
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform
especia lly we ll 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
spec ified criter ia in this chapter .
- If you are unable to determine whether
or not a particular fuel blend meets the
spec ificat ions, ask your service station or
i ts fuel supplier .
- 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 respons ibility of Audi and are not
covered under the New Vehicle or the
Emission Control System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fue l economy
or driveability and performance prob l ems 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 cer tain
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
fuel systems clean, they are not equally effec
tive.
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank 161
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, built -up carbon deposits 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.
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
s ide panel behind the fuel filler flap.
If the unlocking system should fail, you can
still open the flap manually -for detailed in
structions see
~ page 163.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your ve
hicle in
~page 223 .
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap
tells you the correct fuel for your vehicle. For
more information about fuel specifications,
see
~ page 160 .
Your vehicle fuel tank has an on-board refuel
ling vapor recovery system. This feature helps
to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from the
tank and pollut ing the environment while you
refuel your vehicle. In order to fill the tank
properly while protecting the environment,
please follow this refueling procedure careful
ly.
A WARNING ~
Under normal operating conditions, never
carry additional fuel containers in your car.
Gas canisters and other containers used to
transport fuel can be dangerous. Such con
tainers, full or empty, may leak and could
cause a fire in a collision . If you must
transpo rt fuel to use for your lawn mower, ..,.
•
•

162 Fuel suppl y and filli ng your fuel t ank
snow blower, etc., be very careful and al
ways observe local and state laws regard ing the use, transportat ion and storage of
such fuel containers . Make certain the con
tainer meets industry standards (ANSI/
ASTM F852 -86) .
(D Note
Never drive your vehicle unt il the fuel tank
is completely dry . The irregular supply of
fuel can ca use misfir ing . Gasoline could
enter into the exhaust system and damage
the cata lytic conve rter.
Refuelling
Fig. 123 D rive r's doo r: Unl ocking fuel filler flap
Fig. 124 Fu el cap hooke d on the opened fuel fill er fla p
When adding fuel, the igni tion and any cellu
lar phones in the vehicle must be swi tched
off .
Tak ing the fu el cap off
• To open the fuel fill er flap , pu ll the b utton
r=> fig . 123.
• Unscrew fuel filler cap counte r-clockwise
and hang it on the fuel filler flap
c> fig . 124.
Refuelling proc edur e
• Insert the fuel nozzle from the gasoline
pump into the fuel fi ller neck as far as it wi ll
go .
• Select a med ium r efuelling rate so that the
no zzle switches off automatically when the
tank i s full.
Putting th e fu el cap bac k on
• After f illing your tank, twist the fuel filler
cap clockwise until you hear a definite click.
• Close the fue l fill er flap.
T o avoid fuel spilling or evaporating from the
fuel tank always close fuel filler cap properly and completely. An improperly closed fuel fi ll
er cap may also cause the MIL lamp
c> page 30
to come on.
A WARNING
Improper refue ling or handling of fuel can
cause fire, explosion and severe burns.
- Fuel is highly flammable and can cause
severe burns and other injuries .
- Fai lure to shut the engine off while refu
eling and/or to insert the pump nozzle
fully into the fuel filler neck could cause
fuel to spray out of filler neck or to ove r
f low. F ue l spray and overflowing fuel can
cause a fire.
- Never use a ce llular telephone whil e re
fue ling . T he electromagnet ic rad iat io n
can cause spa rks that can igni te fuel va
pors and cause a fire.
- Never get back into your vehicle whi le re
fue ling.
If in exceptio nal circumstances
you must get back in your vehicle while
ref ueling, make certain that you close
the door and touch metal to discharge
static electricity before touching the fill
er nozzle again . Static e lectricity can
cause sparks that can ignite fuel vapors
re leased d uring refueling .
- Never smoke or have an open f lame any
where in or near your veh icle when refu
eling or filling a portable fue l conta iner .
- For your safety, we strongly recommend
that you do not travel with a portable

