2016 AUDI A3 warning light

Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 182 A3 Sedan: Tether anchors: recess flaps behind the
rear seatbacks
Fig. 183 A3 Sportback : Tether anchors : recess flaps behind
the rear seatbacks
A3 Sedan : The tether anchors for the rear seating
positions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow she lf
r::;, fig . 182
A3 Sportback: The tether anchors for the rear
seating positions are located on the backside of
the rear seatbacks
r::;, fig . 183.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
taches the top part of a child restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle .
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte­
rior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
.... "' new performance requirements make a tether 0
iii necessary on most new child safety seats .
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Child sa fety
A WARNING
-Improper installation of child restra ints wi ll
i ncrease the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the manufactu rer of the ch ild restraint you
intend to insta ll in you r A udi .
- Improper use of chi ld restraint anchors (in­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision . The anchors are designed to
withstand on ly those loads imposed by co r­
rectly fi tted ch ild res traints.
- Never mo unt two child rest raint systems on
one LA TC H lowe r anchor point.
- Neve r attach two child restraint systems to
one tether st rap or tethe r anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment.
- Never use child restra int tether anchorages
to secure safety be lts or other kinds of occu­
pant restrain ts.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or othe r
items to the LA TCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional ci rcumstance s and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear -facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
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Child safety
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 184 A3 Sedan : Tethe r strap : prope r rout ing and
m oun ting
F ig . 185 A3 Sportback: Tet her st rap: p roper rout ing an d
m oun ting. (!) cent er, @ outs ide
Inst all ing th e teth er strap
"' ' ~ I 0 :> gi
,... Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restra int according to the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions .
,... Guide the upper tether strap
unde r the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces­
sary) ¢
fig. 184 (A3 Sedan) ¢ fig. 185
(A3 Sportback) .
,... A3 Sedan: T ilt the recess flap up to expose the
anchor bracket .
,... A3 Sedan: Attach the tether st rap anchorage
hook into the opening of the tether anchorage.
226
,... A3 Sportback: Unlock the backrest and fold it
slightly forward ¢
page 65 and locate the teth­
er anchor behind the rear seat backrest .
..
,... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages .
,... Tighten the tether strap f irmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions .
Releasing the tether str ap
,... Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
,... Depress the spr ing catch on the hook and re ­
lease it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firmly installed for several days, this
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cushion and backres t in the area where
the tether s trap was installed . T he upholstery
would a lso be permanently stretc hed around
the tether strap. This applies especially to
l eather seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear -facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
ch ild rest raint system manufacturer's instruc­
tions carefully to determi ne how to p roperly in­
stall the te ther.
_.6 WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passe nger seat will be
serious ly injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest , center arm rest, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the

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Ad Blue,/' Ad Blue: sy stem fault! No re start in
600 miles (1000 km ). See owner' s manual.
This mes sage appea rs when it is only poss ible to
d rive the d ist an ce ind icated in the dr iver informa­
tion system . Drive to the nearest autho rized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility to have
the ma lfunction corrected . Otherwise the engine
w ill not start again if you stop it once the d is­
tance indicated has been driven .
Ad Blue: system fault . Engine start
not possible! See owner 's manual
This message appears if the sys tem has de te cted
that the tank was filled incorrectly or that there
is a malfunction. Drive immediately to the near­
est authorized Aud i dea ler or a uthorized Aud i
Service Facility to have the malfunction correct­
ed. Otherwise you will not be able to start the en­
g ine again once you stop it .
Filling AdBlue
Applies to vehicles: with selective catalyt ic redu ction
A special refill bottle must be used to fill the
AdBlue.
F ig. 1 89 Right rear s ide of t he veh icle: remov ing the AdB l·
ue cap
F ig. 190 Ad Blue filler neck: insert ing refill bottle
Checking and Filling
T he Ad Blue tank open ing is located near the d ie ­
sel tank opening. Add at least 1 gallon (3.8 lit­
ers) of Ad B lue (two bottles) . This is the min imum
amount required to ensure the system detects
the refilling and to start the engine. You can add a max imum of approximately 4 gallons (15 l it ­
ers).
Opening the filler neck and refilling AdBlue
with a bottle
Requireme nt: T he request to add AdBlue must
appear in the instrument cluster disp lay .
.. Park your veh icle on a level s urface.
• Switch the ignit ion off.
• Open the tank door¢
page 230.
• Turn the cap on the tank opening to the left to
remove ¢
fig. 189.
• Remove the cap from the ref ill bo ttle.
• Posi tion the refill bo ttle on the fil le r tube and
turn the bottle clockwise until it stops t urning
• Press lightly against the bottom of the bottle
@ to empty it. Continue press ing the bottom
of the bottle until it is empty or until f luid
stops f low ing into the ta nk.
• Tu rn the bottle to t he left without pressing on
the bottom .
Closing the filler neck
.. Turn the Ad B lue cap to the right on the filler
tube until the cap clicks into place.
• Close the tank cover.
Afte r filling
The vehicle must be driven . The system may take
u p to two minutes to detect t hat the AdBl ue has
been filled.
• If the re w as no Ad B lue left in the tank and a
range of
O mi (0 km) was displayed in the in­
strument cluster, switch the ign it ion on for
about 30 seconds before starting the engine.
A WARNING
-Ad B lue can irritate the sk in, eyes and respira-
tory system . If there is contact with the flu id,
flus h immed iate ly w it h plenty of water. Con-
su lt a phys ic ian if necessa ry.
~
235

