cooling AUDI A3 2012 Owner´s Manual

Install ing a chi ld safety seat . ... .. . .
L A T CH Lower anchorages and tethers
for chi ldren ..... ........ ... .. .. . .
Addit ional Information
Vehi cle operat ion ..... .. .. .. . .
Intelligent technology .. .. .. . .
Not ice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules . ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Elect ronic Stabilization P rogram (ESP)
Braking ...... .............. ... . .
E lect ro-mechanical power assist . .. . .
D riving w ith your quattro ® ... .. .. . .
E ne rgy management ...... .. .. .. . .
Driving and environment ... ..
The first 1,000 m iles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwards ..... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Cata lytic converter ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Diese l particu late fi lter . ... .. .. .. . .
Avoid damaging the vehicle . .. .. .. . .
Operate your vehicle econom ically and
minim ize po llution . ....... .. .. .. . .
Trailer towing ............. .. . .
Driving w ith a trailer ...... .. .. .. . .
Trailer towing tips
Vehi cle care ........... .... .. . .
Cleaning and protection .. . .. .
Ge ne ral i nformation .......... ... .
Care of exte rior . .......... ... ... .
Ca re of inter io r ........... .. .. .. . .
Fuel supply and filling your
152
155
160
16 1
161
161
161
163
165
166
16 7
169
169
170 171
171
171
174
174
176
178
178
178
178
183
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
D iese l fue l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Fu el tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 194
E ng ine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Engine oi l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Eng ine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Brake fl uid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Table of contents 3
Battery ... .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .
Windshie ld washer container
Tires and wheels .... .... ... .. .
Tires ... .. .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .
Tire pressure monitoring system 207
211
212
212
230
Do-it-yourself service
. . . . . . . . . 234
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Jack, tools and spare wheel . . . . . . . . . 234
Compact spare wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Wheel change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
E lectr ica l fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Bu lbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 248
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Starting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . 248
Starting with jumpe r cables . . . . . . . . 248
Genera l information of starti ng
ass istance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
U se of j umpe r cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Emergency towing wit h commercia l
tow tr uck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Lifting the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
General information . . . . . . . . . . 255
Explanation of technica l data . . . . . . . 255
Vehicle iden tification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
D.
. 1mens 1ons .. .. .. .. . .. ... ... .. .. . 256
Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
200 hp, 2 .0 liter 4 -cyl. turbo gaso line
engi ne ....... ... .. .............. 257
140 hp, 2.0 TOI lite r 4-cyl. turbo cl ean
diesel engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Consumer Information . . . . . . . 259
Wa rranty cove rages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Operating your ve hicle outs ide the
U .S .A . or Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Audi Se rvice Repair Manuals and
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
•
•

12 Instrum ents a nd warning /indic ato r li ghts
coolant temperature is too high, or the cool­
ant
level is too low ¢ page 17.
.&_ WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
¢ page 187, Engine compartment be­
fore opening the engine hood and check­
ing the engine coo lant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the eng ine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant .
0 Note
-Mounting additional l ights or accesso ries
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo ile r has been designed to
properly distrib ute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
assistance.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge works only when the ignition is
on.
When the needle reaches the red area, the
warning light in the instrument cluster will il­
lum inate <=>
page 21 lil This means you
have approximately
1.8 gallons (7 liters) of
fuel left in the tank .
Time to re fu el!
The total tank capacity of your vehicle is listed
in¢
page 257, Data.
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry! An ir­
regular supply of fuel can cause eng ine
m isfiring and fuel could enter into the ex­
haust system. The catalyt ic converte r
could then overheat and be damaged.
Speedometer with odometer
The speedometer shows you the vehicle
speed, and the odometer shows you how
many miles (kilometers) you have driven.
F ig . S Speedometer close- up: odom eter display
The odometer and trip odometer are located
inside the speedometer .
- USA models -Miles
- Canadian models -Kilometers
Lower odometer
The lower odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) driven.
