2017 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET check engine

Checking and Filling
compartment. Wait until no steam or cool­
ant can be seen or heard before carefully
opening the hood.
- 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-
194
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 .

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Checking and Filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 171 Typical layout for containers and e ngin e oil fille r cap
(D Eng ine o il filler cap ( @ Jump start po int(+) under a cover
@ Brake fluid reservoir
((0) ...... .
@ Coolant expansion tank (- L) .... .
® Jump start point( -) with hex head
197
205,239
202
200
screw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205, 239
@ Windshield/headlight* washer con-
tainer
(W) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
The position of the engine oil filling hole
c:> fig. 171 (item@) can differ depending on the
engine design .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
c:> &. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 193.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact speci­
fications.
T he serv ice interval display in the instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform you when it is
time for an oi l change . We recommend that you
have your oi l changed by an authorized Audi Serv­
ice Advisor.
If you have to top off the oil between oil changes,
use the Audi oil quality standard specified in the
tab~ .
~
195

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
A udi reco mmend s
~Castrol I jgl[J,'fE{g ?r,w.:..~J ri, '.IA!,
Audi rec ommends Longlif e high perform ance
engi ne oil from Au di Genuin e Parts
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a h igh-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
yea r.
(D Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty & Maintenance booklet .
- Use only a high qual ity eng ine oil that ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's engine .
Using any other oil can cause serious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
@ Tips
If you need to add oil and there is none availa ­
ble that meets the Audi oil quality standard
your engine requires, you may add a total of
no more than 0.5 quart/liter of a h igh-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- Vehicles w ith gasoline eng ine: ACEA A3 or
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30,
SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine o il that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Aud i Custome r Relat ions at
1 (800) 822- 2834 or visit ou r web site at
www.audiusa.com or www .aud icanada.ca.
196
· Eng ine 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 effect ive lubricat ion and cool­
i ng of internal engine components, all internal
combust ion eng ines consume a certa in amount
of oil. Oil consumption var ies from engine to en­
gine and may change sign ificantly over the life of
the engine . T ypically, engines w ith a specified
break -in period (see¢
page 175) consume more
oi l during the break-in period than they consume
after oil consumption has stabilized.
U nder normal cond itions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity o f
the oil , the RPM (revo lutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem­ perature and road conditions. Further factors are
the amount of o il dilution from water condensa­
tion or fuel residue and the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wear as mileage
builds up, the o il consumption may increase over
ti me unt il replacement of wo rn compo nents may
become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no standard rate of o il consumption can be estab­
li shed or spec ified . T he re is no alte rnative to reg­
u la r and freq uent checki ng of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l II
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
chec k the o il level as soon as possible
¢
page 197. Top off the o il at your earlies t con­
venience
¢ page 197.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 193.
(D Note
D riving with an insuffic ient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine.

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@ Tips
-The oil pre ssure w arning display. i s not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rel y on
it. Instead , check the oil level in your en­
gine at regular inte rval s, preferably each
t ime you refuel , and alway s befo re going
on a long trip.
- If you have the impression your engine con­
sumes excessive amounts of oil, we recom­
mend that you cons ult an autho rized Aud i
dealer to have the cause of your concern properly d iagnosed. Keep in mind that the
accurate measurement of oil consump tion
requi res great care and may take some
time. An a uthorized Audi dea ler has instruc ­
tions about how to measure oil consump ­
tion accurately.
Checking the engine oil level
Fig. 172 MM I D isp lay: O il leve l in dicator
Read oil level
.. Park yo ur vehicle so that it is hor izontally level.
.. Shu t the engine off w hen it is at operat ing tem-
perature.
.. Switch only the ignition back on.
.. Wait approx . two mi nutes .
.. Se lect : Function button
~IC~A~R~I > Oil le vel. Or
.. Select : Funct ion button
ICARI > C ar sy stems *
contro l button > S ervici ng & checks > Oil leve l.
.. Read the oil level in the MMI* Display
¢fig . 172. Add engine o il if the bar of the oil
level indicator is near "min"
r::;, page 197
Depending on the way the vehicle is driven and
the operating cond itions, o il cons umption can be
up to a 1/2 quart per 600 m iles (0.5 liter per
Checking and Filling
1,000 km) . Consumptio n may be higher w ithin
the first 3,000 mi les (5,000 km).
(D Tips
The oil leve l indicato r in the M MI * Display is
on ly an information display. If the oi l level is
too low, a minimum oil warning appears in
the instr ument cluster . Add oil¢
page 197 .
If the hood has been opened, the current oil
l evel is shown in the instrument cluster the
next time the ignit ion is switched on.
"l=:7: Adding engine oil
Fig. 173 En g in e compartment: Cover on the oil filler nec k
.. Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
partment,
a lwa ys read and heed all WARN ­
INGS
r::;, .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 193 .
.. Shu t the eng ine off .
.. Uns crew the cap
't=;,: to the engine oil filling
hole
r::;, fig. 173, r::;,page 195, fig. 171 .
.. Carefully top o ff wi th 0.5 quarts (0.5 liters) of
the appropriate oil
r::;, page 195 .
.. Check the oil level again after two minutes
r::;, page 197, Checking the engine oil level.
.. Top off the o il again, if necessary .
.. Screw the cap back on the filling hole .
A WARNING
-- Wh ile topping off, the o il must not come in
con tact w ith ho t engine parts - fi re hazard!
- The oil filler cap must be p roper ly secured
to p revent o il from being sprayed on t he ho t
engine and exhaust system when the engine
is running - fi re ha zard!
~
197

