2016 AUDI Q3 check engine light

& WARNING
-Always observe the warning in ¢ page 177,
before opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the engine compartment. You
could burn yourself. Let the engine cool off
firstsothatyoucannothearorseeany
steam or engine coolant .
(D Note
-Auxiliary headlights and other accessories in
front of the cooling-air intake impair the
cooling effect of the coolant. This increases
the risk of the engine overheat ing during
high o utside temperatures and heavy en-
gine load.
- The front spoiler also helps to distr ibute
cooling air correctly wh ile driving .
If the
spo ile r i s damaged, the cooling effect will
be impaired and the risk of the engine over­
heating will increase . See an a uthorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fa­
cility for assistance .
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine speed in rev­
olutions per minute (RPM).
You shou ld sh ift to the next lowest gear when
the eng ine speed is be low 1 500 RPM. The beg in­
ning of the red zone in the tachometer indicates
the maximum permissible engine speed for all
gears once the engine has been broken in and
when it is warmed up to operating temperature. Before reaching this zone, you should sh ift into
the next highest gear , select the D selector lever
position, or remove your foot from the accelera­
tor pedal.
CT) Note
The needle in the tachometer@¢ page 10,
fig . 3
may only be in the red area of the gauge
for a short time or the re is a r isk of engine
damage. The locat ion where the red zone be­
gins varies depend ing on the engine.
In strum ents an d ind ic a to r ligh ts
{® For the sa ke of the en vironment
Upshifting ear ly helps you to save fue l and re­
duce operating noise.
Fuel level
The fue l level indicator on ly operates when the
ignition is sw itched on . The
rD ¢ page 17
turns on if the reserve quantity of fuel is reached .
For the tank capacity in your veh icle, refer to the
Techn ica l Data ¢
page 230.
(D Note
Never drive until the tank is comp letely emp­
ty. The irregu lar supply of fuel that res ults
from that can cause the engine to m isf ire.
Non-combusted fuel will then enter the ex­
haust system . This can cause overheat ing and
damage to the catalyt ic converter.
Indicator lights
Description
The indicator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate functions or mal­
funct ions¢ .&..
With some indicator lights, messages may ap­ pear and warning signals may sound. The indica­
tor lights and messages in the display can be cov­ ered by other displays . Displaying driver messag­
es again ¢
page 21, Operating using the wind ­
shield wiper Lever,
¢ page 21, Operating using
the multifunction steering wheel.
Some indicator lights are shown in multip le col­
ors in the instrument cluster display.
& WARNING
--
- Fa ilure to heed wa rning lights and other im­
portant vehicle information may resu lt in
serio us pe rsonal inj ur y o r vehicle damage.
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repair,
move the vehicle a safe d ista nce off the
road, stop the engine, and tu rn on the
emergency fl ashe r ¢
page 42 .
11

Instruments and indicator lights
-The engine compartment of any motor vehi­
cle is a potentially hazardous area. Before
you check anything in the engine compart­ ment, stop the engine and let it cool down.
Always exercise extreme caution when work­ ing under the hood¢
page 177.
Overview
Some ind icator lights turn o n briefly to chec k the
f u nction of that syste m whe n you switch the ign i­
t ion on. These systems are mar ked with a ./ in
the following tables . If one of these indicator
lights does not turn on, there is a ma lfunction in
that system .
