catalytic converter AUDI A3 2012 Owner´s Manual

170 Driving and en vironm ent
Driving through water on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when dr iv ing t hrough water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than walking speed.
A WARNING
After d riving through wate r, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because o f wet brake ro tors and pads. Dry
the brakes f irst by bra king carefully to re ­
store the full braking effect .
({D Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
t ransmiss ion, suspens ion or elect rical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
(D Tips
-Che ck the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it.
- Do no t stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switch the engine off when d riving
th rough water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the wate r
l evel and make it too deep for yo ur vehi­
cle to drive th rough safely .
- Avoid driving thro ugh salt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Catalytic converter
-
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic converter) is function­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner .
"' Always use lead-free gasoline¢ page 189,
Fuel supply.
"' Never run the tank down a ll the way to
empty .
"' Never put too much motor oil in your en­
gine ¢
page 200, ~ Adding engine oil .
"' Never try to push -or tow-start you r vehicle .
T he ca talytic converter is an efficient "clean­
u p" dev ice bui lt into the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The cata lytic conve rter bu rns
many of the pollutants in the ex ha u st gas be ­
fore they are re leased into the atmosphere.
T he exclusive use of unleaded f uel is c rit ically
important for the life o f the catalyt ic convert ­
er and prope r function ing of the engine .
A WARNING
-Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire .
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
rustp roofing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con­
verter or heat shields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used fo r under coating could
overhe at and cause a fire.
((0 Note
-Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel w ill alr eady ser iously de­
grade the performance of the catalytic
converte r.
- Do not exceed t he cor rect engine oil level
¢page 200.
-Do not dr ive until t he fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The engine cou ld mis­
fire. Unburned fuel could also get in to
the exhaust system and th is co uld cause
t he catalytic converter to overheat .
- Do not tu rn off the igni tion while the ve­
hicle is mov ing.
- Do not continue to ope rate your veh icle
under these conditions, as ot herwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converter. This
cou ld resu lt in overheating of the con­
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assu re efficient operation of the Emis -
sion Control System : ..,.

Maintenance booklet. Lack of proper
maintenance as well as improper use of
the vehicle will impair the function of
the emission control system and could lead to damage.
- Do not alter or remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap­
proved by the manufacturer.
- Do not alter or remove any device, such
as heat shields, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emission Control System and other important vehicle compo­
nents.
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips .
"' Try to avoid driving short distances with a
cold engine .
The engine and catalytic converter have to reach their optimal operating temperature to
reduce fuel consumption and noxious emis ­
sions effectively.
- Just after starting, a cold engine in a mid­
size car burns the fuel at a poor rate of 6-8
miles per gallon (30-40 L/100km). Half a
mile down the road, the mileage improves
to 12 MPG (20 l/100 km).
It will take the
engine no less than
two and a half miles
(4 km) of driving to warm up to its proper
operating temperature and operate at an
economic mileage. This explains why taking
the car for short trips is a rather wasteful
convenience.
- The outside temperature is also critical in
this regard . Your car consumes more fuel in
the winter than in the summer.
Driving and environment 173
•
•

192 Fuel suppl y and filli ng your fuel t ank
container meets industry standards (ANSI/
ASTM F852 -86) .
(D Note
Never drive yo ur vehicle until the fuel tank
is completely dry . The irregular s upply of
fue l can cause misfiring. Gasoline cou ld
enter into the exhaust system and damage
the catalytic converter.
Refuelling
The fuel filler flap is unlocked from a button
in the driver 's door .
Fig. 152 Driver 's door: Un lock ing fuel filler flap
Fig. 153 F u el cap hooked on the opened fuel filler flap
When adding fuel, the ignition and any cellu ­
lar phones in the vehicle must be sw itched
off.
Tak ing th e fuel cap off
.. To open the fuel filler flap, pull the button
¢fig . 152 .
.. Unscrew fuel filler cap counter-clockwise
and hang it on the fuel filler flap¢
fig. 153 .
.. Check the label on the inside of the fuel fi ll­
er flap to determine if the vehicle must be
fueled with gasoline or diesel fuel.
Refuell ing proc edur e
.. Insert the f uel nozzle from the gasoline
pump into the fuel fi ller neck as far as it wi ll
go .
.. Select a medium refuelling rate
so that the
nozzle switches off automatically when the
tank is full.
Putting th e fu el cap ba ck on
.. After fi lling your tank, twist the fuel filler
cap clockwise until you hear a definite click.
.. Close the fue l filler flap.
T o avoid fuel spilling or evaporating from the
fuel tank always close fuel filler cap properly
and completely. An improperly closed fuel fill­
er cap may also cause a message in the driver
information system or cause the MIL lamp
¢page 24 to come on.
A WARNING
-Improper refue ling or handling of fuel can
cause fire, explosion and severe burns.
- Fue l is highly flammable and can cause
severe burns and other injur ies.
- Failure to shut the engine off while refu­
eling and/or to insert the pump nozzle
ful ly into the fuel filler neck could cause
fue l to spray out of filler neck or to ove r­
f low. Fue l spray and overflowing fue l can
cause a fire .
- Never use a ce ll ular telephone while re­
fue ling. The electromagnet ic rad iation
can cause sparks that can ignite fuel va­
pors and cause a fire.
- Never get back in to yo ur vehicle whi le re­
fue ling. If in exceptional circ umstances
you must get back in your vehicle while
ref ueling, make certain that you close
the door and touch metal to discharge
static electricity before touching the fill­
er nozzle again . Static e lectr icity can
cause sparks that can ignite fuel vapors
re leased du ring ref uel ing .
- Never smoke or have an open flame any­
where in or near your veh icle when refu-
eling or fi lling a portab le fue l conta iner . ..,_

