Driving and th e en vironm ent
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot
of fuel.
.,. Have your vehicle serviced at regular intervals.
By having your vehicle regu larly serviced by an
author ized Audi dealer he lps to ensure that it
runs properly and econom ically . The condition of
your veh icle not only affects its safety and ability
to hold its value, it also affects
fu el consump
tion .
C he ck your oil e ach t ime you fill you r ta nk .
The amount of oil used is re lated to engine load
and speed.
It is normal for the oil consumpt ion of a new en
g ine to reach its lowest val ue afte r a certa in mile
age has been driven .
You must d rive you r vehicle about 3 ,000 miles
(5,000 k ilome ters) before you can p roperly as
sess o il cons umption .
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and engine
outpu t.
(D Note
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and
in accordance with the service recommenda
tions in you r Warranty
& Maintenance book
l et . La ck of p roper main tenance as well as
i mproper use of the vehicle will impa ir the
f u nct ion of the emission control system and
could lead to damage.
- Do not al ter or remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap proved by the manufacturer.
- Do not a lter or remove any device, such as
heat shie lds, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect your
vehicle's Emission Control System and other i mportant vehicle components.
178 ·
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively high
on short trips .
.,. Try to avoid driving short distances with a cold
eng ine .
T he eng ine and catalytic converter have to reac h
their opt imal
operating temper atu re to reduce
fuel consumpt ion and noxious emiss ions effec
tively .
Just after start ing, a cold engine in a mid-size car
on ly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 miles per
gallon (30-40 l/100 km) . After about a half a
mile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg (20 l/100
km) . After about
2 .5 m iles (4 km), the engine is
at its proper operating temperatu re and fuel
economy has reached a no rma l level. So you can
see that you should avoid sho rt tr ips wheneve r
possible .
The
out sid e temperatur e is also cr it ica l in th is re
gard. Your car cons umes more fue l in the winter
than in the summer.