Check ing and F illing
- If your skin has come in contact with the en­
gine oil, you must subsequently cleanse it
thoroughly .
@ Note
-Check the oil level using the radio or MMI*.
If the message
Pleas e reduce oil le vel a p­
pears, contact your authorized Audi dea ler
or qualified workshop to have excess oil ex­
tracted if necessary .
-Audi does not recommend the use of o il
add it ives. They may damage the eng ine
and adve rsely affect your N ew Vehicl e
Warranty .
@ For the sake of the environment
-Under no circumstances can the oil come in
contact with the sewage network o r the soil.
- Observe and follow legal regulations when
dispos ing of empty oil conta ine rs .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend tha t have your oil changed by an
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified service s ta­
tion .
Befo re you check anyth ing in the eng ine compart­
ment,
alway s read and heed all WARNINGS¢.&
in Working in the engine compartment on
page 193 .
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 o il 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 d rive mostly short distances, operate
the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominant ly
stop-and-go traffic cond it ions , or have yo ur vehi­
cle where temperat ures remain below freezing
for extended periods.
D etergent addi tives in the oil will make fresh o il
loo k da rk afte r th e eng ine has been ru nning fo r a
short t ime. This is no rma l and is not a re ason to
change the oil more o ften than re commended.
198
Because of the p roblem of prope r disposa l, along
with the specia l too ls and necessary expertise re­
quired, we strongly recommend that yo u have
yo ur oi l changed by an authori zed
Audi deale r or
a qual ified service station.
If you choose to change you r oil yourself , please
note the fo llow ing important information:
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of persona l injury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wea r eye protect ion.
- To reduce the r is k of burns from hot engine
oil, let the engine cool down to the touch.
-
- W hen removin g the oil drain plug with your
fingers, stay as far away as possible. Always
keep your forearm pa rallel to the gro und to
he lp prevent hot oil from run ning 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 oi l in you r engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well out of
the reach of childre n.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il is
harmf ul to your skin . Always protect your
skin by washi ng oil off thoroughly with soap
a nd wate r.
@ Note
N eve r mix oil additives with your engine oil.
These additives can damage your engine and
adverse ly affect you r Audi Limi ted New Vehi­
cle Warranty .
@ For the sake of the environment
-Before chang ing your oi l, first make s ure
you know where you can properly dispose o f
the used oil.
- Always dispose of used e ngine o il pro perly .
Do not dump i t on garden soil, wooded
areas, into open streams o r down sewage
dr ains.
- Recycle used e ngine o il by tak ing it to a used
eng ine oil collect ion fac ility in yo ur area, o r
c ont act a servi ce st ation.

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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 Canadian mode ls). This m ixture
both ass ures the necessa ry frost protection and
protects metal components in the engine's coo l­
ing system from corrosion and scaling .
It also
raises the boiling point of the coolant.
Do not red uce the concent ration of the coolant in
the summer by adding p lain 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
- - 40 ° F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
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, always read and heed all WARN ­
INGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 193 .
(D Note
-Befo re winter se ts in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in your
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 for yo ur vehicle. This
coolant addit ive is avai lab le at 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 74 Engin e compar tmen t: Cover o n the coo la n t ex ­
pansion tank
.. Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
partment,
always r ead and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ ,A in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 193 .
.. 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 . 174, ¢page 195,
fig. 171 .
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. .,..
199

