2018 AUDI A4 coolant level

Cockpit overview
Instrument cluster
Instrument cluster overview
The instrument cluster is the central information center for the driver.
Fig. 3 Instrument cl uster overv iew (analog)
F ig . 4 Instrument cluster overv iew (Audi v irtual cockpit )
(D Engine coolant temperature gauge
@ Tachometer ... .............. .
- With
OFF status indicator .. .. .
- With
READY status indicator . .
@ Tab area .... ... ... ....... ... .
@ Central area with
- Driver informat io n system .. .. .
- Indicator lights ........... . .
® Status line (displayed on one or two
lines)
@ Speedometer/convenience display
0 Fuel level
10
11
12
83
83,85
13
17
25
12
@ Speedometer
® Left additional display (divided in
two sections in the expanded view)
There may be additional indicator lights in the
tachometer @, the speedometer @, the status
line ® and, depending on the instrument clus­
ter, above or below the central
area @.
The following pages will primarily show illustra­
tions of the multi-color analog instrument clus ­
ter*. The display and/or position of the element
shown may vary in monochrome instrument clus-
ters or in the Audi virtual cockpit* .
lllJ,,

Cockpit over view
There is not enough braking force to hold the ve­
hicle in place . The brakes have overheated. The
veh icle cou ld ro ll away even on a small incline .
Ill (U SA mod els)/ lC@j (C an ad a model s) Parking
brake : applied
If th is message appears, press the brake pedal
fi rst a nd the n release the pa rk ing bra ke if neces­
sary.
II ( U SA model s)/ l(@j (Canada mo dels) Parking
brak e: emerg ency braking
The emergency braking function was triggered .
Please rele ase park ing b rake
Release the par king brake if t his message ap ­
pears.
Plea se pr ess brak e pedal to rel ease parking
brak e
To release the park ing brake, press the brake
pedal and press
the ~ button at the same time,
or start driv ing with hill start ass ist
9 page 89,
Starting to drive.
(D Tips
For add it ional information on the park ing
brake, see
9 page 88.
-L Cooling system
• Turn off engin e and che ck co ola nt level. See
o w ner 's manual
The coolant leve l is too low.
Do not cont inue driving and switch the engine
off . Check the coolant level
9 page 329.
- If the coolant level is too low, add coolant
9 page 329. On ly cont inue driving once the in­
dicator light turns off .
• Coolant t emper atu re: too high. Let e ngi ne
run with vehicle st ationar y
Let the eng ine run at id le for a few minutes to
coo l off, until the indicator light turns off .
- If the indicato r ligh t does not turn off, do not
contin ue driving the vehicle. See an au thorized
30
Audi dea ler or authorized Audi Service Facility
for assistance.
A WARNING
- Never open the hood if you can see or hear
steam or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. This increases the risk of burns. Wait until you no longer see or hear
steam or coolant escaping .
- The engine compartment in any vehicle can
be a dange rous area . Stop the engine and
allow it to cool befo re working in the engine
compa rtment. Always follow the informa­
tion fo und in
9 page 323, Working in the
engine compartment .
(D Note
Do not continue driv ing if the . indicator
li ght turns on as this increases the risk of en­
gine damage.
~ Safety belt
The . indicator light stays on until the dr iver's
and front passenger's safety belts are fastened.
Above a certain speed, there will a lso be a warn­
i ng tone.
(D Tips
For additional informat ion on safety belts,
see
Q page 263.
0 Generator/Vehicle battery
If the . or(•) indicator light turns on, there is a
malfunction in the generator or the vehicle e lec­
trical system .
• Electrical sy stem: malfunction! Saf ely stop
v ehicle
Do not continue dr iving and switch the engine
off. See an authorized Audi dealer or autho rized
Audi Service Facility for assistance.
(•j Ele ctri cal system: m alfunc tion! Re sta rt not
po ssible. Plea se cont act Ser vice
The vehicle battery was disconnected from the
vehicle e lectr ica l system and will no longer

