226 Checking and Fill in g
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l
ant to your ve hicle's engine coolant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adverse
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
Fig . 164 Engine co mpa rtment: mark in gs on the coo l
ant expans ion tank
R ea d a nd f ollow ing th e W ARNING S before
checking anything in the eng ine compartment
¢ page 217.
Ch eck ing t he e ngi ne coolant level
"Park your vehicle on a level surface .
.. Switch the ign ition off .
" Read the coo lant level on the coolant expan
s ion tank ¢
fig. 164. The coo lant level must
be between the markings when the eng ine
in cold. When the engine is warm it can be
sl ightly above the upper marking .
Adding coolan t
Requirement : There must be a residual
amount of coolant in the expansion tank ¢(D .
.. Let the engine cool down.
" Place a cloth over the coolant expansion
tank cap and unscrew the cap counterclock
wise ¢&_ .
.. Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢ page 225 up to the upper marking.
.. Make sure that the fluid level remains sta
ble. Add more coolant if necessary.
" Clove the cap securely. A coolant loss suggests a
leak. Immediately
drive your vehicle to an authorized repair fa
c ility and have the cooling system inspected.
If the cooling system is not leaking, a loss can
come from the coolant boiling through over
heating and being pushed out of the cooling
system.
A WARNING
The cooling system is press urized and can
become very hot. To reduce the r isk of
b urns from hot coolant:
- Do not open the coolant expansion tank
cap with the engine ho t. T here is a risk of
burns.
- Stop the eng ine and a llow it to cool.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping coolant and steam by covering
the coolant tan k cap with a large, th ick
cloth.
- Turn the coolan t tank cap counterclock
wise slowly and keep light pressure on
the cap .
- To reduce the risk of burns, do not allow
any antifreeze or coolant to drip onto the
exhaust system or hot engine compo
nents. The ethy lene g lycol in engine
coo lant can catch fire under certain cir
cumstances.
- The coolant additive and the coolant can
be dangerous to your health . For this
reason, keep the coo lant in the origina l
container away from ch ildren . There is a
risk of poisoning.
- When working in the engine compart
ment, remember that the rad iator fan
can switch on even if the ignition is
sw itched off, which increases the risk of
pe rsonal injury.
(D Note
Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty . Air could enter the cooling system
and damage the eng ine .
If this is the case,
do no t continue dr iving. See a n author ized
A udi dealer or authori zed Aud i Service Fa
cility for assist ance.
....,
N
0 > co
rl I.O
"' ....,
"' rl
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
An auxiliary electric radiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolan t temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions .
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself<=>.& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev
er touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au
tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
N
N
N
>< ~
Fig. 165 Engine compa rtment: cove r on the brake fluid
rese rvoir
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS r::;, page 217 .
Checking and Filling 22 7
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir <=>
fig. 165, <=> page 220,
fig. 159.
T he brake fluid level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be seen in the engine compartment illustration
<=>page 220.
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)
I. (Canadian
models) will come on
c:> page 18 . Do not con
tinue to operate the vehicle. The complete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali
fied facility and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light will illuminate. Contact an au
thorized Audi dealer
immediately.
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 fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years . Always use new brake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you.
II>-
228 Check ing and F illin g
8_ WARNING
-Brake fluid is poiso nous. It must be sto r
ed only in th e closed original container
out o f the reach of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old or inap
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre
caut ions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake flu id. The correct type of
brake fluid is also indicated on the
b rake 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 serious ly affect the effi
ciency of the bra kes as well as yo ur
safety . This could result in an acc ident.
@ Note
Brake flu id will damage the paint of your
veh icle.
@i For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l
of brake flu id as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the ne cessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
The battery in your Audi does not need any
maintena nce under
normal operating condi
tions. Aud i recommends having the elect ro
l yte level check by a n author ized Audi dealer
or author ized Audi Se rv ice Facili ty when there
are
high outside temperat ures or when driving
all day. The e lectrolyte level shou ld a lso be
checked each time the battery is charged
¢ page 230.
Have the batte ry checked when yo u bring your
vehicle in for an inspection . It is a good idea
to replace the battery if it is more than 5 years
o ld.
D uring certain types of airbag deployments,
the battery is disconnected from the vehicle electrical system for safety reasons¢
& in
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 160.
Di sconnecting the battery te rminals
Some vehicle functions (such as power win
dows) are not avai lable when the battery is
disconnected. These functions must be pro
grammed after the battery is reconnected. To
avo id hav ing to do this, only disconnect the
battery from the vehicle electrical system
when that is necessary to perform repairs .
