2017 AUDI A7 oil additives

Check ing and F illing
fi ll up at busy gas stations where the seasona l
adjustm ent is more likely to be mad e in time .
0 Note
-Me thanol f uels which do no t meet these re­
quirements may cause corrosion and dam­
age to plastic and rubber components in the
fuel system .
- Do not use fuels that fail to meet the spec i­
fied criteria in this chapter .
- If you are unable to determine whether or not a particular fuel blend meets the spec i­
fications, ask your service station or its fuel supplier.
- Do not use fuel for which the contents can­
not be identified.
- 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 Warranties.
- If you experience a loss of fuel economy or
driveability and performance problems due
to the use of one of these fuel b lends, we
r ecommend that you switch to unblended
fuel.
Gasoline additives
A ma jo r concern among many auto manufactur­
ers is carbon deposit build- up ca used 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 . All gaso line 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 TIE R Detergent Gas­
oline. For more information on TOP TIER Deter ­
gent Gasoline, please go to the official website (www.toptiergas .com) .
192
After an extended period o f using inadequate
fuels, carbon deposit bui ld-ups can rob your en­
gine of peak performance.
([) Note
Damage or ma lf u nction due to poor fue l qual ­
ity is not covered by the Audi New Vehicle
Limited Warranty .
Diesel fuel
Applies to: vehicles wi th diese l en gin e
Always use ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diese l) No. 2 .
The ULSD No. 2 meets the ASTM D97S.
D iesel fuel w ith concentrations of b iod iesel high­
er than 5 % such as B l 1, B20 or BlOO are st rict ly
prohibited .
Se rvice station fuel pumps are labe led wi th the
correc t fu el i nfo rmation for easy recogn ition by
the user . If the diesel fue l pump is not labe led
ask the station operator what fue l is being dis­
pensed before filling up your vehicle .
U LSD No . 2 may no t be ava ilable outside the USA
and Canada . Be s ure to check befo re t raveling to
other countries .
U LSD No . 2 can become th ic k e r i n very co ld tem­
peratures, and this can impa ir the e ng ine's s tart­
i ng and running . Depend ing on the season, gas
stations provide ULSD No . 2 that flows better in
cold temperatures so that you can continue oper­
at ing your vehicle as usual.
(D Note
- Your vehicle's diese l engine was designed
so ley for use with ULSD No . 2 . Therefore,
never 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
covered by your New Vehicle Limited War­
ranty.
- If you put any amo unt of incorrect fuel in
the fuel tank, do not start the engine under
any c ircumstances. Immed iate ly contact the
nearest author ized A udi dealer or author-
ized Aud i Serv ice Facility fo r ass istance .
IJ,-

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\.J ' Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and s ervice life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a high -quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
yea r.
Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions d ue to failure
to follow rec ommended maintenance and use
requireme nts as s et forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty & Maintenance booklet .
- Use only a high quality engine oi l that ex-
pressly complies with the Au di oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's engine.
Using any o ther oil can cause serious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants o r 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 o il quality standard
your eng ine requ ires, you may add a total of
no more than 0 .5 qt (0.5 l) of a h igh-quali ty
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci ­
fications.
- Applies to: gaso line engine: ACEA A3 or
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30,
SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- Applies to: diesel engine: ACEA C3 or API CF
with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30 o r
SAE 5W-30 .
- For more information about engine oil that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact e ither your authori zed Audi dea ler
or Audi Customer Relat ions at
1 (800) 822-2834 or visit our web site at
www .audiusa .com or www .aud ica nada.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 lub rication and cool­
ing of in ternal engine componen ts, all internal
Ch eck ing and Filling
combustion engines consume a certain amo unt
of oil. Oil consumption vari es from engin e to en­
gine and may change s ignificantly over the life of
the engine . Typ ically, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see¢
page 65) consume mo re
o il during the break -in per iod than they consume
after o il consumption has stab il ized .
Under normal cond itions, the rate of oil con ­
sump tion depends on the qu ality and viscos ity of
the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
wh ich the engine is operated, the amb ient tem­
perature and road co ndit ions. Further facto rs a re
the amount of oi l di lution from wate r condensa ­
tion or fuel resid ue and the oxidat ion level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wear as mileage
builds up, the oil consumption may increase over
time unti l replac ement of worn components may
become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be estab ­
li sh ed or sp ecified . There is no alternative to reg­
u lar and frequent checking of the oi l level, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l in
the instr ument cluster
Ill lights up, yo u should
check the oi l level as soon as possible
¢
page 204. Top off the o il at your earliest con­
venience ¢
page 204 .
A WARNING
-Before you check anyt hing in the engine com -
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 199.
{(D Note
Driving w it h an insufficient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressure wa rn ing display. is not
an indicator of the o il leve l. Do not rely on
i t . Instead, check th e oil level in your en­
gine at regular interval s, preferably each
time you refuel, and alway s before going
on a long trip .
203

