
CD Note
-Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmission, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Always switch the Start-Stop-System* off
when driving through water
9 page 79.
@ Tips
- Determine the depth before driving through
water.
- Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse or
switch the engine off when driving through
water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may
create waves that raise the water level and
make it too deep for your vehicle to drive
through safely.
-Avoid driving through salt water (corrosion).
Catalytic converter
Applies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
It is very important that your emission control
system (catalytic converter) is functioning prop
erly to ensure that your vehicle is running in an
environmentally sound manner .
... Always use lead-free gasoline 9 page 208,
Fuel supply.
... Never run the tank down all the way to empty.
.,. Never put too much motor oil in your engine
9 page 220, Adding engine oil~-
.,. Never try to push- or tow-start your vehicle.
The catalytic converter is an efficient "clean-up"
device built into the exhaust system of the vehi
cle. The catalytic converter burns many of the
pollutants in the exhaust gas before they are re
leased into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically im
portant for the life of the catalytic converter and
proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
The temperature of the exhaust system is
high, both when driving and after stopping
the engine.
Driving and the environment
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once they
have become hot. This could result in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in areas
where the hot exhaust system may come in contact with dry grass, brush, fuel spill or
other material which can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust mani
fold, exhaust pipes, catalytic converter or heat shields. During driving, the substance
used for undercoating could overheat and
cause a fire.
CD Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already seriously degrade
the performance of the catalytic converter .
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
9page220.
- Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty . The engine could mis
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into the
exhaust system and this could cause the
catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not switch off the ignition while the vehi
cle is moving.
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle un
der these conditions, as otherwise fuel can
reach the catalytic converter. This could re
sult in overheating of the converter, requir
ing its replacement .
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and
in accordance with the service recommen
dations in your Warranty
& Maintenance
booklet.
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as im
proper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the emission control system
and could lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is op
erating properly, the exhaust gas can have a
sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under some op
erating states. This depends on the sulfur
195

Driving and th e en vironm ent
content of the fuel be ing used. Using a differ
ent brand of fue l may he lp, or filling the tank
w ith lead-free super grade gasoline.
Diesel particulate filter
Applies to vehicles: with diesel engine
The diesel particulate fi lter fi lters nearly all of
the soot particles out of the exhaust. The fi lter
cleans itself automatically under normal driving
conditions.
If the filter cannot clean itself (for ex
ample, because you are only driving short distan
ces), the filter becomes clogged w ith soot and
the
II symbo l for the diesel particulate filter il
lum inates ¢
page 20.
_& WARNING
-Do not park you r vehicle over flammable
materials such as grass or leaves because
the high temperature of the diese l particu
late fi lter could start a fire .
-
-Do not apply an underbody protectant in the
exhaust system area or a fire could start.
Placing your vehicle out
of service
If you would like to take your vehicle out of serv
ice for a longer time, contact your authorized
Audi dealer or qualified repair facility. They will
adv ise you of important measures, such as corro
sion protection, maintenance and storage proce
dures. A lso follow the information about the bat
tery ¢
page 226 .
Economical and environ
mentally-friendly driving
General
Your personal style of driving will determine the
economy of your vehicle, as well as exhaust and
noise levels .
Fuel economy, environmental impact, and wear
on your engine, brakes and tires largely depend
on three factors :
-your personal driving style
- operating conditions
196
- technical limitations
If you ant icipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your fuel
consumption by 10-15 percent. This sect ion will
give you some tips on how you can help the envi
ronment and your pocketbook.
(D Tips
'
The consumption estimates as published by
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehicle
load and speed, road and weather conditions,
trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating.
.. Avoid unnecessary accelerat ing and braking .
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating. If you anticipate what is going to happen
next, you will need to brake less and, thus, accel
erate less. Let the vehicle coast whenever possi
ble -for example when you see that the next traf
fic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and im
proves your mileage.
.. Try and keep well below your car's maximum
speed.
Acce lerating gently reduces fuel consumption,
engine wear, and does not disturb the environ
ment .
Fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and engine
noise increase disproportionate ly at high speeds.
If you drive at approximately three quarters of
top speed, fuel consumption will be reduced by
one half. Never drive faster than the posted
speed limit and weather conditions permit.

Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up fuel.
~ Shut the engine off when you are not driving
the vehicle.
~ Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the en-
gine run at idle .
The idling phase is automat ically reduced for
veh icles w ith the Start-Stop-System. It is effi
cient to switch off the engine in vehicles without
the Start-Stop-System when stopped at ra ilroad
crossings and long red lights . Turning the engine
off for just 30-40 seconds saves more fuel than is
b ur ned by sta rting the engine ag ain.
It takes a long t ime for the engine to warm up
fu lly when it is runni ng at idle . Howeve r, wear
and noxio us emiss ions a re espe cially high when
the eng ine is wa rm ing up. So you sho uld d rive
away as soon as you sta rt the engi ne and avoid
r u nning at high rpms whi le the engine is still
warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave engine id ling unatten ded a fter
starting . If warning lights should come on to
indicate im proper operation, they wou ld go
unheeded. Extended id ling a lso produces
heat, wh ich could result in overheat ing or
other damage to the vehicle or other proper
ty.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot of fuel.
~ Have your veh icle serviced at regu lar intervals.
By having your veh icle reg ularly serviced by an
Audi dea ler helps to ensure that it runs proper ly
and econom ica lly. The condition of your veh icle
not on ly affects its safety and ability to ho ld its
va lue, it a lso affects
fuel consumption .
Check you r oil each time you fill your tank.
The amount of oil use d i s re lated to e ngine lo ad
a nd speed.
Driving and the envir onment
It is normal for the oil consumption of a new e n
gine to reach its lowest value after a certain mi le
age has been dr iven.
Yo u m ust dr ive your ve hicl e abou t 3,0 00 m iles
(S, 000 kilometers) befo re yo u can properly as
sess oil consumption .
T h is also ap plies to f ue l cons umption and eng ine
o utput .
CD Note
-Have your ve hicle maintained pro perly and
in acc ordance w ith the se rvice rec ommend a
ti ons i n your W arra nty
& M ain ten ance book
let . Lack of proper maintenan ce as we ll as
improper use of the ve hicl e w ill impair the
function of the em ission cont rol system and
co uld lead to damage.
- Do not alte r or remove any component of
the Emission Contro l System unless ap
proved by the man ufacturer.
- Do not alte r or remove any device, such as
heat shields, switches, ign it ion w ires,
valves, which are designed to protect your
vehicle's Emission Contro l System a nd othe r
im por tan t ve hicle components .
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively high
on short trips.
~ Try to avo id driv ing short distances with a cold
eng ine .
T he engine and cata lytic conve rter have to reach
their opt imal
operating temperature to reduce
fuel consumpt io n and noxious emiss ions effec
tively.
Just afte r starting, a cold engine in a mid-size car
only achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 m iles per
gallo n (30-40 l/ 100 km) . After about a half a
mile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg (20 l/100
km) . Afte r about
2 .5 m iles (4 km), the eng ine is
at its p roper operat ing temperature and fue l
eco nomy has reached a no rma l level. So yo u can
see th at yo u should avoid short trips w heneve r
poss ible. .,.
197

Driving and the environment
T he
outside temperature is also critical in this re
ga rd. Yo ur car consumes mo re fuel in the winter
than in t he s umme r.
198