areas, into open streams or down sewage
drains.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a used
engine oil collection facility in your area, or
contact a service stat ion .
Cooling system
Coolant
The engine coo ling system is filled with a mixture
of purified water and coolant additive at the fac­
tory. This coolant must not be not changed.
The coolant level is monitored through
the. in­
dicator light
¢ page 30. However , we do recom­
mend occasiona lly checking the coolant level
manually.
If you must add coolant, use a mixture of water
and coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant additive
with distilled water is recommended.
Coolant additive
The coolant additive is made of anti -freezing and
corrosion protection agents. Only use the fol low­
ing coolant additives . These additives may be
mixed with each other.
Coolant additive Specification
G13
TL 774 J
G12++ TL
774 G
The amount of coo lant additive that needs to be
mixed with water depends on the climate where
the vehicle will be operated. If the coolant addi­
tive percentage is too low, the coolant can freeze
and damage the engine.
Coolant Freeze protec-
additive tion
Warm min . 40% min. -13 °F
regions max .
45% (
- 25 °()
Cold min.
50% max
. -40 °F
regions max.
55% (-40 °()
(D Note
-
Before the start of winter, have an author­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
Facility check if the coolant additive in your
Checking and Filling
vehicle matches the percentage appropriate
for the climate. This is especia lly important
when driving in colder climates.
- If the appropriate coo lant additive is not
available in an emergency, do not add any
other additive. You could damage the en­
gine. If this happens, only use water and re­
store the correct mixture ratio with the
specified coolant add itive as soon as poss i­
ble .
- Only refill w ith new coolant.
- Radiator sealant must not be mixed with
the coolant.
Adding coolant
Fig. 270 E ngine compartment: re lease button on coolant
expansion tank
Observe the safety precautions ¢,&. in Working
in the engine compartment on page 323.
Checking the engine coolant level
.. Park the vehicle on a level surface .
.. Switch the ignition off .
.. Read the coolant level on the coolant expansion
tank
¢ fig. 270.
.. The coolant level must be between the MIN and
MAX markings when the engine in co ld. When
the engine is warm it can be slightly above the
MAX marking.
Adding coolant
.. Let the eng ine cool down .
.. Place a cloth over the coolant expansion tank
cap .
.. Push the release button ¢ fig. 2 70 and carefu l­
ly unscrew the cap to the left until you feel re-
sistance¢ ,A. IIJ,-
329

Checking and Filling
.,. Push the release button again and remove the
cap comp lete ly .
.,. Make sure that the fluid level rema ins stable.
Add more coolant if necessary .
.,. Turn the cap to the right to secure it until you
feel resistance a second t ime.
Coolant loss usually indicates there is a leak . Im ­
mediately drive your vehicle to an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Serv ice Facility
and have the cooling system inspected . If the
coo ling system is not leaking, a loss can come
from the coolant boiling through overheating
and being pushed out of the cool ing system.
_& WARNING
- T he coo ling system is under pressure. Do
not open the coolant expansion tank cap
when the engine is hot. This increases the
risk of burns.
- The coo lant add itive and the coolant can be
dangerous to your healt h. For this reason,
keep the coolant in the origina l container
and away from children. There is a risk of poison ing.
- When working in the engine compartment, remember that the radiator fan can switch
on even if the ign ition is switc hed off, which
increases the risk of in jury.
(D Note
Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty. There may be air in the cooling sys­
tem, wh ic h increases the risk of engine dam­
age.
If th is is the case, do not continue dr iv­
ing . See an a uthorized Aud i dea le r or author­
ized Aud i Service Fa cil ity fo r assistance.
330
Brake fluid
Fig. 271 En gine compa rtment: cap o n brake fluid reservo ir
Observe the safety precautions¢.&, in Working
in the engine compartment on page 32 3 .
Check ing the brake fluid level
.,. Read the brake fluid level on the brake fluid
reservoir ¢ page 325, fig . 268 . The brake flu id
level must be between the MI N and MAX ma rk­
ings ¢.&, .
The brake f lu id level is monito red automatically.
Changing the brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed regularly by an au­
thorized Audi dea ler or authorized Audi Service
Facility.
_& WARNING -
- If the brake flu id leve l is below the MIN
marking, it ca n impair the brak ing effect
and driving safety, wh ich increase the r isk of
an accident. Do not continue dr iv ing . See an
author ized Audi dealer or au thori zed Audi
Serv ice Facility fo r ass ist ance.
- I f the brake fl uid is old, b ubbles may form
in the bra ke system dur ing heavy bra king.
This wo uld im pair b raking per formance and
driving safety, which increases the risk of an
accident.
- To ensure the brake system functions cor­
rectly, only use bra ke fluids tha t comp ly
wit h VW standard 50 1 14 or
FMVSS- 116 DOT 4 .
(D Note
-If the bra ke f lu id leve l is ab ove the MAX
marking, bra ke fluid may le ak o ut over the

