2016 AUDI A4 maintenance

Trailer mode
Trailer mode notes
Important to know
Your vehicle handles different ly when tow ing a
tra iler because of the additional weight and dif­
ferent weight distr ibution. Safety, performance
and economy w ill great ly depend on how careful­
ly you load your trailer and operate your rig.
Before you actua lly tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traffic . Keep practicing until you have be­
come completely familiar with the way your vehi­
cle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is d ifficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trailer generally requires steer­
ing action opposite to that when backing up your
vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you. You w ill need more
room to stop . To compensate for the trai ler, you
will need a larger than norma l turning radius.
When passing, remembe r that you cannot accel­
erate as fast as you normally would because of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for
your trai ler before chang ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in peri­
od of you r vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
tra load~
page 258.
Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot
be avoided, do so only ofter doing the following:
When parking:
.,. Apply t he foot brake .
.,. Have someone place chocks under both the ve­
hicle and the trailer wheels.
192
.. With chocks in place, slowly release the brakes
until the wheel chocks absorb the load.
.. Turn the whee ls towards the curb .
.. App ly the parking brake .
.. Place an automat ic transmission* in P, respec­
tively a manual transmission in first or reverse
gear .
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the selector lever to 0/5, respectively a
manual transmission in first gear.
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull out
and away from the whee l chocks.
.,. Stop and have someone ret rieve the wheel
chocks.
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the automat­
ic transmission* to P before applying the
parking brake and before blocking the wheels,
you may have to use more force later to move
the lever out of the P position.

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... avoid scratches, move the scraper only in
one direction and not back and forth.
- Never remove snow or ice from door win­
dows and mirrors using warm or hot water
because this could cause cracks to form.
- To avoid damage to the rear window de­
fogger, do not apply any stickers on the
heating wires on the inside of the window.
- Decorative parts/trim
- Never use chrome care or cleaning prod-
ucts.
-Paint
- To reduce the risk of scratches, the vehicle
must be free of dirt and dust before pol­
ishing or waxing.
- To prevent paint damage, do not polish or
wax the vehicle in direct sunlight.
- To reduce the risk of paint damage, do not
polish away rust spots.
- Remove cosmetics and sunscreen immedi­
ately- these could damage the paint.
-Displays
-To avoid scratches, do not use dry cleaning
methods on displays.
-Controls
- Make sure that no fluids enter the con-
trols, because this could cause damage.
- Safety belts
- Do not remove the safety belts to clean
them.
- Never clean safety belts or their compo­
nents chemically or with corrosive fluids
or solvents and never allow sharp objects
to come into contact with the safety belts.
This could cause damage to the belt web­
bing.
- If there is damage to the webbing, the
connections, the retractors or the buckles,
have them replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility.
- Textiles/artificial leather/ Alcantara
- Never treat artificial leather/ Alcantara
with leather care products, solvents, floor
polish, shoe polish, spot remove or similar
products.
- Have a specialist remove stubborn stains
to prevent damage .
Care and cleaning
-Never use steam cleaners, brushes, hard
sponges, etc. when cleaning.
- Do not turn on the seat heating* to dry the
seat.
- Objects with sharp edges such as zippers,
rivets on clothing or belts can cause dam­
age to the surface.
- Open hook and loop fasteners, for exam­
ple on clothing, can damage seat covers.
Make sure hook and loop fasteners are
closed.
- Natural leather
- Never treat leather with solvents, floor
polish, shoe polish, spot remover or simi­
lar products.
- Objects with sharp edges such as zippers, rivets on clothing or belts can cause dam­
age to the surface.
- Never use steam cleaners, brushes, hard
sponges, etc. when cleaning.
- Do not turn on the seat heating* to dry the
seat.
- To help prevent the leather from fading,
do not leave the vehicle in direct sunlight
for long periods of time. If leaving the ve­
hicle parked for long periods of time, you
should cover the leather to protect it from
direct sunlight.
(D Tips
-Insects are easier to remove from paint that
has been freshly waxed.
- Regular waxing can prevent rust spots from
forming.
Placing your vehicle out
of service
If you would like to take your vehicle out of serv­
ice for a longer time, contact your authorized
Audi dealer or qualified repa ir facility. They will
advise you of important measures, su ch as corro­
sion protection, maintenance and storage proce­
dures. Also follow the information about the bat­
tery
~ page 212.
197

