cooling AUDI A8 2011 User Guide

Trailer lo ad di stri bu tion
Be s ure the load in the trai ler is held securely
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
N eve r allow a p assenger to rid e in a tr ailer
,=:, .&. in Driving instructions on page 204.
Engine cooling s ystem
Towing a tra iler makes the eng ine work hard ­
er . It is important that the cooling system's
pe rformance is up to the addit ional load .
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid.
Tire p res sure
When tow ing a trailer, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
" Full load " on the label located on the dr iver's
side B-pillar (v is ible when the door is open).
I nflate trailer tires to tra iler and t ire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly .
Safety chain s
Be sure trailer safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve ­
h icle . Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turn ing corners . When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
r oad when yo u are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
sepa rat ion from the hitch .
Adjusting the air su spens ion an d damping
s y stem
Ensure the follow ing b efore coupling the trai l­
e r and
b efo re adjusting the tongue weight on
the trailer:
- For the veh icle to be at the normal level, the
A uto or Comfort driv ing mode must be se­
lected
,=:, page 10 7, Selecting the driving
mode. The vehicle must a lso not be raised
,=:, page 108 .
Trailer to win g 203
-If the trailer was detected automatically, a
trailer hitch wi ll appear on the veh icl e@ in
the
Aud i dr ive se lect menu (MMI > ICARI
function button)
,=:, fig. 171. If this does no t
happen , turn the towing mode on in the
MMI. Select: I CAR I funct ion button>
C ar
sys tem s
control button > Vehicle setting s >
Air su sp en sion: t owing > O n.
- Turn towing mode off if you secure a carrier
system such as a bicycle rack on the trailer
hitch. Se lect in the M MI: ICAR !function but­
ton >
Car syste m s control button > Vehi cle
se tting s
> Air su spen sion : towin g > Off.
If you must drive under poor road conditions,
you can raise the vehicle
aft er coupling the
tra iler or
aft er adjust ing the tongue we ight
,=:, page 108.
(D Note
If you a re going to tow a t railer, you must
activate the tra iler operation mode .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle and trailer, please note the follow ing :
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is no t loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other ve ­
hicles .
.,. Obse rve speed limits .
.,. Do not dr ive at the max imum permissib le
speed.
.,. Always app ly brakes early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded t railer with an empty car re­
s ul ts in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, dr ive at very
low speeds on ly to avoid the risk of losing
steering contro l.
A "balanced " rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means tha t the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and
IJI>
•
•

216 Cleaning and protecti on
- To avoid damage, have stubborn stains
removed by a commercial cleaning spe­
cialist.
- Do not use br ushes, stiff sponges or sim­
ilarly abrasive cleaning aids.
Safety belts
Only well-maintained safety belts work relia ­
bly when needed .
> Keep belts clean.
> For cleaning, use a mild soap and wate r sol­
ution . Let be lts dry thoroughly and away
from direct sunlight .
> Do not allow inertia reel safety be lts to re­
tract before they are completely dry.
> Check the condition of your safety belts reg­
ularly .
Heavily soiled safety belts may not retract
properly.
.&_ WARNING
Damaged safety belts can break in a crash.
- Anything that might damage your safety
belts could mean that you and your pas­
sengers would not be adequately pro­
tected in an acc ident.
- Safety belt performance depends on cor­
rect installation. Never remove belts
from the vehicle to clean them.
- Do not use chemical cleani ng agents,
bleach or dyes. They have corrosive prop­
ert ies which weaken the webbi ng.
- When cleani ng your safety belts, inspect
them for damage.
If you discove r dam­
age, see you r A udi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other information
c:> page 206.
Cooler
A ppl ies to vehicles: with cooler
A layer of ice or frost in the cooler interferes
with its cooling performance .
Clean ing
The refr igerator sho uld be cleaned reg ularly.
> Wash the coo ler with lukewarm wate r and a
mild cleaning solution, if necessary.
> Then wipe the cooler dry.
> Dust and d irt will accumulate near the venti­
lation openings in the luggage compart­
ment due to normal cooler usage. This
should be cleaned regularly.
D ef rosting
> Switch the coo ler off c:> page 72.
> Remove any food or beverages and allow the
coo ler to defrost with the door open.
> W ipe the inside of the cooler dry and clea n
the cooler, if necessary .
Defrost the cooler if you will not be us ing it
for extended periods of time .
(D Note
- Do not try to speed up the defrosting
process by apply ing heat.
- To reduce the risk of persona l injury or
damage to the refr igerator,
- do not use any abrasive cleaners, sol­
vents, wax, agg ress ive clean ing solu ­
tions, solut io ns w it h strong frag rances,
etc.,
- d o no t clean the co oler w ith cleaning
tools su ch as s teel woo l.
Engine compartment
Be especially careful when cleaning the en ­
gine comportment.
Alway s switch off the ignit ion b efor e cle an­
ing the engine
c:> ,&. .
Plenum panel
Remove leaves from the plenum panel in front
of the w indshield under the eng ine compart ­
ment . This prevents the wate r drain holes
from becom ing b locked, and it preve nts de­
br is from entering the vehicle inte rior through
the heat ing and ven tilat ion duc ts.
Corrosion protection
The eng ine compartment and transmission
have been corrosion-protected at the factory .
ll-

Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro ­
te cts the engine from freezing in the winter .
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
qu ires 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 coolan t additive G12++ ant ifreeze
with a nticorrosion add itives (50% fo r USA
models; 60% for Canad ian models). This mix­
ture bot h assu res the ne ces sary frost protec­
tion and protects metal components in the
engine's cooling system from corrosion and
scaling. It also raises the bo ili ng po int of t he
coolant.
D o not red uce the concentration of the coo l­
ant in the summe r by adding plain water .
The
proportion of coolant addit ive must be at
least 50% but not mo re than 60 %
to main­
tain antifree ze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protect ion is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -3 1°F (-35°C)USA
- -4 0 ° F ( - 4 0 °C) Canada.
You can mix t he G12 ++ cool ant ad ditive with
o ther addit ives (G1 2+ or G1 2). Alway s check
w ith your author ized Audi dealer.
& WARNING
Before yo u check any thing in the engine
compartment, always read and hee d all
W AR NIN GS
Q .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 222.
(D Note
- Before win ter se ts in , have the coolan t
checked to see if the coolant addit ive i n
Checkin g and fillin g 229
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli ­
mate conditions . This is especia lly impor­
tant if you live in a reg ion where t he win­
ter is extreme ly co ld. If necessary, in­
crease t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 60% .
- Whe n add ing coolant additive to your
cooling system , remember :
- W e re co mme nd usin g only cool ant ad­
dit ive G 12++ (check t he labe l) for your
vehi cle. This coolan t addi tive is ava ila­
b le at a uthorized Audi dea le rs . Othe r
types of ant ifreeze can significant ly re­
d uce co rrosi on protection. The res ult­
i n g corrosion can ca use a loss of co ol­
ant and ser io us eng ine damage .
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak seal­
ant to you r vehicle's eng ine c oolant .
Add ing radiator repair fl uid may adverse­
ly affect t he f unction and performance of
yo ur cooling sys tem and co uld resu lt i n
damage not covered by yo ur New Ve hicle
Li mi ted Warran ty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be chec ked with
a quick glan ce.
:!, MAX
% MIN
Fig. 180 En gin e compar tment: mark ings on t he coo l­
a n t expa nsion tank
Befo re you check a nyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢.&, in Working in the engine compart­
men t on page
222 .
"' Switch off the ignition .
"' Read the engine coo lant level from the coo l­
ant expa nsion tank
Qfig . 180. Wit h a co ld
eng ine , the coo lant level s hou ld be between
1JJ>-

