2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET light

Check ing and F illing
Checking and Filling
Gasoline fuel
Gasoline grade
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith gaso li ne engines
The correct gasoline grade is stated on the inside
of the fuel filler door .
The vehicle is equipped with a catalytic converter
and must only be driven w ith
unlead ed ga soli ne.
Aud i recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gas­
oline. Additional information on TOP TIER Deter­
gent Gasoline can be found on the official web­
site (www .toptiergas.com) .
The individua l gasoline grades are differentiated
by
oct ane rating s. This value is given with (R +M)/
2 equating to AK I or in RON.
The fo llowing headings match the corresponding
sticker in the fuel fi ller door .
UNLEADED FUEL ONLY MIN. (R+M) /2 87
R egula r/ MIN. RON
91 Regular
Use regu lar gasoline with minim um 87 AKI/
9 1 RON ~@ .
The max imum engine power is only reached if
p rem ium gasol ine 91 AKI/ 95 RON is used.
UNLEADED FUEL ONLY PREMIUM MIN . (R
+M )/2
91 / SUPER MIN. RON 95
Using premium gasoline with m inim um 91 AKI/
95 RON is recommended.
If premium gasoline is not available, you can also
use regula r gasoline 87 AKI/ 91 RON . However
this does reduce the engine powe r slight ly.
CD Note
- Fil li ng the tank just one time with leaded
fuel or other meta llic additives will cause
permanent deteriorat ion to the cata lyt ic
conve rter func tion.
- When gasoline with an octane rati ng that is
too low is used , h igh speeds o r heavy engine
l oad can lead to engi ne dam age.
184
(D Tips
The vehicle can be fi lled with fue l that has a
h igher octane rating than what is requi red by
the eng ine.
Blended gasoline
App lies to : vehicles wit h gasol ine engi ne
U se of g asoline cont aining alcohol or MTBE
(m ethyl tertiary butyl ether )
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with al ­
cohol o r M TBE (commonly referred to as oxygen­
ates) if the blended m ixt ure meets the fo llow ing
c rit eria:
Blend of ga soline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or h igher.
- Blend must contain no more than 3% metha-
nol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-solvents.
Blend of ga soline and ethanol (grain alcoh ol or
ethyl alcohol)
- Anti-knoc k index must be 87 A KI or h igher.
- Blend must not conta in more than 15% etha-
nol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
- Anti -knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend mus t contain no t more than 15% MTBE .
Seasonall y adjusted ga soline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform es­
pecially well for winter or summer dr iv ing . Du r­
i ng seasonal change-over, we suggest that you
fill up at busy gas stat ions where the seaso nal
adjustment is mo re l ikely to be made in t ime .
CD Note
-Methanol fuels which do not meet these re­
quirements may cause corrosion and dam­
age to plasti c and rubber components in the
fue l system.
- Do not use fue ls that fa il to meet the speci­
fied cr iteria in th is chapter.
...

Checking and Filling
Opening the hood
The hood is released from the interior.
M ~
-...::;:;======== -d ~
Fi g. 159 Sect ion from th e driver's side footwell: release
l ever
F ig. 160 Rocker switc h under the hood
Read and foll ow the WARNING S before check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
r::;, page 188, Working in the engine comport­
ment .
m
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up from
the w indshield . Otherwise the paint could be
damaged .
.,. With the driver's door open, pull the lever be­
low the instrument panel in the direct ion of the
arrow
r::;, fig. 159 .
190
.,. Raise the hood slightly r::;, .&, .
.,. Press the rocker switch under the hood upward
r::;, fig. 160. This releases the catch .
.,. Open the hood .
A WARNING
Never open the hood when you see that steam
or coolant drips from the engine compart­ ment- there is a danger of bu rns! Wait unt il
no steam or coolant flows out.
Closing the hood
.,. Push the hood down u ntil the fo rce of the strut
is ove rcome .
.,. Let the hood fall lightly into the latch .
Do not
press it in.
r::;, .&, .
A WARNING
If the hood is not latched complete ly, it could
fly up wh ile you are dr iving and obstruct your
vision.
- For safety reasons, the hood must always be
closed securely while driv ing. Because of
this, always check the hood after closing it
to make sure it is latched correctly . The
hood is latched if the front corners cannot
be lifted.
- If you notice that the hood is not latched
while you are driving, stop immed iate ly and
close it, because this increases the risk of an
accident .

