2017 AUDI A4 Owners Manual

Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing chi ld restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
child restraint system manufacturer's instruc­
tions carefully to determine how to properly in­
stall the tether.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional in­
formation about child restraint selection, instal­
lation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat is
the one that fits your child and fits in your vehi­
cle, and that you will use correctly and consis­
tently .
Try before you buy!
U .S National Highway Traffic Safety Administra­
tion
;;!; Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) ....
~ http://www.nhtsa.gov
N 8 http ://www.safercar.gov
0
3 National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http:/ /www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U .S.A
Tel.: (800) 745-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish) http://www. ca rseat. org
Child safety
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll 1-613-998-8616 if
you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/roadsafety/menu. htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
295

Check ing and F illing
Checking and Filling
Gasoline
Fuel supply
Applies to: vehicles with gaso line engine
Using the right fuel helps keep the environment
clean and prevents engine damage.
F u el r eco mmend ati on
The fuel recommended for your vehicle is unle ad­
e d pr em ium
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 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 ins ide of the fuel filler flap . This rating
may be specified as AK I or RON .
Your veh icle 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 w il l slightly reduce engine pe r­
forma nce.
Us e un leade d gaso lin e onl y. Unleaded gasoline
is availab le throughout the USA , Canada, and in
most European countries . We recommend that
you do not ta ke your vehicle to areas or co unt ries
where un leaded gaso line may not be availab le.
For more information on refueling your vehicle,
see
¢ page 298 .
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
he lp prevent poss ible engine damage and a loss
of eng ine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the Un ited
States and Canada has the following octane rat­
i n gs that ca n usually be found on the filler pump:
- Premium Grade: 91 - 96 AKI
296
- Regu la r Grade: 87 - 90 AK I
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 a ny fue l w ith o ctane ratings low­
er than 87 AKI or 91 RON othe rw ise 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 catalyt ic converter and its ability to
control exhaust emissions .
Blended gasoline
Applies to: vehicles with gasoline engine
Use of gaso lin e conta ining alcoho l or MTBE
(meth yl tertia ry butyl ether )
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with al­
cohol or MTB E (commonly referred to as oxygen ­
ates) if the blended m ixture meets the follow ing
criteria:
Blend of g asoline methanol (wood alcohol o r
m eth yl alcoho l)
-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 ga soline and ethanol (grain alcohol or
ethyl alc ohol )
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or h igher .
- Blend must not conta in more than 15% etha-
nol.
Blend of gas oline and M TBE
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AK I or h igher .
- Blend must contain not mo re than 1S% MTB E.
S easonall y 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 .,..

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 0
3 a,
fill up at busy gas stations where the seasonal
adjustment is more likely to be made in time .
(D Note
-Methanol f uels which do not mee t these re­
quirements may ca use corrosion and dam­
age to plastic and rubber components in the
fuel system.
- Do not use fuels that fai l 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 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 problems due
to the use of one of these fuel b lends, we
recommend that you switch to unblended
fuel.
Gasoline additives
Applies to: vehicles with gasol ine engine
A majo r concern among many auto manufactur ­
ers is carbon deposit build-up caused by the type
of gasoline you use.
A lthough gasoline grades d iffer from one manu­
facturer to another, they have cer tain things in
common . A ll gasoline grades contain substances
that can cause deposits to collect on vita l engine
parts, such as fue l injectors and intake valves . Al ­
though most gasoline brands include additives to keep engine and fuel systems clean, they are not
equally effective.
Audi 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) .
Check ing and Filling
After an extended period o f using inadeq uate
fuels, bui lt-up ca rbon deposits can rob your en­
gine of peak performance.
(D Note
- Damage or malfunction d ue to poor f uel
quality is no t covered by the Audi New Veh i­
cle Lim ited Warranty .
- Do not add af termarket fuel addi tive prod­
u cts to your fue l tank.
Diesel fuel
Applies to: vehicles with diesel engine
Always use U LSD (Ult ra Low Sulfur Diesel) No. 2.