268 Index
Eme rgency towing ......... .. .. .... . 251
E ne rgy management ........... .. ... 167
Ba ttery power ........... .... .. .. . 168
Dr iver notific ation ...... .. .. .. .. .. . 16 8
Eng ine
4-cylinder diesel (140 hp) ....... .... 197
4-cyl ind er g asoline (200 hp) .. .. .. ... 196
Coolant .. ... ............ .. .. .. .. . 203
H ood .. ...... ........... .. .. .... . 194
Pr ehea ter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Start ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 90
Starting with j umper cab les . ..... .. . 248
Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
E ng ine compartmen t ................ 196
Safety instruc tions .......... .. .... . 194
Working in the engine compar tment .. 194
Eng ine coolant system ........... .... 203
Adding coo lant ............ ... .. .. . 204
Chec king coolan t leve l ..... .. .. .... . 204
Che cking the eng ine coolant leve l ..... 204
M alfunct ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Radiator fan . .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 205
E ng ine coolant temperature
Gauge ... .. ................ ... .. .. 11
Eng ine data .. ............... ...... . 257
Engine fault Warning light .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... .. 20
E ng ine hood
C lo sing .. .. ............. .. .. .. .. . 194
Release lever . ........... .... .... . 194
Releasing and open ing . ... .. ... ... . 194
Eng ine malfunction (diesel engine)
War ning light ............ .. .. .... .. 20
Eng ine oil . ............... .. .. .... . 197
Adding .. .. ............... .... .. . 200
Addit ives . .. ................ ... ... 200
C hanging .. ... .... ...... ... ... .. . 20 1
Chec king the eng ine o il level .. .. .. .. . 200
Di ese l eng ine ............ .. .. .... . 20 2
I ndications and con ditions req uiring ex-
tra check ing . .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 200
Oil consumption .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 199
Oi l grades . .... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 197
Recommended oil check intervals ..... 200
Specification and viscos ity .... .. .... . 197
Specifications Diesel engine .. .... ... 202
Specifications gasoline engine .. .. ... 197
Tempe ratu re d isplay ...... .. .. .. .. . . 31 E
ngine oi l leve l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
E ngine o il pressu re (malfunction) ....... 16
Engine oil sensor defective ............ 20
En gine preheate r .................... 86
C onnect ing . ..... .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 86
E ngine speed limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Environment Break-in per iod . .. ............. .... 169
Catalytic converter ............. .... 170
Diesel particulate f ilter ............ . 171
D ispos ing of your veh icle battery ... .. 210
D riv ing at high speeds .............. 172
D riving to minimize pollution and noise 171
F uel ............................. 192
F uel economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Leaks under your vehicle ..... ... .. .. 194
Letting the vehicle stand and warm up . 172
Proper d isposal of drained bra ke fluid . 206
Proper disposal of drained eng ine cool-
ant ............................. 204
Proper d isposal of drained eng ine
o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200, 201
Recycling used engine oil ............ 200
U nleaded fuel . ... ................ . 189
Wha t shou ld I do w ith an o ld b att ery? . 210
EPC
refer to E lect ron ic power co ntrol ... .. . 19
Event Data Recorder (EDR) ........ .... 161
E xh aus t tai l pipes
Cleaning .. .... .. ............. .... 183
Expansion tank .. .. ................ . 204
Exterior mirrors Adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Dimming .......................... 54
Heating ........................... 53
F
Fahrenheit
Switching between Fa hrenhe it and Centi-
grade ....... .... .... ........... .. 83
F an
Adjusting the fan speed ...... .... . .. . 83
Climate controls ............... .. .. . 83
Radiator ......................... 205