164 Checking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 126 Driver' s side footwe ll: e ngin e hood release
lever
.. Open the driver's door .
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
instrument panel
c> fig . 126 in the direction
of the arrow .
The hood pops up slight ly under spring pres
sure.
Opening the engine hood
Fig . 127 Re lease lever under the engine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make sure
that the windshie ld wipers are flat against the
windshie ld. Otherwise, they cou ld damage the
pain t on the hood.
.. Lift the hood slight ly
c> .&, .
.. Pull up on the release under the hood
c> fig . 12 7. This releases the catch .
.. Open the hood all the way.
A WARNING
-Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the eng ine
compartment . Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fu lly opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
.. Let the hood
drop down and latch in p lace.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en
gage
c> .&, .
A WARNING
--
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv
i ng.
- When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has proper
ly engaged . The hood should be flush
with the surrounding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while dr iv ing that the hood
is not secured properly, stop at once and
close it .
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment!
Whene ve r y ou must pe rform any wo rk in th e
eng ine compartment, for e xample chec king
and filling the diff ere nt fluids, ther e is a risk
of injury , burn s and accident s. To prevent
p ers onal injury alwa ys obs erv e the follo win g
WARNING S. Th e engin e c ompartm ent of an y
v e hicl e is a hazardou s area!
c> .&.
A WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any
thing under the hood:
- Sw itch off the engine .
- Remove the ignition key.

-Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park).
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wa it until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment .
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool
ant system is pressurized and hot cool
ant could spray out .
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances . This increases the
risk of burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery .
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in
jury while the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the engine running:
Checking and filling 165
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact
ing hot parts . Tie back hair before
starting, and wear no clothing that will hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&. .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- 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 harms. Wash hands after handling.
Q) Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container
or filler opening, otherwise serious dam
age to vehicle systems will occur .
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly . If
you see spots from oil or other vehicle flu ids, have your vehicle inspected by an au
thorized Audi dealer. •
•

166 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check .
•
Fig. 128 Typ ica l layout for containers and eng ine oil filler cap
CD Coolant expansion tank (-L) .. .
'2' E . 'l d. . k \61 ngIne 0 1 1pst1c .......... .
@ Engine oil filler cap ('1:::r.) .. .. .
@ Brake fluid reservoir((();) .. .. .
® Jump start points(+) under a
cover, (-) bolt head .... ... .. .
® Windshield/headlight washer
t . (
;;p, ) con ainer ,-!,, •••.•••.•.•••.
172
169
169
174
217
179
The pos ition of the engine o il dipstick and the
engine o il fi lling hole
r::> fig. 128 (items @and
@) can differ depending on the engine de
sign .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARN INGS
c::> .& in Working in the engine
compartment on page 164.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
T he eng ine in your Aud i is a soph ist icated
powerplant that was built to exact ing spec ifi
cat ions . T his engine needs the right kind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliably . Choosing the right o il
and changing oil within the time and mileage
i ntervals printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to
day tha n it did years ago. Audi has developed
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that you r vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs fo r proper opera
t ion.
Modern engine lubr ication has taken a quan
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthet ic
1J.

168 Checking and filling
Detergent additives in the o il will make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run
n ing for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
D am ag e o r m alfun ction s due to lack of
m ainten ance
It is essent ial that yo u change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine oil
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00 . Your Lim ited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to failure to follow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
M aintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage un less you p resen t to
the dea ler proof in the form of Servi ce or Re
pa ir Orde rs that all schedu led maintenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports.
I n o rder to prov ide effective lubr ication and
cooling of internal engine components, a ll in
ternal comb ustion engines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oi l consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the eng ine . Typically, eng ines
with a specif ied break-in per iod (see
c::> page 149) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con
sumpt io n depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road cond it io ns. Furthe r fac
tors are the amo unt of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage bui lds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over t ime until replacement
of worn components may become necessary. Wi
th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tab lished or spec ified. There is no alte rnative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instr ument cluster
1\1 lights up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
with the oil dipstick c::> page 169. Top off the
o il at your earliest conven ience
c::> page 169 .
A WARNING
-Before you chec k anything in the eng ine
compartment, a lways read and heed a ll
WAR NINGS
c::> .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 164.
CI) Note
D riving with an insufficient o il level is like
l y to cause sever e damage to the engine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it . Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at r egular intervals, pr ef
erably ea ch time you refuel, and alway s
before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impression yo ur engine
cons umes excessive amoun ts of oil, we
recommend that you consult your Aud i
dea ler to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of o il con
sumption requires great care and may
take some t ime . Your Audi dea ler has in
st ruct ions about how to measure oil con
sumption acc urately.