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
A udi reco mmend s
~Castrol I jgl[J,'fE{g ?r,w.:..~J ri, '.IA!,
Audi rec ommends Longlif e high perform ance
engi ne oil from Au di Genuin e Parts
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a h igh-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
yea r.
(D Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty & Maintenance booklet .
- Use only a high qual ity eng ine oil that ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's engine .
Using any other oil can cause serious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
@ Tips
If you need to add oil and there is none availa ­
ble that meets the Audi oil quality standard
your engine requires, you may add a total of
no more than 0.5 quart/liter of a h igh-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- Vehicles w ith gasoline eng ine: ACEA A3 or
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30,
SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine o il that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Aud i Custome r Relat ions at
1 (800) 822- 2834 or visit ou r web site at
www.audiusa.com or www .aud icanada.ca.
192
· Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all of
its moving parts.
In order to provide effect ive lubricat ion and cool­
i ng of internal engine components, all internal
combust ion eng ines consume a certa in amount
of oil. Oil consumption var ies from engine to en­
gine and may change sign ificantly over the life of
the engine . T ypically, engines w ith a specified
break -in period (see¢
page 65) consume more
oi l during the break-in period than they consume
after oil consumption has stabilized.
U nder normal cond itions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity o f
the oil , the RPM (revo lutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem­ perature and road conditions. Further factors are
the amount of o il dilution from water condensa­
tion or fuel residue and the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wear as mileage
builds up, the o il consumption may increase over
ti me unt il replacement of wo rn compo nents may
become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no standard rate of o il consumption can be estab­
li shed or spec ified . T he re is no alte rnative to reg­
u la r and freq uent checki ng of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l II
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
chec k the o il level as soon as possible
¢
page 193. Top off the o il at your earlies t con­
venience
¢ page 193.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
¢page 188.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the engine.
IJII,

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-Always dispose of used engine oil prope rly .
Do not dump it on garden soi l, wooded
areas, into open streams or down sewage
drains.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a used
engine oil collection facility in your area, or
contact a serv ice stat ion.
Cooling system
Coolant
The engine coo ling system is filled wi th a mixture
of purified water and coolant additive at the fac ­
tory. This coo lant must not be not changed.
The coolant leve l is moni to red throug h the . in ­
d icator light
q page 16 . Howeve r, we do recom­
mend occasiona lly checking the coo lant level
manually.
If you m ust add coo lant, use a m ix ture of water
an d coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant additive
with d isti lled water is recommended.
Coolant additive
The coolan t additive is made of anti-freezing and
corros ion pro tection agents. Only use the fol low­
in g coolant add it ives. The se addi tives may be
mixed wit h each other.
Coolant additive Specification
G13 TL 7
74)
G12 ++ TL 774 G
T he amount of coo lant additive that needs to be
mixed with water depends on the climate where
the vehicle will be ope rated. If the coolant addi­
tive percentage is too low, the coolant can freeze
and damage the eng ine.
Coolant Freeze protec-
additive tion
Warm reg ions min . 40% m in. -13 °F
max. 45% (-
25
°()
Cold regions min . 50% max . -40 °F
max. 55% (-40
°()
Checking and Filling
(D Note
-
Before the start of w inte r, have you r auth or­
ized Aud i dealer or a uthorized Aud i Serv ice
Facility check if the coolant addit ive in your
vehicle matches the pe rcentage appropriate
for the climate. This is especially important
when driving in colder climates .
- If the appropr iate coo lant add itive is not
availab le in an emergency, do not add any
other additive. Yo u could damage the en­
gine. If this happens, on ly use water and re­
store t he corre ct m ix tu re ratio with the
specified coolant ad ditive as soon as poss i­
ble.
- O nly refill w ith new coolant.
- Radiator sea lant must not be mi xed with
the coolant.
Adding coolant
Fig . 1 64 En g in e compa rtment: ma rki ngs o n the coolant
expans ion
t ank
Read and follow the WARNINGS befo re check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
i=> page 188, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
Che cking the engine coolant level
.. Park your vehicle on a leve l su rface .
.. Switch t he ignition off .
.. Read the coolant level on the coolant expansion
tank ¢
fig. 164. The coolant level must be be­
tween the markings when the eng ine in cold .
When the eng ine is warm it can be slig htly
above the upper marking.
195

