2015 AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET engine overheat

"' N
a: LL co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
A WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
c::> page 195 , 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
ing effect of the rad iator. At high outside
temperatures or high eng ine load , the
engine could overheat.
- The front spoiler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving .
If the spoiler is
damaged , this cou ld reduce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over­
heat. Ask your authorized Aud i dealer for
assistance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
I f engine RPM drops below 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear . T he red area
at the end of the scale indicates maximum
perm issible engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position 0/5 or ease your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
@) Note
The tachometer needle@c::> page 10 ,
fig. 3 shou ld 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
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise.
~ button
Fig. 4 SET button in th e ins trume nt cluster
The !SET ! button performs the following func­
tions:
Switching on time, date, temperature
display and odometer
The display appears for approximate ly 30 sec­
onds when you press the
I S ET ! button c::> fig . 4
with the ignit ion off .
Starting the Auto-Check sequence
The Auto-Check system constantly monitors
certa in individual functions and components
of the vehicle when the ignition is turned on
and when the vehicle is moving .
With the ignition turned on, you can start the "Auto-Check sequence" by pressing the
! SE T!
button . You can perform an Auto-Check se­
quence when the vehicle is stationary and the
ignition is turned on or when the vehicle is
moving slower than 3 mph (5 km/h).
In addition, the number of keys initialised for
your vehicle is displayed.
L2 3 /3 means that
three keys have been initialised . This feature
enables used car buyers to make sure they
have received all of the keys.
If you are given only two keys, for ins tance ,
you should take the vehicle and the ex isting
keys to an authorized Audi dealer to have the
missing key d isabled .
It is also important to
notify your insurance company about the loss.
Setting the speed warning
By pressing the !SET ! button briefly, you can
set threshold 1 of the speed warning wh ile
you are driving
c::> page 80 . By maintaining II>

M N
er
u..
co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 13
misfiring and fuel could enter into the ex ­
haust system . The catalytic converter
could then overheat and be damaged .
Warning/indicator
lights
Description
The indicator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate functions or
m alfunctions
c::> .&. .
Messages may appear with some indicator
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same time . The messages disappear again af­
ter a short t ime. To display a message again,
press the
I S ET I bu tton c::> page 11 . If several
malfunction s occur, each of the indicator/
warn ing lamps will be d isplayed in succession
for about two seconds at a time.
Some ind icators ligh ts in the display can turn
on in several colors.
A WARNING
- Failure to heed warning lights and other
important vehicle info rmation may result
in serious personal injury o r vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever sta lled or s topped for repa ir,
move the vehicle a safe dis tance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher
c::> page 53.
- T he engine compartment of any motor
vehicle is a poten tially hazardous a rea.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme ca u­
t ion when working under the hood
c::> page 195.
Overview
Some ind icator lights turn on briefly to check
the function of that system when you switch
the ignition on . T hese systems are marked
with a./ in t he followi ng tab les. If one of
these ind icator lights does no t turn on, there
is a malfunction in that system.
R ed indicator lights
-------------
U S A models:
Brake system ./
c::> page 15
Canada model s:
Brake system ./
c::>page 15
USA m odel s:
Electromechanical par king b rake
c::> page 16
Canada models :
Electromechanical parking brake
c::> page 16
Safety belts
c::> page 16
Electrome chanical stee ring ./
c::> page 175
Batte ry
c::> page 16
Eng ine oil pressure
c::> page 17
E ngine oil level
c::> page 17
Engine cool ing system
c::> page 17
Steering column lock
c::> page 18
Ignition lock
c::> page 18
USA model s:
Speed warning system
c::> page 80
Canada model s:
Speed warning system
c::> page 80
Adaptive cru ise control./
c::> page 92
Y ellow indic ator light s
-------------
Power top operation
c::> page 43
Electron ic Stabili zation Control
( E SC) ./
c::> page 18 ..,

86 Transmission
-Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury .
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running,
activate the parking brake and move the
selector lever to P .
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
while the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never shift into
R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes complete fail­
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it
in place with the brake pedal or parking
brake .
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens auto­
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload . An indicator lamp
l'§J illu­
minates and a driver message appears
Q page 88 when the clutch is overload­
ed.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving position engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and
is locked in P with the parking brake set
Q page 195. Otherwise, any increase in
engine speed may set the vehicle in mo- tion
, even with the parking brake ap­
plied.
@ Note
- When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator pedal while a driving gear is selected. This can cause the transmis­
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti­
vate the parking brake or press the brake
pedal to prevent the vehicle from rolling .
- Allowing the vehicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
in N will damage the transmission be­
cause it is not lubricated under those cir­
cumstances.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
Hill descent control is activated when these ­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is suitable for the incline. Hill de ­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieved at the time of braking, within physical
and technical limitations. It may st ill be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Hill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
Q page 81 , hill descent control is also activat­
ed when the speed is set.
A WARNING -
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all