Check ing and F illing
Using the proper engine oil is impo rtant for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your engine was facto ry-filled with a h igh-quality oi l
which can usually be used throughout the entire
year.
@) Note
Your Limited New Vehicle War ranty 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 Warran ty
& Maintenance booklet.
- Use only a high quality eng ine oil t hat ex-
p ressly complies with the Audi oil qua lity
standard specified for your vehicle's engine .
Using a ny o ther oil can cause serious engine
d am age.
- D o not mix any lubricants o r other addit ives
i nto the engine oil. Doing so ca n cause en­
g ine damage.
(D Tips
I f you need to add oil and there is none availa­
ble t hat meets the Audi o il quality standard
your eng ine requi res , you m ay ad d a tot al of
no more than 0.5 qu art /li ter o f a h igh-quality
"synthe tic"oil that meets t he following speci ­
fications.
- Vehicles w it h gasoline eng ine: AC EA A3 o r
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE 0W-30,
SAE SW -30 or SAE SW-40.
- Fo r more information about en gine o il that
has been approve d for your ve hicle, please
contact eithe r you r a uthorized Aud i dea ler
or A udi C ustome r 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 ade­
quate amoun t of oil to lubricate and cool all of
its moving parts .
In order to provide effective lubr ication and coo l­
ing of in ternal engine components, all internal
combustion eng ines consume a certain amou nt
of oil. Oil co nsumption varies from engine to en­
g ine and may change significant ly over the life of
206
th e engine. Typically, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see
r=:> poge 185) consume more
o il dur ing the b reak-in per iod than they consume
after oil consumption has stabili zed .
U nder normal cond itions, the rate of oil con ­
sumption depends on the q ua lity and viscosity of
the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem­ perature and road condit ions. Further factors are
the amo unt of o il di lution from water condensa ­
t ion or fuel residue a nd the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wea r as mileage
builds up, the o il cons umption may increase ove r
t i me unt il repla ce m ent of wo rn components m ay
be come necessary .
With a ll these va riab les coming into p lay, no
sta ndard rate of o il cons umption can be estab­
li sh ed or spec ified . T he re is no alte rn ative to reg­
ul ar and frequen t checking of the oi l level, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oi l leve l wa rning symbo l Ill
in the instrument clus ter lights up , you sho uld
c h eck t he o il level as soon as possible
r=:> page 207 . Top off the oi l at your ea rliest con­
venience
r=:> poge 207.
A WARNING
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
r=:> .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 203 .
@ Note
Driving wit h an insuffic ient oil level is like ly to
cause severe damage to the eng ine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display. is not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rely on
it . Instead, check the oil level in your en­
gine at regular intervals, preferably each
time you refuel, and always before going
on a long trip .
-If you have the impress io n your e ngine con­
sumes excessive amou nts of oil, we recom-
mend th at yo u consult an authori zed A udi .,.

Check ing and F illing
The brake fluid rese rvoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the l eft
side ¢
page 205 .
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads . This is not cause for alarm.
If th e b rake fl uid level fa lls considerably be low
the "M IN" mark, the b rake warning/ind icator
lig ht ( U.S. mode ls :
1111 , Canadian models:. )
will come on ¢
page 15. Do not contin ue to oper ­
ate the vehicle . T he comp lete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authori zed
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected . If the brake flu id level is too low, the
b rake warning/indicator light will i llum inate.
Contact a n author ized Audi dealer
immediately .
{D) Tips
The brake fluid reservoir is located under­
neath the cover .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs mo isture from the air. If the
water content in the b rake fluid is too high, cor­
rosion in the brake system may resu lt afte r ape ­
riod of t ime. The boiling poi nt of the brake flu id
will also decrease cons iderably and decrease
b raking perfo rman ce.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every
two year s.
Always use new brake fluid wh ic h con­
forms to Fede ral Motor Veh icle Standard "FMVSS
1 16 DO T 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be diff icult to reach,
therefore, we recommend that yo u have the
brake fl uid changed by yo ur autho rized
Audi
dealer .
Your dealer has t he corre ct tools, t he
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 orig inal container out of
the reach of chi ldren!
212
- Bra ke fa ilure ca n result from old or inapp ro­
priate brake fluid . Observe these precau­
tions:
- Use only brake fluid t hat meets SA E speci­
fi ca ti on
J 170 3 and con forms to Federa l
Motor Ve hicle Standard 116 . Always check
wi th yo ur autho rized Audi dea le r to make
s ur e yo u are using the correct brake fluid .
The correct type of brake flu id is also ind i­
cated on the b rake fluid reservo ir .
- The brake fluid m ust be new . Heavy use of
the brakes can cause a vapo r lock if the
brake fluid is left in the system too long .
This can se riously affect the efficiency of
the b rakes as well as your safety . This
could resu lt in an accident .
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your veh i­
cle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem o f proper d isposa l o f
brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls re­
q ui red a nd the necessary expertise, we rec­
omme nd that you have the bra ke f luid
changed by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
, General information
U nder normal operating condit ions, the battery
i n your Audi does not need any maintenance.
With
high outside temperatures or long daily
drives we recommend that you have the elect ro ­
lyte level c hecked by an au thorized Aud i dealer o r
qualified workshop. The electro lyte level shou ld
a lso be che cked each time the battery is c ha rged
~ page 214.
Have the batte ry chec ked when you take yo ur ve­
hicle in for service. You are we ll adv ised to re­
pla ce a battery tha t is older than 5 yea rs.
With certain types of airbag deployment, t he
batte ry is d iscon nected from the ve hicle electri­
ca l system for safety reasons ¢.&.
in Repair, care
and disposal of the airbags on page 151. .,.

