2015 AUDI S3 check engine light

202 Trailer towing
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, always fo llow the operating
and drivi ng i nstr uctions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and mu st be
mounted secure ly on the ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trailer
h itch with a removab le ball mount. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch manu fac tur er to
make sure tha t you are using t he cor rect
hitch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way t hat
it does not interfe re with t he impact-absorb­
ing bumper syst em . No mod ifications should
be made to the vehi cle exhaust and brake sys ­
tems . From time to time, check th at a ll hit ch
mo unt ing bo lts remain secure ly fastened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra iler hitch ba ll mount. This prevents the
hi tch from causing d amage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ A .
Trailer brakes
If you r tra ile r is eq uipped w ith a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r egulat ions . T
he trailer hyd raulic brake system mus t not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use s afety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r li ghts must meet all regulations. Be
su re to c hec k w ith your Audi dea le r fo r cor rect
wiring, swi tches and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regular o utside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mirro rs . It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rea r.
,8. WARNING
-
Afte r removing t he trailer hit ch, d o no t
s tore it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
br aking, t he h itch cou ld fly forward an d in­
j ur e you or yo ur passengers .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r weight
A trai le r fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typi cal
class 1 or class 2 trai le r.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the load in the t ra ile r is held secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shift ing forw ard,
backw ard or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ A in Driving instru ctions on page 203.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work hard­
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system 's
performance is up to the additional load .
Make su re that the coo ling system has enough
fl uid .
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to t he cold tire pressure listed under
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"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer t ires to tra iler and t ire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
chains, make su re they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the tra ile r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, p lease note the following:
~ Do not tow a loaded tra iler when your car it­
self is not loaded.
~ Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles.
~ Observe speed limits .
~ Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
~ Always apply brakes early.
~ Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con ­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent poss ible and permiss i­
ble, wh ile keeping the trailer as light as poss i­
ble under the circumstances . Whenever possi-
Trailer towing 203
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
T he higher the speed, the mo re difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
when going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trai lers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhi ll, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to s low the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperatu re gauge <=> page 12
must be observed carefu lly. The coolant tem ­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on.
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to .<=>
page 20.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles d ifferently when towing
a trailer because of the additional weight and ..,.
•
•
•

210 Checking and Filling
Checking and Filling
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Applies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
Using the right fuel helps keep the environ­
ment clean and prevents engine damage .
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recommended for your vehicle is un­
leaded premium
grade gasoline . Audi recom­
mends using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline
with a minimum octane rating of91 AKI (95
RON) . For more information on TOP TIER De ­
tergent Gasol ine, please go to the official
website (www .toptiergas.com).
The recommended gasoline octane rating for
your engine can also be found on a label locat­
ed on the ins ide of the fuel filler flap. This rat­
ing may be specified as AKI or RON .
Your vehicle may also be operated using un­
leaded regular gasoline with a minimum oc ­
tane rating of 87 AKI/91 RON . However, using
87 AKI/91 RON octane fuel w ill slightly re­
duce engine performance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded gaso­
line is available throughout the USA, Canada,
and in most European countries. We recom­
mend that you do not take your vehicle to
areas or countries where unleaded gasoline
may not be available.
For more information on refueling your vehi­
cle, see
~ page 212.
Octane rating
Octane rating ind icates a gasoline's ability to
res ist engine damaging "knock" caused by
premature ign ition and detonation . Therefore,
buying the correct grade of gasoline is very
important to help prevent possible engine
damage and a loss of engine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the United
States and Canada has the following octane
r atings that can usually be found on the filler
pump : - Premium Grade: 91
-96 AKI
- Regular Grade: 87 -90 AKI
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI= Anti Knock Index= (R+M)/2 = (RON
+MON)/2
RON= Research Octane Number
MON = Motor Octane Number .
@ Note
-Do not use any fuel w ith octane ratings
lower than 87 AKI or 91 RON otherwise
expensive engine damage w ill occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoline. The use of
leaded gasoline will severely damage
your vehicle's catalytic converter and its
ability to control exhaust emissions.
Blended gasoline
Applies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
Use of gasoline containing alcohol or
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with
alcohol or MTBE (commonly referred to as
oxygenates) if the blended mixture meets the
following criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
-Anti-knock index must be 87 AK I or higher.
- Blend must contain no more than 3% meth-
anol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-sol-
vents.
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol
or ethyl alcohol)
-Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must not contain more than 15%
ethanol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
-Anti-knoc k index must be 87 AK I or higher.
- Blend must contain not more than 15%
MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline

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Selective catalytic reduction
General information
Applies to vehicles: with diesel e ngine
In vehicles with se lective cata lytic reduction, a
urea solut ion (Ad Blue) is injected into the ex­
haust system before a nitrogen oxide catalytic
converter to reduce nitrogen -emissions .
Ad Blue is the marketing name for Diese l Ex­
ha ust Fluid (DEF) .
The AdBlue is carried in a separa te tank in t he
vehicle . The AdBl ue usage accounts for ap­
proximately 0.5% to 1.2% of the diese l fuel
that is used .
When a message abo ut refil ling the Ad Blue
appears in the inst rume nt cl uste r dis play, you
must refi ll the Ad B lue yourse lf or have it refil­
l ed by an authorized Audi dealer or aut horized
Aud i Service Facility
Q page 216.
A WARNING
Failure to heed Ad Blue refill information in
the inst rume nt cluste r can p revent the
ve­
hicle from being started and driven . If the
veh icle cannot be driven and an eme rgency
ar ises, perso na l inju ry can occur.
- Always have the Ad Blue tank refilled well
before the tank r uns d ry.
(!) Tips
- The instrument cluster display indicates
the d istance remaining that ca n be dr iv ­
en
Q page 215. If the AdBlue tank is
complete ly empty, the engi ne will not
sta rt again after the ign ition is switched
o ff.
- Ad B lue is requ ired by law to operate this
vehicle.
Che cking and Fillin g 215
Indicators in the instrument cluster
d isplay
Appl ies to vehicles: with diesel engine
Th e display indicates if th e Ad Blue lev el is low
or if there is a system malfunction.
Fi g. 1 54 Ins trum ent cluster : indicator in the display
AdBlue level low
You w ill be informed if t he AdBlue in the ta nk
drops below a certain leve l.
Ad Blue /9 Please refill Ad B lu e. Range
1500 mi (2400 km)
T his ind icator appea rs whe n there is only
eno ugh Ad Bl ue left to d rive the distance i ndi­
cated in the driver information system. F ill
the Ad Blue .
AdBlue /9 Refill AdBlue! No re start in
600 mile s (1000 km )! See owner' s manual
This indicator appears when there is only
enough AdBlue left to drive the distance indi ­
cated in the dr iver information syst em. F ill
the Ad Blue. Otherwise the eng ine will not
star t again if you s top it o nce the dis tance in­
dicated has been drive n. As long as the
AdBlue /9 ind icator light is on, yo u can
check the remaining range in the trip comput­
er* .
Refill AdBlue! Engine start not
po ssible! See owner' s manual
This message appears w hen the Ad Blue tank
i s emp ty. Fill the AdB lue. Othe rw ise you w ill
not be able to sta rt the engine ag ain on ce you
stop it .
T he Ad Blu e mu st be refilled when the amount
i n the tank has rea ched t he minim um level
Q poge 216.

216 Checking and Filling
¢..ij Incorrect filling /sy stem malfunction
A message ap pears if the Ad Bl ue tank was fil­
l ed with a fluid other t han Ad B lue and the sys ­
tem has detected t hat the tank was fi lled in­
correctly, or if the re is a system malfunction .
Ad Blue/ Ad Blue: Sy stem fault! No re start
in 600 miles (1000 km ). See owner' s man­
ual.
This message appears whe n it is only poss ible
to drive the distance i ndi cated in the dr iver in­
formation system. Drive to the neares t au­
thorized A udi dealer or author ized A udi Se rv­
ice Facility to have the ma lfunction co rrected.
Otherwise the engine will not start again if
you stop it once the distance i nd icated has
been drive n.
AdBlue: system fault . Engine
start not possible! See owner 's manual
This message appears if the system has de ­
tected t hat the ta nk was fi lled incorrectly or
that the re is a ma lfunction . Drive immediate ly
to the nearest authorized A udi dealer or au­
thor ized Audi Serv ice Facility to have the ma l­
function corrected . Otherwise you will not be
ab le to start the engine aga in o nce you stop
it .
Filling the Ad Blue
App lies to vehicles: with selective cata lyt ic reduction
A special refill bottle must be used to fill the
AdBlue .
Fig. 155 R ig ht re ar s id e of th e v ehi cle: re mov ing the
Ad Blue cap
F ig . 1 56 AdBl ue f ille r tube: i nse rtin g the ref ill bottl e
The Ad Blue tank ope ning is located near the
di ese l ta nk open ing . A lways ad d 1 gallon (3.8
li te rs) of AdB lue ( two bottles). This is the min­
i mum amo unt req uired to ensure the system
de te ct s the refilling and to s tart the engine .
T he Ad Blue tank holds approximately
4 gal ­
lo ns
(1 5 liters) .
Opening the filler tube and adding
AdBlue
Req uirement : The request to add Ad Blue mus t
appea r in the instrument cluster disp lay.
" Switch th e ignit io n off.
.. Open the tank door¢
page 212.
.. Tur n the cap on the tank opening to the left
to remove
¢ fig . 155 .
.. Remove the cap from the ref ill bott le.
.. Posit ion the refill bottle on the filler tube
and tur n the bottle clockwise until it stops
turn ing (D ¢fig .156 .
" Press lightly aga inst the bottom of the bot­
tle @to empty it . Continue pressing the
bo ttom of the bottle unt il it is empty or un ­
t il f lu id stop s flow ing in to the ta nk.
" Turn the bottle to t he left w it h out pressing
on t he bot tom.
Closing the filler tube
" Tur n the Ad B lue cap to the right on the filler
t ube until the cap clicks into pla ce.
" Clo se the tank cover.
After filling
The vehicle must be driven. The system may
ta ke up to two m inutes to detect that the
AdBl ue has been f illed . .,.

