Checking and Fill in g
system and could result in damage not cov
ered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
Fig. 162 Eng ine compartment: ma rkings on the coola nt
expans ion tank
Read an d follo wing the WARNINGS before
checking anything in the engine compartment
r::;,page 198.
Checking the engine coolant level
.. Park your vehicle on a level surface.
.. switch the ignition off.
.. Read the coolant level on the coolant expansion
tank
r::;, fig . 162 . The coolant level must be be
tween the mark ings when the engine in cold .
When the engine is warm it can be slightly
above the upper marking .
Adding coolant
Requirement: there must be a residual amount of
coolant in the expans ion tank
c> Q).
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a cloth over the coolant expansion tank
cap and unscrew the cap counterclockwise
<=>& .
.,. Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
r::;, page 205 up to the upper marking .
.. Make sure that the fluid level rema ins stable.
Add more coolant if necessary.
.. Close the cap secure ly.
A coolant loss s uggests a leak. Immediate ly drive
your veh icle to an authorized A udi dealer or au
thor ized Audi Service Facility and have the cool
ing system inspected.
If the cooling system is not
leaking, a loss can come from the coolant boiling
206
thro ugh ove rheating and being pushed out o f the
cooling system.
A WARNING
The cooling system is pressurized and can be
come very hot. To reduce the risk of burns
from hot coolant:
- Do not open the coolant expansion tank cap
w ith the engine hot. There is a risk of burns .
- Stop the eng ine and a llow it to cool.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from es-
caping coolant and steam by covering the
coo lant tank cap with a large, thick cloth.
- Turn the coolant tank cap counterclockwise
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 e x
haust system or hot engine components.
The ethy lene glycol in engine coola nt can
catch fire under certa in circumstances.
- The coolant additive and the coolant can be
dangerous to your health. For this reason,
keep the coolant in the o riginal container
away from ch ildren . The re is a risk of poison
ing .
- W hen working in the engine compartment,
remember that the rad iator fa n can switch
on ev en if the ignition is switched off, wh ich
increases the risk of pe rsonal injury.
@ Note
Do not add coolant if the expans ion tank is
empty . Air cou ld enter the cooling system and
damage the eng ine. If this is the case, do not
continue driving. See an author ized Audi deal
er or a uth ori zed Audi Service Facility for a ssis
ta nce .
. Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by it
self
An a uxiliary electric radiato r fan switches on and
off depending on coolan t temperature and other
vehicle ope rat ing cond itions .
After yo u sw itch the engine off, the aux ilia ry fan
can continue running for up to 10 m inutes -even .,,.
with the ignition off. It can even switch on again
l ater by itself~.& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due to the heat bui ld-up from the eng ine in the en
gine compartment, or
- the engine compar tment heats up because the
vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING , --
- To reduce the risk of personal injury never
touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary e lectric fan is temperature con
trolled and can switch on suddenly even
when the engine is not running.
- The aux iliary radiator fan switches on auto
matically when the engine coo lant reaches a
certain temperature and will continue to run
until the coolant temperature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 163 Engine compa rt m ent: cove r on the brake fluid
reservo ir
N N -N
"' :ll
Before you check anything i n the engine compa rt
ment,
al ways re ad and h eed all W ARN INGS
~page 198.
... Read the brake fluid level from the b ra ke fluid
reservoir
r¢ fig. 163, r:¢ page 200, fig. 157. The
brake f luid leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fl uid reservo ir can be
...., seen in the engine compartment illustration
N
~ r¢ page 200.
co
rl I.O
"'
"'
"'
rl
Check in g and Fillin g
The fluid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads . This is not cause for a larm.
If the brake f luid leve l falls considerably below
the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light
1111 (U.S. mode ls) I. (Canadian models)
will come on
~ page 17. Do not continue to oper
ate the vehicle . The comp lete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified fac ility and the
cause corrected . If the brake flu id level is too low,
the brake warning/indicator light wi ll illuminate .
Contact an a uthorized Audi dea ler
immedi ate ly .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If the
water content in the brake flu id is too hig h, cor
ros ion in the brake system may result after a per i
od of t ime. The bo iling po int of the brake fluid
will a lso decrease cons iderab ly and decrease
braking performance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
e ve ry
tw o years .
Always use new brake flu id which co n
forms to Federal Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be diff icu lt to reach,
therefore, we recommend tha t you have the
brake flu id changed by you r authorized
Audi
de aler.
