
A WARNING
-You should perform brak ing maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road cond it ions permit .
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
yo u may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transm iss ion into a lowe r
gear or lowe r driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often . This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake . Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing throug h wa
ter, driving in heavy rai n or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, lini ngs,
discs and d rums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test . B rakes wi ll dry and ice coat
ings wi ll be cleaned
off after a few ca re
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing for an ex tended pe riod of time on
salt -covered roa ds without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean
off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few cautious
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct
ed . Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the eff ectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one bra ke c ircuit will impair
the brak ing capability resulting in an in
cr eased stopp ing distan ce. Avoid dr iv ing
the ve hicle and have it towed to the near
est Aud i dea le r or q ualified workshop .
- Never le t the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shu t off.
Int ellig ent technolog y 145
-If the brake booster is not working, the
brake peda l must be pressed considera
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The ele ctro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
The degree of power assist is electronically
matched to veh icle speed.
The powe r steering system assists the driver
so that he can steer the vehicle with reduced
physical effort.
Power steer ing will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
A WARNING
If the system develops a problem, you
must seek qualified professiona l assis
tance.
(D Note
-
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser
votronic
will still function like a conven
tiona l powe r steering system, providing a
constant steering support force tha t is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed.
This is most noticeable when t urning the
steering wheel at low speeds (for example
when parking), - more effort w ill be re
quired than usual.
- Be aware of the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer
ing force accordingly.
- Have the problem checked and set right
by an authori zed Aud i dea ler as soon as
possible.
- If a steering malfunction occurs, th is is
signa led w ith the
ls4 or .• indicator
lights and a warn ing tone, see. •
•

150 Driving and en vironm ent
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are driving on poor roads, or over
curbs, steep ramps, etc ., make certain that
low-lying parts such as spoilers and exhaust
system parts do not bottom out and get dam
aged.
This is especially true for vehicles with low
slung chassis (sports chassis) and fully loaded
vehicles .
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- T he water must not be any highe r tha n the
bottom of the vehi cle body.
- Do no t drive faster than wa lking speed.
_& WARNING
After d riving through water, m ud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because o f wet brake ro tors and pads . Dry
the brakes fi rst by braking carefully to re
store the full braking effect.
(]) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Check the depth o f the water before driv
ing through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switch the engine
off when driving
through water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep for your vehi
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid driving thro ugh salt water because
it can ca use corrosion.
-
Catalytic converter
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 gasoline¢ page 160,
Fuel supply .
.. Never run the tank down all the way to emp
ty.
.. Never put too much moto r o il in yo ur eng ine
¢ page 169, Adding engine oil ~-
.. Never try to push- or tow-st art you r vehicle.
The catalytic co nverter is an efficient "clean
u p" dev ice built into the exhaust system of
t h e vehi cle. The cata lytic conve rter bu rns
many of the pollutan ts in the exha ust gas be
f ore they are re leased into the atmosphere.
T he exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
impor tant for the life of the catalyt ic convert
er and prope r funct ion ing of the engi ne.
A WARNING
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exha ust system may
come in contact with dry g rass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire.
- Do not app ly additiona l undercoating or
r u stproofing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con
verter or heat sh ields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used fo r undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already ser iously de-
grade the performance of the catalytic
converte r.
- Do not exceed the correct engi ne oil level
¢page 169.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty . The engine co uld mis-
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into ..,.

@ For the sake of the environment
-Before changing your oil, first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always dispose of used engine oil proper
l y. Do not dump it on garden soi l, wood
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in your
area, or contact a service station .
Engine 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 and generally re
q uir es lit tle atten tion .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac
tory with a pe rmanent coo lant which does not
need to be c hanged. The coolant consists of a
mixture o f spec ial ly conditioned water and the
manuf acturer 's glyco l-basedcoolan t addi -
tiv e G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi
tives (50% for USA models ; 60% for Canadian
mod els) . This mixture both assures the neces
sary
frost protection and p rotects metal com
ponents in the engine's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling . It a lso raises the boil
i ng point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration o f the coo l
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant add it ive must be at
l e a st 50 % but not mor e than 60 %
to main
tain antifreeze protection and coo ling efficien
cy .
If the coolant frost protect io n is too low,
the coolant cou ld free ze and dam age the veh i
cle heating and eng ine cooling system.
For yea r-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the fac to ry for tempera tures down to:
-- 31°F( -35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada.
Checkin g and fillin g 171
If you must add coo lant, use a mixture of wa
ter and coolant additive . Mix ing the coo lant
additive with distilled water is recommended.
_& WARNING
Before you c heck anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
c> .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 164.
Q) 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 condi tions. This is especi ally impor
tan t if you live i n a region wher e th e win
ter is ex treme ly co ld . If necessary, i n
crease t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
to 60% .
- Whe n ad ding coolant additive t o yo ur
c ooling sys tem, reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coolant ad
d itive G12++ or G13 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is availab le at au
thor ized Audi dealers . O ther types of
a ntifreeze can s ignifica ntly reduc e cor
rosion prote ction. The result ing cor ro
sion can cau se a loss o f coolan t and se
rio us engine d amage .
- Do not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal
a nt to yo ur vehicle 's engine c oolant .
A dd ing radia tor repair fl uid may adverse
ly affect the f unction and pe rformance of
your coolin g system and co uld resu lt in
damage not covered by your New Ve hicle
L imited Warranty.
-
•
•

172 Checking and filling
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
F ig. 132 Eng ine compartme nt: cover on the coo lant
expansion tank
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
a lway s read and he ed a ll WARN
ING S o .A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 164.
., Park your vehicle on a level surface.
., Switch the ign ition
off .
., Read the coolant level at the coolant expan
sion tank
opage 166, fig . 128. With a cold
engi ne, it must be above the "min" mark.
With a hot engine, it can be a l ittle above
the indicated range.
The location of the coolant expans ion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus
tration
o page 166.
To obtain an accurate read ing, the eng ine
must be sw itched
off.
The expans ion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System
opage 17will
illum inate until you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even thoug h
there is an electric coolant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to t ime.
Coolant lo ss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool
ing system should be inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dea
ler .
It is not
enough merely to add coo lant .
In a
seal ed system, losses can occu r on ly if
the boi ling po int o f the coo lan t is exceeded as
a res ult of overheating.
(D Note
Do n ot add any type o f radiator leak se al
ant to your veh icle's engine coo lant. Add
i ng radiator repa ir fl uid may adverse ly af
fect the functio n and performance of you r
cooling system and could result in damage
not cove red by your New Veh icle l imited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
a lways read and heed all WARN
INGS o .A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 164.
Req uirement: There m ust be a res idual
amount of coo lant in the expansio n tank
o (D .
., Tur n off the engi ne .
., le t t he eng ine cool down.
., Place a thick rag ove r the coolant expansion
tank
o page 172, fig. 132 and carefully
twist the cap counter-clockwise o _A .
., Add coolant m ixed in the correct ratio
o page 171, Coolant up to the MAX mark
ing.
.. Make sure that the flu id level remains sta-
b le. Add more coo lant if necessary.
., Twi st the cap o n aga in
tightly.
Replacement engine coo lant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions
o page 171, Coolant .
We recommend using only coolant addit ive
Gl2++, Gl3 or in an emergency Gl2+. Do
not
use a different add itive . In an emergency use
plain water until you can get the co rrect addi
t ive and can resto re the correct ratio. This
sho uld be done as soon as poss ib le.