Check ing and F illing
Read and follo w the WARN IN GS before check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
c::> page 236, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up from
the windshield. Otherwise the paint could be
damaged .
Applies to vehi cles w ith p lug-in hybrid dr ive* :
switch the ignition off before re leasing the hood
so that the gasoline engine does not start auto­ mat ica lly.
... With the driver's door open, pull the lever be­
low the instrument panel in the direction of the
arrow
c::> fig. 191 .
... Raise the hood s lightly c::> ,&. .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood upward
c::> fig. 192. 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-
238
ment- there is a dange r of bu rns! Wait unt il
no steam or coolant flows out.
Closing the hood
... Push the hood down until the force of the strut
is overcome.
... Let the hood fall lightly into the latch .
Do not
press it in .
c::> ,&..
A WARNING
If the hood is not latched complete ly, it could
f ly up wh ile you are dr iving and obst ruct your
vision .
- For safety reasons, the hood m ust always be
closed securely while driv ing. Because o f
this, always chec k 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.

Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a high -quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
yea r.
Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions d ue to failure
to follow rec ommended maintenance and use
requireme nts as s et forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty & Maintenance booklet.
- Use only a high quality engine oi l that ex-
pressly complies with the Au di oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's engine.
Using any o ther oil can cause serious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants o r 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 o il quality standard
your eng ine requ ires, you may add a total of
no more than 0 .5 quart/li ter of a h igh-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci ­
fications.
- Vehicles with gasoline eng ine: ACEA A3 o r
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30,
SAE SW-30 or SAE SW-40.
- Vehicles with diesel eng ine: ACEA C3 or
API CF with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30
or SAE SW -30.
- For more information about engine oil that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact e ither your authorized Audi dea ler
or Audi Customer Relat ions 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 an ode-
;::: quote amount of oil to lubricate and cool all of
~ its moving parts . co ,....,
~ In order to provide effective lubr ication and cool-,....,
:=: ing of internal engine components, all internal
Ch eck ing and Filling
combustion engines consume a certain amo unt
of oil. Oil consumption varies from engine to en­
gine and may change s ignificantly over the life of
the engine. Typ ically, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see¢
page 77) consume more
o il during the break-in per iod than they consume
after o il consumption has stab il ized.
Under normal cond itions, the rate of oil con ­
sumption depends on the quality and viscos ity of
the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
wh ich the engine is operated, the amb ient tem­
perature and road co ndit ions. Further facto rs a re
the amount of oi l di lution from wate r condensa­
tion or fuel resid ue and the oxidat ion level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wear as mileage
builds up, the oil consumption may increase over
time unti l replacement of worn components may
become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be estab ­
li shed or specified. There is no alternative to reg­
u lar and frequent checking of the oi l level, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l l!I
in the instrument cluster lights up, you should
check the oi l level as soon as possible
¢
page 242. Top off the o il at your earliest con­
venience ¢
page 242.
A WARNING
-Before you check anyt hing in the engine com-
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
¢page 236.
(D Note
Driving wit h an insufficient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressu re wa rning display. is not
an indicator of the oi l le vel. Do not rely on
i t. In stead , check th e oil level in your en­
gine at regular intervals, preferably each
time you refuel, and alway s before goi ng
on a long trip .
241

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corrosion can cause a loss of coolant and
serious engine damage .
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sealant
to your vehicle's engine coolant . Adding ra­
diator repair fluid may adversely affect the
function and performance of your cooling
system and could result in damage not cov­
ered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
F ig . 198 Engine compa rtment: mark in gs on t he coo lant
expa nsion tank
Read and follow the WARNINGS before check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
¢ page 236, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
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
¢ fig. 198 . The coolant level must be be­
tween the markings when the engine in cold .
When the engine is warm it can be slightly above the upper marking.
Adding coolant
Plug-in hybrid drive*: your vehicle has two cool­
ant expansion tanks that are separate from each
other. The smaller of the two expansion tanks
must not be opened
¢ page 108. Read and fol­
low the important safety precautions ¢
A in
Coolant on page 109.
Requirement: there must be a residual amount of
coolant in the expansion tank ¢(D .
• Let the engine cool down .
Checking and Filling
• Place a cloth over the coolant expansion tank
cap and unscrew the cap counterclockwise
¢ A .
• Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢
page 244 up to the upper marking.
• Make sure that the fluid level remains stable.
Add more coolant if necessary.
• Close the cap securely .
A coolant loss suggests a leak. Immediately drive
your vehicle to an authorized Audi dealer or au ­
thorized Audi Service Facility and have the cool­
i ng system inspected. If the cooling system is not
leak ing, a loss can come from the coolant boiling
through overheat ing and being pushed out of the
cooling system .
,&_ 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
with the engine hot. There is a risk of burns.
- Stop the engine and allow 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 ex ­
haust system or hot engine components.
The ethylene glycol in engine coo lant can
catch fire under certain circumstances .
- The coolant additive and the coolant can be
dangerous to your health . For th is reason,
keep the coolant in the original container
away from children. There is a risk of poi­
soning .
- When working in the engine compartment,
remember that the radiator fan can switch
on even if the ignition is switched off, wh ich
increases the risk of persona l injury.
(J) Note
Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty . Air could enter the cooling system and
damage the eng ine.
If this is the case, do not ..,_
245