T he ULSD No. 2 meets the AS TM 0975.
D iesel fuel w ith concentrations of b iod iesel h igh­
er than 5
% such as Bl 1, B20 or B100 are st rict ly
prohib ited.
Service station fuel pumps are labeled with the
cor rect fuel i nformation for easy recogn ition by
the user. If the d iesel fue l pump is not labeled
as k t he station operator wha t fuel is being dis­
pensed before fill ing up your vehi cle.
U LSD No . 2 may not be ava ilable outside the USA
and Canada. Be su re to check befo re t raveling to
othe r countr ies.
ULSD No . 2 can become thicker in very cold tem­
peratures, and th is can impa ir the engine's start­
ing and runn ing . Depend ing o n the season, gas
stations provide ULS D No. 2 that flows be tte r in
cold te mpe ra tures so that you can conti nue ope r­
at ing your vehicle as usual.
(D Note
- Yo ur vehicle's diese l eng ine w as designed
so ley for use w ith ULS D No. 2. Therefo re,
never use gasoline, heating oil, other fuels
or flow improvers. These contain s ubstances
that will severely damage the fuel system
and the engine. Such damage will not be
covered by your New Vehicle Limited War­
ranty.
- If you put any amount of incorrect fuel in
the fuel tank, do not start the engine under ..,_
297

Checking and Filling
any circ umstances. Immediately contact the
nearest author ized Audi dealer or author­
i zed Audi Service Facility for assistance .
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 fille r neck is located on the right rear
s ide pan el behind the fu el filler flap .
I f the power locking system should fail, you can
still open the flap manua lly -for detai led instruc­
tions see
c::> page 300.
You can find the fuel tank capac ity of you r vehicle
in
c::> page 362 .
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap tells
you the correct fue l for your vehicle . For more in­
formation about fue l specifications , see
c::> page 296 .
Your veh icle fuel tank has an onboard refuelling
vapor recovery system . This feature he lps to pre­
ve nt fuel vapors from escap ing from the tank and
pollut ing the e nvironment while yo u re fuel your
veh icle. In order to fi ll the tank properly while
protecting the environment, please fo llow this
r e fu eling procedure carefu lly.
& WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never car­
ry additiona l fuel containers in yo ur car. Gas
canisters and other conta iners used to trans­
port fuel can be dangerous . S uch containers,
full or empty , may lea k and could cause a fire
in a collision. If yo u m ust t ransport fue l to
use for yo ur lawn mower, snow blower, etc.,
be very careful and a lways obse rve loca l and
state laws regard ing the use, t ransportation
and sto rage of such fue l conta iners. Make cer­
tain the container meets industry standards
(ANSI/ASTM F852 -86).
(D Note
Never drive yo ur vehicle unt il the fuel tan k is
comp letely empty . The irregular supply of
298
fu el can cause misfiring. Gasoline could ente r
the exhaust system and damage the catalytic
converter.
Fueling procedure
F ig . 239 Righ t rea r side of th e ve hicl e: op enin g the fue l
fi ller door
Fig. 2 40 Fuel fille r doo r wit h attached fuel c ap
The fuel filler doo r is unlocked or locked by the
cent ral lock ing system .
Opening the fuel cap
.. Press the left side of the fuel f iller doo r to open
i t
c::> fig. 239 -arrow-.
.. Unscrew the tank cap counterclockwise .
.,.. Place the cap from above on the open fuel filler
door
c::> fig . 240 .
Closing the fuel cap
.. Turn the fuel cap to the right until it stops.
.. Close the fuel filler door until i t latches.
Onc e the pump noz zle sw itches
off, the fuel tank
is "full ". Do not fill the tank more . Otherwise , the
expans ion space in the tank w ill be filled.
The correct fuel type fo r your ve hicle can be
fo und o n a label located on the inside of the f uel
IJJ,

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 0
3 a,
filler door. For additional information on fu el,
r e fer to ¢
page 296.
