2016 AUDI Q3 recommended oil

intervals and fac ilitat es a better reaction time for
the brak es in wet weather.
The braki ng effect can also be red uced if you are
driving on salted roads and you do not apply the b rakes for long periods of time . The layer of salt
on th e brake rotors and brake pads must be worn
off first when the brakes are applied~&, .
Cor ro sion
Leaving the vehicle par ked for long periods of
time, low m ileage and avo iding heavy brak ing
can contribute to corros ion on the brake rotors
and dirty brake pads.
If you usually avo id heavy b raking or if there is
cor ros io n present , occasional heavy braking at
high speeds is recommended to clean the brake
rotors and pads~&, .
Brake system malfunct ion
if you notice that the bra ke pedal travel has sud­
denly
go tten larger , the n a brake circu it may have
failed ~&. .
Low brake fluid level
When the brake flu id level is low , malfunct ions in
the brake system may occ ur. The brake flu id leve l
i s elect ronically mo nitored .
Brake booster
The brake booster amplifies the pressure you ap­
p ly to the brake pedal.
It only works when the en ­
g ine is running ~&, .
Brak e lining we ar status
Brake lining wea r may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the open ings in the wheel. If necessary,
the wheel may be removed for this inspection
~ page 213, Replacing wheels .
.8, WARNING
-New bra ke pads don 't have the best stop­
ping power and must be "bro ken- in" dur ing
the init ial 250 m iles ( 400 km). Yo u can
compensate for this by p ressing the brake
peda l more firm ly . T his also applies later
when new pads are installed .
Intelligent Technology
- You shou ld pe rform braking maneuvers for
the purpose of cleaning the brake system
only if road condit ions permit . Other road
users must not be put at r isk -you may
cause an accident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift tra nsmission in to a lower
gea r or lower dr iving range . Do not r ide the
b rakes or hold the pedal down too long or
too often. Th is co uld cause t he b rakes to ge t
hot and dim inish b raking effic ien cy.
- D o not " ride the bra kes " by rest ing you r foot
on the ped al when you do no t intend to
brake . T his may ca use the brakes to ove r­
heat, premature wear and increased stop ­
ping distance .
- Under cer tain clima tic and ope rating condi­
tions such as passing t hrough water, driving
in heavy rain o r after washing the vehicle,
the effectiveness of the brakes can be re­
duced. In winter, ice can accumu late on the
brake pads, lin ings, discs and drums . Care­
fully apply brakes for a test . Brakes will d ry
and ice coat ings will be cleaned off after a
few ca refu l bra ke applications .
- Driving for an extended period of t ime on
salt-covered roads without using your b rakes can also affect braking eff icien cy.
Clea n off acc umulated salt coat ing fr om
b rake discs an d pads w ith a few careful
brake applicat ions .
- If you damage the front s poile r, or if you in­
s t all a different spoiler, be s ure the a ir flow
to the front brakes is not obstructed. Other­
wise the brake system could overheat reduc­
ing the effectiveness of the ent ire brake sys­
tem.
- Fai lu re of one brake circ uit w ill impa ir the
braking capability resulting in an increased
stopping distance . Avoid driving the vehicle
and have it towed to the nearest authorized
Aud i deale r or qualified worksho p.
- Never let the ve hicle roll to a stop with the
e ngine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed cons iderab ly
harder to make up for the lack of booster
assis tance .
155

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 .

Check ing and F illing
CJ) Note
- Check the oil level us ing the radio or MMI*.
If the message Please reduce oil l evel a p­
pears, contact your authorized Audi dealer
or qual ified workshop to have excess oil ex­
tracted if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the use o f oil
add itives. Th ey may dam age the eng ine
and ad ve rse ly aff ect your N ew Vehicl e
Warranty .
@ For the sake of the environment
-Under no circumstances can the o il come in
contact with the sewage network or the soil.
- Observe and follow legal regulations when
dispos ing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by an
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified service sta­ tion .
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine compart­
ment,
a lways r ead and heed all WARNINGS ¢&.
in Working in the engine compartment on
page 177 .
The engine oil must be changed accord ing to the
intervals specif ied in your Warranty
& Mainte­
nance booklet. This is very important because the
lubricat ing propert ies of oil d iminish gradually
du ring normal vehicle use.
Under some circumstances the eng ine o il should
be changed more frequently . Change oil more of­
ten if you drive mostly short distances, ope rate
the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominantly
stop-and-go traffic cond it ions, o r have your vehi­
cle where temperatu res remain below freezing
for extended periods.
Detergent additives in the oil will make fresh oil
look dark afte r the engine has been ru nning fo r a
short t ime. This is no rmal and is not a reason to
change the oil more often than recommended.
Because of the prob lem of proper disposa l, along
with the special tools and necessa ry expe rt ise re­
qu ired, we s trong ly recommend that you have
182
you r oi l changed by an authorized Audi d ealer or
a qua lified service station.
If you choo se to chang e your oil your self, please
note the follow ing important information:
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of persona l injury if you
must change the eng ine oil in yo ur vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protection .
-
-To reduce the r isk of b urns from hot engine
oil, let the engine cool down to the touch.
- When removing the oil d rain plug with yo ur
fingers, stay as far away as possible. Always
keep your forearm parallel to the gro und to
he lp prevent hot oil from running down your
arm.
- Drain the oil into a container designed for
this purpose, one la rge enough to hold at
least the tota l amount of oil in your engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well out of
the reach of children.
- Continuous contact with used engine o il is
harmf ul to your skin. Always protect your
skin by washing oil off thoroughly with soap
and water .
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine oil.
These additives can damage your engine and adverse ly affect your Audi Limited New Vehi­
cle Warranty.
@I For the sake of the environment
- Before chang ing you r oi l, first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose of
the used oil.
- Always dispose of used engine o il properly.
Do not dump it on garden soi l, wooded
areas, into open streams or down sewage
drains.
- Recycle used engine o il by tak ing it to a used
eng ine oil collect ion fac ility in your area, or
contact a service station .

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