coolant temperature AUDI A8 2013 Owners Manual

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overview of th e instr ume nt cluster
(!) Coolan t tempera ture gauge ...
@ Tachometer (engine rev counter)
® Turn signals ............. .. .
© D isp lay with
- Driver information system ...
- Warning/ind icator lights
® Tachom eter
® F uel gauge .... ..... ... ... . .
0 Reset b utton for trip odometer
(D Tips
1 0
11
47
23
11
1 1
26
The instrument illumination (for dia ls and
needles) t urns on when the ignition is on
a nd the vehicle lights are tur ned off. As
the daylight fades, the illumination of t he
dia ls likewise dims automatica lly and w ill
go o ut comple tely when the o utsi de light
i s very low. Th is feature is meant t o rem ind you
to sw itch on the head ligh ts when o ut­
s id e light condi tions become poor .
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge (!) ¢ poge 10, fig. 3
only works when the ignition is on. To prevent
damage to your engine, please note the fol­
lowing important po ints:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn o n, the engine has not reached operating
temperature yet. Avoid hig h engine speeds,
heavy engine loads and heavy throttle applica­
tions .
Normal temp erature
The eng ine has reached its operating temper-
at ure once the LEDs up to the center of the .,.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
gauge turn on under normal d riving condi ­
tions . The LEDs higher up may turn on when
the eng ine is under heavy load or the exter ior
temperature is high . This is no need to worry
as long as the. warning light in the instru­
ment cluster does not illuminate . If the LEDs
in the upper area of the display and the ind ica­
tor light . in the instrument cluster d isplay
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
¢page 16.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warning in
~ page 226, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself. Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant .
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
in 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 co uld 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 red uce the cooling
effect and t he engine co uld then over­
heat . Ask your aut ho rized Audi dea le r for
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red a rea
at the end of the sca le ind icates maxim um
perm iss ible engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position "D (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
@ Note
The tachometer need le should only briefly
be in the red zone: yo u could damage your
engine! The beg inning of the red zone var ­
i es depending on the engine.
@ For the sake of the environment
Upsh ifting early saves fuel and reduces en ­
gine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only works when the ignition is
o n.
If the fue l level drops below 4 gallons (15
l ite rs), the bottom LE D tu rns red and the indi­
cator light~ turns on
c::> page 21. The bot­
tom LED b link s red when the fue l level is very
l ow .
The possible range based on the current fuel
level is shown in tab@~
page 23, fig. 4.
(D Note
Never run the ta nk complet ely dry. An ir­
r egular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel cou ld enter the exha ust
system. The cata lytic converter could t hen
overheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator lights
Description
T he ind icator lights in the ins trument clus ter
blink or turn on. They indica te f unct ions or
malfunctions
c;;> ,& .
Messages may appea r with some indicato r
li ghts. A warning signal will sound at the
same t ime. The indica tor lights and messages
in the center of the displays may be rep laced
by other disp lays. To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us­
ing the multifunction steering whee l
c;;> page 23. If there are several malfunc­
tions, you can display them one at a time us- ing the thumbwheel. ..,.

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
dealer or qualified workshop immediately to
have the ma lfunction corrected.
_ l Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engin e cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible .
• Swit ch off en gine and ch eck c oolan t leve l
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the coo lant temperature is too
h igh or the coo lant level is too low.
.. Pull off the road .
.. Stop the vehicle .
.. Turn off the engine.
.. Check coolant level
¢page 240.
.. Add coolant if necessary ¢ page 241.
.,. Contin ue driving only after the eng ine cool­
ant warning/indicator light goes o ut.
.. Contact your authorized Audi dea ler for as-
sistance if necessary .
I f the engine coolant level is correct, then the
radiator fan may be the cause of the malfunc­
t ion.
• Coo lan t te mpera ture t oo high! Pl ease let
e ngine run with veh icle st a ti on ary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears in t railer mode*, let the engine
r u n at id le for a few m inutes to cool down.
& WARNING
- If your vehicle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the engine and turn on the hazard
warning lights ¢
page 46, Emergency
flasher .
-
-Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escap ing from the en­
gine compartme nt -you risk being scald­
ed . Wait until you can no longer see or
hear steam or coo lant escaping.
- The engine compartment of any veh icle
is a dangerous area . Before you perform
any wor k in the engine compartment,
t ur n of the eng ine and allow it to cool. Follow the warning stickers
¢
page 226,
Engine compartment .
@ Note
Do not continue driving if the. symbo l
i ll uminates . There is a malfunction in the
engine cooling system -you could damage
your engine.
% Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
T he . warning/ indicator light illum inates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Addit iona lly, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) w ill also sound .
For more Information ¢
page 144, {t Safety
belt warning light .
0 Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal ­
function in the generator or in the vehicle 's
electrical system.
T he . warning/ indicato r light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the engine has started.
• Alternator fault: Batt ery i s not b ein g
charged
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malf unct ion in the
generator or veh icle elect rical system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immed iate ly. Be cause the veh i­
cl e battery is discharg ing, tu rn off all unnec­
essary elec trical equipmen t such as the rad io .
Seek professiona l assistance if the battery
c h arge level is too low.
(•) Low battery char ge: battery will be
charg ed while d riving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited sta rting
ability.