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... Gasoline engines
A4 Sedan 2.0, 4 cylinder
Maximum output SAE net
Max imum torq ue SAE net
Displacement
E ngine oil wi th f ilter change
1>
Fuel
allroad/ A4 allroad 2.0, 4 cylinder
Max imum outpu t SA E net
Maximum torque SAE net
Displacement
Engine oil with f ilter changell
F uel
S4 Sedan 3.0 , 6 cylinder
Ma ximum outpu t SA E ne t
Maximum torque SAE net
Displa cement
Engine oil with filter change
1l
F uel
l ) For specific engi ne oil c apaci ties, ple ase see
the mos t current information fo r the USA at
h ttp:/ /www .a udiusa .com/ he lp/maintenance or
for Canada at http ://www .a udi .ca/ca/ bran d/ en/
your _aud i/ aud i_ services _a nd/Care _and _M a i nte­
na nce/ schedu le.html or call 800-822-2834 .
Technical data
hp@ rpm 220 @4450-6000
l b -ft@ rpm 2
59@ 15 00- 4300
CID (cm
3 ) 121 (1984)
Premium unleaded (91 AKI) c::> page 198, Fuel
or
Bio-ethanol (E85 ) c::>page 199, Ethanol fuel
(Bio-ethanol).
h p@ rpm 220 @ 4450-6000
l b -ft@rpm 259@ 1500-4300
C ID (cm
3
) 121 (1984)
Premium unl ead ed (91 AKI) ¢ page 198, Fuel
or
Bio -ethanol (E85 ) ¢ page 199, Ethanol fuel
(Bio -ethanol).
hp @ rpm 333@ 5500-6 500
l b-ft@ rpm 325@ 2900-5300
C ID (cm
3
) 18 2.8 (2995)
Premium unleaded (91 AKI )¢ page 198, Fuel
257

Consumer information
Consumer information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following warran­
ties:
- New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfora-
tion
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding your warranties
can be found in your
Warranty & Maintenance
booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulati ons in the United States and
Canada require that automobi les meet specific
emission regulations and safety standards.
Therefore, vehicles built for the U.S.A. and Cana ­
da differ from vehicles sold in other countries.
If you plan to take your vehicle outside the conti­
nenta l limits of the United States or Canada,
there is the poss ibility that:
- un leaded fue ls for vehicles with catalytic con­
verter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane rat­
ing . Improper fuel may cause engine damage;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of proper
service facilities, tools or testing equipment;
- r eplacement parts may not be readily available.
- Nav igation systems for veh icles built for the
U.S .A . and Canada will not necessarily work in
Europe, and may not work in other countries
outside of North America.
258
(D Note
Audi cannot be responsib le for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts ava ilability.
Audi Service Repair
Manuals and Literature
Audi Official Factory Service Manuals and Litera ­
ture are published as soon as poss ible after mod­
el introduction . Service manuals and literature
are available to order from the Audi Technical Lit ­
erature Ordering Center at :
www.audi.techliterature .com
Maintenance
General '
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum. How­
ever, a certain amount of regular maintenance is
still necessary to assure your vehicle's safety,
economy and reliability . For detailed vehicle
maintenance consult your Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Under difficult operating conditions, for exam ­
ple at extremely low outside temperatures, in
very dusty regions, when towing a trailer very fre­
quently, etc., some service work should be per­
formed between the intervals specified. This ap­
plies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replac ing the a ir filter .
'
@) For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintain ing your vehicle, you
help make sure that em iss ion standards are
maintained, thus minimizing adverse effects
on the environment .
Important considerations for you and your
vehicle
The increasing use of electronics, sophisticated
fuel injection and emission control systems, and
the generally increas ing technica l complexity of ..,_

