rns AUDI A4 AVANT 2008 Owner's Manual

Checking and filling -
-----------------------------==--------=--
& WARNING (continued)
ment. Wait until no steam or coolant can be seen or heard before
carefully opening the hood.
•
Closing the engine hood
- Pull the hood down until the pressure from the strut is
reduced.
- Let the hood
drop down and latch in place. Do not try to
push
it shut; it may fail to engage =:>& .
& WARNING
A hood that is not completely latched could fly up and block your
view while driving.
• When you close the engine hood, check it to make sure the
safety catch has properly engaged. The hood should be flush with
the surrounding vehicle body parts.
• If you notice while driving that the hood is not secured prop­
erly, stop at once and close it. •
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in the engine
compartment.
Whenever you must perform any work in the engine compartment,
for example checking and filling different fluids, there is a risk of
injury, burns and accidents. To prevent personal injury always
observe the following WARNINGS . The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
=> & .
• I I • • I
& WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check anything under the hood:
• Turn off the engine.
• Remove the ignition key .
• Apply the parking brake.
• Move selector lever of automatic transmission to
"P" (Park);
put manual transmission in Neutral.
• Always let the engine cool down. Hot components will burn
skin on contact.
• To reduce the risk of being burned, never open the hood if you
see or hear steam or coolant escaping from the engine compart­
ment. Wait until no steam or coolant can be seen or heard before
carefully opening the hood.
• Keep children away from the engine compartment.
• Never spill fluids on hot engine components. They can cause a
fire.
• Never touch the radiator fan. The auxiliary electric fan is
temperature controlled and can switch on suddenly.
• Never open the coolant reservoir cap when the engine is still
warm . The coolant system is pressurized and hot coolant could
spray out.
• Protect your face, hands and arm from steam or hot engine
coolant by placing a thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
• If work on the fuel system or the electrical system is necessary: -Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or work near heaters or open flames. Fluids in
the engine compartment could start a fire .
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher immediately available.
• To avoid electrical shock and personal injury while the engine
is running or being started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
.,_
Vehicle care

-~_C_ h_ e_c _k _ i_n ..::g :..._ a_n_ d_ f_il _li _n_, g=-----------------------------------------------
Under some circumstances the engine oi l should be changed more
frequen tly . Change oil m ore often if you drive most ly shor t
distances, operate the vehicle in dusty areas or under predom i­
n ant ly stop -and -go traffic conditions , or have yo ur vehicle whe re
temperatures remain below freezing for extended periods.
Detergent additives in the oil will make fresh oil look dark after the
engine has bee n run nin g fo r a sh ort time. This is nor mal and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than recommended .
Beca use of the proble m of p roper d isposal, along wi th the s pec ia l
tools and necessary expertise required, we strongly recommend
t hat yo u have your oi l ch anged by an authorized
Audi dealer or a
qua lified serv ice stat ion .
If you choose to change your o il yourself , please note the follow ing
i mportan t informatio n:
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury if you must change the engine
oil in your vehicle yourself :
• Wear eye prote ction .
• To reduce the risk of burns from hot engine oil , let the engine
c ool down to the touch .
• When removing the oil drain plug with your fingers, stay as far
away as po ssible . Always keep your forearm parallel to the ground
to help prevent hot oil from running down your arm.
• Drain the oil into a container designed for this purpose , one
large enough to hold at least the total amount of oil in your engine.
• Engine oil is poisonous . Keep it well out of the rea ch of ch ildren .
• Continuous contact with used engine oil is harmful to your
skin . Always prote ct your skin by washing oil off thoroughly with
soap and water.
0 Note
Never m ix o il add it ives w ith your engine o il. These add it ives can
damage you r engine and adversely affect your A udi Limited New
Ve hicle Warranty.
'i> For the sake of the environment
• B efore chang ing you r oil, fi rst make sure you k now w here you
can properly dispose of the used o il.
• Always dispose o f used eng ine oil properly. Do not dump it o n
garden soi l, wooded areas, into open st reams or down sewage
drains .
• Recycle used engine oi l by ta king it to a used engine oi l collec ­
tion fac ility in your area, or contac t a service stat io n .•
Engine cooling system
Coolant
T he engine coolan t performs two fun ctions: it keeps the
engine from overhe ating and it pr otec ts the engine from
f reez ing i n th e win ter.
Th e cooling system is sea led and general ly requires l itt le attention.
T he coo ling system has been fi lled at the factory with a permanent
coo la nt which does not need to be c hange d. The c oolan t consis ts of
a mixture of water and the manufacturer's glycol -based coolant
additive G12 + an tifreeze wi th anticorros io n add itives (50% for USA
models; 60% for Canadian models). This mixture both assures the
necessary frost protection and protects me tal components in the
engine's cool ing system from corrosion and scaling . It also raises
the boiling poi nt of the coolant .
Do n ot reduce t he co ncentration o f the coolan t in the su mmer by
adding plain water .
The proportion of coolant additive must be at .,_