Red indic ator lights
12
USA models:
Brake system ./
¢page 13
Canada mode ls :
Brake system ./
r=.> page 13
USA models :
Electromechanical pa rking brake
r=.> page 14
Can ada mode ls:
Electromechanical parking brake
r=.> page 14
Safety be lts
<=.> page 15
Eng ine cooling system
r=.> page 14
E ng ine o il pressu re
<=.> page 15
Battery
¢page 15
Electromechanical power steering./
<=.>page 156
Transmission
r=.>page86
Steering co lumn lock
<=.> page 16
Yellow indicator l ights
!f
"O~ I I ~ '#
'!IIJ
E lectron ic Stabilization Contro l
(ESC) ./
<=.>page 16
Electron ic Stabiliza tion Cont ro l
( E SC) ./
<=.>page 16
Electron ic Stabiliza tion Control (ESC)
<=.> page 16
USA model s:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) defec­
tive./
<=.> page 16
Canada model s:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) defec ­
tive ./
<=.>page 16
Safety systems./
<=.>page 16
Worn brake pads
<=.>page 16
Electromechanical parking brake
r=.> page 14
Tire pressure monitoring system*./
r=.>page208
Tire pressure monitoring system*
r=.>page208
Electron ic power contro l./
<=.>page 17
Malfunction indicator Lamp (MIL) ./
¢page 17
Engine speed limitation
¢ page 17
Engine oil leve l
¢page 17
Engine oil leve l
¢page 17
Engine oil se nsor
¢ page 17
Blll! Battery
·- r=.>page15
r.111 Tank system
... r=.>page17

Instruments and indicator lights
-If the indicator light and the message appear
while d riving , the emergency braking function
may not be ava ilab le . It may not be possib le to
set the parking brake or release it once it has been set. Seek professiona l assistance.
(USA models) : If the warning light
1111 and the
warn ing light
[I] appear together, immed iate ly
contact your authori zed Audi dealer or qualified
workshop to have all brake pads inspected
,:::;, page 16.
When the light comes on, an audib le wa rning sig­
na l is also given.
A WARNING
- Always observe the warnings in
,:::;, page 177, before opening the hood and
check ing the b rake fl uid .
- Driving with low brake fl uid is a sa fety haz­
ar d. Stop the car and get professional ass is­
tance.
- If the 1111 (USA models) ;III (Canada mod­
els) brake system i ndicator lig ht t urns on to­
ge th er wit h the ABS an d ESC indica to r
l igh ts, the ABS/ ESC regulating functi on may
have failed. Func tions tha t st abilize the ve­
hicle are no longe r available. This cou ld
ca use the vehicle to swerve and increase the
risk of sliding . Stop the car and get profes­
sional assistance .
- If the bra ke warn ing/indicator light does
not go o ut after a few seconds and the park­
ing brake is released, or lights up while you
are driving, t he flu id leve l in the brake fluid
rese rvoir is too low. If you believe that it is
safe to do so, proceed immediately a t low
speed to the nearest au thori zed Audi dealer
o r qualifie d works hop and have the brake
sys tem inspe cte d.
- Always keep in min d that afte r sev era l brake
applica tions, you w ill need greate r pressure
on the brake pedal to stop yo ur vehicle. Do
not rely on straine d brakes to respond w ith
ma ximum stopping power in critical situa ­
t ions . You must allow for increased braking
distances. The extra distance used up by
fading b rakes could lead to an acc ident.
14
PARK!< ®> Electromechanical parking brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the elec­
tromechanical parking brake .
If the indicator light - (USA models) ;Ill
(Canada mode ls) tu rns on, the park ing brake was
set .
- (USA models);lll (Canada models) Press
brake pedal to release parking brake.
To release the parking b rake, press the brake
pedal and press the button(®) at the same time
or start driving with starting assist
c::;, page 72,
Starting from a stop.
Ill Parking brake: System fault! See owner 's
manual.
I f the Ill ind ic a tor light turns on and t his mes ­
sage appea rs, there is a par king bra ke m alfu nc­
tion . Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop imme diate ly to have the ma l­
funct ion corrected.
(D Tips
M ore information on the par king brake
c::;, page 71 .
-F-Cooling system
• Turn off engine and check coolant level.
The coo lant level is too low.
Do not con tinue dr iving and swit ch t he engine
off. Che ck the coolan t l evel
c::;, page 183 .
-If the coo lant level is too low, add coolant
c::;, page 183 . Only continue dr iving once the in­
dicato r light turns off.