Check ing and F illing
Adding coolant
Req uirement: the re must be a res idual amo unt of
coo lant in the expansion tank¢(!) .
"' Let the engine coo l down.
"' Place a cloth over the coolant expans ion tank
cap and unscrew the cap counter cloc kwise
¢ &_ .
"'Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢page 195 up to the upper marking .
"' Make sure that the fluid level remains stable.
Add more coo lant if necessary.
"' Close the cap securely.
A coolant loss suggests a leak. Immediately dr ive
your veh icle to an authori zed Audi 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 boi ling
through overheating and be ing pushed o ut of the
coo ling system.
_& WARNING
T he coo ling sys tem is pres suriz ed a nd can be­
come very ho t. To reduce the r is k of burns
from hot coolant :
- Do no t open the coo la nt expan sion tan k cap
with the engine ho t. There is a risk of burns .
- Stop the engine and allow it to cool.
- Prote ct your face, hands and arms from es -
c aping co o lant and steam by covering the
c oolant t ank cap with a large, th ick cloth.
- T urn the coo la nt tank cap co un terclo ckwise
slowly a nd kee p lig ht pressu re o n the cap .
- T o reduce the risk of burns, do not allow any
an tifreeze o r coolant to drip on to the ex­
haus t sys tem or hot engine components.
T he ethylene glycol in eng ine coolan t can
catch fire under certain circumstances .
- T he coo lant add itive an d the cool ant can be
dange rous to you r healt h. For this reason,
keep the coolant in the o rigina l container
away from c hildren. There is a risk of poi­
soning .
- When working in the engine compartment,
remember that the rad iator fan can switch
on even if the ign ition is switched off, which
increases the risk of personal injury .
196
(D Note
Do not add coo lant if the expansion tank is
empty. A ir 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
e r o r a uthorized Audi Serv ice Facility fo r ass is ­
tance .
Radiator fan
The radia tor fan switches on au tomatically by it­
self.
An a uxiliary e lectric radiator fan switches on and
off depend ing on coo lant temperature and other
vehicle ope rating conditions .
After yo u switch the engine off, the auxiliary fan
can continue running for up to 10 m inutes - even
with the ignit ion off.
It can even switch on aga in
l ate r by itself ¢.& , if
- the temperat ure o f the eng ine coolant rises due
to the heat build- up from the engine in the en­
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the veh icle is parked in intense s unlight.
_& WARNING
- To reduce the r isk of personal injury never
to uch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary e lectric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly even
when the engine is not ru nning .
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on auto­
mat ica lly when the eng ine coolant reaches a
certain temperature and will continue to run
until t he coo lant tempe rature d rops.
-

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Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 165 Engine compartment : cover on t he brake fluid
reservoir (examp le)
"' N N
~ .,
Before you check anything in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢page 188, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid
reservoir
~fig. 165, ¢page 191, fig. 161 . The
brake fluid level must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings .
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 191.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads . This is not cause for alarm.
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably below
the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light
1111 (U.S. mode ls)/ . (Canadian models)
will come on¢
page 15. Do not continue to oper­
ate the vehicle . The complete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified facility and the
cause corrected. If the brake fluid level is too
low, the brake warning/indicator light will illumi­
nate. Contact an authorized Audi dealer
immedi­
ately.
Checking and Filling
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 fluid is too high, cor­
rosion in the brake system may result after ape ­
riod 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 con­
forms to Federal Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 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.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous. It must be stored
only in the closed original container out of
the reach of children!
- Brake failure can result from old or inappro­
priate brake fluid . Observe these precau­
tions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE speci­
fication
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 fluid .
The correct type of brake fluid is also indi­
cated on the brake 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 long.
This can seriously affect the efficiency of
the brakes as well as your safety. This
could result in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your vehi-
cle. ..,.
197

