2016 AUDI Q3 engine

Fuel and Refueling
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Using the right fuel helps keep the environment
clean and prevents engine damage .
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recommended for your vehicle is unlead­
ed premium
grade gasoline. Audi recommends
using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline with a mini­
mum octane rating of 91 AKI (95 RON). For more
in formation on TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline,
p lease go to the offic ial website
(www.toptiergas.com).
The recommended gasoline octane rating for
your engine can also be found on a label located
on the inside of the fuel filler flap. This rating
may be specified as AKI or RON.
Your vehicle may also be operated using unlead­
ed regular gasoline with a minimum octane rat­
ing of 87 AKI/91 RON. However, using 87 AKI/91
RON octane fuel w ill slightly reduce engine pe r­
formance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded gasoline
is available throughout the USA, Canada, and in
most European countries . We recommend that
you do not take your vehicle to areas or countries
where un leaded gasoline may not be available.
For more information on refueling your vehicle,
see
r=;, page 17 4.
Octane rating
Octane rating indicates a gasoline's ability to re­
sist engine damaging "knock" caused by prema­
ture ignit ion and detonation . Therefore, buy ing
the correct grade of gasoline is very important to
help prevent poss ible engine damage and a loss
of eng ine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the United
States and Canada has the following octane rat­
ings that can usually be found on the filler pump:
- Premium Grade: 91 - 96 AKI
- Regular Grade: 87 - 90 AKI
Fuel and Refueling
Explanation of the abbreviations :
AKI=
Ant i Knock Index= (R+M)/2 = (RON +MON)/
2
RON = Re search Octane Number
MON= Motor Octane Number.
(D Note
- Do not use any fuel with octane ratings low­
er than 87 AKI or 91 RON otherwise expen­
sive engine damage w ill occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoline. The use of lead­
ed gasoline will severely damage your vehi­
cle's catalytic converter and its ability to
control exhaust emissions.
Blended gasoline
Use of gasoline containing alcohol or MTBE
(methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded gasoline b lended with al­
cohol or MTBE (commonly referred to as oxygen­
ates) if the blended mixt ure meets the follo wing
criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must contain no more than 3% metha-
nol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-solvents.
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol or
ethyl alcohol)
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must not conta in more than 15% etha-
nol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must contain not more than 15% MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform es­
pecially well for winter or summer dr iving . Dur­
ing seasonal change-ove r, we suggest that you
fill up at busy gas stations where the seasonal
adjustment is more likely to be made in time. ..,.
173

Fuel and Refueling
CJ) Note
-Methanol fuels which do not meet these re­
quirements may cause corrosion and dam­
age to plastic and rubber components in the
fuel system.
- Do not use fuels that fail to meet the speci­
fied criteria in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether or
not a particular fuel blend meets the speci­
fications, ask your service station or its fuel
supplier .
- Do not use fuel for which the contents can­
not be identified.
- Fuel system damage and performance prob­
lems resulting from the use of fuels differ­
ent from those specified a re not the respon­
s ibilit y of Audi and are not covered under
the New Vehicle or the Emission Control
System Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy or
driveability and performance prob lems due
to the use of one of these fuel blends, we
recommend that you switch to unblended
fuel.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufactur­
ers is carbon deposit build-up caused by the type
of gasoline you use .
Although gasoline grades differ from one manu­
facturer to another, they have certain things in
common. All gasoline grades contain substances
that can cause deposits to collect on vita l engine
parts, such as fuel injectors and intake valves. Al­
though most gasoline brands include additives to
keep eng ine and fuel systems clean, they are not
equally effective .
Audi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gas­
oline . For more information on TOP TIER Deter ­
gent Gasoline, please go to the official website
(www.toptiergas .com) .
After an extended period of using in adequate
fuels, built -up carbon deposits can rob your en­
g ine of peak performance .
174
(D Note
-Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel
quality is not covered by the Audi New Vehi­
cle Limited Warranty.
- Do not add aftermarket fuel additive prod­
ucts to your fuel tank .
Refueling
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
s ide panel behind the fuel filler flap .
If the power locking system should fail , you can
still open the flap manually -for detailed instruc ­
tions see
Q page 176.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your vehicle in
¢ page 230.
The label on the inside of the fuel fi ller flap tells
you the correct fuel for your vehicle. For more in­
formation about fuel specifications, see
¢ page 173.
Your vehicle fuel tank has an on-board refueling
vapor recovery system. This feature helps to pre­
vent fuel vapors from escaping from the tank and polluting the envi ronment while you refuel your
vehicle . In order to fill the tank properly while
protect ing the env ironment, please follow this
refueling procedure carefully.
A WARNING
Under normal operat ing conditions, never ca r­
ry additional fu el containers in your car. Gas
canisters and other containers used to trans­
port fue l can be dangerous . Such containers,
fu ll or empty, may leak and could cause a fire
in a collision. If you must transport fuel to
use for your lawn mower, snow blower, etc .,
be very careful and always observe local and
state laws regarding the use, transportation
and storage of such fuel containers . Make cer­
tai n the container meets industry standards
(ANSI/ASTM F8S2 -86) .