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... today's automobiles, have steadily reduced the
scope of maintenance and repairs which can be
carried out by vehicle owners.
Also, safety and
environmental
concerns place very strict limits
on the nature of repairs and adjustments to en­
gine and transmission parts which an owner can perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repairs usually re­
quire special tools, testing devices and other
equipment available to specially trained work ­
shop personnel in order to assure proper per­
formance, reliability and safety of the vehicle and its many systems.
Improper maintenance, adjustments and repairs
can impair the operation and reliability of your
vehicle and even void your vehicle warranty .
Therefore, proof of servicing in accordance with
the maintenance schedule may be a condition for upholding a possible warranty claim made within
the warranty period.
Above all , operational safety can be adversely af­
fected, creating unnecessary risks for you and
your passengers.
If in doubt about any servicing, have it done by
your authorized Audi dealer or any properly equipped and qualified workshop. We strongly urge you to give your authorized Audi dealer the
opportunity to perform all scheduled mainte­ nance and necessary repairs. Your dealer has the
facilities, original parts and trained specialists to keep your vehicle running properly .
Performing limited maintenance yourself
The following pages describe a limited number of
procedures which can be performed on your vehi­
cle with ordinary tools, should the need arise and
trained personnel be unavailable. Before per­
forming any of these procedures, always thor­
oughly read all of the applicab le text and careful­
ly follow the instructions given . Always rigorously
observe the
WARNINGS provided .
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARNINGS
c::> .&. and c::> .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 203 .
Consumer information
A WARNING
-Serious personal injury may occur as a result
of improperly performed maintenance, ad­
justments or repairs .
- Always be extremely careful when working
on the vehicle. Always follow commonly ac­
cepted safety practices and general com­
mon sense. Never risk personal injury.
- Do not attempt any of the maintenance,
checks or repairs described on the following pages if you are not fully familiar with these
or other procedures with respect to the ve­ hicle, or are uncertain how to proceed.
- Do not do any work without the proper tools
and equipment. Have the necessary work
done by your authorized Audi dealer or any
properly equipped and qualified workshop.
- The engine compartment of any motor vehi­
cle is a potentially hazardous area. Never
reach into the area around or touch the radi­
ator fan. It is temperature controlled and
can switch on suddenly - even when the en­
gine is off and the ignition key has been re­
moved. The radiator fan switches on auto­
matically when the coolant reaches a certain
temperature and will continue to run until
the coolant temperature drops.
- Always remove the ignition key before any­
one gets under the vehicle.
-Always support your vehicle with safety
stands if it is necessary to work underneath
the vehicle. The jack supplied with the vehi­
cle is not adequate for this purpose and
could collapse causing serious personal in­
jury.
- If you must work underneath the vehicle
with the wheels on the ground, always make
sure the vehicle is on level ground, that the
wheels are always securely blocked and that
the engine cannot be started.
- Always make sure the transmission selector
lever (automatic transmission) is in "P"
(Park position) or Neutral (manual transmis-
sion) and the park brake is firmly applied . ..,.
259

Index
K
Key........... .................. ..... 32
Battery replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Check light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
E mergency key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 82
Ignition/engine on/off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Key replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Mechanical key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 33
removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
un locking/locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 36
Kick-down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
L
Lane Change Assistant
refer to side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7
LATCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Installing a child restraint......... .... 172
Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Mounting and releasing the anchorage
hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Launch Control Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Leather care/cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Leaving home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Left hand dr ive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Lifting jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Light adaptive light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Coming/Leaving home......... .. .. .... 49
Daytime running lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 49
Exterior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Fog lights/rear fog light(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Interior/reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
L ow beam .. .. .... ........... .. .. .. .. 48
Rear fog lights .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 48
Side marker lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Travel mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Light/rain sensor Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
I ntermittent (w indshield wipers) . . . . . . . . 54
Sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lighting Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
268
Lights
Emergency flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
High beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Turn signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Locking Rear lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Locking/unlocking at the lock cylinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
by remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
with the central lock ing switch . . . . . . . . . . 35
with the convenience key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Low beams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Lower anchorage locator button 172
Luggage compartment Cargo net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Cover........ ... .. .. ................ 69
Enlarging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Partition net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70, 71
Pass-through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4
Reversible mat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Securing attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Ski sack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Storing cargo correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Tie-downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 128
Valet parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Lumbar support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
M
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) . . . . . 20, 29
Manua l transmiss ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Mechanical key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 33
Memory function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mileage Average . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Instantaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Mirrors Compass ........ ... ............. .... 57
dimming .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ..... ... .. . 52
Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Vanity mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag System . . 148