Driving
Driving
General information
Breaking in
A new vehicle must be broken in, and the break in distance should be 1,000 miles (1,500 km).
For the first 600 miles (1,000 km), do not drive
at speeds that are more than 2/3 of the maxi
mum permitted RPM, avoid full acceleration and
do not tow a trailer. You may gradually start in
creasing the RPM and the speed between 600 miles (1,000 km) and 1,000 miles (1,500 km) .
During the first hours of use, the engine has a
higher internal friction than later on when all
moving parts have settled into place with each
other.
How the vehicle is driven during the first 1,000
miles (1,500 km) also affects the engine quality.
Drive at moderate engine speeds after the initial
break-in period, particularly when running a cold
engine . This will reduce engine wear and improve
the mileage .
Do not drive at too
low of an engine speed (rpm).
Shift down if the engine stops running "smooth ly". Extremely high engine speeds are automati
cally reduced .
Avoid damaging the vehicle
When you are driving on poor roads, or over
curbs, steep ramps , etc., make certain that low
lying parts such as spoilers and exhaust system
parts do not bottom out and get damaged.
This is especially true for vehicles with low-slung
chassis (sports chassis)* and fully loaded
vehicles.
Driving through water on roads
Note the following to reduce the risk of vehicle
damage when driving through water, for example
on flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the bot
tom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than walking speed.
58
A WARNING ,_
After driving through water or mud, the effec
tiveness of the brakes may be reduced due to
moisture on the brake rotors and brake pads.
A few careful brake applications should dry
off the brakes.
([) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmission, suspension or electrical system
can be severely damaged by driving through
water.
(D 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, because
this can cause corrosion.
Economical and environmentally-friendly
driving
The amount of fuel consumption, the environ
mental impact and the wear to the engine,
brakes and tires depends mostly on your driving
style . With an anticipatory and economic driving
style, fuel consumption can be reduced by ap proximately 10-15%. The following tips will help
you conserve the environment and your money at
the same time.
Anticipatory driving
A vehicle uses the most fuel when accelerating .
When you drive with anticipation, you do not need to brake as often and so you accelerate less.
When possible , let your vehicle coast with a gear
engaged, for example, when you notice that the
next traffic light is red. This produces an engine
braking effect, which helps to protect the brakes
and tires and reduces the emissions and fuel
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compensate for the slightly reduced bra king
force by pressing firmly on the brake peda l. Avoid
heavy braking during the break -in period .
Operating condit ion s and dr iving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles a re sti ll s ub
ject to wear, depend ing largely on ope rating con
ditions and driving habits¢& . On vehicles that
are either driven most ly in stop-and -go city traf
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be
checked by your authorized Aud i dealer more of
ten than specified in the
Warran ty & Mainte
n anc e boo kle t .
Failure to have your brake pads
inspected can resu lt in reduced brake perform
ance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking ef
fect of the eng ine. This way, you prevent unnec
essary wear on the brake system . If you must use
your brakes, do not hold the b rakes down cont in
uously. P ump t he b rakes at intervals.
Operating no ise
Noises may occur when braking depend ing on the
speed, braking force and outs ide cond itions such
as tempe rature and humidity .
Effect of water or road salt
In certain situations, for example after driving
through water, in heavy ra in, after overnight con
densat ion or after washing your car, the braking
effect can be reduced by mo isture or ice on the
brake rotors and brake pads . The brakes must be
"dr ied" fi rst w it h a few careful brake applica
tions .
At highe r speeds and with the windsh ield w ipers
turned on, the brake pads press aga inst the brake
rotors for a short amount of time. This action,
which is not felt by the d river, happens a t regular
i nte rvals and ens ures a better reaction time fo r
the brakes in wet weather.
The bra king effect can also be redu ced if you are
d riving on salted roads and you do not apply t he
b ra kes fo r long pe riods of time. The layer of sa lt
on the brake rotors and brake pads m ust be worn
off first when the b rakes are applied¢& .
Intellig ent Technology
Corrosion
Leaving t he vehicle pa rked fo r lo ng periods of
t ime, low mileage and avoiding heavy braking
can contrib ute to corrosion on the brake rotors
and to dirty brake pads .
If you usua lly avoid heavy bra king or if there is
corrosion present, occasiona l heavy braking at
high speeds is recommended to clean the brake
rotors and pads¢& .
Brake system malfunction
if you no tice that the b rake peda l t ravel has sud
denly
gotten larger, then a b rake c ircuit may have
f ailed ¢ & .
Low brake fluid level
When the brake fluid level is low, malfu nctions in
the b rake system may occur. The b rake fl uid level
is e lec tron ically moni tored.
Brake booster
The brake booster amplifies the pressure you ap
ply to the brake pedal.
It only works when the en
gine is running~ &.
