2016 AUDI Q3 check engine light

Operating instructions
6" r-2
~·~
1/2"
1·1/2"
ill
Fig. 143 Permitted ball pos ition of the trailer hitch
Trailer towing weights
With a
factory-installed or an aftermarket trailer
hitch, the maximum permissib le trailer weight is
2,200 lbs (1,000 kg). The maximum permiss ible
unbraked trailer weight is 1,650 lbs (750 kg).
These specifications apply when dr iv ing on roads
h av ing an incl ine of less than 12%.
Permissible tongue load
For best vehicle handling under these changed
conditions, adjust the trailer load so that the
tongue load is at the maximum allowable or
slightly lower. You can get an approximation of
the tongue load w ith a bathroom scale o r you can
measure the load at a trucking company or
weighing station.
With a
factory-installed or an aftermarket trailer
hit ch, the maximum permissib le load on the ball
hitch may not exceed 220 lbs (100 kg).
It is rec­
ommended to use the maximum permissible
l oad.
Trailer load distribution Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely in
place to prevent it from s hiftin g forward, back­
ward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer ¢.&.
in Driving instructions on page 166.
Ball mount
The trailer hitch may only be used w ith suitable
ball mount and ball¢
fig. 143. Installation of
the hitch ball must be carr ied out in accordance
with the manufacturer's instructions.
Trailer mode
Engine cooling system
To wing a trailer makes the engine work harder. It
is important that the cooling system's perform ­
ance is up to the additional load . Make sure that
the cooling system has enough fluid .
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to th e cold tire pressure lis ted under "Full
load" on the tire pressure label. The tire pressu re
label is located on the driver's side B-pi llar . In­
flate trailer t ires to trailer and tire manufactur­
ers' specifications.
Lights
T he headlight settings shou ld be checked with
the trai ler attached before driving off. Check to
make s ure both vehicle and trailer lights are
working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety chains are properly connect­
ed from the trailer to the hitch on the vehicle.
Leave enough s lack in the chains to permit turn ­
ing corners . When you install safety chains, make
sure they will not drag on the road when you are
driv ing.
The chains should cross under the trai ler tongue
to prevent it from dropping in case of separation
from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with o trailer always requires extra core
and consideration .
To obtain the best possib le handling of vehicle
and trailer, p lease note the following:
.. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car itself
is not loaded.
.. Be especially care ful when passing other
vehicles .
.. Observe speed limits.
.. Do not drive at the maximum permissib le
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Mon itor the temperature gauge .
165

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c:i ::J CX)
.... I.Cl U"I
N I.Cl ......
Checking and Filling Hood
Opening the hood
The hood is released from the interior.
Fig. 147 Driver footwell: release lever
Fig. 14 8 Rocke r switch under t he hood
<0 0 0
0
::,
"' CD
Make sure the w iper arms are not raised up from
the w indshield. O therwise the paint coul d be
damaged .
.,. Wi th the d river's doo r open, p ull th e leve r be­
l ow the ins trument panel in the direct io n of the
arrow¢
fig. 1 47.
.,. Raise the hood s lightly . q &.
.,. Press t he roc ker switc h under the hood upward
Q fig. 148. This releases the catch.
.,. Open the hood.
A WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of be ing burned, never
open t he hood if you see or hear steam or
coolant escaping from the eng ine compart­
me nt. Wait unt il no steam or coolant can be
seen o r he ard before caref ully opening the
hood.
Checking and Filling
Closing the engine hood
., Pull the hood down until the press ure from the
s tr uts is red uced .
.,. Le t the hood
drop down and lat ch in p lace . Do
not try to push it shut;
it may fail to engage
q &_ .
A WARNING
A hood that is not completely latched co uld
fly up and block your view while driv ing.
- When you close the engine hood, check it to
make sure the safety catch has prope rly en­
gaged. The hood should be flush with th e
sur rounding veh icle body parts.
- If you notice while driv ing that the hood is
not secured prope rly, stop at once and close
it .
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in the
engine compartment.
-
Whenever you must pe rform any work in the
eng ine compartment , for e xample check ing and
filling diff erent fluids, there is a ris k of injury,
burns and accidents. To prevent personal injury
always ob serv e the following WARNINGS . Th e
engine compartment of any veh icle is a hazard­
ou s area
q .&. .
A WARNING
To he lp avoid injury, before yo u check any ­
t hing under the hoo d:
- Turn off the engi ne .
- Remove the ign ition key.
- Apply the park ing brake .
- Move selector lever of automatic transmis-
sion to "P" (Park).
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot com­
ponents w ill bur n skin on contact.
-
-To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam or
coo lant escaping from the engine compart­
ment. Wa it until no steam o r coolant can be
seen or hea rd before carefully opening the
hood.
177