• Coolant temperature! Let engine run with
vehicle stationary .
Let the engine run at idle fo r a few min utes to
cool off, until the indicator lig ht turns off .
- If the ind icator light does not turn off, do not
cont inue driving the veh icle. See an a uthorized
Audi dea le r or a uthorized Audi Service Facility
for assistance. ..,.

& WARNING
-Never open the hood if you can see or he ar
steam or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. This inc reases t he risk of
burns . Wa it until you no longe r see or hea r
steam o r coolant escap ing .
- The engine compartment in any veh icle can
be a dangerous area. Stop the eng ine and
allow it to coo l before working in t he engine
compartment . A lways fo llow the informa­
ti on foun d in ¢
page 177 .
(D Note
Do not contin ue d riving if the. indicator
light turns o n -thi s increases the r isk of en­
gi ne damage.
"t!:r. Engine oil pressure
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol re­
quires immediate service or repair . Driving with a
low-oil-pressure indication is likely to inflict se­
v e re damage to the engine .
• Turn off engine! Oil pressure is too low.
Tur n off the engine an d do not cont inue d riving .
C hec k the engine oil leve l¢
page 181.
- If the engine oil leve l is too low, a dd engine o il
¢
page 181 . Only cont inue driv ing if the ind i­
cator lig ht t urns off.
- If the engine oil leve l is correc t and the i ndica ­
tor light sti ll tur ns on, turn the eng ine off and
do not continue driving . See you r auth orized
Audi dealer or qualif ied repa ir facility.
@ Tips
-The engine oil pressure symbol. is not
an indicator for a low engine oil level. Do
not rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, preferably
each time you refuel, and always before
going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
Ill
requires oil r efill or workshop service with­
out delay . Do not wait until the red oil
pressure warning. starts to flash before
you respond to the low oil level warning Instruments and ind
icator lights
IIJ. By then, your engine may already have
suffered serious damage.
0 Battery
The . warn ing/ indicato r light illum inates when
you sw itch on the ig nition and m ust go out after
t h e e ngine has started .
• Alternator fault: Battery is not being charg­
ed .
If the indic ator ligh t turns on and the message
appea rs, the re is a ma lfunction in t he generator
o r vehicle e lectr ica l system.
D rive to your au thor ized A udi dealer or qu alified
wor kshop im medi ate ly. Bec au se the vehicle bat­
te ry is d ischa rgin g, turn off all u nnecessary elec­
t rical eq uipment such as the rad io . Seek p rofes­
s iona l assistance if the battery charge level is too
low.
(•) Low battery charge: Battery will be charged
while driving .
If the indic ator ligh t turns on an d the mess age
appea rs, there may be limi ted sta rting abili ty .
If this message turns off after a little whi le, the
ba tte ry ch arge d eno ugh while dr iv ing .
If the message does not turn off, have yo ur au ­
t h orized Audi de aler or q ual ified works hop cor ­
r ec t t he ma lf u nct ion.
4t Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to put
on your safety b elt.
The . war ning/ indicator light illum inates when
t h e ignit io n is switched on to remind t he driver
and any front passenge r to put on the safety be lt.
Addi tionally , a n acous tic w arnin g (go ng) will also
sou nd.
@ Tips
Fo r mor e In forma tion ¢ pag e 104, Saf ety
bel t warning light .
15

.... N
ci ::, co .... together with the warning light 1111 . Both se ts
of brake pads on an axle must a lways be replaced
at the same time.
A WARNING
Dr iv ing with bad brakes can ca use a co llision
and ser ious personal in jury.
- If the warning light
EiJ and the wa rning
light
11111> w it h the message Brake pads!
comes o n in the inst rument cluste r display,
immediately contact your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop to have all
bra ke p ads checke d or rep lace d if necessary.
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the elec ­
tronic power control .