Your dea le r has the correct tools, the
right brake fluid and the know-how to do this for
you .
A WARNING
- -
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stored
only in the closed original conta iner out of
the reach of children !
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inappro
priate brake fluid. Observe these precau
tions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SA E spe ci
ficat ion
J 1703 and conforms to Federa l
Motor Vehicle Standard 116. Always check
with your a uthorized Audi dea ler to make
~
207
M N
0 > co ,...., \!) er,
er,
er,
,....,
A WARNING ,~
- Work on the battery requires expert knowl
edge. Contact an authorized Aud i dealer or
authorized Audi Service Fac ility for informa
t ion regarding the v ehicl e batte ry. There is a
risk for chemical burns or e xplosions.
- Never open the vehicle battery . Do no t try to
change the batte ry elect ro lyte level. Other
wise ex plosive gas will e scape from the bat
tery and increase the r is k of an explosion.
@ Tips
If your vehicle is not driven for severa l wee ks
in very cold tempe ratu res, remove the battery
and store it in a pla ce where i t will no t freeze.
This preven ts the bat tery from being d am
aged and needing to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The bat te ry is loc ated in t he luggage compart
men t under the floor. Before yo u check any thing
i n the l uggage comp artme nt,
read and heed all
WARNINGS
q ,&. .
Always heed the sa fety warning s, when working
on the vehicle battery o r th e veh icle elec trical
sys tem to preven t inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very important
when work ing on the battery:
Always he ed the following WARNING SYM-
BOLS and safety pre caution s wh en working on
the battery .
®
Always wear eye protect ion.
A
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Al ·
ways wear gloves and eye protection.
@
No
• sparks
- flame s
- smok ing.
Checking and Fillin g
&
When a battery is charged, it produce s
-hydrog en gas which i s explo siv e a nd
c ould cau se p ers onal injury.
®
Always keep the battery well out of
reach of children .
A WARNING ..,__ -
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electr ica l system, the re is the risk of in jury,
accident and even fi re. Read and heed the fol
l ow ing WARNI NGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat
tery ac id or a ny lead particles get on your
skin o r clothing. Shield yo ur eyes. Exp losive
gases can ca use blindness or o ther in jury.
- Battery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfuric
acid can ca use b lindness and severe burns.
- Always wear g loves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because ac id could leak
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery ac id in your eyes or on
your s kin, immed iate ly r inse with cold wa
ter fo r several minutes and get medical at
tent ion.
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid , seek
med ica l attent io n immed iate ly.
- Do not expose the batte ry to an open flame,
electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and nega-
tive cables .
- When working on the battery , be s ure not to
short-c ircuit the terminals with tools or oth
er metal objects . This would ca use the bat
tery to heat up very quickly , which could
lead to damage or exp losion and perso nal
in jur y.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy
drogen gas which is e xplos ive and could
cause persona l injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys
tem, disconnect the negat ive g round cab le.
- Before performing any work on t he e lectr i
cal system, sw itch
off the engine and igni-
tion as well as any electrical equ ipme nt. The .,..
209
Checking and Fill in g
negative cable on the battery must be dis·
connected. If you are just going 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! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm .
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis
connect the negative cable and then the
posit ive cab le.
- Before reconnect ing the battery, make sure
all electrical consumers are switched off . Re
connect the pos itive cable first and then the
negative cable . Never intercha nge the ca
bles -th is could star t a fire!
- Never charge a froze n or a thawed-out bat
te ry.
It co uld explode! If a batte ry has fro
zen, then it m ust be repl aced. A d isc harged
b at tery can free ze over at 3 2 °F (0 °C).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attached
to the opening on the side of the battery .
- Never use batte ries which are damaged.
T he re is the danger of an explos ion! Always
replace a damaged battery.
_& WARNING
California P ropos ition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts , termina ls and re lated acces
sories contain lead and lead compounds ,
chemicals known to the Sta te of C alifornia
to cause ca nce r and reproductive problems.
Wash hands after hand ling.
(D Note
- Do not d isconnect t he ve hicle battery when
the ignition is o n or when the engine is run
ning, othe rwise , you w ill damage electronic
components in the electrical system .
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a long
period of time without be ing driven, p rotect
the battery from "freezing", otherwise it
will be damaged and will then have to be re
placed.
210
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged bat
tery .