78 Warm and cold
Warm and cold Climate controls
Description
The climate control system warms, cools and
adds humidity to the air in the vehicle interior.
It is the most effect ive when the windows and
sunroof* are closed . If the temperature inside
the parked vehicle becomes very warm, open­ ing the window briefly will speed up the cool­
ing process.
I n all heating mode functions except
defrost,
the blower on ly switches to a higher speed
once the engine coolant has reached a certain
temperature.
Condensation from the cooling system can
drip and form a puddle of water under the ve­
hicle. This is normal and does not mean there
is a leak.
Pollutant filter
The pol lutant filter removes pollutants such
as dust and pollen from the air.
The air pollutants filter must be changed at
the intervals spec ified in you r Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet, so that the air condi­
tioner can properly work.
I f you drive your vehicle in an a rea with high
a ir po llution, the fi lter may need to be
changed more frequent ly than specified in
your Aud i Warranty
& Maintenance booklet. If
in doubt, ask your authorized Audi Service Ad­
visor for advice .
Key coded settings
The climate control settings are a utomat ically
stored and assigned to the remote control key
that is in use.
A 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.
- Comp letely familiarize yourself with the
proper use and funct ion of the heat ing
and ventilation system and especially how to defog and defrost the windows.
- Never use the windshield wiper/washer
system in freez ing weather unt il you
have warmed the windshield first, using
the heating and ventilation system. The
washer solution may freeze on the wind­ sh ie ld and reduce visib ility.
(D Note
- If you suspect that the air conditioner has been damaged, switch the system
off to avoid further damage and have it
inspected by a qualified dealership.
- Repairs to the Audi air conditioner re­
quire special technical know ledge and
special tools. Contact an authorized Aud i
dea ler fo r assistance.
@ For the sake of the environment
By reducing the amount of fuel you use,
you also reduce the amount of pollutants
emitted into the air.
(D Tips
- Keep the air intake s lots (in fro nt of the
w indshield) free from ice, snow and de ­
bris in order to maintain the proper func­
tion of the climate control system.
- T he energy management system may
switch the seat heating* or rear window
defroster off temporari Ly . These systems
are available again as soon as the energy
balance has been restored.
- Air escapes through vents under the rear
window. When placing items of clothing
on the luggage compartment cover, en­
sure that the openings are not covered.

Warm and cold 79
Operation
We recommend pressing the
I AUTO I button and setting the temperature to 72 °F (22 °C) .
Fig. 81 Cockpit controls
Fig. 82 fou r zone auto matic cli mate control: rear con­
trols
Press the buttons to turn the functions on or
off . Use the dials to adj ust the temperature,
the blower speed and the a ir distribution. The
LED in a button w ill light up when the func­
tion is sw itched on. The settings are shown in
the climate control display and are a lso shown
in the MMI display for a few seconds . The driv­
e r and front passenger sett ings can be adj ust­
in g separately.
You can also adjust the rear left and right
sides in the four zone automat ic climate con­
trol*
~ fig . 82 .
IOFF I Switching the climate control
system on/off
The IOFFI button switches the climate control
system on or off .
It also switches on when you
turn the dial or press any button . Airflow from outside is
blocked when the climate control
system is switched off.
You can acti vate the residual heat functi on
whe n the ignition is off by pressing and hold­
ing the ~ button . The residual heat from the
coolant is used to heat the vehicle i nterior.
The residua l heat function switches off auto­
matically after about 30 minutes.
IAIC ! Switching cooling mode on/off
The air is not coo led and hum idity is not re­
moved when cooling mode is switched off.
This can cause fog on the windows. Cooling
mode switches off automatically when the
outside temperature is be low zero.
1- 1 Switching recirculation mode on/off
In recircu lation mode, the air inside the vehi­
cle is circulated and filtered. This prevents the
unfiltered air outside the vehicle from enter­
ing the vehicle interior. We recommend
switching recirculation mode on when driving
through a tunnel or when sitting in traffic
¢ ,&. .
The !AUTO I button or~ button switches reci r­
cu lation mode off.
IAUTO! Switching automatic mode on
Automatic mode maintains a cons tant tem­
perature inside the vehicle. Air temperature,
~

drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind condit ions are unfavorable -part icularly
when going downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediatel y if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
A lways app ly brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes a lone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge c:> page 10
must be observed carefully. The coo lant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in ­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immed iate ly if the L EDs in
the top part of the display turn on.
F or more information about indicator lights,
refer to. ~
page 16.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is not properly wear ing the restra ints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your veh icle hand les different ly when tow ing
-
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
d ifferent weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy will greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your ng .
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
Trailer towing 213
have become completely familiar with the way
your vehicle-trai ler combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a t railer generally requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a tra iler.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you . You wi ll need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you w ill need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remembe r that you cannot ac­
ce lerate as fast as you norma lly would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for your trailer before chang­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re ­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
c:> page 296.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only a~er doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.,. Have someone p lace chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load.
.,. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.,. Apply the parking brake .
.,. Select the P selector lever posit ion .
When restarting after parking:
.,. Apply the foot brake.
•
•

232 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 193 Driver foo twell: release lever
AUD I
Fig. 194 Rocker switch un der the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged .
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow
~ fig. 193.
.,. Raise the hood slightly~,&. .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward
~ fig. 194. This releases th e catch.
... Open the hood.
&_ WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood .
' 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 per­
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
~ ,&. .
A WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition .
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- 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
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com­
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm . The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant 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.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This increases the
risk of burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri­
cal system is necessary:

240 Checking and filling
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The 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 Gl3 ant ifreeze
with anticorros ion add itives (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 coo l­
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 antifree ze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and engine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c:> &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 232.
- 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 w in- ter
is extreme ly 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 Gl2++ or Gl3 for your vehicle .
This coolant additive is available at au­
thorized Audi dealers. Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor­
rosion protection. The resulting corro­
sion can ca use a loss of coolant and se­
rious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal ­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant .
Add ing 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.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig. 200 Engin e compar tmen t: cover on t he coolant
expansio n ta nk
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS c:> &. in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 232 .
Park your vehicle on a level surface .
.,. Switch off the ignition.
.,. Read the engine coolant level from the
coo lant expansion tank
c:> fig. 200,
c:> page 234. With a cold engine, the coolant
level should be between the "min" and
"max" markings. When the engine is warm, ..,

24 2 Ch ecking and filling
scalding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from escaping flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully
i n a counter-clockwise direction while
apply ing l ight, downwa rd press ure on
the top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not spi ll an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts . Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
gine coolant can catch f ire .
- Antifreeze is poisonous . Always store an­
tifreeze in its or iginal container and we ll
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
@ Note
- Coolant po llutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire . Excess coo l­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure re lief 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
c::> page 240 must be re­
stored as soon as possible .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be re used. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while observ­
ing all environmental regulat ions .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
T he radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-be lt . The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to the temperature of the
coolant. An a
uxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depend ing on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operat ing condit ions .
After yo u sw itch the engine off, the aux iliary
f an can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- eve n wit h the ignit ion off. It can even switc h
on again later by itself
c::> &. , if
- t he tempe rature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build -up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in i ntense sunlight.
_& WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperat ure
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certai n temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops .
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
F ig . 201 E ngin e compart men t: cover on the brake fluid
r eservo ir
Before you check a nyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
always read and hee d all WARN ­
INGS c::> .&. in Working in the engine compart-
ment on page 232. .,..

250 Tire s and wheel s
-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden t ire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
(D Note
Please note that summer and wi nte r tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic tra nsmission, power steer ing,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that th ese
items are availab le as factory -installed equip­
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio of the he ight to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re­
sponse and better overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire . typ
ica l in those seasons . Aud i recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
decrease the e lasticity of summer tires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer tires are used in very co ld tem­
peratures, cracks ca n form on the tread
bars, res ulting in permanent tire damage
that can cause loud driving no ise and un­
balan ced t ires. Audi is not responsible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire p ressu re recommended by t he
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire of a des igna ted
s iz e that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
t h e three hour period before the tire pressure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicle with
standard equipment in cl uding the max imum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi ­
tioning and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
me ans a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l" , "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the lo ad -c a rry ing c apac ity of a s ingle
axle system , measured a t the tire-ground in­
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicl e. .,.