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
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
year .
Q) Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set fo rth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Wa rranty
& Maintenance booklet.
- Use only a high qua lity eng ine oi l th at ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil qua lity
stan dard specified for your vehi cle's engine.
Using any o ther oil can cause serious engine
damage .
- Do not mix any lubricants o r other addit ives
i nto the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
(D Tips
I f you nee d to add oi l and there is none availa­
ble that meets the Audi o il qu ality st andard
your engine requires, you may ad d a total of
no more than 0 .5 quart/liter of a high-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- ACEA A3 o r API SM with a viscosity g rade of
SAE OW-30, SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine oi l that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Audi Custome 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 amount of oil to lubricate and cool all of
its moving parts .
In order to provide effective lubrication and cool­
ing of internal engine components, all internal
180
combust ion engines consume a certa in amo unt
of oil. Oil consumption varies from engine to en­
gine and may change significantly over the life of
the engine. Typically, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see
c:::;, page 159) consume more
o il dur ing the break-in per iod than they consume
af ter o il consumption has stab ilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscos ity of
the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
wh ich the engine is operated, the amb ient tem­
perature and road condit ions. Further factors a re
the amount of o il di lution from wate r co ndensa­
tion or fue l resid ue an d the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is sub ject to wear as mileage
builds up, the oi l cons umption may increase over
time unt il replacement of worn components may
become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be estab­
li shed or specified. The re is no alternative to reg­
u lar and frequent checking of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l Ell
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
check the oil level as soon as possible
c:::;, page 181. Top off the oil at your earliest con­
venience
c:::;,page 181.
A WARNING
Before you check anyth ing in the e ng ine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
I NGS
c:::;, .&. in Working in the engin e compart­
ment on page 177.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insuffic ient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing d isplay. is not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rely on
it. Instead, check the oil level in your en­
g ine at regular int ervals , pr eferably each
time you refuel, and alway s before going
on a long trip .

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 sealed and generally re­
quires little attention.
T he cooling system has been filled at the factory
with a permanent coolant which does not need to
be changed . The coolant consists of a mixture of
specially condit ioned water and the manufactur ­
er's glycol-basedcoolant add itive G 13 antifreeze
with anticorrosion additives (SO% for USA mod­
e ls; 60% for Canada models) . This mixt ure bot h
assures the necessary frost protec tion and pro­
tects meta l components in the engine's cooling
system from corrosion and scaling . It also raises
the boiling point of the coolant.
D o not red uce the concent ration of the coolant in
the summer by add ing p la in water.
The propor­
tion of coolant addit ive mu st be at least 50 %
but not more than 60 %
to mainta in antifreeze
protection and cooling efficiency. If the coolant
frost protection is too low, the coolant could
freeze and damage the vehicle heating and en­
g ine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at the
factory for temperatures down to :
- -31° F(- 3S°C)USA
- -4 0 ° F ( - 40 °C) Can ada.
If you must add coolant, use a m ixture of water
and coolant addit ive. M ixing the coolant additive
with d istilled water is recommended .
_& WARNING
Before you check anythi ng i n t he engine com­
partment, a lways read and heed a ll WARN ­
INGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 177 .
(D Note
-Befo re winter se ts in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in you r
vehicle is sufficient to meet the cl imate con -
Check ing and Filling
ditions. This is especially important if you
live in a region where the winter is extreme­
ly cold. If necessary, increase the proportion
of coolant additive to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to your cool­
ing system, remember :
- We recommend us ing only coolant add i­
tive G12+ + or G13 fo r yo ur vehicle. This
coolant addit ive is avai lab le a t aut horized
A udi dealers . O ther types of antifree ze can
significantly reduce corrosion pro tect ion .
The resulting 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 cou ld resu lt in damage not cov­
ered by your New Veh icle Limited Warra nty .
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fi g. 1 52 Engin e compar tmen t: Cover o n the coo la n t ex ­
pans ion tank
.. Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
partment,
always r ead and h eed all WARN­
INGS ¢ ,A in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 177 .
.. Par k your veh icle on a leve l sur face.
.. Tur n off t he ignit io n .
.. Read the eng ine coolan t leve l from the coo lant
expansion tank
¢ fig . 15 2, ¢ page 179,
fig. 149 .
With a cold engine, the coo lant level
should be b etween the "MIN" and "MAX" mark­
ings. When the eng ine is warm, the level may
be slightly above the "MAX" marking. .,..
183

