M N <( I.J "". rl I.O
"' N I.O rl
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 192 Engine compa rtment : cove r on the brake f luid
reservoir
N
N
-N ,::
~
Before you check anything in the engine compart
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ A in Working in the engine comportment on
page 218.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid
reservoir
¢ fig. 192, ¢page 220, fig. 188. The
brake fluid leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings .
The location of the brake f luid reservo ir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 220.
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.
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably below
the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light
1111 (U .S. models)/ . (Canadian models)
will come on ¢
page 14. Do not cont inue 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 illuminate.
Contact an authorized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Hove the broke fluid changed by on experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If the
water content in the brake fluid is too high, cor-
Checking and Filling
rosion in the brake system may result after a peri
od of time. The boiling point of the brake fluid
will also decrease considerably and decrease braking performance .
T herefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every
two years.
Always use new brake fluid which con
forms to Federal Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach,
therefore, we recommend that you have the brake flu id changed by your authorized
Audi
dealer .
Your dea ler has the correct tools, the
right brake fluid and the know-how to do this for
you .
_&. WARNING
-.
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stored
only in the closed original conta iner out of
the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inappro
p riate brake fluid. Observe these precau
tions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE speci
fication
J 1703 and conforms to Federa l
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 flu id is also ind i
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.
T his 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.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of prope r disposal of
brake fluid as well as the special tools re
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec
ommend that you have the brake flu id
changed by your authorized Audi dealer.
227
Checking and F ill in g
Battery
General information
Under no rmal operating conditions, the battery
in your Audi does not need any ma intenance.
W ith
high outside temperatu res or long daily
d rives we recommend that you have the electro
lyte level checked by a service facility . The elec
trolyte level should a lso be checked each time
the battery is charged ¢
page 230.
Have the bat tery checked when you take yo ur ve
hicle in for service . You are we ll advised to re
p lace a battery that is o lder than 5 years .
W ith certa in types of airbag deploymen t, the bat
tery is disconnected from the vehicle electrica l
system for safety reasons ¢
.&. in Repair, core
and disposal of the airbags on page 158.
Disconn ecting the battery t erminal s
Some veh icle funct ions (power window regula
tors, for examp le) are lost if the battery termi
na ls are disconnected. These functions have to be
re learned after the battery terminals are con
nected aga in. To prevent this, the battery shou ld
only be disconnected from the vehicle electrical
system when absolutely necessary for repairs.
Vehicl es not driven fo r long period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks, e lectrica l components are
gradually cut back or switched off. This reduces
energy consumption and maintains starting ca pability over a longer period¢
page 194. Some
of the convenience funct ions may not operate,
such as the inter ior lights or power seat adjust
ment. The convenience functions will be ava ilab le
again whe n you swit ch on the igni tion and sta rt
the engine.
Winte r operation
During the winter months, battery capacity tends
to decrease as temperatures drop . This is because
mo re power is also consumed w hile starting, and
the head lights, rear w indow defogger, etc ., are
used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, part icu
larly in city traffic or when traveling only short
228
distances. Let your authorized Audi dealer check
the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter
sets in
¢ page 230 . A well charged battery will
not only prevent starting problems when the
weather is cold, but will also last longer.
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the ve
hicle battery should be removed and stored
where it will not freeze . This will prevent it
from being damaged and having to be re
placed.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor . Before you check anything
i n the luggage compartment,
re ad and he ed all
WARNINGS ¢&, .
Always heed the safety warning s, when working
o n the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lectr ical
system to prevent injury .
The following WARNING S are very important
when working on the battery :
Alw ay s heed the following WARNING SYM ·
BOL S and safety p recaut ions when wo rking on
the batter y.
®
Alw ay s w ear e ye protection .
~
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Al -
way s wear gloves and ey e protection .
@
No
· spark s
· flames
· sm oking.
~
When a battery is charged , it p roduce s
h yd rogen gas which is e xplosi ve and
'
could cause per sonal injury .
®
Always keep the battery well out of
r ea ch of ch ild ren.
...
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N \!) ,....,
A WARNING
-=
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electrical system, there is the risk of injury,
accident and even fire. Read and heed the fol
lowing 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 sulfuric acid . Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because acid could leak
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or on
your skin, immediately rinse with cold wa
ter for several minutes and get medical at
tention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid, seek
medical attention immediately .
- 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 terminals with tools or oth
er metal objects. This would cause the bat
tery to heat up very quickly, which could
lead to damage or explosion and personal
injury .
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy
drogen gas which is explosive and could
cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical 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
negative cable 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 .
-
Checking and Filling
-Before disconnecting the battery, switch off
the anti-theft alarm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis
connect the negative cable and then the
positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make sure all electrical consumers are switched off. Re
connect the positive cable first and then the negative cable. Never interchange the ca
bles - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed -out bat
tery . It could explode! If a battery has fro
zen, then it must be replaced. A discharged battery can freeze over at 32 °F (0 °C).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attached
to the opening on the side of the battery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Always
replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related acces
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive problems.