88 Transmi ssion
Launch Control Program
Th e Launch Cont rol Program provides the
best accel eration possible when starting from
a st op .
R equirement : The engine must be at operat­
i n g t emp eratur e and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
.,. Press the
I~ O FFI button c:> page 173 while
the engine is running. The
II ind icator light
i lluminates in the instrument cluster and
Stabilization control (ESC ): Sport . Warn­
ing! Re stricted sta bility
appea rs in the dr iv­
er information system d isplay.
.,. Move the selec tor lever to the D/S pos ition
to select sport mode (S) or select the
dy­
nami c
driving mode in drive select*
c:> page 103.
... Press the brake peda l strongly with your left
foot and hold it down for at least 1 second.
.,. At the same t ime, press the accelerator ped­
al down complete ly w ith your r ight foot un ­
t il t he engine reaches and maintains a h igh
RPM .
.,. Remove you r foot from the brake pedal
withi n S seconds
c:> &, .
&_ WARNING
-Always adapt you r driving to the traffic
flow .
- O nly use the Launch Control Program
when road and traffic con dit ions allow it
and other dr ivers will not be endangered
o r annoyed by yo ur dr iv ing and t he vehi­
cle's acce lerat ion.
- Please note that the driving wheels can spin and the vehicle can break away
w hen sport mode is sw itched on, espe­
c ially when the road is slippery .
- Once yo u have accelerated, yo u should
switch sport mode off by pressing the
I~ O FF I but ton .
(D Tips
- The transm ission temperat ure may in­
crease significantly after using the Launch Control Program . If that hap- pens, the p
rog ram may not be availab le
for a few minutes . It will be available
again after a cool-down period .
- When accelerating using the La unch
Cont ro l program, a ll vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads. Th is can result in
increased wear.
Transmission malfunction
['1 Transmission: Pre ss brake pedal and se­
lect gear again .
Press the bra ke peda l and select the desired
selector lever position again. You ca n then
co ntinue driving .
['1 Transmission overheating: Please drive
conservatively.
T he transmiss ion temperat ure has inc reased
s ignificantly due to the sporty d riving manner .
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
ID T ransmission malfunction: You can con­
tinue driving
T he re is a sys tem malfunc tion in the transm is ­
sion . You may continue driving .
Drive to yo ur
autho rized Audi deale r or qualified repair fa ­
c ility soon to have the ma lfunction corrected.
['1 Transmis sion malfun ction : Limited driv­
ing functionality
T he re is a system malfunction in the t ransm is­
s io n. The transm ission is swi tching to emer ­
gency mode. This mo de on ly shifts in to cer ­
ta in gears o r will no longer shift at al l. The en ­
gine may sta ll. Drive to your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility immediately
to have t he malfunction corrected.
('1 ffl Transmi ssion malfunction: No reverse
You can continue driving
T he re is a sys tem mal func tion in the t ransm is ­
s io n. The transm iss ion is swi tch ing to eme r­
gency mode. This mode on ly shifts into cer -
tain gears o r will no longer shift at all . The en ­
gine may sta ll. You cannot engage the
reverse liJJ,

M N
er
u..
co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
Brake lining w ear sta tus
Brake lining we ar may be che cked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces ­
sary, the wheel may be remove d for this in­
spection
c> page 244, Changing a wheel.
.&_ WARNING
- New brake pads do n't have the best sto p­
ping power and must be "broken-in" dur­
ing the init ial 100 to 1 50 m iles (150 to
200 k ilometers) of normal city driving.
T he break-in period can be considerably
longer for veh icles with ceram ic br ake ro­
tors*. You can compensate for this by pressing the brake pedal more firmly.
T his also applies later when new pads are
installed .
- You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system on ly if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too ofte n. This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and d imin ish b raking
efficiency.
- Do not "r ide the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not inte nd
t o brake. Th is may cause the b rakes to
overheat, prema ture wear and inc reased
stopping distance .
- Under certa in climat ic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa ­
ter, driving in heavy rain or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­ ings will be cleaned off after a few ca re­
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing fo r an extended pe riod of time on
salt-covered roads w ithout using you r
Intellig ent technolog y 175
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler , be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherw ise the brake system could
overheat reducing t he effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one b rake circuit will impa ir
the braking capab ility result ing in an in­
creased s topping distance. Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est a utho rized Audi dea le r or q ualified
workshop.
- Never let the vehi cle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the b ra ke booste r is no t working, the
brake peda l must be p ressed considera­
b ly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance .
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steer ing adapts electronically based on
t he ve hicl e speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defect ive! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or a qualified repair facility for as ­
s istance.
E!'Y D ynamic stee ring: System fault! You can
continue dri ving
If the indica tor ligh t turns on and the mes-
sage appears, the stee ring may be more diffi ­
cu lt to move o r more sensit ive than usual. The ..,.
•
•

