Checking and F ill in g
Using the proper engine o il is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-fi lled w ith a high-quality o il
which can usually be used throughout the ent ire
year.
@) Note
Your L imited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended ma intenance and use
requ irements as set forth in the Audi Ow ne r's
Manual and Wa rranty
& Ma intenance booklet .
- Use only a high quality eng ine oil t hat ex-
pressly comp lies w ith the Audi o il quality
standard specified for your vehicle's e ngine .
Using a ny other oil can cause se rious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants o r othe r addit ives
i nto the engine oil. Doing so can cause en
g ine damage.
(D Tips
If you need to add oil and there is none availa
ble that meets the Audi o il quality standard
y o ur eng ine requires, you m ay add a total of
no more than 0.5 quart/li ter o f a h igh-quali ty
"synthet ic"oil that meets the fo llowing speci
fications .
- V ehicles wi th gasoline engine: AC EA A3 o r
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE 0W- 30,
SAE SW -30 or SAE SW-40 .
- Fo r more informa tion abo ut engine oi l that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either you r a uthorized Aud i dea ler
or Audi Customer Relations at
1 (800) 822-2834 or visit o ur web site at
www .aud iusa.com or www .aud icanada .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 cool
i n g of in ternal engine components, all interna l
combustion engines consume a certai n amount
of oil. O il consumption var ies from engine to en
g ine and may change significant ly ove r the life of
190
the engine. Typically, eng ines with a specif ied
break-in period (see
¢ page 177) consume mo re
o il dur ing the b reak -in per iod than they consume
after oil consumption has stabili zed.
U nder normal cond itions , the rate of oi l con
s u mption depends on t he qu ality and viscosity of
the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem
perature and road condit ions. Further factors are
the amount of o il di lution from water condensa
tion or fuel residue and the ox idat ion level of the
o il. As any engine is s ubject to wear as mileage
builds up, t he oil consump tion may inc rease ove r
t ime unt il rep lacement of wo rn component s may
become necessary.
With a ll these va riab les coming into p lay, no
sta ndard ra te of oil consumpt ion can be estab
li shed or spe cified . There i s no altern ative to reg
u la r and freq uent checking o f the oil leve l, see
Note .
If the yellow e ngine oi l leve l wa rning symbo l El
in the instr ument cluster lights up, yo u should
chec k the o il level as soon as possible
¢ page 191 . Top off the oil at your ear liest con
venience ¢page 191.
A WARNING
Before you chec k anything in the eng ine com
partment, always read and heed a ll WARN
INGS¢ .&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 187 .
@ Note
Driving with an insufficient oi l level is likely to
cause severe damage to the engine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressu re warning display. is not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rely on
it . Instead, check the oil level in your en
gine at regular intervals, preferably each
time you refuel, and always before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impression yo ur engine con
sumes excessive amounts of oil, we r ecom-
mend that yo u consult an au tho rized Audi .,.
Checking and F ill in g
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come in
contact with the sewage network or the soil.
- Observe and fo llow lega l regu lations when
disposing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that hove your oil changed by on
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified service sta
tion.
Before you check anything in the engine compa rt
ment,
alway s read and heed all WARNINGS ¢ .&.
in Working in the engine comportment on
page 187.
The engine oil must be changed according to the
i n terva ls specified in yo ur Warranty
& Mainte
nance booklet . This is very important because the
lubricat ing propert ies of o il diminish gradua lly
during normal vehicle use.
Under some circ umstances the engine oi l sho uld
be changed more frequent ly . Change oil more of
ten if you drive most ly short distances, operate
the vehicle in dusty areas or under predom inantly
stop-and-go traffic condit ions, or have your vehi
cle where temperatures rema in below freezi ng
for extended periods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w ill make fresh oil
look dark after the engine has been running for a
short time. This is normal and is not a reason to
cha nge the oil mo re often than recommended .
