contains sulfur ic acid . Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because ac id
could leak out of the vent ilation open­
ings.
- If you get battery acid in yo ur eyes or
on your sk in, immediately rinse with
cold water for severa l minutes and get
medical attention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg -
ative cab les.
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
wh ich could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury.
-
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negat ive ground ca­
ble.
- Before performing any work on the e lec­
trica l system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected .
If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to swi tc h off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you wi ll set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, f irst
d isconnect the negat ive cab le and then
the posit ive c ab le.
- Before reconnecting the batte ry, ma ke
sure all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch­
ed off. Re connect the pos it ive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter ­
change the cables - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery. It could exp lode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced . A dis­
charged battery can freeze over at 32°F
(QOC).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the s ide of the bat­
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al­
ways rep lace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
Ca lifornia Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories conta in lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems . Wash hands after han-
dling.
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