198 Driving and the environment
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed.
A WARNING
After driving through water or mud, the
braking effect can be reduced due to mois
ture on the brake discs and brake pads. A
few careful brake applications should dry off the brakes.
@) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine, transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Determ ine the depth before driving
through water.
- Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
through water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid dr iving through salt water (corro
s ion).
Catalytic converter
App lies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
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 gaso line r=;, page 210,
Fuel supply .
> Never run the tank down all the way to emp-
ty.
> Never put too much motor o il in your engine
r=;, page 223, Adding engine oil
The catalytic converter is an efficient "clean
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The cata lytic converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be
fore they are released into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critica lly
important for the life of the catalytic convert
er and proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
-
The temperature of the exhaust system is high, both when driv ing and after stopping
the eng ine .
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once
they have become hot . This could result
in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust 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
verter or heat shields . Dur ing driving, the
substance used for undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already seriously de
grade the performance of the catalytic
converter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
r=;, page 223.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The engine could mis
fire . Unburned fuel could also get into
the exhaust system and this cou ld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not switch off the ignition while the
vehicle is moving.
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel
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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 ..,.
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Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run
ning down your arm.
- Drain the oi l into a conta iner designed
for this p urpose, one large eno ugh to
hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engi ne.
- Engine oil is poisono us. Keep it well out
of the reach of c hildren .
- Cont inuo us contact with used engine oil
is harmful to your skin. Always protect
you r sk in by washing oil off thoroug hly
with soap and water .
(D Note
Never mix oil addit ives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en
gine and adversely affect y our Aud i Limit
ed New Vehicle Wa rra nty .
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oi l, f irst make sure
you know whe re you can proper ly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always d ispose of used engine oil proper
l y. Do not dum p it o n ga rden so il, wood
ed a reas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine o il by taking it to a
u se d engine oil collection facility in your
a rea, or contact a servi ce 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 sea led an d generally re
q uir es little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the f ac
tory with a pe rm anen t coo lan t which does no t
n eed to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of specia lly conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glyco l-based coo lant add i-
tive Gl3 antifree ze with ant icorros ion addi-
Checking and Fillin g 225
tives (50% for USA mode ls; 60% fo r Canadian
models) . This mixture both ass ures the neces
sary frost protection and protects metal com
ponents in the eng ine's cooling system from
corros io n and scaling. It also raises the bo il
ing point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool
ant in the s ummer by adding p lain water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50°/o but not more than 60 %
to main
ta in antifreeze protect io n and cool ing eff ic ien
cy . If the coo lant frost p rotection is too low ,
t he coo lan t could freeze and damage the vehi
cl e heating and engine cooling sys tem.
Fo r year- round drivi ng, a ntifreeze is added at
the factory fo r temperatures down to:
- -31 °F
< -3s0c) u sA
- -40°F ( - 40°C) Canada.
If you must ad d coo lant, use a mixture o f wa
te r and coolant additive. Mixing the coo lant
additive with dist illed water is recommended.
A WARNING
Before you chec k anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNI NGS
c:> page 217.
-
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli mate condit ions. This is especially impor
t ant if you l ive i n a region where the win-
t er is extremely cold. If necessary, in-
c rea se t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 6 0% .
- Whe n ad d ing coolant addi tiv e to yo ur
c ooling sys te m , reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coo lant ad
d itive Gl2 ++ or Gl3 (check the labe l)
for your vehicle. This coolant additive is ava ila ble at autho rized Aud i dea le rs .
Othe r ty pes of antifreeze ca n sig nifi
cantly reduce cor ros io n protec tion . The
r esu lting co rrosion can cause a lo ss of
c o o lant a nd serio us e ng ine da mage.
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