Uppe r odometer (trip odome ter)
The upper odometer shows the total number
of miles (kilometers) driven since you last re­
set the odometer back to zero. You can use
th is odometer when you want to keep track of
how many miles (kilometers) you have driven
for a single tr ip or errand. The last digit ind i­
cates 1/10 of a mile (100 metres) . You can set
the tr ip odomete r back to zero by pressing the
rese t button
c:> fig. 5.
Malfunct ion me ssage
If there is a malfunct ion somewhere in the in­
strument cluster,
dEF w ill appear in the trip
odometer and w ill stay on . Contact your au­
thorized Audi dea ler to have the problem cor­
rected.
Immobilizer
When the ignition is sw itched on, the data on
the ignit ion key are scanned automat ically .
If an unauthorized key was used,
SAFE is dis­
played continuously in the odometer d isplay
II>

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
~ Cont act your a uth orized Audi dea ler fo r as -
s istance if necessary.
Engine oil level too low
If t h e e ngine o il level is too low, to p off o il to
the prope r leve l¢
p age 200.
Engine oil level OK
If the . symbol sta rts flas hing again even
though the engine oil level checks OK on the
d ipst ick ,
do not start driving again and do
not let the engine run at idle .
In stea d, con­
t a ct your author ized A udi de aler for assis­
tance.
@ Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev ­
el. Do not rely on it. Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter­
vals , preferably each time you refuel,
and always before going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
1/1 requires oil refill or workshop serv ­
ice without delay. Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning symbol.
starts to flash before you respond to
the low oil level warning
Ill. By then,
your engine may already have suffered
serious damage.
- L Engine cooling system
A malfunction in th e engine cooling system
must b e re paired as so on as possibl e.
W hen th e . symbol in t he d isp lay flashes,
the n either the eng in e coolan t
temperature is
too h igh, or the coo lant
le vel is too low . In ad­
d ition to the symbol, the following message
al so a ppe ars i n the dis pla y:
Switch off engin e and check coolant level
~ Pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
~ Turn off t he e ngine.
~ Check coo lant level c> page 204.
~ Add coolant if necessa ry¢ page 204 .
~ Continue dr iving only after the eng ine cool­
an t war ning/ indica to r li ght goes o ut.
~ Contact yo ur autho rized A udi d eale r for as -
sistance if necessa ry .
If the engi ne coo lant level is correct, then t he
r adi ator fan may be the ca use of the mal func ­
tion .
If the ge nera tor war ning/ indica to r li ght
sho uld al so illum ina te
¢ page 16, then the
f an belt may be d amaged .
A WARNING
-If you r vehicle should brea k dow n for
mec hanical or other reaso ns, par k at a
safe distance fr om moving traffic, tu rn
off the eng ine and tu rn on the haza rd
warn ing lig hts ¢
page SO , Emergency
flash er.
-
- Never ope n the hood if you see or hear
steam or coo la nt escaping from the en­
g in e com part men t - yo u ris k bei ng scald ­
ed . W ait unt il yo u can no lo nger see o r
hea r stea m or cool ant escap ing.
- The engin e compa rtm en t of any vehicle
is a dange rous area. Befo re you perfor m
a ny w ork in t he engi ne c om pa rt men t,
t ur n off t he e ngine a nd allo w it to c ool.
F ollow t he warn ing s tickers
c> page 18 7,
Engine comportment.
([) Note
Do not con tinue dr iv in g if the . sym bol
ill umin ates . The re is a ma lfun ctio n in t he
engine coo ling system -yo u could dama ge
your engine .
~ Electro-mechanical power assist
If the indicato r light illum inates while yo u are
driv ing, the re is a malfunction in the electro­
mecha nica l steer ing. If t he indicator light is
showing
t~J, there may be a reduct io n in pow ­
er stee rin g assis t. If the indicato r light is
s h owing ., th ere may be a tota l loss of pow ­
er stee rin g assis t. T he s teer ing mu st be i n­
s p ecte d imme diately by a qualifie d wo rks hop
¢ .& .W ith the eng ine not ru nning (e. g. when
the car is bein g towe d), there is a lso no power
ass ist available . ..,.

