Checking and Filling
"' Place a thick rag over th e coolant expansion
tank and
carefully turn the cap counter-clock
wise
¢ ,& .
"'Read the engine coolant level inside the coolan t
expansion tank
¢ fig . 164, ¢page 189,
fig. 16 1.
With a cold engine , the coolant level
should be between the ' 'MIN" and "MAX " mark
ings
¢ fig . 165 -arrows- . When the engine is
warm, the level may be slightly above the
"MAX" marking.
"'Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio, if neces
sary ¢
page 192 . Coolant may be a maximum
of 1 mm above the MAX marking.
"' Twist the cap on again
tightly .
The location of the coolant expansion tank can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢ page 189.
To obtain an accurate reading , the engine must
be switched off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 17 will
blink until you add coolant and the level has been
restored to normal. Even though there is an elec
tric coolant level sensor, we still recommend you
check the coolant level from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cooling
system should be inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is not enough merely
to add coolant.
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if the
boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as a re
sult of overheating.
Adding coolant
Replacement engine coolant must conform to ex
act specifications ¢
page 192, Coolant.
We recommend using only coolant additive Gl2+
+ , G l3
or in an emergency Gl2+ . Do not use a
different additive . In an emergency use plain wa
ter until you can get the correct additive and can
194
restore the correct ratio. This should be done as
soon as possible.
If you have lost a considerable amount of cool
ant, then you should add cold antifreeze and cold
water only when the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Excess
coolant will be forced out through the pressure
relief valve in the cap when the engine becomes
hot.
,&_ WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scalding
from hot coolant by following these steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down .
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in a
counter-clockwise direction while applying
light, downward pressure on the top of
the cap .
- To avoid being burned, do not spill anti
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or
hot engine parts. Under certain condi
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool
ant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store anti
freeze in its original container and well out
of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be caught
and safely stored in a proper container
clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sealant
to your vehicle's engine coolant. Adding ra
diator repair fluid may adversely affect the
function and performance of your cooling
system and could result in damage not cov
ered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
- Coolant pollutes the environment and could
-
cause an engine fire. Excess coolant will be .,.
"' N
0:: loo
rl I.O
"' N
"' rl
forced out through the pressure relief valve
in the cap when the engine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be add
ed, the correct ratio between water and an
tifreeze
q page 192 must be restored as
soon as possib le.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused . Always
dispose of used coolant while observ ing a ll
environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by it
self.
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the V
be lt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed of
the fan according to the temperature of the cool
ant.
An auxiliary e lectr ic radiator fan * switches on and
off depending on coo lant temperature and other
veh icle operating conditions.
Afte r you switch the engine off, the a uxiliary fan
can cont inue running for up to 10 minutes -even
with the ignition off. It can even switch on again
l ater by itself
Q .&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due
to the heat bui ld-up from the eng ine in the en
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the
vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
_& WARNING
- To reduce the r isk of personal injury never
touch the radiator fan.
- The aux iliary e lectr ic fan is temperature con
trolled and can switch on suddenly even
when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on auto
matically when the engine coo lant reaches a
certain temperature and will continue to run
until the coolant temperature drops.
Ch eck in g and Fillin g
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The broke fluid level con be checked with a quick
glance.
F ig . 1 66 Engine compartment: Cover on the brake fluid
r eservoir
Before you check anyth ing in the engine compart
ment,
a lw ays r ead and h eed all WARNING S
q ,& in Working in the engine compartment on
page 187.
., Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid
reservoir
q fig. 166, r:> page 189, fig. 161. The
brake fluid level must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservo ir is located at the rear
part ition of the engine compartment on the left
s ide
q page 189.
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 below
the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light (U.S. models:
1111 , Canad ian models: .
will come on
Q page 15 . Do not continue to oper
ate the vehicl e. The complete brake system
shou ld be thoroughly chec ked by an autho rized
A udi dealer or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low, the
brake warning/indicator light will illuminate .
Contact an a uthorized Audi dea ler
immedi ately .
(0 Tips
The brake fl uid reservoir is located under
neath the cover.