Fig. 16 4 En g in e compa rtmen t: connecto rs fo r a c harg er
and jump start c ables
Always read and heed all WARNINGS below
c> .& and q .& in Working on the battery on
page 209 .
.,.. Switch off the ignition and all elec trical con
sumers.
.,.. Make s ure the area is we ll ventilated when you
charge the battery .
.,.. Open the eng ine hood
q page 199 .
.,.. Open the red cover on the positive pole
q fig. 164 .
.,.. Clamp the charge r te rm inal clamps as inst ruct
ed on the
battery terminal (+ ) and o nly on the
body ground point (· ).
.,.. On ly now plug the mains lead for the charging
equ ipmen t in to the wall outlet and turn it on
~ .& -
... Make sure the charging rate is not ov er
30 amps / 14 .8 Volt .
.,.. When the bat tery is fully cha rged : Tur n the
charg ing equipment off and remove the mains
lead from the wall outlet.
.,.. Now remove the clamps fo r the charging equip -
ment .
.,.. Close the red cover on the positive pole.
.,.. Close the hood
c> page 200.
A d ischarged battery can freeze at temperatures
of only 32 F
0 (0 °C) . Allow a frozen battery to
thaw complete ly before attempting to charge it
~ .&. . However, we recommend not using a
thawed battery aga in because the battery casing ..,_
M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
can be cracked due to ice formation and can leak battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate of
30 amps / 14.8 Volt)
When charging at
low voltages (e.g . with a trickl e
charger ), the battery cab les do not have to be
d isconnected first. The battery caps shou ld
not
be opened when charg ing a battery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is also not nec
essary to disconnect the cables .
Fast charging the battery (charg ing rate
a bo ve 14.8 Volt s)
F or technical reasons do not use a battery charg
er that us es voltage greater than 14 .8 Volts to
charge your vehicle's battery.
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Always fo llow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manufactur
er when charging y our battery.
- Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice. Al
low a frozen battery to thaw o ut first.
- Do not reuse batteries which were frozen .
The battery hous ing may have cracked and
weakened when the battery froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated area .
Keep away from open flame or electrical
spark . Do not smoke. Hyd rogen gas generat
ed by the battery is explos ive .
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never co nnect or disconnect cha rger cables while
the cha rger is operating .
- Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a competent
tec hnician with the p roper equipment .
- Battery acid that may spill during charg ing
should be washed off w ith a so lution of
wa rm water and baking so da t o n eutrali ze
t he a cid .
Checking and Fillin g
(D Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to start
the engine . This will ser iously damage sensi
tive electronic components, s uch as control
units, relays, radio, etc., as well as the battery
charger .
Battery replacement
The new bat tery mus t hove the some specifica
tions and dimensions as the original equipmen t
battery.
Intelligent energy management in your vehicle is
responsible for distributing the electrical energy
t h roughout your vehicle
Q page 128 . The intelli
gent energy management system w ill keep the
engine batt ery charged better than vehicles with
out this system. To ma ke s ure t he add it iona l elec
t rical energy is av ailabl e once again afte r yo u
have changed the battery, we recommend tha t
yo u install batteries of the same type and man u
facture on ly (the same as those insta lled at the
t ime yo ur vehicle was delivered). Specifications
are listed on the battery hous ing . Your author
ized dealer must code the battery in the energy
manageme nt system to enab le you to use the en
ergy ma nagement fu nctions cor rectly afte r re
plac ing the battery .
The new battery mus t have the same capacity ,
vo ltage (12 -volts), amperage, construction and
plug seal ing.
When install ing the battery, make sure the ign i
t ion and all electr ica l consumers are switched off.
(D Note
Make sure the ventilat ion hose on the side of
the battery is connected, otherwise f umes or
battery acid can lea k out.
~ For the sake of the environment
Because o f the prob lem of proper disposal of
a battery, we recommend you r authorized
A udi dealer change the battery for you. Bat
teries contain sulfur ic acid and lead and must
always be dispose d of properly in complia nce
with a ll envi ronm ental regulations. Disposing ..,.
211
Checking and Filling
of vehicle batteries improperly is very danger
ous to the environment.
Windshield washer system
F ig . 165 Eng ine compartment: washer fluid reservoir cap
M
"' -')'
"" 00 a,
The washer fluid reservoir O contains the wind
shield washer fluid¢ page 200, fig. 157. Reser
voir capacity¢ page 260.