Checking the engine oil level
Fig . 12 9 Illust rat ion of principle 1: Ma rkers on o il dip
st ick
F ig . 13 0 Illust rat io n of principle 2: Markers o n oil dip·
st ic k
Before you check anything in the engi ne com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 164.
Determining oil level
• Park your vehicle on a level surface.
• While at operati ng state temperature, brief
l y let the eng ine run at id le and then shut it
off .
• Wait approx. two minutes.
• Pullout the oil dipstick. Wipe off the oil d ip
stick with a clean cloth, and slide it back in
as far as it wi ll go.
• Pu ll it bac k out and read off the oil level
¢ fig. 1 29 or ¢ fig. 130 . Top off the engine
oi l, if app licable ¢
page 169.
Oil level within range~
• Do not add o il.
Oil level with in range @
• You can add oil. Afterwards, the o il level
shou ld be w ith in range @.
Checking and filling 169
Oil level within range 0
• Yo u must add oil. Af terwards, the oil leve l
should be wi thin range @.
T he oil leve l needs to be checked at regu lar in
terva ls. The best t ime s to do th is are w henev
er yo u ref uel and p rior to long trips.
Depend ing on the way the vehicle is dr iven
and the ope rat ing cond it ions, oi l consumption
c a n be up to 1/ 2 quart per 6 00 miles (0. 5 lite r
per 1,000 km) . Cons umption m ay be highe r
wi thin the first 3,000 miles (5,000 km) .
Adding engine oil ci::,,.
0 N ;.
>< (D m
Fig . 131 Engine compa rtment: cover on the engi ne oil
filler neck
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
alw ays read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 164.
• Shut the eng ine off.
• Unscrew the cap
"f:7. to the engine o il filling
hole
¢ page 166, fig . 128.
• Carefully top off with 0 .5 quarts (0 .5 liters)
of the appropr iate oil
¢ page 166.
• Check the oil level aga in aft er two minutes
¢ page 169, Che cking the engine oil level.
• Top off the oil again, if necess ary.
• Sc rew the cap back on the filling hole and
slide the oil dips tick in as far as it wi ll go.
..&_ WARNING
-W hile topping off, the o il m ust not come
in contact with hot e ngine parts -fire
hazard ! .,.

170 Checking and filling
-The oil filler cap must be properly se
cured to prevent oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the engine is running -fire hazard!
- If your skin has come in contact with the
engine oil, you must subsequently
cleanse it thoroughly .
(D Note
-The oil level must not be above range G)
-danger of converter or engine damage!
Contact an authorized Audi dealer to
draw off oil, if necessary.
-Audi does not recommend the use of oil
additives. They may damage the engine
and adversely affect your New Vehicle
Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come
in contact with the sewage network or
the soil.
- Observe and follow legal regulations
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 any thing in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ~ .& in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 164 .
The engine oil mus t be changed according to
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet. This is very important
because the lubricating properties of oil di
minish gradually during normal vehicle use .
Under some circumstances the engine oil
should be changed more frequently . Change
oil more often if you drive mostly short dis
tances , operate the vehicle in dusty areas or
under predominantly stop-and-go traffic con
ditions , or have your vehicle where tempera- tu
res remain below freezing for extended pe
riods.
Detergent additives in the oil will make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run
ning for a short time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than
recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposal,
along with the special tools and necessary ex
pertise required, we strongly recommend that
you have your oil changed by an authorized
Audi dealer or a qualified service station.
If you choose to change your oil yourself ,
please note the following important informa
tion:
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury if you
must change the engine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protection.
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en-
gine oil, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the oil drain plug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the ground to help prevent hot oil from run
ning down your arm.
- Drain the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large enough to hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engine .
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well out
of the reach of children.
- Continuous contact with used engine oil
is harmful to your skin. Always protect
your skin by washing oil off thoroughly
with soap and water.
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en
gine and adversely affect your Audi Limit
ed New Vehicle Warranty.