195
Checking and F ill in g
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir. If the
water content in the brake fluid is too high, cor
rosion in the brake system may result after a peri
od of time. The boiling point of the brake fluid
will also dec rease conside rably and dec rease
b ra ki ng perfo rman ce.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ve ry
two y ear s.
Always use new b rake fluid wh ic h con
forms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle Standard " FMVSS
1 16 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach,
therefo re , we recommend that yo u have the
b rake fluid changed by your authori zed
Audi
dealer . Your dealer has the cor re ct too ls , the
righ t brake fluid an d the know-how to do t his for
you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is po isonous. It must be stored
only in the closed orig inal container out of
the reach of children!
- Brake fai lure can result from old o r inappro
pr iate bra ke fluid . Observe these p recau
t ions:
- Use on ly bra ke fluid t hat meets SA E speci
fication
J 17 03 and confo rms to Fede ral
M otor Vehicle S tand ard 116 . Always check
wit h your author ized Audi dea ler to make
sure yo u are using the correct brake f lui d.
The cor rect type of b rake fluid is a lso indi
cated on the bra ke fluid reservo ir.
- The brake fluid m ust be new. Heavy use of
the bra kes can cause a va por l ock if the
brake fluid is left in the system too long.
This ca n ser iously affect the effic iency of
the brakes as we ll as your safety . This
co uld res ult in an accident.
@ Note
Brake f lu id will damage the paint of y our vehi
cle.
196
® For the sake of the environment
Because of t he prob lem of prope r disposal of
brake fluid as well as the special tools re
q uired and the necessary expert ise, we rec
ommend that yo u have the brake f lu id
changed by your autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the battery
i n your A ud i does not need any maintenance .
With
high outside temperatures or long dai ly
drives we recommend that you have the e lectro
l yte level checked by an aut horized Aud i dea ler or
qualified workshop . The e lectrolyte leve l should
also be chec ked each time the batte ry is cha rged
¢ page 198.
Have the battery checked when you take your ve
hicle i n for service . You are well adv ised to re
place a battery that is older than 5 years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the bat
tery is disco nnected from the ve hicle elect rical
system for safety reasons
¢ A in Repair , care
and disposal of the airbags on page 141 .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power window reg ula
tors, for example) are lost if the battery te rm i
nals are d isconnected . These funct ions have to be
r elearned after the battery t ermina ls are con
nected again . To prevent t his, the battery sho uld
o nl y be disconnected from the ve hicle e lectr ica l
system when absolute ly necessary fo r rep airs.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive your vehicle ove r a period of
several days or weeks, electrical components are gradua lly cut back or sw itched off . T his reduces
energy cons umption and mainta ins start ing ca
pabili ty ove r a longer period¢
page 175.
Some of the convenience funct ions may not ope r
ate, such as the inter ior lights or the power s eat
adjus tment . The conve nien ce f unct io ns w ill be
ava ila ble again when you tu rn on the ig nition an d
star t the eng ine. ..,..
M N
0:: loo ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 ,....,
Winter ope rati on
During the winter months, battery capacity tends
to decrease as temperatures drop. This is because
more power is also cons umed w hile starting, and
the headlights, rear window defogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, particu l arly in city traffic or when traveling only short
distances. Let your authorized Audi dea ler check
the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter sets inc:>
page 198. A well charged battery will
not only prevent starting problems when the
weather is cold, but will also last longer .
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the ve
hicle battery should be removed and stored
where it will not freeze. This will prevent it
from being damaged and having to be re
placed.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor. Before you check anything
in the luggage compa rtme nt,
re ad and heed all
WARN ING S
c:> .&_.
Always heed the saf ety warn ing s, when work ing
on the vehicle battery or the veh icle electrical
system to prevent injury.
The following WARNIN GS are v ery i mport ant
when working on the battery:
Alw ays heed the follow ing W ARNING SYM-
BOLS and safety pr ecaution s when work ing on
th e batt ery .
®
Alw ay s we ar eye p rotectio n.
A
Batter y acid conta in s s ulfu ric acid . Al-
ways wear gl oves and e ye prote cti on.