-
The [m warning/ indicator light (Electronic Power
Control) ill uminates when you switch the ig nition
on as a function check.
I f th is wa rn ing/indicator light illuminates w hile
you are driving, then there is a malfunct io n in the
engine electronics . Have t he malfunct io n correct­
ed as soo n as poss ible by your authorized A udi
deale r or a qua lified re pair facili ty.
o Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfu nction Ind icator Lamp (M IL) i s part of
t he On-Boar d Diag nostic (O BD II) syste m. T he
symbo l¢• lights up when the ign ition is swi tc h ­
ed on and wi ll tu rn off afte r the engine has sta rt ­
ed an d has sett le d at a constant idle speed. This
ind icates that the MIL is work ing properly.
The warning ligh t illuminates when there is a
malfunct ion in the eng ine e lectron ic system.
Contact your author ized Audi dealer an d have the
mal funct ion corrected.
An imprope rly closed fuel fille r cap may a lso
cause the MIL li ght to illum inate
c:; page 175 .
For mo re informa tio n ¢ page 25.
N
:=: 1) - : USA mode ls onl y
Instruments and ind icator lights
!'? , Engine speed lim itation
Applies to vehicles: with engine speed limitation
II! Do not exceed max. engine speed of XXXX
rpm
The II! symbol illumi nates when t here is an en­
gine co ntro l ma lf u nct io n. Th e
[m indicator light
i n th e i nstr ument clus ter also illumi nates. The
engi ne speed is l imited to the speed displ aye d in
t h e d river informat ion sy stem . K eep in min d that
t h e engine speed w ill not exceed the va lue dis ­
played in the d river info rmation system, for ex­
amp le when downshifting.
Dr ive to your authori zed A udi dea ler imme diate ly
to have t he mal func tion cor rec ted.
~ -Engine oil level
1!1;111 Check oil level.
If the indic ator ligh t an d the message appea r,
add engi ne oil immedi ately
c:; page 17 9.
~e, Engine oil sensor
•• Oil level sensor: System fault!
If the symbol illumi nat es, c onta ct yo ur au th or­
ized Audi de aler a nd h ave the oil sensor ins pect­
ed. Unti l yo u have this done, check the oi l leve l
each time you ref uel j ust to be on the safe side
c:; page 181.
~ Tank system
ti Please refuel
If the indicato r light turns on for the first time
and t he message appea rs, the re are about
1.8 - 2.2 gallons (7.0 -8.5 liters) of fuel left in
the tan k. Time to refue l
c:;page 174.
ti Fuel tank system malfunction! Contact deal­
er.
If t he indic ator ligh t turns on and this message
appea rs, there is a ma lf u nction in the tan k sys ­
tem .
17

Instruments and indicator lights
Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler immediately
to have the ma lfunction corrected .
c:> Windshield washer fluid level
Ill Please refill washer fluid.
If the symbol ill uminates, add w indshield was her
fluid to the w indshield washer system .
~ Engine start system
€·I ~ngine start system: Malfunction! Plea se
con tact dealer.
If th e indicator light t urns on and the message
appears, do
not switch the ign ition off because
you may not be ab le to sw itch it on again.
Drive to yo ur a uthorized Aud i dea le r i mmediately
to have the ma lf u nct ion corrected .
Engine start sy stem: Malfunction . Plea se con­
tact dealer .
There is a malfunction in the eng ine start system .
Drive to you r authori zed Aud i dea ler immediately
to have the malfunct ion corrected.
~ Defective light bulb warning
If the rtl i ndicato r light turns on, a bulb has
fa iled. The message ind icates the location of the
bu lb.
V ehicle lights: Sy stem f ault!
If the message appears, there is a ma lfunction in
the headlights or light switch.
Drive to yo ur autho rized Audi dea le r i mmedia tely
to have the malf unction corrected .
A WARNING
-Light bu lbs are p ressurized and could ex­
plode while they a re being changed caus ing
serious persona l injury.
