
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
especially well for winter or summer driving. During seasonal change-over, we suggest that
you fill up at busy gas stations where the sea sonal adjustment is more likely to be made in
time.
Q;) Note
- Methanol fuels which do not meet these requirements may cause corrosion and
damage to plastic and rubber compo nents in the fuel system .
- Do not use fuels that fail to meet the
specified criteria in this chapter .
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fuel blend meets the
specificat ions, ask your service station or
i ts fuel supp lier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents cannot be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance
problems resulting from the use of fuels
different from those specified are not
the responsibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the
Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy
or driveability and performance prob
lems due to the use of one of these fuel
blends, we recommend that you switch
to unblended fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufac
turers is carbon deposit build-up caused by
the type of gasoline you use .
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another, they have certain
things in common. All gasoline grades contain substances that can cause deposits to collect
on vital engine parts, such as fuel injectors
and intake valves. Although most gasoline
brands include additives to keep engine and
M
N fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec-o
iii tive. ,...., \!) ..,.,
M ..,., ,....,
Checking and Filling 211
Audi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline . For more information on TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, please go to the official
website (www.toptiergas .com).
After an extended period of using inadequate
fuels, carbon deposit build-ups can rob your engine of peak performance.
CJ) Note
Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel
quality is not covered by the Audi New Ve
hicle Limited Warranty.
Diesel fuel
App lies to vehicles : wit h diese l eng ine
Always use ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel)
No. 2 . The ULSD No. 2 meets the ASTM D975.
Diesel fuel with concentrations of biodiesel
higher than 5
% such as B11, B2O or B1OO are
strictly prohibited.
Service station fuel pumps are labeled with
the correct fuel information for easy recogni
tion by the user.
If the diesel fuel pump is not
labeled ask the station operator what fuel is
being dispensed before filling up your vehicle.
ULSD No. 2 may not be available outside the
USA and Canada. Be sure to check before trav
eling to other countries.
ULSD No. 2 can become thicker in very cold
temperatures, and this can impair the en
gine's starting and running. Depending on the
season, gas stations provide ULSD No . 2 that
flows better in cold temperatures so that you
can continue operating your vehicle as usual.
(D Note
- Your vehicle's diesel engine was de
signed solely for use with ULSD No. 2.
Therefore, never use gasoline, heating
oil, other fuels or flow improvers. These
contain substances that will severely
damage the fuel system and the engine.
Such damage will not be covered by your
New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
ll>
•
•
•

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Checking and Fillin g 221
Diesel engine compartment overview
The most important check points .
Fig. 160 Typical locat ion of th e reservo ir, engine oil dip stick, and engine oil filler opening
(D Coolant expansion tank (J-) .. .
@
®
©
®
®
0
®
Eng ine oi l dipstick .......... .
E ng ine o il filler opening
('!=r.) .
Brake fluid reservoir ((0))
Battery(+) under a cover .....
B ody ground point(-)
Washer f luid reservoir(~)
F use housing .............. .
226
223
223
227
229
232
276
The engine oil filler opening and the dipstick
(items @ and @)¢
fig. 160 may be located in
a different area depending on eng ine ve rsion .
A WARNING
Read and following the WARN INGS before
checking anything in the engine compa rt
ment
¢page 217.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact
specifications .
The service interva l disp lay in the instrument
cluster of yo ur vehicle will inform you when it
is time for a n oil change . We recomme nd that
you have your oil changed by an author ized
Audi Se rv ice Advisor .
If you have to top off the o il between oi l
c hanges, use the Audi o il quality sta ndard
spec ified in the tab le .
Audi oil quality standard
Gasoline
VW 502 00 or
engine vw 504 00
Diesel vw 507 00
eng ine
...

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,

224 Check ing and F illin g
• Unscrew the engine oil fi ller opening cap
~ ¢ fig. 163, ¢page 220, fig . 159.
• Carefu lly add 0 .5 quart (0.5 liter) of the ap
propr iate oil¢
page 221.
• Check the oil level again after two minutes
¢ page 223, Checking the engine oil level.
• Add o il, if necessary .
• Close the engine oil filler cap and push the
dipstick all the way in.
.&_ WARNING
- When add ing o il, do not le t oi l dr ip onto
hot engine components . There could be
risk of a fire .
- You must sec ure the cap on the oil filler
opening correctly so that oil does not
leak out onto the hot engine and exhaust
system when the engine is running, be
cause this is a fire hazard.
- Always clean skin thoroughly if it comes
into contact w ith eng ine oil.
([) Note
- Applies to vehicles with gasoline en
gines: The oil level cannot be above the
(!) range¢
page 223, fig. 161, because
th is can ca use damage to the cata lytic
converter or the engine. Contact your au
thorized Audi dealer or qua lified repair
facil ity to have excess o il extracted if
necessary.
-Applies to vehicles with diesel engines: The oil level must not be in the
0 range
¢
page 223, fig. 162 -The oil must not
be extracted, because this can damage
the engine. Drive to an au thorized A udi
dealer or authorized A udi Service Facility
immediately.
- Do not mix any additiona l lubricants into
the engine o il. Damage cause by such ad
ditives is not covered by the war ranty.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Oil should never enter the sewer system
or come into contact with the ground .
- Pay a tte ntion to leg al req uirements
when disposing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by
an authorized Audi dealer or a qualified serv
ice station.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
always read and h eed all WARN
INGS
¢ page 217.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the interva ls specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet . This is very important
because the lubricat ing propert ies of o il di
min ish g radually du ring normal vehicle use.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
should be changed more frequently. Change o il more often if you drive mostly short d is
tances, operate the ve hicle in dusty a reas or
under p redo min ant ly stop-and-go traffic con
di tions, or have yo ur vehicle where tempera
tures remain below freezing for extended pe
riods .
De te rgent additives in the oil will make fresh
o il look dark after the engine has been run
ning for a sho rt time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than
recommended.
Beca use of the p roblem of proper disposal,
along wi th the specia l tools and necessary ex
pertise req uired, we st rongly recommend that
you have your oil changed by an a uthorized
Audi deale r or a qualified service station.
If you choo se to chan ge your oil your self ,
please note the fo llowing important informa
tion:
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal in jury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protect ion.
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en-
g ine oi l, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the o il drain p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible. ..,

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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 .

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
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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.