For the tank capac ity in yo ur vehicle , refer to the
Te chn ical D ata
¢ pag e 362 .
To avoid fuel spill ing or evaporating from the fuel
tank always close fuel cap p roperly and com­
p letely . An improperly closed fue l filler cap may
a lso cause the MIL lamp¢
page 25 to come on .
A WARNING -
Not paying attention when fueling or han ­
dling fue l incorrectly can lead to fires, exp lo ­
sions or serious injuries.
- Fuel ignites easily and can cause serious
burns and other injuries.
- If you do not switch the engine off when fu ­
eling and/or do not insert the fuel nozz le
completely into the tank opening, fue l can
leak out or run over . Leaked fuel can ignite
and start a fire .
- Do not use the telephone whi le fueling. The
electromagnetic rays can cause sparks,
wh ich can ignite fuel vapors and start a fire .
- Do not sit in your vehicle while fueling. If
you must make an except ion and enter your
vehicle again wh ile fueling , close the door
and touch meta l to discharge static electric­
ity befo re touching the fue l nozzle . Static
elect ricity can create spar ks, wh ich can ig ­
nite vapors when fue ling.
- Do not smoke or have an open flame in the
area when fueling your veh icle or filling a
fuel contai ner because th is increases the
risk of an explosion .
- For yo ur safety , carrying f uel containers in
yo ur vehicle is no t recommended. Whethe r
f ull or empty, the conta iner can leak and
cause a fire in the event of an accident .
- If you must make an exception and trans­
port a fuel container, note the following :
- Never fill the fuel container with fuel
while it is in or on the vehicle. Stat ic elec ­
tr icity is d ischa rged when filling wh ich can
cause the f uel vapors to ignite and in­
creases the r isk of an explos ion.
- Always p lace a fuel container on the
g ro u nd before fi llin g.
Ch eck ing and Filling
-Always hold the fuel nozzle completely in
the fuel container when filling .
- If the fuel container is made of metal, the
fuel nozzle must always be in contact with
the container when filling it with fuel. This
prevents stat ic electricity from discharg­
ing .
- Never spill fuel in the vehicle or the lug­
gage compartment . Evaporated fuel is ex­
plosive and increases the risk of serious in­
jury or death .
- Follow lega l requirements when using,
stor ing and transporti ng fuel containers .
- Make sure the fuel container conforms to
industry standards (ANSI/AS TM F8S2 -86).
@ Note
- Remove spilled fuel from vehicle pa int im­
mediately, because it can damage paint.
- Never drive until the fuel tank is complete ly
empty. The irregular supply of fue l that re­
sults from that can cause eng ine misfires.
Uncombusted fuel will enter the exhaust
system and increase the risk of damage to
the catalytic converter .
- If the fuel tank runs complete ly empty in a
vehicle with a diesel engine , the ignition
must remain switched on fo r at least 30
seconds afte r ref ueli ng before starting the
eng ine. It may take longer than usual fo r
t he engine to s tart, even up to a minu te .
T his is because the air must first b leed out
of the fue l system when starting the eng in e.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not overfill the fuel tank, otherwise fuel
can leak out when the vehicle is warming up.
(D Tips
D iesel ve hicles are eq uipped w ith a diesel mis­
fueling guard .
It allows the vehi cle to be fu­
eled on ly with a diesel fuel pump nozzle. A
worn or damaged nozzle or a nozzle that is
too small may not be able to open the diese l
misfueling guard. If this is the case, try turn­
i ng the nozzle before inserting it in the fue l
filler tube, use a different fuel p ump or see an
Iii>
299

Checking and Filling
authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility for assistance.
Fuel filler door emergency release
If the central locking system is faulty, the fuel
filler door can be unlocked manually.
Fig. 241 L uggage compartment: opening the side t rim
panel
F ig. 242 luggage compartment: fue l fi ller doo r emergency
r elease
The emergency opening mechanism is located
behind the right side trim panel in the luggage
compartment.