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Opening the hood
The hood is released from the interior.
Fig. 157 Sect ion from the driver's footwe ll: release lev·
er
F ig. 158 Rocker switch un de r the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged.
• With the driver's door open, pu ll the lever
below the instrument pane l in the direction
of the arrow
¢ fig. 157.
• Raise the hood slightly c;, &_ .
• Press the lever under the hood upward
c;, fig . 158. This releases the catch .
• Open the hood .
Che cking and Fillin g 219
A WARNING
Never open the hood when you see that
steam or coo lant drips from t he e ngine
compartment· there is a danger of burns!
Wait unti l no steam or coolant flows o ut.
- Never open the hood when you see that
steam or coo lant dr ips from the engine
compa rtment- the re is a dange r of
bu rns! Wai t until no ste am or coo lan t
flows o ut.
Closing the hood
• Push the hood down unti l the fo rce of the
strut is overcome .
• Then lower the hood and let it fall into the
engine hood latch -you do
not have to press
on the hood after it is locked.
c;, &_ .
A WARNING
If the hood is not latched complete ly, it
could fly up while you are dr iv ing and ob­
struct you r vis io n.
- For safety reasons, the hood must always
be closed secure ly wh ile d riving. Because
of this, always check the hood after clos­
ing it to make sure it is lat ched co rrectly.
When latched correc tly, the hood will be
f lush w ith the othe r body panels .
-If you no tic e th at t he hood is not latched
while you are dr iving, stop immedi ately
and close it, because this increases the
ris k of an accident .

222 Check ing and F illin g
Using the proper engine o il is important for
the functionality and service life of the en­
g ine. Your engine was factory-filled with a
high-quality oil which can usua lly be used
throughout the entire year.
0 Note
Your L imited New Vehicle Warranty does
not cover damage or ma lfunctions due to
fai lure to follow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Ma intenance booklet.
- Use only a high quality eng ine oil that ex­
pressly complies w ith the Audi o il quality
standard spec ified for your veh icle's en­
gine. Using any other oil can cause seri­
ous eng ine damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants o r othe r addi­
tives into the eng ine o il. Doing so can
ca use engine damage.
If you need to add oi l and there is no ne
availab le tha t mee ts the Audi oil qua lity
s tandard your engine requires, yo u may
add a tota l of no more than 0 .5 quart/liter
of a high-quality "synthetic"oil that meets
the following specifications.
- Vehicles with gaso line engine: ACEA A3
or API SM with a viscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30, SAE SW-30 or SAE SW-40.
- Vehicles with diesel engine: ACEA C3 or
API CF with a v iscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30 or SAE SW-30.
- For more information abo ut eng ine oil
that has been approved for your vehicle, please contact either your a uthorized
Audi dealer or Audi Customer Relations
at 1 (800) 822-2834 or visit our web site
at www.audiusa .com or
www.aud icanada.ca.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on on ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports .
In order to provide effective lubricat ion and
cooling of interna l eng ine components, all in­
ternal combust ion e ngines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumpt ion va ries from
engi ne to engine and may change sig nifican tly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a spec ified break -in period (see
¢ page 197) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they cons ume after oi l
consumption has stabilized.
U nder normal cond itions, the rate o f oi l con ­
s u mption depends on the q uality and viscos ity
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 dilut ion from water
condensation or fue l residue a nd the oxida­
t ion level of the oil. As any eng ine is subject to
wea r as m ileage builds up, t he oil co nsump ­
t ion may increase over time until replacemen t
of worn components may be come necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumpt io n can be es­
tabl ished o r spe cified . There i s no alte rnative
to regu lar and frequent che ck ing of the o il lev ­
el , see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil leve l wa rning symbo l
Ill in the inst rument cl uste r lights up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
i=> page 223 . Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
i=> page 223 .
A WARNING
--
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS¢ page 217.
(D Note
Driving wit h an insufficient o il level is like -
l y to cause severe damage to the engine.
liJJ,

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.