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(D Note
Never d rive your vehicle unti l the fuel tank is
completely empty. The ir regu lar supply of
fue l can ca use misfir ing. Gasoline co uld enter
the ex haust system and damage the catalyt ic
converter.
Refueling
F ig . 14 4 Rig ht rea r ve hicle side: Open ing the fue l fill er flap
F ig. 1 45 Fu el fil ler fla p w ith attached fuel cap
When activating the central locking, the fuel fill­
er flap is automatically un locked or locked . Re­
fuel the vehicle with the ignit ion turned
off.
Taking the fuel cap off
• Press t he left side of the fue l filler flap to open
it
¢ fig. 144-arrow-.
• Unscrew fue l cap counter-clockwise and hang it
on the fuel filler flap
¢ fig. 145.
Refueling procedure
• Insert the fuel nozzle from the gasoline pump
into the fuel filler neck as far as it will go .
• Select a medium refueling rate so that the noz­
zle switches
off automatically when the tank is
f ull.
Fuel and Refueling
Putting the fuel cap back on
• After fi lling your tank, twis t the fuel c ap cloc k-
w ise as far as i t will go.
• Close the fue l filler flap .
T o avo id f uel spilling or evaporat ing from the fuel
tank always close f ue l cap prope rly and com­
pletely . An im properly closed f uel fi ller cap may
also cause the MIL lamp¢
page 25 to come on.
A WARNING
- -
Improper refueling or handling of f ue l can
cause fire, explosion and severe burns .
- Fue l is highly flammable and can cause se ­
vere burns and other injuries.
- Fa ilure to shut the engine
off while refue l­
ing and/or to inse rt the pump nozzle f ully
into the f ue l filler neck cou ld cause fuel to
spray out of fi ller neck or to overflow. Fue l
spray and ove rflowing fuel can cause a f ire.
- Never use a cellular telephone while refue l­
i n g . The electromagnetic rad iat io n can
cause sparks t hat can ignite fuel vapors and
cause a fire.
- Never get back into yo ur vehicle whi le refu­
eling . If in excep tional circ umstances you
m ust g et ba ck in yo ur vehicle wh ile refuel­
i n g, make certa in tha t yo u close the doo r
and touch me tal to di scha rge s ta ti c elec tric­
ity before tou ching the fi lle r n ozzle a gain.
Stat ic elect ricity ca n cause s parks that can
ignite fue l vapors released duri ng refuelin g.
- Never smo ke or have an open flame any­
where i n or near your vehicle when ref ueling
or fi lling a portab le fuel container.
- For your safety, we strong ly recommend
that you do not trave l w ith a portable fuel
container in your veh icle. The container, full
or empty may leak and co uld cause a fire,
especia.lly in a crash.
- If , under except ional circumstances, you
m ust t ransport a portable fuel contai ner,
p lease observe the following :
- Neve r fill a por table f ue l con tai ner w hile it
i s an ywhe re in or on t he vehicle (f or exam­
p le, in the l ugg age compa rtment, o r on
the trun k). Static electricity can build up
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175