• Open the cover in the side panel
¢fig. 241.
• Loosen the loop c> fig. 242 from the retainer
and then pull on the loop carefully
c>0 . The
fuel filler door releases.
• Press on the left side of the fuel filler door to
open it
¢page 298, fig. 239 .
(D Note
Only pull on the loop until you feel resistance .
You will not hear it release. Otherwise you
could damage the emergency re lease mecha­
nism .
300
Selective catalytic
reduction (AdBlue)
General information
Applies to: vehicles with selective catalytic reduct ion
In vehicles with selective catalytic reduction, a
urea solution (AdBlue) is injected into the ex­
haust system before a nitrogen oxide cata lytic
converter to reduce nitrogen emissions.
The Ad Blue is carried in a separate tank in the ve­ hicle. The Ad B lue usage accounts for approxi­
mately 1.0% to 2.5% of the diesel fuel that is
used.
When a message about refi lling the AdBlue ap­
pears in the instrument cluster display, you must
ref ill the Ad B lue yourself or have it refilled by an
authorized Audi dealer or authori zed Audi Service
Facility
c> page 301.
(l} Tips
- The d isp lay indicates the distance rema ining
that can be driven¢
page 300. If the Ad Bl­
ue tank is completely empty, the engine will
not start again after the ignition is switched
off .
- Ad Blue is required by law to operate th is ve­
hicle.
Messages in the instrument cluster display
App lies to: vehicles with selective cata lytic reduction
The display indicates if the Ad Blue level is low or
if there is a system malfunction .
Ad Blue level low
You will be informed in the instrument cluster
display if the Ad Blue in the tank drops below a
certain level. Add at a minimum the amount of
Ad Blue shown in the message:
• Refill with at least x qt (l) Ad Blue . Range
x mi (km)
This message appears when there is only enough
AdBlue left to drive the distance indicated in the
instrument cluster. Fill the AdBlue.
• Refill with at least x qt (I) AdBlue . No en­
gine start in x mi (km ). See owner's manual

This message appears when there is only enough
Ad Blue left to drive the distance indicated in the i nstr ument cluster . Fill the Ad Blue. Otherwise
the eng ine will not start aga in if you stop it once
the distance indicated has been dr iven .
• Refill with at least x qt (l) AdBlue. Engine
start not po ssible . S ee owner 's m anual
This message appears when the AdBlue ta nk is
empty. Fill the AdB lue . Otherwise you will not be
ab le to start the engine agai n once yo u stop it.
The AdBl ue m ust be refilled when the amoun t in
the tank has reached the minimum level
c::> page 301, Preparation .
Incorrect filling/system malfunction
A message appears if the Ad Blue tank was filled
with a f luid other than Ad Bl ue and the system
h as detec ted that the t ank was fi lled incor rect ly,
or if there is a system malfunc tion .
II Ad Blue: malfunct ion! No engine start in
x mi (km ). See owner's manual
This message appears when it is only poss ible to
drive the d istance indicated in the instrumen t
cluster . Drive to the nearest authorized A udi
deale r or autho riz ed Aud i Serv ice Facility to have
the m alfunction co rrected. Otherwise the engine
w ill no t start aga in if you stop it once the d is­
tance indicated has been driven .
• Ad Blue : malfun ction! No engin e start poss i­
ble. See owner' s manual
This message appea rs if the system has detected
that the tank was filled inco rrectly or that there
is a malfunction . D rive immediately to the near­
est a utho riz ed Aud i dea ler o r authorized Audi
Service Fa cili ty to have the malfunction correct­
ed . Otherwise you will not be able to start the en­
gine again once you stop it.
Checking and Filling
Preparation
Applies to: vehicles with selective cata lytic reduction
Fig. 243 Right rear s ide o f th e ve hicle: removing t he Ad Bl­
u e cap
The Ad Blue tank ope ning is located near the d ie­
se l tank opening. Add at least 1.5 gallons (5. 7
L)
of Ad Blue. This is the minim um amount required
to ensure the system detects the refilling and to
start the engine. You can add a maximum of 6.3 gallons (24 L).