Brake lining wear statu s
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in
spect ion of the condition of the brake pads
t h rough the openings in the wheel. If necessary,
the wheel may be removed for this i nspection
¢ page 198, Replacing wheels .
,&. WARNING
-New brake pads don't have the bes t stop
ping power and m ust be "broken-in" during
the initial 250 mi (400 km) . You
can com
pensate for this by pressing the brake pedal
more firmly . This a lso applies later when
new pads are installed.
- You shou ld perform braking maneuvers for
the purpose of cleaning the brake system
only if road condit ions permit. Other road
users must not be put at r isk - you may
cause an accident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed a nd sh ift transmission into a lower
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A udi rec ommend s
@;Cilstrot /Jgjgf ~ f'r,w.~7dr,,'1AJ.
A ud i re commends Longlife high p erform ance
e ngi ne oil from A udi Gen uin e P art s
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a high-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
year .
Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set fo rth in the Aud i Owner's
Manual a nd Warranty & Mai ntenan ce booklet.
- Use only a high quality eng ine oil that ex-
pressly complies with the Aud i oil q ual ity
standard specified for your vehicle's engine. Using any other oil can cause serious engine
damage .
- Do not mix any l ubricants or othe r addi tives
into the engine oil. Doing so can cause en
gine damage.
(D 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 high-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci
fications.
- ACEA A3 or API SM with a viscosity grade of
SAE OW-30, SAE SW-30 or SAE SW-40.
- For more information about engine oi l that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact e ither your authorized Audi dea ler
or Audi Customer Relat ions at
1 (800) 822-2834 or vis it our web site at
www.audiusa.com or www.aud icanada .ca.
Ch eck ing and Filling
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on on ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and
cool oil of
its moving ports.
In order to provide effect ive lubrication and cool
ing of internal engine components, all internal
combust ion eng ines consume a certa in amount
of oil. Oil consumption varies from eng ine to en
gine and may change s ign ificantly over the life of
the engine. Typ ica lly, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see
q page 58) consume more
oi l during the break -in period than they consume
after oil consumption has stabilized.
Under normal cond itions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the q uality and viscosity o f
the oil, the RPM (revol utions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem perature and road condit ions. Further factors are
the amount of oil 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 oil consumption may increase over
time unt il replacement of worn components 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 frequent checking of the oi l level , see
Note .
If the yellow engine o il leve l warning symbo l !I
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
check the o il level as soon as possible
q page 164. Top off the o il at your earlies t con
venience.
A WARNING ~
Before you check anything in the engine com-
partment, always read and heed all WARN
INGS
q .&. in Working in the engine comport
ment on page 159.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine. ..,.
163
Check ing and F illing
To reduce the risk o f lime sca le deposits on the
spray nozzles, use clean water with low amounts
of calcium. A lways add window cleaner to the wa
ter. When the outs ide temperatures are cold, an
anti-freezing agent should be added to the water
so that it does not freeze.
@ Note
-The concentration of anti-freezing agent
must be adjusted to the vehicle operating
cond itions in t he respective climate. A con
centration that is too high can lead to veh i
cle damage.
- Never add rad iator anti-freeze or other add i
tives to the washe r fluid .
- Do not use a glass cleaner that contains
paint solvents, beca use this cou ld damage
the pa int.
Service interval display
The service interval display detects when your ve
hicle is due for service.
The se rvice interva l disp lay works in two stages:
- Inspection o r oil change reminder : after acer-
ta in d istance is driven, a message appears in
the instrument cluster d isp lay every t ime the
ignition is sw itched on . T he remain ing distance
o r time is d isp layed b riefly.
- In spection or oil change due : if you r vehicle
has reached an inspection o r oi l change interval
o r both intervals at the same time, the mes
sage
Inspection due! or Oil change due! or Oil
change and in spection due!
a ppears br iefly a f
ter switching the ignition on .
Checking service intervals
You can check the rema ining distance o r time un
til the next oil change o r next inspection.
- Se lect: the
ICARI function button > (Car ) Sys
tems *
contro l button > Servicing & checks >
Ser vice interval display .
Resetting the indicator
Your author ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Serv ice Facility will reset the serv ice interval dis
p lay after pe rforming serv ice.
170
If you have changed the oi l yourself, yo u must re
set the oi l change interval.
Perform the fo llow ing to reset t he d isp lay:
- Select: the
I CARI funct io n button > (Car) Sy s
tem s*
control button > Serv icing & check s >
Service interval di splay . Turn the contro l knob
downwa rd to
Re set oil change int erval and
press the control knob .
(D Note
-On ly reset t he oil change ind icator if the oi l
was changed.
- Following the se rvic e interva ls is cr itica l to
ma inta ining the se rvice life and val ue of
yo ur vehicle, es pecially the eng ine. Even if
the mileage on the ve hicl e is low, do not ex
ceed t he time fo r the next service .