Warm and cold Climate controls
Description
The air conditioner is fully automatic and is
designed to maintain a comfortable and uni­
form climate inside the vehicle .
We recommend the following settings:
... Se lect and set a temperature between 64 °F
(+ 22 °C) and 84 °F (+28 °C).
... Press the
!AU TO ! button.
With this setting, you attain maximum com­
fort in the least amount of time. Change this
setting, as desired, to meet your personal
needs.
The climate controls are a combination of
heating, ventilation and cooling systems,
which automatically reduce humidity and cool the air inside your vehicle.
The air temperature, air flow and air distribu­
tion are automatica lly regulated to achieve
and maintain the desired passenger compart­
ment temperature as quickly as possib le.
The system automatically compensates for
changes in the outside temperature and for
the intensity of the sunlight entering the vehi­
cle. We recommend you use the
Automatic
mode c> page 81 for year-round comfort.
Please note the following:
Turn on the air conditioner to reduce humidity
in the vehicle. This also p revent the windows
from fogging up .
When the outside temperature is high and the
air is very hum id,
condensation from the
evaporator may drip under the vehicle . This is
normal and does not indicate a leak.
If the outside temperature is low, the fan nor­
mally only switches to a h igher speed once
the engine coolant has warmed up sufficient ­
ly.
Warm and cold 79
T he air conditioner temporari ly switches off
when you drive off from a standstill using full
throttle to save engine power.
T he compressor also switches off if the cool­
ant temperature is too high so that the engine
can be adequately cooled under extreme
l oads.
Air pollutants filter
T he air pollutants filter (a combined particle
filter and activated charcoa l filter) reduces or
eliminates outside air pollution (dust, or pol­
l en) from entering the vehicle .
T he air pollutants filter must be changed at
the interva ls specified in yo ur Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet, so that the air condi ­
tioner can properly work.
If you drive your vehicle in an area with high
air pollution, the filter may need to be
changed more frequently than specified in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance booklet. If
in doubt, ask your authorized Audi Service Ad­
visor for advice.
Energy management
To prevent the battery from being discharged
and to restore the ba lance of energy, compo­
nents which require large amounts of energy
are temporarily cut back or switched off c> page 167. Heating systems in particular re­
quire a great deal of energy. If you notice, for
example, that the rear window heater is not
heating, then it has been temporarily cut back
o r switched off by
energy management.
These systems are available again as soon as
the energy balance has been restored.
_& WARNING
.-----
Reduced visibility is dangerous and can
cause accidents .
- For safe driving it is very important that
all windows be free of ice, snow and con-
densation.
- Fully familiarize yourself with the proper
use and function of the heating and ven­
tilation system and especia lly how to de­
fog and defrost the windows.

-Do not clean the gri lle with a vacuum clean­
er, otherwise the sensors cou ld be damaged .
Function
!ACI Switching the cooling system on/off
q page 81
!AUTO I Automatic operation
qpage 81
[:] B Blower speed setting
( in the
q page 83
center)
l=I Manual recirculation mode
qpage82
~ Automat ic recircu lation mode
q page 82
~ Defrost
qpage82
@J Air directed to the windows
¢page83
[1;] Air from the outlets
qpage83
~ Air directed to the footwe ll
~page83
-= -·--~ Rear window defogger
¢page85
The buttons for sett ing the air flow d irection
~. ~and~ can also be pushed in combina­
tion .
~ Switching the air conditioner on/off
Applies to vehicles: with a utomat ic a ir conditioner
... Press the !AC I button to switch the air cond i­
tioner on or off .
When the a ir cond it ione r is sw itched on, t he
i ndicator light in the b utton is lit.