Requireme nt: the request to add Ad Blue must
appea r in the instrument cluster disp lay.
.,. Switch the ignit ion off.
.,. Open the tank filler doo r
c::> page 298.
.,. Tu rn the tank filler neck cap to the left to re­
move
c::>fig. 243.
.,. Refill Ad Blue using a bottle c::> page 302, a can­
ister
c::> page 302 or a pump nozzle
c::> page 303 .
A WARNING , ~ -Ad B lue can irritate the sk in, eyes and respira­
tory sys tem.
If th ere is contact with the flu id,
flus h immed iate ly w ith plenty of wa ter. Con­
su lt a phys ician if necessary.
(D Note
- Only use Ad Blue that conforms to the
standard ISO 22241-1. Do not m ix any addi­
tives with the Ad Blue and do not dilu te it
w ith wate r.
- Do not add AdBl ue to the diesel tank or add
diese l fuel to t he A d Bl ue tank. Do not s tart
t he engine un de r any c ircumst ances if th e
wrong fuel is filled in the tan k. There is a
r is k of damaging the fue l tank system and
301

Checking and Filling
the engine. See an authorized Audi dealer or
authorized Audi Service Facility for assis­
tance.
- Ad Blue attacks surfaces such as painted ve­
hicle components, plastic and carpet. Re­
move the fluid as quickly as possible with a
damp cloth and plenty of cold water. If the
Ad Blue has already crystallized, use warm
water and a sponge . Ad Blue residue that is
not removed will crystallize and can damage
the affected surface.
- Do not store refill bottles or canisters per­
manently in the vehicle. If the container
leaks, the escaping AdBlue could damage
the vehicle interior.
- Do not allow Ad Blue to come into contact
with clothing.
If there is contact with the
fluid , flush immediately with plenty of wa­
ter.
(D Tips
Follow the Ad Blue manufacturer 's instruc­
tions for use and storage.
Refilling AdBlue using the bottle
Applies to: veh icles with selective catalyt ic reduction
.. Remove the cap from the refill bottle¢ A in
Preparation on page 301,
~ CD in Preparation
on page 301.
.. Position the bottle on the filler tube and turn
the bottle clockwise until it stops turning.
.. Press lightly against the bottom of the bottle
to empty it. Continue pressing the bottom of
the bottle until it is empty or until fluid stops
flowing into the tank.
.,. Remove the bottle and seal the filler neck
¢ page 303, Completing AdBlue refill.
(D Note
Only use refill bottles that are approved for
your vehicle. Using other systems can cause
Ad Blue to leak.
(j) Tips
- You can obtain refill bottles from an author­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
Facility.
302
- A permitted refill bottle contains approxi­
mately 0.5 gallon (1.9 liters) of AdBlue.
Refilling AdBlue using a canister
Applies to: vehicles with selective catalyt ic reduct ion
@
+®
Fig. 244 Canis te r w ith attachable hose
.,. Remove the cover from the refill canister ¢ A
in Preparation on page 301, ¢(Din Prepara­
tion on page 301 .
.. Secure the end of the hose (Don the opening in
the canister @by turning the hose to the right .
.. Remove the cap @from the other end of the
hose @ .
.. Position the end of the hose@on the filler
neck in the vehicle and turn the hose to the
right to tighten it .
.,. Lift the canister up and then tip it. Continue
holding the canister in a tipped position until it
is empty or until no more fluid flows into the
tank .
.. Remove the canister and close the filler tube
¢ page 303, Completing AdBlue refill .
([) Note
Only use refill canisters that are approved for
your vehicle. Using other systems can cause
AdBlue to leak.
(D Tips
- An authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi repair facility can tell you which refill
canisters are approved for your vehicle .
- A permitted refill canister contains approxi­
mately 1.3 gallons (5 liters) of Ad Blue.