- Work with due ca re when handling the high­
vo ltage section of gas discharge (xenon)
lights* . Failure to do so could result in death
or serious injury.
18
(D Tips
Have the bu lb replaced or the connection re­
paired by your authorized A udi Se rvice depart­
ment.
i,0 Headlight range control
fl H ea dlight range control: Sy stem fault!
If the symbol II ill uminates, the dynamic head­
li ght range contro l is no longer working properly.
Have the system checked and repaired at your au­
thorized Audi dea ler .
~O Audi Adaptive Light
App lies to vehicles: wit h Audi adapt ive light
rlJ Audi adaptive light : System fault!
If the indicator light turns on and this message
appears, there is a ma lfunction in the adaptive
li ght system . The headlights still function .
Go to an authorized dealership to have the head­
li ghts or the contro l unit for the adapt ive light re­
paired.
@:) Light/rain sensor
App lies to vehicles : wit h lig ht/ ra in sensor
£1 Automat ic headlights /wipers: System fault!
If the indicator light turns on and this message
appears, the light/rain sensor is not functioning
correctly.
For safety reasons the low beams are turned on
permanently with the switch in
AUTO . However,
you can continue to turn the lights on and off us­
i ng the lig ht switch . You can still contro l all func­
tions that are independent of the rain sensor
through the windsh ield wiper lever .
Contact your authori zed Aud i dea ler as soon as
possible to have the problem corrected.
g Adaptive dampers
App lies to vehicles: wit h Audi drive se lect and a daptive damp ­
ers
R Suspension : System f ault!
The re is an adaptive dampe r mal func tion.

Automatic transmissio n
Stopp ing temporarily
.,. Press the b rake peda l to stop the vehicle, fo r
example at a traffic light. Do not press the ac­
ce lerator peda l when doing this.
... To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when stop­
ping on steep inclines ¢
,&..
.,. The park ing brake w il l release automatically
and the vehicle will start moving once you press
the accelerator pedal.
Stopp ing /park ing
If the selector lever is not in the P posit ion when
you open the driver's door, the vehicle could roll.
The message
S hift to P and turn off ign it ion ,
otherwi se vehicle can roll awa y
appears.
.,. Press and hold the brake pedal
c> ,&. .
.,. Set the parking brake.
.,. To engage the P selector lever posit ion, press
the button on the selector lever and sh ift into
the P position
i:> page 82.
Stopp ing on an incline
.,. Always press the brake peda l to hold the vehi­
cle in place and prevent it from "rolling back"
c> ,&. . Do not try to prevent the vehicle from
"ro lling back" when a gear is engaged by in­
c reasing the eng ine speed
i:> 0.
Starting on a hill
.,. Set the parking brake.
.,. Se lect the D posit ion .
.,. Press t he accelerator pedal carefully . If you r
safety belt is fastened, the pa rking brake is au­
tomat ica lly released a nd your ve hicle beg ins to
move .
Unde r ce rtain c ircumstances, such as driv ing in
the mountains, it may be usef ul to sw itch tempo­
rarily to the manua l shift program in o rde r to ad­
just the gea rs to the d riving conditions by hand
i:>page 85 .
On inclines, act ivate the park ing brake first and
then move the se lector lever to the P pos it ion
c>page 72. This prevents the lo cking mechanism
from being loaded too heav ily and w ill make i t
easier to move the se lec tor lever out of the P po­
sition.
84
A WARNING
- The vehicle can also ro ll when the eng ine is
stopped.
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause se­
rious injury.
- Never leave your veh icle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle w hen the engine is r unning, ac­
tivate t he pa rking brake a nd move the selec­
tor lever to P .
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle . To p re­
vent the vehicle from "creeping", yo u m ust
keep your foo t on t he b rake when the en­
g in e is ru nning and the selector lever is in D/
Sor R or "tiptronic" mode is se lected .