When the a ir cond it ioner is sw itched off, the
cooling system is switched off -th e heat ing
an d vent ilation system is reg ulated automati­
cally. Sw itch ing off the cooling system ( com ­
pressor) saves fuel.
Pl ease keep in mind that with the air cond i­
tioner switched off , the inter io r temperature
cannot be lower than the outside tempe ra­
ture. There is no coo ling and the air is not de -
Warm and cold 81
humid ified (danger o f the windows becom ing
fogged). Cooling mode switches off a utomati­
ca lly when the outs ide temperature is below
zero.
(D Tips
If there is a defect in the a ir conditioner,
the air conditioner cannot be switched on. In this case, the d iode in the button does
not light after being switched on. In the
event of a system fault, please contact an
A udi or specia list garage.
~ Automatic mode
The automatic mode is the standard setting
for all seasons .
Switching on AUTO
... Select tempe rat ure between 64 ° F (+ 18 °()
and 84 °F (+28 °C).
... Press
IAUTOI q page 80, fig. 96 .
AUTO on ly works when you set the inside tem ­
perature between 64 °f (18 °C) and 84 °f
(28 °C). If you select a temperature be low
64 °F (18 °(),
LO will appear in the display . If
you select a temperat ure above 84 °F (28 °C),
HI w ill appea r in t he d isp lay.
The system automatically compensates for changes in outside temperature and for the
i ntensity of the su nlight.
(D Tips
By keeping the IAUTOI button on the dr iv­
er's side pressed for several seconds, the
temperature of the passenger's s ide ca n
be set to the temperature o f th e d river's
side or vice v ersa. The new temperature
setting w ill be shown in the d isplay.

84 Warm and cold
Air outlets
Fi g. 97 Instr ument pane l: a ir ou tlet locat io ns an d airflow d irec tions
The air out lets (D and @on top of the instru ­
ment panel are
fixed. Outlets @ and @can
be adjusted.
Adjusting a ir outl ets ® and @
.. Turn the vertica l thumbwhee l beside the
outlet to increase, reduce or s hut down the
airflow from that out let.
.. Move the small tab in the center of the out­
let louver sideways and up or down to ad just
the leve l and direction of airflow.
T he supply of air to the out lets is controlled
e ither automat ica lly or manually depending
on the operation mode se lected . The airflow
from all outlets can be heated, unheated or
cooled.
The heater out lets for the rear footwells are
located under the front seats . When you se­
lect outlets @, a ir is a lso directed to t he rear
footwells .
@ Tips
-When defrosting/defogging the win­
dows, air flows from outlets
(D , @ and
@ . To defrost or defog the windows as
r apidly as possib le, air outlets @ should
be ope ned
fully wi th the ad juster wheels.
- When the a ir condit ioner is working,
cooled air w ill flow pr imar ily from out­
l e ts @ ,@ and @. To assure adeq uate cooling, outlets
@ and @) should never
be completely closed.
Using the climate controls economically
Using the climate controls prudently can help
save fuel .
When you use the air conditioner, eng ine pow ­
er is reduced and fuel consumption increases .
T o save fuel, yo u should use the air condition­
er only when necessary . Also please note the
follow ing points:
.. If you wa nt to save fuel, switch off the ai r
conditioner .
.. If you are going to drive with the windows
open, switch off the air conditioner .
@ For the sake of the environment
By reducing the amount of fuel you use,
you also reduce the amount of po llutants
emitted into the air.
· Key coded settings
When the ignition is switched on, the air con­
di tioner settings are automatically assigned
to the key being used .
The air conditioner settings selected are auto­
matically stored and assigned to the key be ing
u sed . When the vehicle is started, the air ..,.

174 Trailer towing
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durability,
economy and performance.
