2016 AUDI Q3 coolant temperature

Instrumen ts and ind icator ligh ts
Instruments and indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster overview
The instrument cluster is the central information center for the driver.
Fig. 3 Instrument cluster overv iew
(D ISETI button .... ........... .. .
@ Tachometer .... .. .. ..... .... .
@ Engine coolant temperature gauge
@ Turn signal ind icator lights ..... .
® Disp lay w ith:
- Driver informat ion system .... .
- Indicator lights .. ..... ... .. .
- Fuel leve l*
- Odometer
® Tachometer
(J) Fue l level .............. ..... -
® Trip odometer reset button
(D Tips
22
11
10
40
20
11
1 1
23
11
23
The instrument ill umination for the needles
and dia ls t urns on when the igni tion is tur ned
on and the lights are tur ned off . The illumina­
tion for the dia ls reduces automatically and
eventually turns off as brightness outside in­
creases. This function reminds the driver to
turn the headlights on at the appropriate
time.
10
Coolant temperature indicator
"'
"' N
0
;::) a,
"'
The coolant temperature indicator@~ page 10,
fig . 3
only operates when the ign ition is switched
on. To prevent engine damage, please observe
the following notes about the temperature rang­
es .
Cold range
If the needle is at the bottom of the gauge, the
engine has not reached operating temperature
yet. Avoid high engine speeds, full accelerating
and heavy engine loads.
Normal rang e
The engine has reached operating temperature
when the needle moves into the center of the
gauge under norma l dr iving condit ions. The nee­
dle may move farther to the right on the gauge
with heavier engine load at high outside temper­
atures . This is no cause for concern as long as the
• indicator light in the instrument cluster does
not turn on . If the needle is fa r over on the r ight
s ide of the gauge and the . indicator light tu rns
on, then the coolan t temperatu re is too high
~ page 14. ..,.

& 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
-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. ..,.

Driving
"'T o switch the ignition off, turn the ignition key
to position @.
Starting the engine
"' Press the b rake pedal and put the selector leve r
in to P or N.
"'T urn the key to pos it ion @. The ignition key au­
tomatica lly returns to position
(I) . Do not press
the accelerator pedal when doing this.
If the engine does not sta rt immed iate ly, stop
the starting procedure and repeat after 30 sec­
onds. To restart the engine, turn the ignition key
back to position @.
A WARNING
- Never allow the engine to run in confined
spaces -danger of asp hyxiation .
-
-Never remove the ignit ion key from the ign i­
t ion look while the vehicle is moving . Other­
wise , the steering lock cou ld sudden ly en­
gage and you would not be able to stee r the
vehicle .
- Always take the key with you whenever you
leave your vehicle . Otherw ise, the engi ne
cou ld be sta rted o r electrical equ ipment
s uch as the power w indows co uld be operat­
ed . This can lead to se rious i nju ry.
- Never leave children or pe rsons requiring as­
sistance unattended i n the vehicle . The
doo rs c an be lo cked usi ng the remote trans ­
mit ter, preven ting people from escapin g
from the vehicle on thei r own in the event of
an emergency. Depending on the time of
year, people inside the vehicle can be ex­
posed to very hig h or very low tempera­
tures.
(D Note
Avoid high engine speed, full throttle, and heavy engine load as long as the engine has
not reached operat ing temperature yet. You
could damage the engi ne.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not let the engine run while parked to
warm up. Begin dr iving immediately . This re­
duces unnecessary emiss ions.
68
(D Tips
- Some noise after start ing the engine is nor ­
ma l and is no cause for concern.
- If you leave the ve hicle w ith the ignition
switched on, the ign ition wi ll switch off af­
ter a certain amount of time. Make sure that
electrical equipment such as the exterior
lights are switched off.
- If it is d ifficult to turn the key to pos ition
(D , turn the steering wheel back and forth
slightly to release the steering wheel lock.
Stopping the engine
App lies to vehicles: with ignition lock
Stopping the engine
"' Bring the vehicle to a full stop .
"'T urn the key to posi tion @.
Engag ing the steering lock
Requi rement: the se lector lever must be in P.
"' Remove the ignition key in position @
c::> page 67, fig. 78 c::> &_ .
"'Tur n the steering whee l until you hear the
steer ing whee l lock .
The locke d steer ing helps prevent vehicle the ft.
A WARNING
-Never turn off the engine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop. The full func­
tion of the brake booster and the power
steer ing is not guaranteed. You must use
more force to turn or brake if necessary. Be ­
cause you cannot stee r and brake as you
usually would, this cou ld lead to crashes
a nd se rio us in juries.
- For safety reasons, yo u sh ould always park
your veh icle w ith the se lector lever i n P.
Othe rwise, the vehicle could inadve rten tly
roll aw ay.
- The rad iator fa n can cont in u e to run for up
t o 10 minutes even af ter yo u have turned
off the engine an d remove d the igni tion key.
The rad iator fan can also turn on again if the
eng ine coolant heats up because of intense .,._