ffl...__C_ h_ e_c _k _ i_n ..::g ,_ a_n_ d_ f_il _li _n....: g==-- --------------------------------------------
Working on the battery
Be es pecia lly car efu l w he n work ing on or n ear t he battery .
Fig. 213 Engine
compartment :
Removing the battery
Befo re you chec k anythi ng in the e ngine c ompart me nt, al ways read
and heed all
WARNINGS ~ & in " Working in the e ngine compa rt ­
m ent " o n page
273 .
Alw ays heed the safety warnings , when w orki ng on the v ehicle
batte ry or the vehicle e lectrica l system to preve nt inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very important when
working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYMBOLS and safety pre­ cautions when working on the battery .
Always wear eye protection .
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Always wear
gloves and eye protection .
@
No
-sparks
- flames
- smoking .
When a battery is charged , it produces hydrogen
gas which is explosive and could cause personal
injury .
Always keep the ba ttery well ou t of reach of chi l­
dren .
& WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on the electrical system,
there is the risk of injury, accident and even fire . Read and heed the
following WARNINGS:
• Always wear eye protection . Do not let battery acid or any lead
particles get on your skin or clothing. Shield your eyes . Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury .
• Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid can cause
blindness and severe burns .
- Always wear gloves and eye protection. Do not tilt the battery because acid could leak out of the ventilation openings .
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin , immedi ­
ately rinse with cold water for several minutes and get medical
attention.
- If you should ingest any battery acid, seek medical attention
immediately.
• Do not expose the battery to an open flame , electric sparks or
an open light.
• Do not smoke.
• Do not interchange the positive and negative cables .
• When working on the battery , be sure not to short -circuit the
term inals with tools or other metal objects . This would cause the
IJJ>

_______________________________________________ C
_ o_ n
_ s_u _ m_ e_ r_l_ n _f_o _ r_ m_ a_ t
_ i
_ o _ n
__ lllll
W For the sake of the environm ent
By regularly ma intain ing your vehicle, you help make sure that emis ­
sion standards are maintained, thus minimizing adve rse effects on
the e nv ironment. •
Important considerations for you and your
vehicle
T he increasing use of elec tronics, sophisticated fue l injection and
emission con trol systems, and t he gene rally increasing tec hn ical
complexity of today's automobiles, have steadily reduced the scope
of maintenance and repai rs which can be carried ou t by vehic le
owners.
Also , safety and environmental concerns p lace very strict
limits on the nature of repairs and adjustments to engine and trans ­
m iss ion parts whic h an owne r can perform.
Maintenance , adjustments and repairs usua lly require special tools ,
t es ting dev ices a nd othe r eq uipment availab le to s pec ial ly t rai ned
workshop personne l in order to assure proper performance , reli ­
abil ity and safe ty of the vehicle and its many sy stems .
Im proper maintena nce, adjustments and repairs can impa ir the
operation and reliability of your vehicle and even void your vehicle
wa rranty. T here fore, proof o f servic ing in acc orda nce with the main­
tenance schedule may be a condition for upholding a possib le
warranty cla im made with in t he war ran ty per iod .
Above all, operationa l safety can be adversely affected, creating
unnecessary risks for you and your passengers.
I f in doubt about any servicing, have it do ne by your auth orized Audi
dea ler or any other properly equipped and qua lified workshop . We
str ongly u rge y ou to give yo ur auth orized Au di d ealer the oppo rtu ­
n ity to perform all scheduled maintenance and necessary repairs .
Yo ur dealer has the faci lit ies, origi nal par ts an d trained specia lis ts
to keep your vehic le running proper ly.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Performing limited maintenan ce yourself
The following pages des cribe a li mi ted numbe r of proced ures wh ic h
can be performed on your vehicle with ordinary tools, should the
need a rise a nd trained pers onnel be unavaila ble. Before perfo rm ing
any of these procedures, a lways t horoughly read all o f the app li­
cable text and carefu lly fo llow the instructions given. Always rigor ­
ously observe the
WARNINGS provided.
Before you check anything in the engine compartment , always read
and heed all
WARNINGS ~ & and~ & in "Wo rking i n th e engine
compartment" on
page 273.
& WARNING
• Serious personal injury may occur as a result of improperly
performed maintenance , adjustments or repairs .
• Always be e xtremely careful when working on the veh icle .
Always follow commonly accepted safety practice s and general
common sense . Never risk personal injury .
• Do not attempt any of the maintenance, checks or repairs
described on the following pages if you are not fully familiar with
the se or other procedures with respect to the vehicle , or are uncer ­
tain how to pro ceed .
• Do not do any work without the proper tools and equipment .
Have the necessary work done by your authorized Audi dealer or
another properly equipped and qualified work shop .
• The engine compartment of any motor vehicle is a potentially
hazardous area . Never reach into the area around or touch the
radiator fan . It is temperature controlled and can switch on
s uddenly -even when the engine is off and the ignition key has
been removed . The radiator fan swit ches on automat ically when
the coolant reaches a certain temperature and will continue to run
until the coolant temperature drops .
• Alway s remove the ignition key before anyone gets under the
vehi cle .
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Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data