- Do not press the a cce le ra to r peda l when
changing the se lec to r l ever posi tion while
the vehicle is s ta tionary and the engine is
r u nning .
- Never sh ift into R or P whi le driving.
- Before d riving down a s teep sl ope, redu ce
your spee d and sh ift into a lower gea r w ith
"t i ptronic" .
- Do not ride the brakes or press the bra ke
pedal too of ten o r too long when dr iv ing
down a hi ll. Constant braking ca uses the
brakes to ove rheat and substantially re­
duces brak ing performance, increases b rak­
ing d istance or causes comp lete failure of
the brake system.
- To prevent the veh icle from rol ling back
when stopp ing on inclines, always hold it in
place with the brake peda l or park ing brake .
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
slipping clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload. An ind icator lam p. illumina tes
and a dr iver message appears¢
page 86
w hen t he clu tch is overloade d.
- If the e ngine must rema in running, never
have a ny driving posi tion engaged when
checking unde r th e hood. Make s ure these­
lec to r l ever has secu rely eng aged an d is
loc ked in P with the parking b rake set

Intelligent Technology
When the hill descent assist is on, the current
driving speed, when your vehicle entered the in­
cline is maintained. It is only possible to switch
on the assist when driving slower than 37 mph (60 km/h). The assist works between approxi­
mately 2 and 19 mph (4 and 30 km/h). The driver
can increase or decrease the vehicle speed within
these limits by depressing the accelerator or brake pedal.
There must be however sufficient ground adhe ­
sion . The hill descent assist
cannot do its job if
the incline is icy or if the incline ground is loose
¢ ,&.
Active assistance at a specific speed up to about 19 mph (30 km/h) is shown in the instrument
cluster through a blinking indicator light •. The
indicator light shines continuously when in the
ready mode.
The system does not work at speeds between 19
and 37 mph (30 and 60 km/h) . The system is
then in the ready-mode. This is shown through
the LED turned on in the button . The system au­
tomatically switched off when you drive faster
than 37 mph (60 km/h). The LED will also go out
in this scenario.
Hill descent assist is automatically activated un­
der the following conditions:
- The LED in the button turns on ,
- the vehicle speed is lower than 19 mph (30 km/
h) ,
-the incline angle is at least around 10% .
A WARNING
-Always adapt your speed to the weather ,
road and traffic conditions . Do not let the
increased safety provided tempt you into
taking risks, because this increases the risk
of an accident.
- The hill descent assist system cannot over­
come the laws of physics. Your driving style
must always be adapted to the current road
and traffic conditions.
- The hill descent assist may not be able to
hold your vehicle at a constant speed under
all conditions while driving on an incline (for
154
example if ground under the vehicle is
loose).
Brakes
New brake pads
New brake pads do not achieve their full braking
effect during the first
250 mi (400 km). They
must be "broken in" first¢& . However, you can
compensate for the slightly reduced braking
force by pressing firmly on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy braking during the break-in period.
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still sub­
ject to wear, depending largely on operating con­
ditions and driving habits¢,& . On vehicles that
are either driven mostly in stop-and-go city traf­
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be checked by your authorized Audi dealer more of ­
ten than specified in the
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet.
Failure to have your brake pads
inspected can result in reduced brake perform­
ance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking ef­
fect of the engine. This way, you prevent unnec­
essary wear on the brake system. If you must use
your brakes, do not hold the brakes down contin­
uously. Pump the brakes at intervals.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on the
speed, braking force and outside conditions such
as temperature and humidity.
Effect of water or road salt
In certain situations, for example after driving
through water, in heavy rain, after overnight con­ densation or after washing your car , the braking
effect can be reduced by moisture or ice on the
brake rotors and brake pads. The brakes must be
"dried" first with a few careful brake applica­
tions.
At higher speeds and with the windshield wipers
turned on, the brake pads press against the brake
rotors for a short amount of time. This action
which is not felt by the driver happens at regular .,.