Trailer mod e
Weight d istribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car res ults
in a high ly unstable distribution of weight . If this
cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds on ly
to avoid the risk of losing steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easie r to operate and con trol.
This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded
to the extent possible and permissible, while
keeping the trai le r as light as possib le under the
circumstances. Whenever possible, transfer
some cargo to the luggage compartment of the
tow vehicle while observ ing tongue load requ ire­
ments and vehicle loading considerat ions.
Spee d
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to contro l the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permiss ible speed. Reduce
your speed even more if load, weather or w ind
conditions are unfavorable - part icularly when
goi ng downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediatel y if the tra iler
shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not try
to stop the sway ing by acc ele rating .
Observe speed lim its. In some areas, speeds for
veh icles towing trailers are lower than for regular
ve hicles.
A lways app ly brakes early. When driving down­
h ill, shift into a lower gear to use the engine
braking effect to slow the veh icle. Use of the
brakes alone can cause them to overheat and fail.
Coolant temp era ture
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 10 must
be observed carefully. If the needle moves close
to the upper end of the scale, reduce speed im­ mediately and/or turn off the air conditioner.
If the coo lant temperature warning light in the
instr ument cluster starts flashing., pull off
the road, stop and let the engine
idle for about
two minutes to prevent heat bu ild-up.
A WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restrained in a moving
vehicle is at a much greater risk in an acci-
166
-
dent . Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wear ing the restraints provided
by Audi.
Trailer mode notes
Important to know
You r vehicle handles differently when towing a
trailer because o f th e additiona l weight and dif­
ferent weight distribution. Safety, performance
and economy will g reatly depend on how carefu l­
l y you load your trai ler and operate your rig.
Before yo u actually tow your trailer, pract ice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traffic . Keep practicing unti l you have be­
come complete ly familiar w ith the way your vehi­
cle-tra iler combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer genera lly 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 fro nt of you . You will need more
room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you
will need a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel­ erate as fast as you normally wo uld beca use of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow p lenty of room for
your trailer before changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
@ Tips
- Do not tow a trailer du ring the break-in peri­
od of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trai le r, your Au di may requi re
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
t ra load ¢
page 232.

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 .

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

A WARNING ,~
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald ing
from hot coolant by following these steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect you r face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by cover ing the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in a
counter-clockwise d irection while applying
light, downward p ressure on the top of
the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill anti­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or
hot engine parts. Under certa in cond i­
tions, the ethylene glycol in eng ine cool­
ant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store anti­
freeze in its orig inal container and well out
of the reach of children.
- If you dra in the coolant, it must be caught
and safely stored in a proper conta iner
clearly marked "poison".
- Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty. Air cou ld enter the cooling system
and damage the eng ine. If this is the case,
do not continue driving . Seek professional
ass istance.
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and could
cause an eng ine fire. Excess coolant will be
fo rced o ut through the pressure relief valve
i n the cap when the e ng ine be comes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only wate r can be add­
ed, the co rrect r atio betwee n wate r and an­
tifree ze
Q page 183 must be res to red as
soon as possib le.
{® For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant sho uld not be reused. Always
disp ose of used coolant while obse rving all
....
"' environment al regulat ions. ci ::, co .... N -
Ch eck ing and Filling
Rad iator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by it­
self .
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the V­
belt. The viscous clutch regulates th e speed of
the fan accord ing to the temperature of the cool­
ant .
An auxiliary e lectr ic radiator fan* switches on and
off depending on coo lant temperature and other
vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine
off, the auxiliary fan
can continue running for up to 10 m inutes -even
with the ignition
off. It can even switch on aga in
later by itself
Q .& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due
to the heat build-up from the engine in the en­
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up beca use the
veh icle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the r isk of persona l injury neve r
touch the radia to r fan .
- The auxiliary e lectr ic fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on s uddenly even
when the engine is not ru nning .
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on auto­
mat ically when the eng ine coolant reaches a
certa in temperature a nd will continue to run
until the coolant temperature d rops.
185