"' Read and follo w all
WARNINGS before working
in the engine compartment ¢page
198 .
... Open the cap .
... Add the washer f luid and close the cap .
To reduce the risk of lime scale depos its on the
spray nozzles, use clean water with low amounts
of calcium. Always add a window cleaner to th
water. It should contain freeze protection in the
winter.
(D Note
- Never add radiator anti-freeze or other addi
tives to the washer fluid.
- Do not use a glass cleaner that contains
paint solvents, there is a risk of damaging
the pa int.
212
Service interval display
The service interval display detects when your ve
hicle is due for service.
Fig. 166 Instrument cluster: Service interval display (ex·
amp le)
Fig. 167 Display in the MMI panel: service interval display
(example)
l6 M 0 ;:;. co m
The service interval display works in two stages:
-Inspection or oil change reminder: After a cer
tain distance driven, a message appears in the
instrument cluster display each time the igni
tion is switched on or off¢ fig. 166. The re
maining distance or time is disp layed briefly.
- Inspection or oil change due: If your vehicle
has reached an inspection or oi l change interval
or both intervals at the same time, the mes
sage:
Inspection due! or Oil change due! or Oil
change and inspection due!
appears briefly af
ter switching the ignition on/off.
Checking service intervals
You can check the rema ining distance or time un
til the next oil change or next inspection in the
MMI
¢ fig. 167. Select the I MENU I button> Car>
Systems*
control button > Service & control >
Service intervals.
M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
Resetting the indicator
Your authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility will reset the service interval dis
play after performing service.
If you perform an oil change yourself to the Audi
specifications, you must reset the service interval
display.
To reset the display, select the
I MENU I button>
Car > Systems* control button > Service & con
trol
> Service intervals > Reset oil change inter
val.
(1) Note
- Only reset the oil change indicator if the oil
was changed.
- Following the service intervals is critical to
maintaining the service life and value of
your vehicle, especially the engine. Even if
the mileage on the vehicle is low, do not ex
ceed the time for the next service.
- Calculating the time to the next oil change
is interrupted when the vehicle battery is
disconnected. If the vehicle is not driven for
a long period of time, check the mainte
nance schedule so that you can follow the
maintenance intervals.
Checking and Filling
213
Fuses and bulbs
Fuses and bulbs
Electrical fuses
Replacing fuses
A fuse that has blown will have metal strips that
have burned through.
Fig. 184 Steering column area: cover
Fig. 1 85 Left side of the engine compartment: fuse cover
Fuses in the interior
The fuses are behind the cover in the steering col
umn a rea
r::;,fig. 184.
" Switc h the ignition and all e lectr ica l equipment
off .
" Check the following table to see which fuse be
l o ngs to the equipment
r::;, page 249.
"Remove the cover ("AIRBAG" label) r::;,fig. 184 .
Begin at the bottom right corner -arrow-.
" Remove the plastic clip from the fuse panel
cover in the engine compartment<=>
fig. 185.
"Remove the fuse using the plastic clamp.
" Rep lace the bur ned fuse with an identical new
one .
" Install the cover .
Fuses in the engine compartment
"Turn off the ignit ion and the failed electrical
equipment.
248
" Check the following tab le to see wh ich fuse be
longs to the equipment¢
page 250.
" Remove the fuse panel cover ¢fig . 185.
" Remove the plastic clip from the fuse pane l
cover
r::;, fig. 185 .
.. Remove the fuse using the plastic clamp .
" Replace the burned fuse with an identical new
one .
.. Reins tall the cover.
The ind iv idual circuits are protected by safety
fuses . The fuses a re located under the steering
whee l beh ind a cover and in the left s ide of the
engine compa rtment.
Fuse color identification
Color Current rating
in amps
Bla ck 1
Purple 3
Light brown 5
Brown 7,5
Red 10
Blue 15
Yellow 20
Wh ite or transparent 25
green 30
orange 40
&, WARNING
Do not repa ir fuse s and never replace a blown
f u se w ith one that has a hig her amp rating.
T his c an c ause damage to t he e lectr ica l sys
tem and a fi re .
(D Note
If a new fuse blows again shortly after you
h ave installed i t, have the ele ct ric al sys tem
checked by an a uth orized Audi deale r o r au
thorized Audi Service Facili ty.
{!) Tips
- Th e followi ng table does not l ist fuse loca
t ions tha t are not u sed.