Consumer Info rmation
today's a utomo biles, have steadily reduced the
scope of maintenance and repairs which can be
carried out by veh icle owners.
Also , sa fet y and
en vironmental
concerns place very strict limits
on the nature of repairs and adjustmen ts to en­
g ine and transmission parts wh ich an owner can
perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repairs usually re­
qu ire special tools, testing devices and other
equ ipment available to specially trained work ­
shop personnel in order to assure proper per­
forma nce, re liability and safety of the veh icle and
its many systems .
Improper maintenance, adjustments and repairs
can impair the operation and reliab ility of your
ve hicle and eve n void your vehicle warranty .
Therefo re, proof of se rvicing in a ccordance w ith
the m aintenance sched ule may be a condition for
up ho ld ing a possible wa rranty claim made within
the wa rranty pe riod.
Above all , ope rational safety can be adversely af­
fected, cre ating unne cessa ry risks fo r you and
your passengers.
I f in doubt about any servicing, have it done by
your author ized Audi dealer or any other properly
eq uipped and qualified workshop . We strongly
urge you to g ive your author ized Audi dealer the
opportunity to perform a ll scheduled mainte ­
nance and necessa ry repairs. Your dealer has the
facilities, origina l parts and tra ined specialists to
keep your veh icle runn ing prope rly.
Performing limited maintenance yourself
The fo llow ing pages describe a limited number of
procedures whic h can be performed on your vehi­
cle with ordinary tools, should the need arise and
tra ined personnel be unava ilable. Before per­
forming any of these procedures, always thor­
ough ly read all of the app licab le text and carefu l­
ly follow the instructions g iven . A lways rigorously
observe the
WARNINGS prov ided .
Befo re yo u check anything in the engine com ­
partment, always read and heed all WARNINGS
c::> & and c::> & in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 323 .
384
A WARNING
-
-Ser ious personal in jury may occur as a result
of imp roperly performed maintenance, ad­
justments or repairs .
- Always be extreme ly careful when work ing
on the vehicle . Always follow commonly ac­
cepted safety practices and general com­ mon sense. Never r is k personal in jury.
- Do not attempt any of the mainte nance,
checks or repairs described on the following pages if you are no t fu lly fam iliar with these
or other proce dures with respect to the ve­
hicle, o r are uncert ain how to p ro ceed.
- Do not do any work wi thout the prope r tools
a nd equi pmen t. H ave the necess ary wo rk
done by your authorized Au di dealer or an ­
other properly equipped and qualified work­
shop.
- The engine compartment of any motor veh i­
cle is a potentially hazardous area . Never
reach into the a rea around or touch the radi­
ator fan. It is temperature controlled and
can switch on suddenly - even when the en­
gine is off and the ignition key has been re­
moved. The rad iator fan switches on auto­
mat ica lly when the coolant reaches a certain
temperature and will con tinue to ru n until
the coolant temperat ure drops.
- Always remove the igni tion key before any­
one gets u nder the vehicle.
- Always support your vehicle with safety
stands if it is necessary to work underneath
the vehicle. The ja ck* s upplied w ith the vehi­
cle is no t ad equate fo r thi s pu rpose and
could collapse causing se rious personal in ­
jury .
- If you must wor k underne ath the vehicle
with the wheels on t he ground, always make
sure the vehicle is on level ground, that the
wheels a re always sec urely blocked and that
the engine cannot be started.
- Always make sure the transmission se lector
lever (automatic t ransm iss ion) is in P (Park
position) and the park b rake is applied.