Check ing and F illing
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of
brake fluid as we ll as the special tools re­
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec­
ommend that you have the b rake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery ( 12 V)
General information
All work on the battery requires expert knowl­
edge .
Read and follow the WARNINGS
before check­
i n g a nyth ing in the engine compartment
c::> page 188, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
The batte ry in you r Aud i does not need any main­
tena nce unde r
normal operating cond itions. A udi
re commends hav ing the e lectro lyte level check
by an au thor ized A udi dealer or au thori ze d Audi
Serv ice Facility when there a re
high outs ide tem ­
peratures or when driving a ll day. The elect rolyte
level sho uld a lso be checked each time the bat­
tery is charged
c::> page 200.
Have the battery checked when you bring your ve ­
hicle in for an inspection. It is a good idea to re­
p lace the battery if it is more than 5 years old .
T he batte ry is located in the eng ine compar tment
and is practically
maintenance-free .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
The battery shou ld not be d isconnected. Severa l
veh icle functions (power w indows, for example)
w ill be lost w hen the b attery is disconne cted. The
f u nctions mus t be reprog rammed after connect­
in g the battery. To avo id th is, the battery shou ld
only be disconn ecte d from the vehicle e lectrica l
system when it is abso lutely necessary.
T o reprogram the func tions, proceed as follows:
198
Function Reprogramming
Power window one-c::> page 35, Correcting
touch up/down func-power window malfunc-
tion tions
Remote control key o r If the vehicle does no t
Convenience key react to the key, it must
be synchronized
c::> page29
Dig ita l cl ock c::>page 10
ESC indicator light The ind icator light goes
o ut after driving a few
meters
Not running the vehicle for long period s of
time
If you do not drive your vehicle for severa l days o r
weeks, electrical components are gradually re­ d u ced or switched off . This reduces energy con­
s u mp tion and mai ntain s the vehicle's ability to
st art over a long perio d of time
c::> page 1 21.
Some conven ien ce f unctions, such as inter ior
li ght ing o r power seats* may not wor k. T hese
convenience functions will be availab le aga in
once you sw itch the ignition on and start the en­
gine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the winte r mon ths, it is common for the
batte ry capac ity to decrease as the temperatures
become lower . This is because more power is
needed to start the vehicle and components such
as the headlights and the rear window defogger
a re used more freque ntly .
Avoid using power unnecessa rily, espec ia lly in
c ity dr iving o r on short t rips. Have your author­
i z ed Audi dealer or author iz ed Audi Se rvice Facili­
ty check the battery capacity be fore the start of
winter
c::> page 200 . A well -cha rged battery will
not only reduce sta rting prob lems in cold wea th­
e r, bu t it will a lso l ast longer.
.&_ WARNING
- W ork on the b attery requires e xper t knowl­
e d ge. Con tact an a uthor ized Audi dealer or
author ized Audi Se rvice Facility for info rma ­
tion rega rding the vehicle batte ry. There is a
-
ris k for chemical burns or e xplosions . ..,.

<( co .... N ,.__
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> co
-Never open the vehicle battery. Do not try to
change the battery electro lyte level. Other­
wise explosive gas will escape from the bat­
tery and increase the r isk of an explos ion .
(D Tips
If your vehicle is not driven for several weeks
in very cold temperatures, remove the battery
and store it in a place where it will not freeze.
This prevents the battery from being dam­
aged and needing to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery .
The battery (12 V) is located in the engine com­
partment.
Always heed the
safety warnings, when working
on the vehicle battery or the vehicle electrical
system to prevent injury.
The following WARNINGS are very important
when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM-
BOLS and safety precautions when working on
the battery.
®
Always wear eye protection.
&
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Al-
ways wear gloves and eye protection.
@
No
- sparks
- flames
- smoking.
A
When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
.
could cause personal injury .
®
Always keep the battery well out of
reach of children.
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electrical system, there is the risk of injury,
-
Checking and Filling
accident and even fire . Read and heed the fol­
low ing WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat­
tery acid or any lead particles get on your
skin or clothing. Shield your eyes. Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury.
- Battery acid contains sulfur ic acid. Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns.
- Always wea r gloves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because acid could lea k
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery acid in yo ur eyes or on
you r skin, immed iate ly r inse with cold wa­
ter for severa l min utes and get medical at­
tent ion .
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid, seek
medica l attention immediate ly.
- Do not expose the battery 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 sure not to
short-circuit the termina ls with tools or oth­
er metal objects. This would cause the bat­
tery to heat up very quickly, which could
lead to damage or exp losion and personal
inj ury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy­
drogen gas which is explosive and could
cause persona l injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the e lectrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground cable.
- Before performing any work on the electri­
cal system, switch off the engine and igni­
tion as well as any electrical equipment. The
negat ive cab le 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 a larm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm .
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis­
connect the negat ive cable and then the
positive cable.
199