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reasons, always follow the operating
and drivi ng in str uctions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on the ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location. Use only a trailer
h itch with removable ba ll mount. Always
check with the tr ailer hitch manufac turer to
make sure tha t you are using t he cor rect
hitch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb­
ing bumper syst em. No modifications should
be made to the vehi cle exhaust and brake sys ­
tems. From time to time, check th at a ll hitch
mo unt ing bo lts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
tra iler hitch ball mount. This prevents the
h itch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from behind
¢ A .
Tire pressure
When tow ing a traile r, inflate the t ires of your
ve hicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load"on the stick er on the rig ht doo r- jamb. Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire
manufacturers' specifications.
Lights
T he headlight set tings sho uld be checked with
t h e trai le r attached before d riving o ff. Have
the headlights adjusted as necessary so tha t
yo u can see t he road ahead b ut not blind on­
coming traffic.
Check to make sure bo th ve hicle and tr ailer
lights are wo rk ing properly .
Engine cooling system
T owing a t railer makes the engine work hard­
er.
It i s impo rtant that the cooling system's
performance stands up to the additional
stra in. Make sure tha t the cooling sys tem has
enough fluid.
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a brak ing sys­
tem, c heck to be sure t hat it conforms to all
regula tions.
The trailer hyd raulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system.
Safety ch ains
Be sure trailer safety chains are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the cha ins to per­
mit turning co rne rs. When yo u in stall safety
c h ains, ma ke sure they will not drag on the
r oad when you a re driving.
The chains should cross under the t railer
tong ue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the h itch.
Trailer lights
Trai ler lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
for correct w ir in g, sw itches and re lays .
Mir rors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
us ing the regular outside mirrors, then you

names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
VW 502 00 (vehicles with gasoline engine) or
VW 507 00 (vehicles with diesel engine).
C hang ing th e engin e oil
The engine oil and oi l filter must be changed
according to the m ileage (kilomete rs) and
time inte rva ls specified in yo ur vehicle's War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these intervals -harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive eng ine repairs.
Changing the o il at the recommended inter ­
va ls is so very important because the lubricat ­
ing properties of oi l decrease gradually during
norma l vehicle use . If you are not sure when
you have your oi l changed, ask your author­
ized Audi Service Advisor.
Under some circumstances the engine oi l
should even be changed more frequently.
Change o il more often if you drive mostly
short distances, operate the vehicle in dusty
areas or mostly under stop-and-go traffic con­
d itions, or when you use your veh icle where
temperatures stay below freezing point for
l ong periods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w ill make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run­
n ing for a short time. This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the o il mo re often than
r ecommended.
D amage or ma lf u nction s du e to lac k of
ma int enance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended interva ls using only engine oil
that complies with Audi oil standard
VW 502 00 (veh icles with gasolin e engine) or
VW 507 00 (veh icles with diese l engi ne). Yo ur
L im ited New Vehicle Warra nty does not cover
damage or ma lfunctions due to failure to fol­
l ow recommended maintenance and use re­
quirements as set forth in the A udi Owner's
Manual and Warranty
& Maintenance book let.
Your dealer will have to deny warranty cover­ age un less you present to the dea ler proof in
the form of Service or Repa ir Orders that a ll
Checking and fillin g 199
scheduled maintenance was performed in a
timely manner.
· 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 prov ide effective lubrication and
cooling o f inte rna l engine components, all in ­
ternal combustion engines consume a certain amount of oil. Oil consumpt ion varies from
engine to engine and may change sign ificantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a spec ified break-in period (see
Q page 169) consume more oil during the
break-in pe riod than they consume after o il
consump tion has stabilized.
Under normal cond itions, the rate of oi l con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscos ity
of the oil, the RPM (revolut ions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature a nd road conditions. Further fac ­
tors are the amount of oil dilut ion from wa ter
condensation or fue l residue and the oxida ­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to
wear as mi leage builds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es­
tablished or spec ified. There is no alternative
to regular and frequent check ing of the oil lev­
el, see
Not e.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
Ill! lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
with the oil dipstick q page 200 . Top off the
o il at your earliest conven ience
Q page 200.