Fuel and Refueling
while filling and can ignite fuel vapors
causing a fire.
- Always p lace a portable fuel container on
the ground before filling.
- Always keep the filler nozzle completely
inside the portable container before and
during filling.
- If filling a portable container made of
metal, the filler nozzle must a lways be in
contact with the container . This will help
prevent static electricity from discharging
and cause a fire .
- Never spill fuel inside the vehicle or lug­
gage compartment. Fuel vapors are highly
flammable .
- Always observe local and state/provincial
laws regarding t he use, storage and trans­
portation of fuel containers .
- Make certa in the fuel container meets in­
dustry standards (ANSI/ ASTM
F852-86) .
CD Note
If any fuel has spilled onto the car, it should
be removed immediately to prevent damage
to the paint.
@ For the sake of the environment
As soon as the correctly operated nozz le
switches off automatically for the first time ,
the tank is full. Do not try to add more fuel
because fuel may spill out . In addition, the
expansion space in the fuel tank will be filled -
causing the fuel to overflow when it becomes
wa rm and pollute the environment.
(0 Tips
- Running your engine while refueling may
cause vapors to escape or even cause fuel to
sp ill out of the tank. This would then shut
off the fuel nozzle before the tank is full.
- Do not refuel your vehicle with the ignition
turned on. The fuel gauge may otherwise
not indicate the correct fue l level after refu­
eling.
- The fuel filler flap of your vehicle is not
l ocked when you lock the veh icle from the
inside.
176
Fuel filler door emergency release
I f the cen tral locking system is faulty, the fuel
filler door can be unlocked manually .
Fig. 146 Side tr im pane l in t he lug gage compar tmen t:
emergency release mechanism
The emergency release mechanism is located be­
hind the right side trim panel in the luggage
compartment .
.,. Loosen the loop from the retainer and then pull
on the loop carefully
<=> (D . The fuel filler door is
released .
.,. To open the fuel filler door, press on the left
side
Q page 175, fig. 144 .
CD Note
Only pull on the loop until you feel res istance .
You will not hea r it re lease. Othe rw ise you
could damage the emergency release mecha­
nism.

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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

Checking and Filling
-Keep children away from the engine com­
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxiliary
electric fan is temperature controlled and
can switch on suddenly.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap when
the engine is still warm. The coolant system
is pressurized and hot coolant could spray
out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
- Do not remove the engine cover under any
circumstances. This increases the risk of
burns .
- If work on the fuel system or the electrical
system is necessary:
-Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or open
flames. Fluids in the engine compartment
could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher imme­
diately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal injury
while the engine is running or being started,
never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair with
the engine running:
- First, fully apply the parking brake, move
selector lever of automatic transmission
to "P" (Park).
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get-
178
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts or
other moving parts, or from contacting
hot parts. Tie back hair before starting,
and do not wear clothing that will hang or
droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and chemi­
cal hazards
c::> & .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain or
emit chemicals known to the State of Cali­
fornia to cause cancer and birth defects and
reproductive harm. In addition, certain flu­
ids contained in vehicles and certain prod­
ucts of component wear contain or emit
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and birth defects or other
reproductive harm .
- Battery posts, terminals and related acces­
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive harms.
Wash hands after handling.
([) Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container or
filler opening, otherwise serious damage to
vehicle systems will occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly. If you
see spots from oil or other vehicle fluids, have
your vehicle inspected by an authorized Audi dealer .

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Checking and Filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
The most important check points.
Fig. 149 Typical location of the reservoir a nd the engine o il fil ler ope ning
(D Coolant reservoir (-L) . . . . . . . . . . 183
@ Oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
@ Engine oil filler opening ('1!::r.) . . . 181
@ Brake fluid reservoir (0) . . . . . . . 186
® Jump start point(+) under a cover, 189, 223
® Jump start point(-) with hex head
screw, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
189, 223
0 Washer fluid reservoir($) . . . . . . 190
@ Fuse housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
The oil dipstick (position @) and the engine oil
filler opening (position @) can be located in dif­
ferent positions depending on the engine ver­
sion.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN- INGS
9 .&. in Working in the engine
compart­
ment on page 177.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact speci­
fications.
T he serv ice interval d isplay in the instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform you when it is
time for an oil change . We recommend that you
have your oil changed by an authorized Audi Serv­
ice Advisor.
If you have to top off the oil between oil changes,
us e the Audi oil quality standard specified in the
tab~ .
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179

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 .