To reprogram the functions, proceed as fol
lows:
Function Reprogramming
Power window one-¢ page 44, Correcting
touch up/down power window ma/-
function functions
Remote control key
If the vehicle does not
or r
eact to the key, it
convenience key must be synchronized
¢ page37
Dig ita l cl ock ¢page 10
ESC indicator light The indicator light
goes out after driving
a few meters
Not running the vehicle for long periods
of time
If you do not drive your vehicle fo r several
days or weeks, electrical components are
gradua lly reduced or switched off. This re
duces e nergy consumption and maintains the
vehicle's ability to start over a long per iod of
time
¢ page 194. Some convenie nce func
tions, such as interior lig hting or power seats *
may not work. These convenience functions
will be ava ilable again once you switch the ig-
nition on and start the engine. .,.
230 Checking and Filling
-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 cables.
- 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,
which 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 negative ground ca ble.
- Before performing any work on the elec
trical system, switch off the engine and ignition 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 switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable .
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch
ed off. Reconnect the positive 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 explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dead battery can free ze over at 32°F (O°C).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attach
ed to the opening on the side of the bat
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al
ways replace a damaged battery . A WARNING
-California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive problems . Wash hands after han
dling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en
gine is running, otherwise, you will dam
age electronic components in the electri
cal system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
Fig. 166 E ngin e compart men t: co nnecto rs for a charg
e r and jump st art ca bles
Always read and heed all WARNINGS below
~ .&_ and q .&_ in Working on the battery on
page 229.
~ Switch off the ignition and all electrical con
sumers.
~ Make sure the area is well ventilated when
you charge the battery.
~ Open the engine hood q page 219 .
~ Open the red cover on the positive pole
qfig. 166 .
M N
0 > co ,...., \!) ..,.,
M ..,., ,....,
~ Clamp the charger terminal clamps as in
structed on the
b atter y ter min al (+ ) and on
ly on the
body ground point (·).
~ Only now plug the mains lead for the charg
ing equipment into the wall outlet and turn
it on
c:> ,.&. .
~ Mak e sure the charging rate i s not o ver
30 amp s / 14.8 Volt .
~ When the batte ry is fully charged: Turn the
c harging equ ipment off a nd remove the
mains lead from the wall outle t.
~ Now remove the clamps for the charging
equipment.
~ Close the red cover on the positive po le.
~ Close the hood <=> page 219.
A discharged battery can freeze at tempera
tures of on ly 32 F
0 (0 °C). A llow a frozen bat
tery to thaw completely before attempt ing to
charge it
c:> &. . However, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat
tery cas ing can be cracked due to ice forma
tion and can leak battery acid.
B atter y ch arging (Ma ximum charging rate
of
30 amps / 14.8 Volt)
When cha rging at low voltages (e .g. w ith a
tric kle charger ), the battery cables do not
have to be d isconnected first. The batte ry
caps sho uld
not be opened when charging a
battery .
It is not necessary to remove the batte ry from
the luggage compa rtment, and it is also not
necessa ry to disconnec t the cables.
Fa st charging the b attery (charging rate
above
14.8 Volts )
For technica l reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage g reate r than
14.8 Volts to charge your veh icle's battery.
WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Always fo llow the oper ating instructions
provided by the battery charge r manu
fact urer when charging your battery.
Checking and Fillin g 231
-Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice .
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries wh ich were fro
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame or elec
trical spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is explos ive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never connect or d isconnect charger cab les
while the charger is ope rat ing.
- Fast charging a batte ry is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe
tent techn ic ian with the prope r equip
ment.
- Battery acid that may spi ll dur ing cha rg
ing should be washed off wi th a solut io n
of wa rm w ater and baking soda to neu
trali ze the ac id.
(D Note
Neve r use a fast cha rger as a boost er to
star t the engine. This w ill ser iously dam
age sens it ive e lectronic componen ts, su ch
as cont ro l units, re lays, radio, etc., as well
as the battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery.
Inte lligent energy management in your vehi
cl e is responsible for dist ributing the elect ri
ca l energy throughout yo ur vehicle
<=> page 194 . The intelligent energy manage
ment system will keep the engine battery
charged better than vehicles without this sys
tem . To make sure the additional electrical en
ergy is ava ilab le once again after you have
changed the batte ry, we recommend that you
insta ll batteries of the same type and manu-
factu re on ly (the same as those installed at
IJI,,
•
•
•
232 Check ing and F illin g
the time your vehicle was delivered) . Specifi
cations are listed on the battery housing. Yo ur
author ized dealer must code the battery in
the energy management system to enable you
to use the energy management functions cor rectly after replac ing the battery .
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, construct ion
and plug sealing.
When insta lling the battery, make sure the ig
n ition and all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch
ed off.
Make sure the venti lation hose on the side
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposa l
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batter ies contain su lfuric ac id and
lead and must always be disposed of prop
erly i n compliance w ith all environmental
regu lations . D ispos ing of vehicle batteries
improper ly is very dangerous to t he envi
ronmen t.
Windshield washer
container
M N ~ N
"' co
co
F ig . 167 Eng ine compa rt m ent: cove r on the w indshi eld
an d h ead ligh t* washer f lu id re servo ir
The washer f luid container is marked with the
symbo l won its cap ¢
fig. 167, ¢ page 220,
fig. 159.
.. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ page 217 .
.. Lift the fi ller cap tongue to add washer flu
id. You can f ill the container to the top.
.. Press the cap back onto the filler neck afte r
filling the conta iner .
You can find the reservo ir
capacit y in the table
in c:>
page 288.
Clean water should be used when filling up . If
poss ib le, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets . Always add a g lass cleaner solu
t ion (with frost protection in the w inter) .
(D Note
- Do not mix engine coolant ant ifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the w ind
shield washer reservoir .
- Do not use a glass cleaner that contains
paint so lvents, there is a risk of damag
ing the paint.
M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
M 1.1'1 ,....,
Model/ Tire designation
Engine
A3 Sedan: 225 /45 Rl7 91 Y
1 .8 liter High Performance
4-cylinder 225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
(Gasoline High Performance
engine) 225/45 Rl7 91H
All Season
225 /40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
235/35 Rl9 91 Y XL
High Perfo rmance
A3 Sedan: 225 /45 Rl 7 91 Y
2.0 liter High Performance
4-cylinder 225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
(Gasoline High Performance
engine) 225/45 R17 91H
All Season
225 /40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
235 /35 Rl9 91 Y XL
High Performance
A3 Sedan: 225/45 Rl 7 91 Y 2.0 liter High Performance
4-cylinder 225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
(Diesel en- High Performance
gine) 225/45 Rl7 91H
All Season
225 /40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
235 /35 Rl9 91 Y XL
High Performance
53 Sedan : 225 /40 R18 92Y XL
2.0 liter High Performance
4 -cylinder
225/40 Rl8 92H XL
(Gasoline All Season
engine) 235/35 Rl9 91 Y XL
High Performance
Tires and wheels 243
Tire pressure
normal load condition front
rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA
30 210 28 190
35 2
40 32 2 20
32 220 29 200
35 240 32 220
33 230 3 2 220
30 210 28 190
35 240 3 2 220
33 2
30 30 2 10
36 250 33 230
35 240 3 2 220
30 210 28 190
35 240 32 220
33 230 30 2 10
36 250 33 230
35 2
4 0
32 220
39 270
36 250
38 260 35 240
39 270 36 250 full load condition
front
rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA
35 240
35 240
35 2 40 3 5 24 0
39 270
39 270
39 2 70 39 270
35 2 40 35 2 40
36 250 36 250
36 2 50 3 6 25 0
41 280 41 280
41 280 41
280
36 2 50 36 250
36 250
36 250
36 250 36 2 50
41 280 41 280
41 280 41
280
36 2 50 3 6 250
42 290 42 290
41 280 41
280
44 300 44 300
•
•
XL= reinfor ced or extra load tire. It may al so appear a s xl , EXTRA LOAD , or RF on the tire side-
wall.
....,
N
0 > co
rl I.O
"' ....,
"' rl
What do I do now? Luggage compartment
lid emergency release
In case of an emergency, the rear lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es
cape handle .
Fig. 174 Section of the luggage compartm en t: access
to the emergency release
To reach the emergency release mechanism,
the rear bench seat backrest must be folded
down .
~ page 65
.,. Push the latch upward in the direction of the
arrow until the lock releases .
The trunk escape handle inside the rear lid is
made of fluorescent material to glow in the
dark.
A WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only in an emergency .
@ Tips
The emergency release lever should never
be used as a handle for closing the rear lid .
General information
.,. Park the vehicle as far as possible from mov
ing traff ic in the event of a flat tire. In the
event of a flat tire, park the vehicle on a lev
el surface .
It you are on a steep incline, be
especially careful.
.,. Set the parking b rake.
.,. Swi tch the emergency flashers on .
.,. Put on a reflective vest, if avai lable .
.,. Set up the warning triangle, if available .
What do I d o now ? 267
.,. Have the passengers exit the vehicle . They
should move to a safe place, for examp le
beh ind a guard rail.
A WARNING
Pay attention to the steps above. They are
for your p rotection and t he for the safety
of other dr ivers.
A WARNING ...
Imp roper use of the vehicle jack can cause
se rious pe rsonal injuries .
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten w heel bolts, s ince the bolts can
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an ac cident .
- The fac tory-supplied jack is intended on
ly fo r yo ur vehicle model. U nder no c ir
cumstances sho uld it be used to
li ft
heavy vehicles o r other loads; you risk in
juring yo urself .
- Never s tart the engine when the vehicle
is raised, w hich co uld cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle secu rely wit h appro
priate stands if wor k is to be performed
underneath the vehicle ; otherwise, there
is a pote ntia l risk for injury.
- Never use the jac k supplied wit h your
Aud i on another vehicle, particularly on a
heav ier one. The jack is only su itable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
@ Tips
- Some of the on board items listed above
are provided on certain mo dels only or
are opt ional extras.
- Before stor ing the jack*, make sure it is
wound back down as far as it w ill go .