Care and cleaning
Component Situation Solution
P aint
Paint damage Refer to the paint number on the vehicle data label, repair
with touch up paint
c> page 270
Spilled fuel Rinse with wa ter immediately
Surface rust Rust remover, then protect w ith hard wax; for questions,
refer to an authorized Audi dealer.
Corrosion H
ave it removed by an authorized Audi dealer.
Water no longer Protect with hard wax (at least twice per year)
beads on the surface
of clean paint
No shine even though Treat with suitable polish; then apply paint protectant if
paint has been pro- the polish that was used does not contain any protectant
tected/pa int looks
poor
Deposits such as in -Dampen with water immediately and remove with a micro -
sects, bird droppings, fiber cloth
tree sap and road salt
Grease-based con- Remove immediately with a m ild soap solutional and a soft
tam inants such as clot h
cosmetics or sunb lock
C arbon part s Deposits clean the same way as painted parts c> page 203
•> Mild soap solution: maximum two tablespoons of neutral soap in 1 quart (1 liter) of water
Internal cl eaning
Component Situation Solution
Window s
Deposits Glass cleaner, then wipe dry
Decorati ve part s/ Deposits Mild soap solutional
trim
Pla stic part s
Deposits Damp cloth
H eavier depos its Mild soap solutional, detergent-free plast ic cleaning solu-
tion, if necessary
D ispla ys Deposits
Soft cloth with LCD cleaner
Co ntro ls Deposits Soft brush, then a soft cloth with a mild soap solutional
Safety be lts Deposits Mild soap solutional, all ow to dry before lett ing them re-
tract
205

Fuel and Refueling
Fuel and Refueling
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Applies to vehicles: with gaso li ne engine
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
information on TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline,
p lea se 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 ins ide 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 AKl/91 RON . However, using 87 AKI/91
RON octane fuel wil l slightly reduce engine per
formance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded gasoline
is availab le 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 gaso line may not be available.
For more information on refueling your vehicle,
see
¢page 210.
Octane rating
Octane rating indicates a gasoline's ability to re
sist engine damaging "knock" caused by prema
ture ignit ion and detonation . Therefore, buying
the correct grade of gasoline is very important to
he lp prevent possible engine damage and a loss
of eng ine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the United
States and Canada has the following octane rat
i n gs that can usually be found on the filler pump:
- Premium Grade: 91 - 96 AKI
208
- Regular Grade: 87 - 90 AKI
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI = Anti Knock Index = (R +M)/2 = (RON +MON)/
2
RON = Research Octane Number
MON= Motor Octane Number.
{[) Note
-Do not use any fuel with octane ratings low
er than 87 AKI or 91 RON otherwise expen
sive engine damage wi ll 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
Applies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
Use of gasoline containing alcohol or MTBE
(methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with al
cohol or MTBE (commonly referred to as oxygen
ates) if the blended mixture meets the following
criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
-Anti -knock index must be 87 AKI or h igher.
- 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 h igher .
- Blend must not contain more than 15% etha-
nol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
-Anti-knock index must be 87 AK I or higher .
- Blend must contain not mo re than 1S% MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform es
pecially well for winter or summer dr iv ing . Dur-
i ng seasonal change-over, we suggest that you .,..