230 Check ing and filling
th e "min" and "max" markings. When the
engine is wa rm, the level may be slightly
above the "max" marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment ill us­
tration ¢
page 224 .
To obtain an accurate read ing , the engine
must be switched
off .
The expans io n tank in you r vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level se nsor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning light in the A uto-Check System ¢
page 15 will
i llum inate u nti l you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level sensor , we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolan t loss, the cool­
ing system should be inspected immedia tely
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is not
enough mere ly to add coolant.
I n a
se aled system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheat ing.
A WARNING
T he cooling system is unde r pressure and
can get ve ry hot . Reduce the risk of sca ld­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect yo ur face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by cove ring the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefu lly in
a counter-clockwise direction wh ile ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avoid being b urned, do not spill ant i­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or hot eng ine parts . Under ce rtai n condi -
'
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine coo l­
ant can catch fire.
@ Note
Do not add any type o f radiato r leak sea l­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant. Add ­
i ng radiator repa ir fluid 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 L imited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
c> .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page
222 .
• Turnoff the engine .
• Let the eng ine cool down.
• Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank
c> page 22 9, fig . 180 and carefully
tw ist t he cap co unter-clockwise c> ,& .
• Add coo lant .
• Twist the cap o n again
tightly.
Replacement engine coo lant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions ¢
page 229, Coolant .
Even in a n emerge ncy, if coo la nt addi-
t ive G 12++ , G12+ or G12 is not ava ilable , do
not use a d iffe ren t addit ive. Use plain water
instead unt il you can get the cor rect add itive
and can restore the correct ratio . This sho uld
be don e as soon as possible.
If you have los t a consider able amount o f
coolant, then you sho uld add cold ant ifreeze
and cold 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 coola nt w ill be fo rced o ut through the
pressure relief valve in t he cap when the e n-
gine becomes ho t.
Ill>

A WARNING
-=
-The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot . Reduce the risk of
scald ing from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn
off the engine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in a counter-clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spi ll an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certa in
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en­
g ine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its original container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess cool­
ant w ill be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
Q page 229 must be re­
stored as soon as possible.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while obse rv­
ing all environmental regulations.
Checkin g and fillin g
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
The rad iator fan is dr iven by the engine via the
V-belt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan according to the temperature of the
coolant .
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and
off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operat ing cond it ions .
After you switch the engine
off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes - even with the ignition
off. It can even switch
on again later by itself
Q &., if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal in jury nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant reaches a certa in temperature and w ill
continue to ru n until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
231
•
•