Checking and Fillin g
@
No
- sp ark s
- fl ame s
- smoking .
~
When a battery is charged, it produ ce s
. hydrogen ga s which is e xplo sive and
could cause p ersonal in jury.
®
Alw ay s ke ep the b attery well out of r each
of child ren .
_& WARNING
--
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electr ica l system, there is the risk of injury,
accident and even f ire. Read and heed the fol
low ing WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat
tery ac id or any lead particles get on your
skin or clothing. Shield you r eyes . Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury.
- Battery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns .
- Always wear g loves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because acid could leak
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin, immediate ly rinse with cold wa
ter for several minutes and get medical at
tent ion.
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid, seek
medica l attent ion immed iate ly.
- Do not expose the battery to an open flame,
electric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke .
- Do not interchange the positive and nega-
tive cables .
- When working on the battery, be s ure not to
short-circuit the terminals wi th tools or oth
er metal objects . This would cause the bat
tery to heat up very quickly, which could lead to damage or exp losion and personal
injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy
drogen gas which is explos ive and could
cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
197
Checking and Filling
-Before work is done on the electrical sys
tem, disconnect the negative ground cable .
- Before performing any work on the electri
cal system, switch off the engine and igni
tion as well as any electrical equipment. The
negative cable on the battery must be dis
connected . If you are just going to replace a
light bulb, then it is enough to switch off
the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch off
the ant i-theft alarm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis
connect the negative cable and then the
positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make sure
all electrical consumers are switched off. Re
connect the positive cable first and then the
negative cable. Never interchange the ca
bles -this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out bat
tery. It could explode! If a battery has fro
zen, then it must be replaced. A discharged
battery can freeze over at 32°F (0°C) .
- Make sure the vent hose is always attached
to the opening on the side of the battery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Always
replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related acces
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive problems.
Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery when
the ignition is switched on or when tile en
gine is running, otherwise, you will damage
electronic components in the electrical sys
tem.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a long
period of time without being driven, protect
the battery from "freezing", otherwise it
198
will be damaged and will then have to be re
placed.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged bat
tery.
Fig. 167 Eng ine compartment: Connectors for charger and
jumper cables
Always read and heed all WARNINGS below
¢
A and ¢ A in Working on the battery on
page 197.
.,. Turn off the ignition and all electrical consum
ers.
.,. Make sure the area is well ventilated when you
charge the battery.
.,. Open the engine hood
¢ page 187.
.,. Open the cover on the positive pole¢ fig. 167.
.,. Connect the charger connectors according to
the instruct ions to the
jump start bolts . (Bolts
under the cover= "positive", Bolts with hex
head = "negative").
.,. Only now plug the mains lead for the charging
equipment into the wall outlet and turn it on
¢ &, .
.,. Make sure the charging rate is not over
30 amps/14.8 Volt.
.,. When the battery is fully charged : T urn the
charging equipment off and remove the mains
lead from the wall outlet.
.,. Now remove the clamps for the charging equip -
ment .
.,. Close the cover on the positive pole.
.,. Close the hood¢
page 187.
A discharged battery can freeze at temperatures
of only 32 °F (0 °C). Allow a frozen battery to
thaw completely before attempting to charge it
Ill>
Checking and Fill in g
with all environmental reg ulations. D isposing
of vehicle batteries improperly is
very danger
ous to the env ironment.
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
F ig . 168 Engin e com partm en t: Cover o n the win d shi eld
and head lig ht• was he r fl ui d co ntainer
The washer flu id container is marked with the
symbo l~ on its cap
~fig . 168 , ~ page 189,
fig . 161.
(") N
-N
"' co a,
• Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com
partment,
alw ay s re ad and he ed all WARN
IN GS ~ ,& in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 187 .
• Lift the fi ller cap tong ue to add w asher fl uid .
You can fill the container to the top.
• Press the cap back onto the filler neck after f ill-
ing the container .
You ca n find the rese rvoir
c apa city in the tab le in
~ page 234.
Clean water sho uld be used when fill ing up . If
possible, use soft water to prevent sca ling on the
washer jets. Always add a glass cleane r solu tion
(with frost protection in the winter) .
