oil viscosity AUDI A3 2012 Owner´s Manual

Checking and fillin g 197
2.0 liter, 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine (140 hp)
Applies to vehicles: with 2.0 l TOI, 4-cylinder diese l-engin e
These are the most important items that you can check .
Fig. 158 Engine compartment: 2.0 l, 4-cylinder tu rbo
(D Coolant expansion tank ( ... t) .. .
@ Windshield washer container 204
Cw)
.............. ...... . . 211
@ E ng ine oi l dipstick (orange) . . . 200
@ Engine oil filler cap ("t!::r.) . . . . . 200
® Brake fluid reservo ir ((0)) . . . . . 206
® Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 194.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated powerplant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations . Th is eng ine needs the right kind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smoot hly and reliab ly. Choosing the right o il
and changi ng oil within the t ime and mileage
intervals printed in you r vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to ­
day than it did years ago . Audi has developed
a specia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs for proper opera­
tion.

198 Checking and filling
Mo dern engine lubrication has taken a quan­
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
brication that can outlast traditional petrole­
um-based o ils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum ­
based engine oil, the oil that yo u use must
conform to Audi 's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 (veh icles with gasoline engine)
and VW 507 00 (vehicle with diesel engine) to he lp keep your vehicle's eng ine runn ing
smoothly and help prevent the fo rmation of
harmf ul depos its , somet imes ca lled "sludge,"
that over t ime can lead to expensive repairs.
At the time of printing , engine oils availab le in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exa cting
specifi cations o f A ud i oi l st andard VW 502 00
(vehicles wi th gaso line engine) and
VW 507 00 (vehicles with diese l engine) are
synthetic engine oils . This does not mean,
however, that every synthetic engine oil wi ll
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00 (gasoline
engines) and VW 507 00 (d iesel engines). So
a lway s be sure that you use a n approved o il.
To help prevent the fo rmation of harmful de­
posits use only oil w ith the following specifi ­
c ations printed on the oil conta iner:
- Ga soline engines: Audi oil standard
VWS0200
- Die sel engines: Audi oil standard
vw 50 7 00
Oil container labe ls may carry t he specifica­
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion with other des ig ­
nations and oil qua lity standards.
Vi scosity
Eng ine oi ls are graded according to their v is ­
cosity . The proper v iscosity grade o il for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con­
d itions w here you dr ive. Yo u can use oi l w ith a
viscosit y grade of SAE 5W-40 a cross all tem ­
perat ure ranges for normal d riving conditions .
H owever, if eng ine o il viscos ity grade SAE
5W-40 is not ava ilable, you can a lso use vis­
cosity g rade SA E 5W-30 or SAE OW-40 as long as it meets A
udi o il quality standard
VW 502 00 (vehicles wit h gasoline engine) or
VW 50 7 00 (vehicles wit h diese l eng ine) spec ­
ifications.
Beca use engine o il that meets the Audi oil
sta ndard may not be availab le everywhere
when you need it, we strong ly recommend
that you a lways carry with you an extra qua rt
( li ter) of oil that express ly conforms to the
VW 502 00 (vehicles wit h gasoline eng ine) o r
VW 507 00 (vehicles w it h diesel eng ine) spec­
i fication, i n case you have to top off the oi l
wh ile on the road.
App lies to vehicle s with gasoline engin e on­
ly:
Only if the level of the o il is at or below the
min imum ma rk - and no o il that expressly
c onfo rms to Audi oil standa rd VW 50 2 00
specifica tions is available - may you top off
with a high quality engine o il , pre fera bly syn ­
t h etic-based, that meets ACEA A3 or API SM
specifications, but even then, only in viscosity
grades SAE 5W-40, SA E 5W-30, or SA E
OW-40. However, dur ing the entire time be­
tween oil change interva ls, never top off with
more than a total of 0.5 qt/liter engine o il
that does not confo rm to Aud i oil spec ification
vw 502 00 .
Applies to vehicles with diesel engine only:
Only if the level of the oil is at or be low the
min imum ma rk - and no o il tha t expressly
confo rms to Audi oil standa rd VW 507 00
spe cifications is available - may you top off
wi th a high quali ty engine o il, that meets
AC EA C3 o r API CF specifica tions, but even
then , on ly in viscosity grades SAE 5W-40 , SAE
5W-30, or SAE OW-40 . However, during the
entire t ime between oil change intervals, nev­
er top off with more than a tota l of 0.5 qt/li­
ter engine oil that does no t conform to Aud i
o il specification VW 507 00 .
For more information about eng ine oi l that
has been approved for your veh icle, please
contact e ither your au thorized Aud i dealer or
Audi Custome r Re lations at 1 (800) 822 -2834
o r vis it our web site at www.audiusa .com or
www.aud icanada .ca. He re you w ill also find a
c ur rent l ist of oi ls (manufac turers, brand .,.