Checking and Filling
cont inue driving. See an authorized Audi deal ­
er or authorized Audi Service Facility for assis­
tance .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on outomotico/ly by it­
self.
An auxiliary elect ric radiator fan sw itches on and
off depend ing on coolant temperature and other
vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary fa n
can cont inue runn ing fo r up to 10 minutes -even
with the ignition off . It ca n even switch on again
later by itself¢.&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant r ises due
to the heat bu ild -up from the engine in the e n­
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the
vehicle is parked in intense sunlight .
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of pe rsonal injury never
touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly even
when the eng ine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on auto­
matically when the engine coo lant reaches a
certain tempe rature and w ill cont inue to run
until the coolant temperature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
F ig . 19 9 Engine co mpar tment: cove r o n t he b rake fluid
r e servo ir (example)
246
-
Before yo u check any thing in the engine compart ­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ page 236, Working in the engine comport­
ment .
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake f luid
reservoir ¢
fig. 199, ¢ page 239, fig. 193 (ga­
soil engine) or ¢
page 240, fig. 194 (diesel en­
gine). The brake fluid level must be between
the "MIN" and "MAX" markings .
The location of the brake fl u id reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment i llustration
q page239.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some time
due to t he automatic adjustment of the brake
pads. This is not ca use for a larm.
If t he brake fluid level falls considerably below
the "M IN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
li ght ~ (U.S. models)
I. (Canadian models)
will come on
q page 18 . Do not continue to oper­
ate the vehicle . The complete brake system
shou ld be thorough ly checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified fac ility and the
cause corrected .
If the brake fl uid level is too
l ow, the bra ke war ning/ indicato r light w ill illumi­
na te. Cont act an a uthor ized Audi dealer
immedi­
atel y.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician.
B rake fl uid abso rbs moistu re from the air. If the
wa ter con ten t in the brake fluid is too high, cor­
r osion in the bra ke system may res ult after ape­
riod of time. The boi ling po int of the brake fluid
will a lso decrease considerably and decrease
bra king performance.
Therefore, the bra ke fluid m ust be changed
every
two year s. Always use new brake f luid which con­
forms to Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard " FMVSS
116 DO T 4" .
The brake fluid reservoir can be diffic ult to reac h,
the refore, we recommend that you have t he
brake fluid changed by your author ized
Audi
dealer .
Your dealer has the correct tools, the

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you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous. It must be stored
only in the closed original container out of
the reach of chi ldren!
- Brake failure can resu lt from old or inappro­
priate brake fluid. Observe these precau­
t ions:
- Use only brake flu id that meets SA E 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 flu id 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 ser iously affect the efficiency of
the brakes as well as your safety. This
could result in an acc ident.
(D Note
Brake fluid w ill damage the pa int of your vehi­
cle.
For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of
brake flu id as well as the special tools re­
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec­
ommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer.
Battery
General information
All work on the battery requires expert knowl­
edge.
Read and foll ow t he WARNING S before check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
¢ page 236, Working in the engine comport ­
ment.
Ch eck ing and Filling
Plug -in hybrid drive* : you can find important in ­
formation about the high -vo ltage battery under
¢ page 98.
The battery in yo ur Audi does not need any ma in­
tenance under
normal operating conditions . Audi
recommends having the electrolyte level check
by an authorized Audi dealer or author ized Audi
Service Facility when there are
high outside tem­
peratures or when dr iving all day. The e lectrolyte
level should also be checked each time the bat ­
tery is charged¢
page 249.
Have the battery checked when you bring your ve­
hicle in for an inspection. It is a good idea to re­
place the battery if it is more than 5 years old.
D uring certa in types of a irbag deployments, the
battery is d isconnected from the veh icle electri­
cal system for safety reasons¢
& in Repair, core
and disposal of the airbags on page 199.
Di sco nnecting the battery te rminal s
The battery should not be disconnected. Several
vehicle functions (power windows, for example)
will be lost when the battery is disconnected. The
funct ions must be reprogrammed after connect­
ing the battery. To avoid this, the battery should
only be disconnected from the vehicle electrical
system when it is absolutely necessary.
To reprogram the functions, proceed as follows:
Function Reprogramming
Power window one-¢ page 44, Correcting
touch up/down func-power window molfunc-
tion tions
Remote control key or
If the vehicle does not
Convenience key react to the key, it must
be synchronized
¢page 37
Dig ita l clock ¢page 10
ESC indicator light The indicator light goes
out after driving a few
meters
247