&_ WARNING
Before you chec k anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed al l
WARNI NGS
Q .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 194 .
•
•

luggage compartment. Make sure the
container is securely stored and mount­
ed.
0 Note
-If you use engine oil that does not ex­
pressly conform to Audi oil specification
VW 507 00, very serious and very expen­
sive damage to your vehicle 's engine will
occur . Engine damage caused by using
the wrong engine oil is not covered by
your New Vehicle limited Warranty .
- Not all commercially available oils con ­
form to this very rigid Audi oil quality
standard even though they may be syn­
thetic-based and have the same viscosi­
ty.
Engine cooling system
Coolant
T he engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­
tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
quires little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of water and the manufacturer's gly­
col-based coolant additive Gl2++ antifree ze
with anticorrosion additives (50% for USA models; 60% for Canadian models). This mix ­
ture both assures the necessary frost protec­
tion and protects metal components in the
engine 's cooling system from corrosion and
scaling.
It also raises the boiling point of the
coolant.
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50% but not more than 60%
to main­
tain antifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the vehi­
cle heating and engine cooling system.
Checking and filling 203
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
--31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
You can mix the Gl2 ++ coolan t additive with
other additives Gl2 + or Gl2. Always check
with your authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS~
& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 194.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­
mate conditions. This is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the
win­
ter is extremely cold. If necessary, in­
crease the proportion of coolant additive
to 60% .
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember :
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive G 12++ (check the label) for your
vehicle. This coolant additive is availa­
ble at authorized Audi dealers. Other
types of antifreeze can significantly re­
duce corrosion protection. The result­
ing corrosion can cause a loss of cool­
ant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding radiator repair fluid may adverse­ ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
•
•

204 Checking and filling
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig. 162 Engine compartme nt: coo lant expansio n tank
Before you check anything i n the eng ine com­
partment,
a lw ays rea d and h eed all WARN­
ING S ¢&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 194.
.. Park your vehicle on a level surface.
.. Turn
off the ignit ion .
.. Read the eng ine coolant leve l from the
coolant expansion tank<=>
fig. 162 . With a
cold eng ine, the coo lant level should be be­
tween the "min" and "max" markings . When
the engine is warm, the level may be slightly above the "max" marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration
i:> page 196.
To obtain an accurate read ing, the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in yo ur vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor .
When the coolant level is too low, the warning light in the Auto -Check System
c> page 17 w ill
blink until you add coo lant and the level has
been restored to norma l. Even though there is
an electric coolant level sensor, we still rec­
ommend you check the coolant level from
time to time.
Coolant lo ss
Coolant loss may indicate a le ak in the cooling
system . In the event of coolant loss, the cool­
ing system should be inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dea
ler .
It is not
enough merely to add coolant .
In a
se aled system, losses can occur on ly if
the boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as
a res ult of overheating.
(D Note
Do not ad d any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your veh icle's engine coolant . Add­
i ng radiator repair fl uid may adverse ly af ­
fect the funct ion and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Veh icle Limited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anything in the eng ine com ­
partment,
a lw ays re a d and heed all WARN­
INGS c::> A in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 194 .
.. Turn off the engine .
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank
c::> page 204, fig . 162 and ca refull y
twist the cap counter-clockwise c::> A.
.. Add coo lant .
.. Twist the cap on aga in
tightly .
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions
c::> page 203, Coolant.
Even in an emergency, if coolant addi-
t ive G12++ . G 12+ or G12 is not ava ilable, do
n ot use a d iffe rent addit ive. Use plain water
instead unt il you can get the correct add itive
and can restore the correct ratio. This shou ld
be done as soon as possible .
If you have lost a considerab le amou nt of
c oolant, then you sho uld add cold ant ifree ze
and co ld wate r on ly when the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coo lant when refilling .
Do not f ill coolant above the
"MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coolant will be forced out through the
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en -
gine becomes hot .
Iii>