180 Driving and en vironm ent
8_ WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc ., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
store the full braking effect.
(D Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
@ Tips
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switc h the engine off when driving
t hr ough water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep fo r you r vehi­
cle to dr ive through safely.
- Avoid dr iving thro ugh salt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Warming up and
cooling down
-
By carefully warming up and cooling down
your ve hicle, you can he lp ensure that it is not
overstressed unnecessarily dur ing sporty driv ­
ing.
When warming up, the vehicle is d riven at a
maximum engine speed of 6000 RPM in order
to raise the engine oi l temperature to a mini ­
mum of 140
°F (60 °(). The tires also only
reach their full road holding capability once
they have warmed up .
The cooling fan can contin ue to run in your ve­
h icle after the engine is switched off. Howev­
er, driving the vehicle to cool it down is part ic­
ularly important. During sporty driving, the
engine and brakes, the ex ha ust system, and
the transm ission all become extremely hot.
B efore you park the vehicle, you shou ld drive it for a few miles/kilometers at
light load in
the low rpm range to allow it to cool down.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic converter) is function­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner.
.. Always use lead-free gasoline c:> page 190,
Fuel supply.
.. Never run the tank down all the way to emp­
ty .
.. Never put too much moto r oil in your engine
c:> page 199, 't::71 Adding engine oil .
.. Never try to p ush- or tow -sta rt yo ur vehicle.
The catalytic converter is an efficient "clean­
up" device bu ilt into the exhaust system of
t h e vehi cle. The cata lytic conve rter bu rns
many of the pollu tan ts i n t he exh aust gas be­
f ore they are re lease d into the atmosphere.
T he exclusive use of unleaded fue l is critica lly
impor tant for the life of the catalyt ic convert­
er and prope r fu nct ion ing of the engi ne.
8_ WARNING
- T he temperature of the exhaus t system
is high, both when driving and after stop ­
p ing the engine.
- Never touch the exhaus t tail pipes once
they have become hot . This cou ld result
in burns .
- Do not park or operate the vehicle i n
areas where the hot exha ust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire.
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con­
ver ter or heat shields . Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used for undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.

M N
er
u..
co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
(D Note
-Be aware that just one tank fi lling with
le ad ed fuel will already seriously de­
grade the performance of the catalytic
converter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil leve l
c>page 199.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
complete ly empty. The engine could mis ­
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into
the exhaust system and this could cause
the catalyt ic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignition while the ve­
hicle is moving .
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle
under these condit ions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converter. This
could result in overheat ing of the con­
verter, requ iring its replacement.
- To assure efficient operat ion of the Emis­
s ion Control System:
- Have your vehicle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec­
ommendations in your Warranty
&
Ma intenance booklet.
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impa ir
the funct ion of the emission control
system and could lead to damage .
@) For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is
operating properly, the exhaust gas can
have a sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under
some operating states. This depends on
the s ulfur content of the fuel being used.
Using a d ifferent brand of fuel may help,
or filling the tank w ith lead-free super
grade gasoline .
Shutting down vehicle
If you would like your veh icle to remain inop­
erat ive for a longer period of time, contact an
Audi or other specialized dealer. They can ad­
vise you on necessary precautions e .g. corro ­
sion prevention, maintenance and storage.
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 181
Pay attention to additional information con ­
cerning the battery . Refer to
c> page 205 .
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex ­
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and tires largely depend on three factors:
- your personal d riving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitat ions
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 10-15 percent . This sec­
tion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your pocketbook.
(D Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC TION AGENCY
( E PA) and Transpo rt Canada may not cor re­
spond to your actual consump tion on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehi­
cle load and speed, road and weather con ­
dit ions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerating.
.,. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the most f uel when they a re ac­
ce lerat ing. If you ant icipate what is going to
happe n next, you will need to brake less and,
th us, acce lerate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible -for examp le when you see
that the next traff ic light is red.
•
•

M N
er
u..
co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
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.
•
•