Wash hands after handling.
([) Note
-Do not disconnect the vehicle battery when
the ignition is on or when the engine is run
ning, otherwise, you will damage electronic
components in the electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a long
period of time without being driven, protect
the battery from "freezing", otherwise it
will be damaged and will then have to be re
placed.
- When opening the doors, the windows low
er approximately 10 mm automatically. This
function is not available when the battery is
disconnected, which means there is a risk
that the door seal or the window could be
damaged .
229
Checking and Fill in g
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged bat
tery .
Fig. 193 Engine co mpartment : conn ectors for a charger
and jump start cable s
Always read and heed all WARN ING S below
<=:> &. and
<=:>&. in Working on the battery on
page 229 .
.,. Switch off the ignition and all electrical con
sumers .
.,. Make sure the area is well vent ilated when yo u
charge the battery .
.,. Open the engine hood
¢ page 218.
.,. Open the red cove r on the posit ive po le
¢ fig. 193.
.,. Connect the charger connectors according to
the instructions to the
j ump sta rt bolts . (Bolts
under the red cover = "positive", Bo lts with hex
head= "negative") .
.,. Only now plug the mains lead for the charg ing
equipment into the wall outlet and turn it on
¢ &_ .
.,. Ma ke s ure the charging rat e is n ot ov er
3 0 amp s/14 .8 Volt .
.,. When the batte ry is fully charged: Turn the
charging equ ipment off and remove the mains
lead from t he wall outlet .
.,. Now remove the clamps for the charging equip-
ment .
.,. Close the red cover on the positive pole.
.,. Close the hood
c::> page 219 .
A discharged battery can freeze at temperatures
of only 32 F
0 (0 °C) . Allow a frozen battery to
thaw completely before attempting to charge it
c:> &. . However, we recommend not using a
thawed battery again because the batte ry casing
230
can be cracked due to ice formation and can leak
battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate of
30 amps /14.8 Volt )
When charging at low voltages (e.g. with a trickle
charge r),
the battery cab les do not have to be
disconnected f irst. The battery caps should
not
be opened when charging a battery.
It is not necessa ry to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is a lso not nec
essary to d isconnect the cab les.
Fast ch arging th e battery (cha rgin g ra te
above 14 .8 V olts)
For technical reasons do not use a battery charg
er that uses vo ltage greater than 14.8 Vo lts to
charge your vehicle's battery.
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manufactur
er when charging your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery. It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice . Al
low a frozen battery to thaw out f irst .
- Do not reuse batteries wh ich were frozen.
The battery housing may have cracked and
weakened when the battery froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated area.
Keep away from open flame or electrical
spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas generat
ed by the batte ry is explosive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or d isconnect charger cab les wh ile
the charger is operating.
- Fast cha rging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a competent
technician w ith the proper eq uipment .
- Batte ry acid that may spill during charging
should b e washed off with a solut ion of
warm wa ter and baking soda to neu tralize
t he acid.
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
N \!) ,....,
(D Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to start
the engine . This w ill seriously damage sensi
tive electron ic components, such as control
units, relays, radio, etc., as well as the battery
charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifica
tions and dimensions as the original equipment
battery .
Intelligent energy management in your vehicle is
responsible for distributing the electrica l energy
throughout your vehicle
c:> page 194. The intell i
gent energy management system will keep the
engine battery charged better than vehicles w ith
out this system . To make sure the additional elec
tr ical energy is available once again after you
have changed the battery, we recommend that
you install batteries of the same type and manu facture only (the same as those installed at the
time your veh icle was delivered). Specif ications
are listed on the battery housing. Your author
ized dealer must code the battery in the energy
management system to enable you to use the en
e rgy management functions correctly after re
p lacing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity ,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, construction and plug sealing .
When installing the battery, make sure the igni
tion and all electrical consumers are switched off.
Make sure the ventilation hose on the s ide of
the battery is connected, otherwise fumes or
battery acid can leak out.
- Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System* are equipped with a special cycle-proof AGM battery. Installing a different type of bat
tery can cause problems in the vehicle elec
trical system. When replacing the vehicle
battery, always install one with the same
specifications as the original battery.
Checking and Filling
{® For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of
a battery, we recommend your authorized
Audi dealer change the battery for you. Bat
teries contain sulfur ic acid and lead and must
always be disposed of properly in compliance
with all environmental regulations. Disposing
of vehicle batteries improperly is very danger
ous to the environment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fig. 194 Engine compa rtment: cover on the winds hie ld
and head lig ht* washer fluid reservoir
The washer fluid container is marked with the
symbol
ip on its cap c:>fig. 194, c:>page 220,
fig. 188.
.. Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS c:> .&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 218.
.. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer fluid.
You can fill the container to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the filler neck after fill-
ing the container .
You can find the reservoir
capacity in the table in
c:>page272.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. Always add a g lass cleaner solution
(with frost protection in the winter) . ..,.
231
Checking and F ill in g
CJ) Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or any
other add itives to fi ll up the windshie ld wash
er rese rvoir.
232
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N \!) ,....,
Wheels
Model/ Tire designation Tire pressure
Engine Normal load Maximum load
(up to 2/3* people)a>
front
rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A7: 235/55 Rl 7 99Y 3.0L High Performance
32 22 0 29 20 0 35 240
38 260
6 cylinders
255/45 Rl8 99H
All Season
3 2 220 2 9 200 3 5 2
40
38 260
255/45 Rl8 99Y
High Performance 32 220 29 2 00 35 240
38 260
255/40 Rl9 l00H XL
All Season
35 240
32 220 38 260 41
280
255/40 Rl9 l00YXL
36 High Performance 25 0 3 2 220 3 8 260 41 280
265/35 R20 99H XL
All Season
3 5 240
32 220
38 260
41 280
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
36 250 32 220 38 260 41 280
275/30 R21 98Y XL
High Performance
38 2 60 33 230 3 9 270 41 280
S7: 265/35 R20 99Y XL
4 .0L High Performance 4 1
280 35 240
44
300 44
300
8 cylinders
255/40 Rl9 l00YXL
High Performance
39 270 33 230 42
29 0 42
290
275/30 R21 98Y XL
High Performance 41 28 0
35 2
4 0 44 300 44 300
a) Vehicles with 4 seating positions: 2 p eop le in th e fron t, Vehicles with 5 seating posi
tions:
2 pe ople in the fron t, 1 p erson i n the r ear
A WARNING
Please note the important safe
ty precautions regarding tire pressure
¢ page 243 and load
limits
¢ page 245 .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of
load or weight that any vehi cle
and any tire can carry. A vehicle that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop.
O verloading can not only lead to
loss of vehicle control, but can al
so damage important part s of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure , including a blowout
and sudden deflation that can
c ause the vehicle to crash.
245
M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N \!) ,....,
Replacing wheels
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your own
and your passenger's safety when changing a
wheel .
.,. After you experience a tire failure, pull the car
well away from moving traffic and try to reach
level ground before you stop¢,& .
.. All passengers should
leave the car and move
to a safe location (for instance, beh ind the
guardrail) ¢ ,& .
.,. Engage the
parking brake to prevent your vehi
cle from rolling unintentiona lly ¢,& .
.. Move
selector lever to position P ¢ ,& .
1> lfyou are towing a trai ler, unhitch the trailer
from your vehicle .
.,. Take the
jack and the spare tire out of the lug
gage compartment
¢ page 253, ¢ page 254.
.,&. WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured while
changing a wheel if you do not follow these
safety precautions:
- If you have a flat tir e, move a safe distance
off the road. T urn off the engine, turn the
emergency flashers on and use other warn
ing devices to alert other mo torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well away
from the road and traffic.
- T o help prevent the vehicle from moving
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the jack,
always fully set the parking brake and block
the wheel diagonally opposite the wheel be ing changed. When one front wheel is lifted
off the ground, placing the Automatic Trans
mission in P (Park) will
not prevent the vehi
cle from moving.
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the
ground is level and firm . If necessary, use a
stu rdy board under the jack.
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced tir e in the luggage com
partment ¢
page 132.
Emergency assistance
{!) Tips
Before changing the whee l, you must activate
the jacking mode, so that the automat ic con
trols for the Adapt ive Air Suspension* do not
make it more difficult to lift the vehicle with
the jack ¢
page 257 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel , follow the sequence
described below step-by-s tep and in exactly tha t
order .
l. Activate the vehicle jack mode* ¢ page 2 5 7.
2. Remove the
decorative wheel cover*. For
more details see also¢
page 256, Decora
tive wheel covers
or¢ page 256, Wheels
with wheel bolt caps .
3. Loosen the wheel bolts ¢page 256.
4. Locate the pro per mounting point for the
jack and align the jack be low that point
¢page 257.
5. Raise the car with the jack¢ page 257 .
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and then
install
the spare ¢ page 259.
7. Tighten all wheel bolts ligh tly.
8.
Lower the vehicle with the jack .
9. Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly tighten
all wheel bolts¢
page 256 .
10. Replace the decorative wheel cover*.
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode* in the
MMI :
ICAR I funct ion button > (C ar)* systems
control button > Servicing & checks > Air
susp.: jack mode > Off .
The vehicle jack mode* switches off automatically
at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/h) .
.,&. WARNING ~ -
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and in
formation ¢
.& in Raising the vehicle on
page 258
and ¢ page 260.
255