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\.J - system the next time the ignition is
switched on .
- The engine oi l consumption may be up to
0.5 quart/600 miles (0.5 liter/1,000 km),
depending on driving style and operating
conditions. In RS models, the oil consump­
tion may be up to 1 qt/600 mi (0.8 L/ 1,000 km). Consumption may be higher
during the first 3,000 miles (5,000 km). Be­
cause of this, the engine oil level must be
checked regular ly.
It would be best to check
each time you ref uel your veh icle and befo re
l ong d rives.
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that hove your oil changed by on
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified service sta­
tion .
Before you check a nyth ing in the eng ine compart­
ment,
alway s re ad and heed all WARNING S 9 &.
in Working in the engine comportment on
page 199.
The engine oil must be changed according to the
intervals specified in you r Warranty
& Mainte­
n ance booklet. This is very impo rtant because the
l ub ricating properties of oil diminish gradually
during normal vehicle use.
Unde r some ci rcumstances the e ngine o il should
be cha nged more frequently . Change oil mo re of­
ten if yo u drive mostly short distances, operate
the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominant ly
stop-and-go traffic conditions, or have your vehi­
cle where temperatures remain below freezing
for extended periods.
Detergent additives in the oil will make fresh oil
l ook dark after the engine has been running for a
short time. Th is is normal and is not a reason to
change the oil more often than recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposa l, along
with the special tools and necessary expertise re­
q ui red, we strongly recommend that you have
your oil changed by an authorized
A ud i dealer or
a qualified service station.
If you choose to chang e your o il your self, please
note the following important information:
Ch eck ing and Filling
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of persona l injury if you
must change the eng ine oil in you r vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protect ion.
-
- To reduce the r isk of burns from hot engine
oil, let the engine cool down to the touch.
- When remov ing the oil drain plug w ith your
f ingers, stay as far away as possible. Always
keep your forearm parallel to the ground to
help 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 oi l in you r engine .
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it we ll 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 wate r.
Q) Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine oil.
These additives can damage your engine and
adverse ly affect you r Audi limited New Vehi­
cle Warranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before chang ing your oi l, first make sure
you know where you can properly d ispose of
the used oil.
- Always dispose of used e ngine o il properly .
Do not dump it on ga rden soil, wooded
areas, into open streams o r down sewage
dra ins.
- Recycle used e ngine o il by ta king it to a used
eng ine oil collection fac ility in yo ur area, or
c ont act a se rvice station.
Cooling system
Coolant
The eng ine cooling system is fi lled w ith a mixture
of purified water and coolant additive at the fac-
tory. This coolant m ust not be not changed . .,._
205

Check ing and F illing
The coolant leve l is monitored through the. in­
dicator light ¢
page 14. However, we do recom­
mend occasionally check ing the coo lant level
manually.
I f you must add coolant, use a mixture of water
and coolant additive. Mixing the coolant additive
with d istilled water is recommended.
Coolant additiv e
The coolant addi tive is made of anti-freezi ng and
corros ion protection agents. Only use the fo llow­
ing coolant additives . These additives may be
mixed with each other.
Coolant additive Specification
Gl3 TL 774)
Gl2++
TL 774 G
The amount of coolant add itive that needs to be
mixed w ith water depends on the climate where
the vehicle will be operated. If the coolant addi­
tive percentage is too low, the coolant can freeze
a nd damage the engine.
Coolant
Freeze protec·
additive tion
Warm reg ions min. 40% m in. -13 ° F
max. 45% (-25 °C)
Cold regions min. 50% max . -40 °F
max . 55% (-40 °C)
([)
Note
-Before the start of winter, have your author­
ized Audi dealer or authorized A udi Se rvice
Fac ility check if the coolant additive in you r
vehicle matches the percentage approp riate
fo r the clim ate. Thi s is especially important
when driving in co lder climates .
- If the approp riate coolant additive is not
available in an emergen cy, do no t add any
other additive. You cou ld damage the en ­
gine. If this happens, only use water and re­ store the correct mixture ratio with the
spec ified coolant additive as soon as possi­
ble.
- Only refill with new coo lant.
- Radiator sealant must not be mixed w ith
the coo lant .
206
· Adding coolant
F ig. 186 En gin e compartment : coolant exp ansion tank
cover
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Observe the safety precautions ~ .&. in Working
in the engine compartment on page 199.
Check ing the engin e coolant level
Park the vehicle on a leve l surface.
.,. Switch the ignit ion off.
.,. Read the coolant level on the coolant expansion
tank ¢
page 202, fig . 184. The coolant level
must be betwee n the MIN and MAX mark ings
when the e ngine in co ld. When the engine is
wa rm it c an be slightly above the MAX marking.
Adding coolant
Requirement: there must be a residual amount of
coolant in the expansion tank ¢(D .
.,. Let the engine cool down .
.,. Place a cloth over the coolant expansion tank
cap and unscrew the cap counterclockw ise
¢ .8_ .
.,. Add coo lant m ixed in the correct rat io
¢ page 205 up to t he MAX mar king.
.,. Make sure that the f luid level remains stab le.
Add mo re coolant if necessary.
.,. Close the cap securely .
Coolant loss usually ind icates there is a lea k. Im­
med iate ly dr ive your vehi cle to a n author ized
Audi dealer or author ized A udi Service Fac ility
and have the cooling system inspected . If the
cooling system is not leaking, a loss can come
from the coolant boiling through overheating
and being pushed out of the cooling system.