Check ing and F illing
The location of the coolant expansion tank can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
c::> page 179.
To obtain an accura te reading, the eng ine must
be switched off .
The expans io n tank in your vehicle is equipped
with a n elec tric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the war ning
lig ht in the Auto-Check System
c::> page 14 will
blin k until you add coo la nt and the level has bee n
restored to normal. Even t hou gh the re is an e lec­
tr ic coolant level sensor, we still re commend you
check the coo lant level from time to time .
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. I n the event of coolant loss, the cooling
system should be inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is not enough me rely
to add coolant.
I n a
se aled system, losses can occur only if the
boi ling point of the coo lant is ex ceeded as a re ­
sul t of over heat ing.
A WARNING
T he cooling system is unde r pressure and can
get very hot . Red uce the risk of scalding from
hot coolant by following these steps.
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down .
- Protect your face, hands and arms from es ­
caping fluid and steam by cove ring the ca p
with a la rge, thick rag.
- Turn the cap s lowly and very ca refu lly in a
counter-clockwise direction w hile ap ply ing
light, downwa rd pressure o n the top of the
cap.
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti­
freeze or coolant on the exha ust system or
hot eng ine parts. Under certain conditions,
the ethy lene g lycol in e ngine coolant can
catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiato r leak sealant
to your veh icle's engine coolant. Adding radia-
184
tor repair fluid may a dverse ly affect the func ­
tion and performance of your coo ling system
and could result in damage not covered by
your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Befo re yo u check any thing in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
c::>
A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 177.
Requireme nt: The re mus t be a res idual amo unt
of coolant in the expans ion tank
c::> (D .
""Tur n off t he engine .
"" Let the eng ine cool down.
"" Pla ce a thick rag over the coolan t ex pan sio n
tank
c::> page 183, fig. 152 and carefull y turn
the cap counter-clockwise
c::> ,&. .
""Add coolant m ixed in the cor rect rat io
c::>page 183, Coolant up to the MAX ma rking.
"" Make sure that the fluid level remains stab le.
Add more coolant if necessa ry .
"" Twis t the cap o n aga in
tightly.
Replacement eng ine coolant must conform to ex­
act specifications
c::> page 183, Coolant.
We recommend using only coo lant ad ditive G 12+
+ , G13 or in an emergency G12+. Do
not use a
different additive. In an emergency use plain wa­
te r unt il you can get the cor rect addit ive and ca n
r esto re the cor rect rat io. Thi s should be done as
soon as possib le.
If you have lost a considerable amount of coo l­
an t, then you s hou ld add co ld a ntifreeze and cold
water only whe n the engine is co ld.
A lways use
new engine coo lant when ref illing.
Do no t fill c oolant above the "MAX" mark . Excess
coolant will be forced out th rough the pressure
r elief valve in the cap when the engine becomes
hot.
~

Checking and Filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a quick
glance.
Fig. 153 Eng ine compartment: Cover on the brake fluid
r eservoir
Before you check anything in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 177.
., Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid
reservoir
<=> fig . 153, ¢page 179, fig . 149 . The
brake fluid level must be between the
" MIN"
and "MAX " markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the left
side ¢
page 179 .
The fluid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably below
the ' 'MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light (USA models:
1111 , Canada models:. )
will come on¢
page 13 . Do not continue to oper­
ate the vehicle . The complete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low, the
brake warning/indicator light w ill illuminate.
Contact an author ized Audi dealer
immediately.
(D} Tips
The brake fluid reservoir is located under­
neath the cover.
186
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 po int of the brake fluid
will a lso 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 Feder-al Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
116 DOT 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 fai lure can result from o ld or inappro­
priate brake fluid. Observe these precau­
tions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE speci­
fi cation
J 1703 and conforms to Federal
Motor Veh icle Standard 116. Always check
with your authorized Audi dealer to make
sure you are using the correct brake fluid .
The correct type of brake f luid 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 .
lilJJ,

