144 Airbag sys tem
possible that the airba g will inf late when
it is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
A WARNING
If t he front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make c ertain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always instal l forwa rd or rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward -fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by you r au
tho riz ed Aud i deale r.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
wa rd-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register mo re weight
than is ac tually on the seat. The heavier
weight registe red can make the system
work as though an adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed caus ing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re
st raint on the front passe nger seat, a l
ways move the seat into its rearmost po
sit io n in the seat's fo re and aft adjust
me nt range, as f ar away from the airbag
as possib le. The b ackrest m ust be adjus t
ed to an upr ight position. Make sure that the
PA
SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
ever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the ste ps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated and restra ined at
one o f the rea r sea ting pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans
port ing anyone on the front p assenger
se at.
(D Tips
If the weig ht-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat de te cts an empty seat, the
front air b ag on the p assenger side wi ll be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Aud i. Insta lling,
removing, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag system and p revent that system from
working p roperly in a coll is io n.
There are some important t hings you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system w ill not be impaired and that dis
ca rded components do not cause inju ry or pol
lute the environmen t.
A WARNING
Imprope r care, serv ic ing and repair p roce
dur es can increase the risk of personal in
ju ry and death by prevent ing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or dep loying
an a irbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct , or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or mod ify them
in any way .
M N
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,...., ..,., ,....,
@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom
municat ions provider. For details regard
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI*:
!MENU ! button> Audi connect > About
Audi con nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and he lps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively b rak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine power and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in
dicator light
DJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 171
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions . ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle under con
trol and on the road during extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di
rect ion. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certain sit
uat ions when you need less traction, you can
switch off ASR by pressing the butto n
[ill
~ page 173, fig. 166 or~ page 173,
fig. 167. Be sure to sw itch ASR on aga in when
you no lo nger need less traction.
The following systems are integrated in the
ESC:
Anti-lock bra king sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
when brak ing. T he vehicle can st ill be steered
even dur ing hard braking. App ly steady pres
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal ind icates that
the system is helping you to brake the veh icle .
Brake assi st system
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases brak ing power when the
drive r presses the brake peda l quickly in emer
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the s ituation is over. In
vehicles with adaptive c ruise control*, the
brake assis t system is more sensitive if the
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M N
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u..
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Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
especia lly we ll for winter or summer driving.
During seasonal change-over , we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stations where the sea sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time.
Q;) Note
- Methanol fuels which do not meet these
requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo
nents in the fuel system.
- Do not use fuels that fail to meet the
spec ified criter ia in this chapter .
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fuel blend meets the
spec ificat ions, ask your service station or
i ts fuel supplier .
- Do not use fuel for which the contents
cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the respons ibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the
Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fue l economy
or driveability and performance prob l ems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac
turers is carbon deposit build-up caused by
the type of gasoline you use .
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another, they have cer tain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline
brands include additives to keep engine and
fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec
tive.
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 191
Audi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline . For more information on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www .toptiergas .com) .
After an extended period of using inadequate
fuels, built -up carbon deposits can rob your
engine of peak performance.
CJ) Note
Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel
quality is not covered by the Audi New Ve
hicle Limited Warranty.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
s ide panel behind the fuel filler flap.
If the power locking system should fail, you
can still open the flap manually -for detailed
instructions see
~ page 193.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve
hicle in
~page 262 .
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap
tells you the correct fuel for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see
~ page 190 .
Your vehicle fuel tank has an on-board refuel
ling vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and pollut ing the environment while you
refuel your vehicle. In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please follow this refueling procedure careful
ly.
A WARNING ~
Under normal operating conditions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport fuel can be dangerous. Such con
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collision . If you must
transport fuel to use for your lawn mower, ..,.
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"' rl
"' rl
Checking and fillin g 197
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 174 Typical layout for containers and engine oil filler cap
(D Coolant expansion tank (- L) . . . 202
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. ... ....... ........ ..
207, 256
@ Engine o il filler cap (
head screw ............ .... .
207, 256
© Brake flu id reservoi r((())) . . . . . 204
® W indshie ld/headlight* washer
container
(0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
q .& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 195.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact
specifications .
The service interval disp lay in the instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform y ou when it
is time for an oil change. We recommend that
you have your oil changed by an authorized
Audi Se rv ice Advisor .
If you have to top off the o il between o il
changes, use the Audi o il quality standard
specified in the tab le.
Audi oil quality standard
Gasoline
VW 502 00 or
eng ine vw 504 00 ...
198 Checking and filling
Using the proper engine oil is important for
the functionality and service life of the en
gine. Your engine was factory-filled with a
high-quality oil which can usually be used
throughout the entire year.
0 Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does
not cover damage or malfunctions due to
failure to follow recommended mainte
nance and use requirements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet.
- Use only a high quality engine oil that ex
pressly complies with the Audi oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's en
gine . Using any other oil can cause seri
ous engine damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants or other addi
tives into the engine oil. Doing so can
cause engine damage.
If you need to add oil and there is none
available that meets the Audi oil quality
standard your engine requires, you may
add a total of no more than 0.5 quart/liter
of a high-quality "synthetic"oil that meets
the following specifications.
- Vehicles with gasoline engine: ACEA A3
or API SM with a viscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30, SAE SW-30 or SAE SW-40.
- For more information about engine oil
that has been approved for your vehicle, please contact either your authorized
Audi dealer or Audi Customer Relations
at 1 (800) 822-2834 or visit our web site
at www.audiusa .com or
www .audicanada .ca .
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cooling of internal engine components, all in
ternal combustion engines consume a certain amount of oil. Oil consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specified break-in period (see
¢ page 179) consume more oil during the
break -in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road conditions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil dilution from water
condensation or fuel residue and the oxida
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement of worn components may become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent checking of the oil lev el, see
Note.
If
the yellow engine oil level warning symbol
El in the instrument cluster lights up, you
should check the oil level as soon as possible
¢ page 199. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
¢ page 199.
A WARNING
--
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 195.
{(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oil level is like
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref erably each time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip. .,.
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.
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 .
M N
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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.
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