Because of the problem of proper disposa l, along
with the special tools and necessary expertise re
qu ired, we stro ngly recommend that you have
your oil changed by an autho rized
Aud i deale r or
a qualif ied se rvice stat ion.
If you choose to change your o il yourself, please
note the fo llowing important information :
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of persona l inju ry if yo u
must c han ge the engine oil in your ve hicle
yo urself:
- Wea r eye p rotection .
192
-
-To reduce t he risk of burns from hot engine
oil, let the engine coo l down to the touch.
- W hen removing the o il drain p lug with your
fingers, stay as far away as possib le. Always
keep your forearm parallel to the ground to
he lp prevent hot oi l from running down your
arm .
- Dra in the oil into a c ontainer designed for
this purpose, one la rge 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 chi ld ren .
- Continuous contact w it h used eng ine oi l is
ha rmf ul to your skin. Always protect you r
skin by washi ng oil off tho roughly wi th soap
a nd wate r.
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine oil.
These additives can damage your e ngine and
adverse ly affect your Audi Limited New Vehi
cle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changi ng your oil, first make su re
you know where you ca n prope rly dispose of
the used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oil properly.
Do not d ump it on garden so il, wooded
areas, in to op en st reams o r down sewage
drai ns.
- Recycle used engi ne oil by taking it to a used
eng ine oi l collect ion fac ility in yo ur area, o r
c ontact a service station.
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 genera lly re
q u ires little attention.
The cooli ng sys tem has been filled at the f actory
wi th a permanent coolan t which does not need to
be changed. The coolant consists of a mixtu re of
jll,,
"' N
0:: loo
rl I.O
"' N
"' rl
specially conditioned water and the manufactur
er's glycol-basedcoolant additive Gl3 antifreeze
with anticorrosion add itives (50% for USA mod
els ; 60% for Canadian models) . This mixture both
assures the necessary frost protection and pro
tects metal components in the engine's cooling
system from corrosion and scaling . It also raises
the boiling point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration of the coolant in
the summer by adding pla in water .
The propor
ti on of coolant additive mu st be at least 50 %
but n ot more than 60 °/o
to maintain antifreeze
p rotec tion and cooling efficiency . If the coolan t
frost protection is too low, the coolant cou ld
freeze and damage the vehicle heating and en
gine cooling system.
F or year-round driving, antifreeze is added at the
factory for temperatures dow n to:
- - 31 °F (-35 °C) USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada .
If you m ust add coolant, use a m ixture of water
and coolant additive. Mixing the coolant additive
with distilled water is recommended.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment, always read and heed all WARN
INGS
~ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 187.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in your
vehicle is suffic ient to meet the climate con
dit ions . This is especially important if you
l ive in a region where the winter is ex treme-
l y co ld. I f necessary, increase the proport ion
of coo lant add itive to 60%.
- When adding coolant addit ive to your cool
ing system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant addi
tive Gl2 ++ or Gl3 for your vehicle. This
coola nt add itive is ava ilable at authorized
Audi dea lers. Other types of ant ifreeze can
significant ly reduce corrosion protection .
Check in g and Fillin g
The resulting corrosion can cause a loss o f
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak sealant
to your vehicle's engine coolant . Adding ra
diator repair fluid may adverse ly affect the
function and performance of your cooling
system and could result in damage not cov
ered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty .
Checking the engine coolant level and
adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Fig . 1 64 Engine compartment: Cover on the coo lant ex
pans io n tank
Fig . 1 65 Engin e compa rtment: mark in gs in t he coo lant ex
pan sion tank
Before you check anything in the engine compart
ment,
a lwa ys read and heed all WARNINGS
~ A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 187.
The "MIN" und "MAX" markings are found on the
bi-level d isc in the interior of the coo lant expan
s ion tank~
fig. 165 .
.,. Park yo ur vehicle on a level su rface.
.,. Turn off the ignition.
.,. Let the engine cool down.
193