How do I properly install a child safety
seat in my vehicle? .............. .. . 172
Infant seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Installing .. ............. .... .. ... 178
Installing a child restraint us in g the
LATCH system ..................... 184
LATCH system .... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. . 184
Lower anchorages ............... .. 182
Mounting and releasing the anchorage
hook .... .. ................. .. ... 184
Safety instructions ............ .. .. . 172
Clean ing and protection ......... .. .. . 206
A lcantara (synthet ic suede) .......... 215
Cooler ... .. ................. .. ... 216
Engine compartment ............... 216
Exhaust tail pipes ............ ... .. . 212
Fabrics and fabric coverings . ... .. .. . 212
Instrument panel ............ ... .. . 213
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
MMI display/controls ............... 212
Plastic and vinyl ................. .. 210
Plastic parts ..... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. . 213
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
tr im strips . ............. .. .. .. .. . 210
Trim strips . ............. .... .. ... 209
Climate controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4
Clock ....... .. ................ ..... 26
Closing Panoramic sunroof ........ .. .. .. .. .. 41
Sliding/tilting sunroof ............... 40
Sun shade (panoramic sunroof) ... .. .. 42
Cold tire inflation pressure ... .. .. .. .. . 242
Coming home ............. .... .. .. .. 45
Compact spare tire .................. 261
Compartments .... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 70
Compass in the mirror ......... ... .. .. 52
Compliance .. .. ........... .. .. .. ... 286
Consumer Information . . . . . . . . . . 135, 283
Consumption (fuel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Contacting NHTSA .................. 135
Convenience key .............. ... .... 33
Starting the engine ................. 79
Stopping the engine (START ENGINE
STOP button) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Switching the ignition on ............ 79
Unlocking and locking vehicle ........ . 33
Index 289
Convertib le child safety seats
Convertible locking retractor 17S
Activating . .. .. .. ................. 180
Deact ivating . .. .. .... ........... .. 181
Using to secure a child safety seat 1.78, 180
Coolant
refer to Engine coolant ............. 229
Cooler ....... .. .. .... ............. . 72
Cleaning .. .. .. .. .. ............... 216
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Cooling mode (automatic climate control) 75
Cornering light ........... .......... 106
Cruise control Changing speed .. .................. 84
Presetting your speed ............... 85
Switching off .. .. .. . .. ... .... ..... . 85
Switching on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Warning/ind icator lights ............ . 22
(upholder .. .. .. .. ................. . 70
D
Data .............................. 282
Data recorder . .. .. .. .. ........... .. 190
Date display .. .. .. ... ... ...... ..... . 26
Daytime running lights .............. .. 43
Declaration of compliance Adaptive cruise control ............. 286
Audi s ide ass ist .. ............. .... 286
Cell phone package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Convenience key .. .. .............. . 286
Electronic immobilizer .............. 286
Homelink ® universal remote control .. 286
Remote control key ... ......... .. .. 286
Tire pressure monitoring system ..... 286
DEF What does this mean when it appears in
the trip odometer display? ........... 26
Defective light bulb warning ........... 21
Defrosting (windows) .. .. ... .... ..... . 76
Deluxe automatic climate control ..... .. 75
Determining correct load limit ........ 247
Digital compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Dimensions ....... .. . .............. 280
Dimming the rearview mirror .......... 51
Distance ....... .... ................ 24
Door/rear lid warning ... ............. . 23
•
•

298 Index
What happens if you wear yo ur sa fety be lt
too loose? ... ... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 14 1
What happens to unbelted occupants? . . 138
What impairs driving safety? . . . . . . . . . . 128
What should I do after chang ing a
wheel? . ..... ... .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 24 5
What should
I do after rep lacing wheels? 245
Wheel bolts Torque . ...... ........... ........ . 255
Wheels ..... ... . ...... ... .. .. .... . 238
Cast alloy . .. .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 21 1
Check ing tire pressure ... .. .. .. .. .. . 244
Cold t ire inflat ion pressure . .. .. .. .. . 242
General notes ................ .... . 238
Glossary of t ire and load ing termino lo-
gy .. .. .. .. ... .... .... .. .. .. .. .. . 239
New tires and wheels .......... .. ... 249
T ires and vehicle load lim its .. .. .... . 24 6
When must a safety belt be rep laced? . . 140
When must the airbag system be inspect -
ed? ... .... .. .. . .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 156
When shou ld I ad just the tire p ressu res? 245
When shou ld I check the tire pressures? . 245
Where are lower anchorages located? . .. 18 2
Where can I find the tire pressures for my
car? ...... .. ................ ... ... 244
Why safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137, 138
W indows
C leaning .... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 210
defrost ing . ... . .. ..... ... .. .. .... .. 76
W indshield
C le a ning . .. ............. ........ .. 48
defrost ing .. .. . .......... .. .. .. .. .. 76
W indshield washer system ...... .. .. .. 48
Washer flu id level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Washer rese rvoir .......... ... .. ... 236
W indshield wipers
Fo lding up ................ .. .... .. 50
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Replacing w indshield w iper blades ... .. 50
Sw itch ing on/off .......... ... .. ... . 48
W inter operation
Battery .. .. ............. .. .. .. ... 233
Cooling system ..... ...... .. .. .. .. . 229
Defrosting windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
S teer ing whee l heating .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 77 T
ires ... .. .... .. ... .. ..... .... . .. 19 4
Windows ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. 210
Win ter tires . .... .. ............. .... 253
All-wheel drive . .. ............. .. .. 253
X
Xenon-L ights ...... .. .............. . 272
Xenon pl us headlights ........... .. .. . 43