@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal of
brake fluid as we ll as the special toots re­
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec­
ommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your authorized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the battery
in your Audi does not need any maintenance.
With
high outside temperatures or long daily
drives we recommend that you have the electro­
lyte level checked by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop. The electrolyte level should
also be checked each time the battery is charged
c> page 189.
Have the battery checked when you take your ve­
hicle in for serv ice. You are well advised to re­
place a battery t hat is older than 5 years.
With certain types of airbag deployment, the battery is disconnected from the vehicle electri­
cal system for safety reasons
c> & in Repair, care
and disposal of the airbags on page 125 .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power window regula­
tors, for example) are lost if the battery termi­ nals are disconnected. These functions have to be
relearned after the battery terminals are con­
nected again. To prevent th is, the battery should
only be disconnected from the vehicle e lectr ica l
system when abso lutely necessary for repairs.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks, electrical components are
gradually cut back or sw itched off. This reduces
energy consumption and maintains starting ca­
pability over a longer pe riod
c> page 157.
Some of the conven ience functions may not oper­
ate, such as the interior lights or the power seat
adjustment. The convenience functions will be
available again when you turn on the ignition and
start the engine.
Checking and Filling
Winter operation
During the winter months, battery capacity tends
to decrease as temperatures drop . This is be­
cause more power is also consumed while start­
ing, and the headlights, rear window defogger,
etc., are used more often.
Avo id unnecessary power consumption, particu­
larly in city traffic or when traveling only short
distances . Let your authorized Audi dealer check
the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter
sets in
c> page 189. 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 w ill not freeze. This will prevent it
from be ing 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 engine compart­
ment . Before you check anything in the engine
compartment ,
read and heed all WARNINGS
c>,& ,
Always heed the safety warnings, when working
on the vehicle battery or the veh icle 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.
A
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Al-
ways wear gloves and eye protection .
187

Check ing and F illing
@
No
- sp ark s
- flam es
- smoking.
£
When a bat tery is charg ed, it produc es
hydr og en gas which i s ex plo sive and
could c aus e pe rs onal injury .
®
Alwa ys keep the b atter y well out of reach
of chil dren.
A WARNING
Whenever work ing on the battery or on the
elect rical system, there is the risk of injury,
accident and
even fire. Read and heed the fol­
lowing WARN INGS :
- Always wea r eye protection. Do not let bat­
te ry acid or any lead pa rticles get on your
sk in or cloth ing . Sh ield your eyes. Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury .
- Battery acid con tains su lfu ric acid. Sulfur ic
acid c an cause blindness and
severe bu rns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection. Do
no t tilt the battery because acid could leak
out of the ventilat ion open ings .
- If you get battery ac id 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-
t ive cables.
- When working on the battery, be sure not to
short-circuit the term inals with tools or oth ­
er metal objects. Th is wou ld 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
ca use personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the reach of ch ildre n.
188
-
-Before wo rk is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative gro und cable.
- Before performing any work on the e lectri­
cal system, switch off the engine and ign i­
tion as well as any electrical equ ipment . 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 d isconnecting the battery, switch off
the an ti-theft alarm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis­
connect the negative cab le and then the
positive cable.
- Before reconnect ing the battery, make sure
all electr ica l consume rs a re switched off .
Reconnect the positive cable firs t and then
the negative cable . Never in terch ange t he
cables -this could sta rt a fire!
- Never cha rge a frozen or a thawed-ou t bat­
tery . It cou ld explode ! If a ba ttery 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 bat ter ies which are damaged.
There is the danger of an exp losion! Always
replace a damaged battery .
A WARNING
Califo rnia Proposition 65 Warning :
- Ba tte ry posts, te rm inals and related acces­
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State o f Cali fornia
to cause cancer and reproductive problems.
Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery when
the ignition is switched on or when the en­
gine is running, otherwise, you will damage
electronic components in the electrical sys­
tem .
- If your veh icle is go ing to stand for a long
period of time w ithout being driven, protect ..,.