@) Note
Do not mix engine coo lant antifree ze or any
other add itives to fi ll up the windshie ld wash
er reservoir .
200
Wheels
Wheels and Tires
General information
.,.Che ck your tires regularly for
damage (punctures, cuts, cracks
and bulges). Remove foreign ob
jects from the tire tread.
.,. If driving over curbs or similar
obstacles, drive slowly and ap
proach the curb at an angle.
.,.Have faulty tires or rims re
placed immediately.
"'Protec t your tires from oil,
grease and fuel.
.,.Ma rk tires before removing
them so that the same running direction can be maintained if
they are reinstalled .
.,.Lay tires flat when storing and
store them in a cool, dry location
with as little exposure to light as
possible.
(D Note
-Please note that summer and
winter tires are designed for
the conditions that are typical
in those seasons. Audi recom
mends using winter tires dur
ing the winter months. Low
temperatures significantly de crease the elasticity of summ
er tires, which affects traction
Wheels
and braking ability. If summer
tires are used in very cold tem
peratures, cracks can form on
the tread bars, resulting in
permanent tire damage that
can cause loud driving noise
and unbalanced tires.
-Burnished, polished or
chromed rims must not be
used in winter driving condi
tions. The surface of the rims
does not have sufficient corro
sion protection for this and
could be permanently dam
aged by road salt or similar
substances.
Tire designations
Fig. 169 T ir e designations on the sid e-
wall ,..
201
Wheels
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS
malfunction indicator to indicate when the sys
tem is not operating properly. The TPMS mal
function indicator is combined with the low tire
pressure telltale. When the system detects a
malfunction, the telltale will flash for approxi
mately one minute and then remain continuously
illuminated . This sequence will continue upon
subsequent veh icle start-ups as long as the mal
function ex ists.
When the malfunct ion indicator is illuminated,
the system may not be able to detect or signal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions
may occur for a variety of reasons, incl uding the
installation of rep lacement or a lternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS
from functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction tellta le after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function properly.
If the Tire Pressure Monitoring System
indicator appears
A pp lies to veh icles: w ith tire pressure moni toring sys te m
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too low
or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 173 In stru ment cluste r: indicator light with message
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure monitor
ing system compares the tire tread circumference
and vibration characteristics of the individual
tires . If the pressure changes in one or more
tires, this is indicated in the instrument cluster
d isp lay w ith an ind icator light
RE and a message.
214
If only one tire is affected, the location of that
tire will be indicated .
The tire pressures must be stored in the Infotain
ment system again each time the pressures
change (switching between partial and full load
pressure) or after changing or rep lacing a tire on
your vehicle ¢
page 215. The tire pressure moni
toring system on ly monitors the tire pressure you
have stored. Refer to the tire pressure label for
the recommended tire pressure for your vehicle
¢ page 206, fig. 172 .
Tire tread circumference and vibration character
istics can change and cause a tire pressure warn
ing if:
- the t ire pressure in one or more tires is too low .
- the tire has structural damage.
- the tir e was replaced or the tire pressure was
changed and it was not stored
¢ page 215.
Indicator lights
RE loss of pressure in at least one tire¢&. .
Check the tires and replace or r epair if necessary .
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires and
store the press ure again in the Infotainment sys
tem
¢ page 215.
mn:J (T ire Pr essure Mon itoring System) Tire pres
sure: System malfunction!. If@m
appears after
switching the ignition on or while driving and the
RE indicator light in the instrument cluster
blinks for approximately one minute and then
stays on, there is system malfunction. Try to
store the correct tire pressures
¢ page 215. If
the indicator light does turn off or turns on aga in
after a short period of time, drive to your author
i zed Audi dealer or qualified repair facility imme
diately to have the ma lfunct ion corrected.
,&. WARNING
- If the tire pressure ind icator appears in the
display, reduce yo ur speed immediately and
avoid any hard steering or braking maneu
vers. Stop as soon as possible and check the
tires and their pressure .
- The driver is responsible for maintaining the
correct tire pressure. You must check the
tire pressure regu larly. .,..