Check ing and F illing
The location of the coolant expansion tank can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢ page 195.
To obtain an accura te reading, the eng ine must
be switched off .
The expans io n tank in your vehicle is equipped
with a n elec tric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the war ning
lig ht in the Auto-Check System¢
page 15 will
blin k until you add coo la nt and the level has bee n
restored to normal. Even t hou gh the re is an e lec­
tr ic coolant level sensor, we still re commend you
check the coo lant level from time to time .
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. I n the event of coolant loss, the cooling
system should be inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is not enough me rely
to add coolant.
I n a
se aled system, losses can occur only if the
boi ling point of the coo lant is ex ceeded as a re ­
sul t of over heat ing.
A WARNING
T he cooling system is unde r pressure and can
get very hot . Red uce the risk of scalding from
hot coolant by following these steps.
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down .
- Protect your face, hands and arms from es ­
caping fluid and steam by cove ring the ca p
with a la rge, thick rag.
- Turn the cap s lowly and very ca refu lly in a
counter-clockwise direction w hile ap ply ing
light, downwa rd pressure o n the top of the
cap.
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti­
freeze or coolant on the exha ust system or
hot eng ine parts. Under certain conditions,
the ethy lene g lycol in e ngine coolant can
catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiato r leak sealant
to your veh icle's engine coolant. Adding radia-
200
tor repair fluid may a dverse ly affect the func ­
tion and performance of your coo ling system
and could result in damage not covered by
your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Befo re yo u check any thing in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 193.
Requireme nt: The re mus t be a res idual amo unt
of coolant in the expans ion tank ¢(!) .
""Tur n off t he engine .
"" Let the eng ine cool down.
"" Pla ce a thick rag over the coolan t ex pan sio n
tank ¢
page 199, fig. 174 and carefull y turn
the cap counter-clockwise ¢,&. .
"" Add coolant m ixed in the cor rect rat io
¢page 199, Coolant up to the MAX ma rking.
"" Make sure that the fluid level remains stab le.
Add more coolant if necessa ry .
"" Twis t the cap o n aga in
tightly.
Replacement eng ine coolant must conform to ex­
act specifications ¢
page 199, Coolant.
We recommend using only coo lant ad ditive G 12+
+ , G13 or in an emergency G12+. Do
not use a
different additive. In an emergency use plain wa­
te r unt il you can get the cor rect addit ive and ca n
r esto re the cor rect rat io. Thi s should be done as
soon as possib le.
If you have lost a considerable amount of coo l­
an t, then you s hou ld add co ld a ntifreeze and cold
water only whe n the engine is co ld.
A lways use
new engine coo lant when ref illing.
Do no t fill c oolant above the "MAX" mark . Excess
coolant will be forced out th rough the pressure
r elief valve in the cap when the engine becomes
hot.
~

Checking and Filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a quick
glance.
Fig. 175 Engine compartment: Cover on the brake fluid
r eservoir
Before you check anything in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 193.
., Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid
reservoir
<=> fig . 175, ¢page 195, fig . 171 . The
brake fluid level must be between the
" MIN"
and "MAX " markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the left
side
¢ page 195.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably below
the ' 'MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light (U .S. models:
1111 , Canadian models: 1111)
will come on¢ page 13 . Do not continue to oper­
ate the vehicle . The complete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected . If the brake fluid level is too low, the
brake warning/indicator light w ill illuminate.
Contact an author ized Audi dealer
immediately.
(D} Tips
The brake fluid reservoir is located under­
neath the cover.
202
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If the
water content in the brake fluid is too high, cor­
rosion in the brake system may result after ape­
riod of time . The boiling po int of the brake fluid
will a lso decrease considerably and decrease
braking performance.
Therefore , the brake fluid must be changed
every
two years .
Always use new brake fluid which con­
forms to Feder-al Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
116 DOT 4 ".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach ,
therefore, we recommend that you have the
brake fluid changed by your author ized
Audi
dealer .
Your dealer has the correct tools, the
right brake fluid and the know-how to do this for
you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous. It must be stored
only in the closed original container out of
the reach of children!
- Brake fai lure can result from o ld or inappro­
priate brake fluid. Observe these precau­
tions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE speci­
fi cation
J 1703 and conforms to Federal
Motor Veh icle Standard 116. Always check
with your authorized Audi dealer to make
sure you are using the correct brake f luid .
The correct type of brake f luid is also indi­
cated on the brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new . Heavy use of
the brakes can cause a vapor lock if the
brake fluid is left in the system too long .
This can seriously affect the efficiency of
the brakes as well as your safety. This
could result in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your vehi-
cle .
lilJJ,