fill up at busy gas st ations where the season al
adjustment is more likely to be made in time .
(D Note
-Me thanol f uels which do not mee t these re
quirements may ca use corros ion and dam
age to plastic and rubber components in the
fuel system .
- Do not use fuels that fai l to meet the speci
fied criter ia in this chapter.
- If you are unable to determine whether or not a particular fuel blend meets the speci
ficat ions, ask your service station or its fuel
supplier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents can
not be identif ied.
- Fuel system damage and performance prob
lems resulting from the use of fue ls differ
ent from those specified are not the respon
s ibility of Audi and are not covered under
the New Veh icle or the Emiss ion Control
System Wa rrant ies.
- If you experience a loss of fue l economy or
driveability and performance prob lems due
to the use of one of these fuel b lends, we
recommend that you switch to unblended
fuel.
Gasoline additives
A ma jo r concern among many au to manufactur
e rs is carbon deposit build-up caused by the type
of gasoline you use.
A lthough gasoline gr ades d iffer from one manu
facturer to ano ther, they have cer tain things in
common . All gasoline grades contain substances
that can cause deposits to collect on v ita l eng ine
parts, such as f uel injectors and intake valves. Al
though most gasoline brands include additives to
keep engine and fuel systems clean, they are not
equally effective.
Aud i recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gas
oline. For more informat ion on TOP TIER Deter
gent Gasoline, please go to the official website (www .toptiergas .com) .
Fuel and R efueling
After an extended period o f using inadeq uate
fuels, carbon deposit bui ld-ups can rob your en
gine o f peak performance.
(D Note
Damage or ma lf u nction due to poor fuel qual
ity is not covered by the A udi New Vehicle
Limited Warranty .
Diesel fuel
Applies to vehicles: with diesel engine
Always use ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) No. 2 .
The ULSD No . 2 meets the ASTM 0975.
Diesel f uel w it h concen tratio ns of b iod iesel h igh
er than 5 % such as Bl 1, B20 or BlOO are strict ly
prohibited .
Se rvice station fuel p umps are labe led with the
correct f uel i nfo rmat ion for e asy recog nition by
the user.
If the d iesel f ue l pump is no t labeled
ask the station operator what fuel is being dis
pensed before fil ling up your vehicle .
UL SD No . 2 m ay not be available ou tside the USA
and Canada . Be su re to check befo re t raveling to
other countries .
UL SD No . 2 c an become thic ke r i n ve ry cold tem
peratures, and this can imp air the engine's s tart
ing and running. Depend ing on the sea son, gas
stations provide ULSD No . 2 that flows better in
cold temperatures so that you can continue oper
at ing your vehicle as usual.
@ Note
- Your vehicle's diese l engine was designed
soley for use w ith ULSD No . 2 . Therefo re,
neve r use gasoline, heating oil, other fuels
or flow improvers. These contain substances
that will severely damage the fuel system
and the engine . Such damage will not be
cove red by your New Vehicle Limited War
r a nty.
- If you put a ny amo unt of incorrect fuel in
the fuel tank, do not sta rt the eng ine under
any circumstances. Imme diately contact the
ne arest a uthor ized A udi dealer or author
ized Aud i Serv ice Facility fo r ass istance .
209

Fuel and Refueling
These fuels contain substances that can se
verely damage the fue l system and the en
gine if the engine is started .
Refueling
Fuel filler neck
The fuel fill er neck is located on the right rear
side panel beh ind the fuel fil ler flap.
If the power locking system should fail , you can
still open the flap manually - for detailed instruc
tions see ¢
page 212.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your vehicle
i n
¢ page 271 .
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap tells
you the correc t fuel for you r vehicle . For more in
formation about fuel specifications , see
¢ page 208 .
Your vehicle fuel t ank has an onboard refuelling
vapor recovery system . This fea tu re helps to pre
vent fuel vapors from escaping from the tank and
polluting the environment while you refuel your
vehicle. In order to fill the tank properly while
protecting the environment, please fo llow this
refueling procedure carefully.
8_ WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never car
ry additiona l fuel containers in your car. Gas
canisters and other containers used to trans
port fuel can be dangerous . Such containers,
full 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 regard ing the use, transportation
and storage of such fuel containers. Make cer
tain the container meets industry standards
(ANSI/ASTM F852 -86).
(D Note
Never drive your vehicle until the fuel tank is
completely empty. T he irregular supply of
fue l can cause m isfiring. Gasoline could enter
the exhaust system and damage the catalytic
converter.
210
Refuelling
Fig. 178 Righ t re ar v ehicl e side : O penin g the fuel fill er flap
Fig. 179 Fuel fille r flap w it h att ach ed fuel c ap
When act iv a ting the central locking, the fuel fill
er flap is automatically unlocked or locked. Re
fuel the veh icle with the ignition switched
off.
Taking the fuel cap off
.. Press the left s ide of the fuel filler flap to open
i t ¢
fig. 178 -arrow-.
.. Unscrew fuel filler cap counter-clockwise and
hang it on the fuel filler flap~
fig. 179.
.. Check the label on the inside of the fuel filler
flap to determine if the vehicle must be fueled
w ith gasoline or diesel fuel.
Refuelling procedure
.. Insert the fuel nozzle from the gasoline pump
into the fuel filler neck as far as it will go .
.. Select a med ium refuelling rate so that the
nozz le switches off automatica lly when the
tank is full.
Putting the fuel cap back on
.. After filling your tank, twist the fuel filler cap
clockw ise as far as it will go .
.. Close the fuel filler flap.