maintenance AUDI Q3 2016 Owners Manual

Table of contents
Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Gasoline engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Consumer information . . . . . . . . . . 232
Warranty coverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Operating your vehicle outside the U.S.A.
or Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Audi Service Repair Manuals and
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Accessories and technical changes . . . . . . 234
Declaration of Compliance,
Telecommunications and Electronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23S
Index ..... .. .... ........... .... ... 236
4

In addition to this Owner's Manual, your Audi
comes with the
- MMI Operat ing Instructions
- Warranty
& Maintenance booklet.
If you are missing one of these publications , or if
you believe that the information is not complete,
contact your author ized Audi dealer for assis­
tance .
MMI Operating Instructions
contain detailed description of the Aud i Mu lti
Media Interface (MMI) includ ing the nav igation
system, the sound system and the hand held
phone.
The Warranty & Maintenance booklet
explains how you can keep your Audi in top d riv­
ing condition by having it serviced regu larly and
contains detailed information about the warran­
ties covering your Aud i. Always have the booklet
with you when you take your veh icle to an author­
iz ed A udi dealer for serv ice. Your Audi Serv ice Ad­
visor w ill record each scheduled service and can
answer any questions you may have regarding
h ow to maintain your vehicle.
In Canada,
the vehicle literature is also available in French .
To obtain a copy, co nta ct you r dealer or write to:
Au Canada, on peut se procurer un exemplaire en
frarn;ais de ce document aupres du concession­
naire ou de:
Aud i Canada .
Client Assistance
Assistance a la Clientele
777 Bayly Street, West ,
Ajax, Ontario LlS 7G7
If you sell your Audi
all literature should be left in the vehicle to make
the Warranty terms as well as all operating, safe­
ty and maintenance informat ion ava ilable to the
next owner.
Owner 's Literature
If you change your address or if you bought
this Audi used
be sure to send in a "Notice of Address Change" I
"Not ice of Used Car Purchase" post card. This
card can be found in the Warranty
& Mainte­
nance booklet or obtained from your authorized
Audi dealer.
It is in your own interest that we are able to
contact you should the need arise.
5

Warm and cold
Warm and cold
Climate control system
Description
Depending on the vehicle equ ipment, different
systems cou ld be installed:
- manual climate control system* or
- automatic climate control system*
The climate control system warms, coo ls and
adds humidity to the air in the vehicle interior. It
is the most effective when the windows and pan­
orama roof are closed. If there is a build-up of
heat inside the vehicle, vent ilation can help to
speed up the cooling process.
Condensat ion from the cooling system can drip
and form a puddle of water under the vehicle.
This is normal and does not mean there is a leak.
Pollutant filt er
The po llutant filter removes pollutants such as
dust and po llen from the a ir .
The air pollutants filter must be changed at the intervals specified in your Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet, so that the air conditioner can
proper ly work.
I f you drive yo ur vehicle in an area wi th high air
pollut ion, the filter may need to be changed
more frequently than specified in your Audi War ­
ranty & Maintenance booklet. If in doubt, ask
your author iz ed Audi Service Advisor for advice.
K ey rec ognition *
The deluxe automati c climate control* settings
are stored and assigned to the remote contro l
key that is in use .
A WARNING
Reduced visibility is dangerous and can ca use
accidents.
62
- For safe driving it is very important that all
w indows be free of ice, snow and condensa­
tion.
- Complete ly familiarize yourself with the
proper use and function of the heating and
ventilation system and espec ially how to de­
fog and defrost the windows .
- Never use the windshield wiper/washer sys­
tem in freezing weather until you have
warmed the windshield first, using the heat­
ing and vent ilation system . The washe r so lu­
tion may freeze o n the windshield and re­
duce visibility.
(U;) Note
- If you suspect that the air conditioner has
been damaged, sw itch the system off to
avoid furthe r damage a nd have it inspected
by a q ualified deale rship .
- Repa irs to the Aud i ai r cond itione r requ ire
special techn ica l know ledge and spec ial
tools. Contact an authorized Audi dea le r fo r
assistance .
@ For the sake of the environment
By reducing t he amo unt of fuel you use, you
a lso red uce the amount of pollutan ts emitted
i nto the a ir.
(D Tips
- To prevent i nterference with the heating
and cooling ou tput and to prevent the win­
dows from fogging over, the air intake in
front of the windshie ld must be free of ice,
snow or leaves.
- The energy management system may switch
t h e seat heating * or rear window defroster
o ff temporarily. These systems are available
again as soon as the energy supply has been
restored.

Automatic transmission
Shifting with the shift paddle s*
You can operate the shift padd les in the D, Sor M
selector lever posit ions.
• To sh ift up one gear, tap the
0 shift paddle
¢fig. 93.
• To shift down one gea r, tap the O sh ift paddle.
• If you do not press a shift button within a short
time whi le in the D/S position, the transmission
will return to automatic mode. To keep shifting
using the shift buttons, move the selector lever
to the right out of the D/S position.
The transmission automatically shifts up or down
before critical engine speed is reached.
The transm ission only a llows manual shift ing
when the engine speed is within the permitted
range.
@ Tips
- When you shift into the next lower gear, the
transmission wi ll downshift only when there
is no possibility of over-revving the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the trans ­
mission will shift down to a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle and engine speeds.
- Tiptronic is inoperative when the transmis­
sion is in the fai l-safe mode .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator peda l down be­
yond the resistance point (called kick-down), the
automatic transmission downshifts into a lower
gear, depending on vehicle speed and engine RPM. It shifts up into the next higher gear once
the maximum specified engine RPM is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is ac­
tive.
Transmission malfunction
• Transmission overheating! Please stop the
vehicle!
86
The transmission is too hot and can become dam­
aged. Stop and let the transmission coo l with the
engine running (at idle) in the P se lector lever po­
sition. Then the indicator light and the message
turn off, drive to an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunct ion corrected.
If the indicator light
and the driver message do not turn off, do not
continue driving. See an authorized Audi dea ler
or authorized Audi Service Facility fo r assistance.
Selector lever emergency release
In order to tow a vehicle due to power failure,
the selector lever emergency release must be ac­
tivated .
Fig. 94 Selector lever: remov ing t he cover
Fig. 95 Selector lever: emergency release
The emergency release mechanism is located in
the right area under the selector lever shift gate.
Using the emergency release can be complicated .
We recommend contacting an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility for as­
s istance, if necessary.
A maintenance tool from the vehicle tool kit
must be used to release
¢ page 211 .

Preparations
"'To prevent your vehicle from ro lling un inten­
tiona lly, set the parking brake<®) or press the
brake pedal¢_& .
"' Insert the flat side of the maintenance tool
sideways in the s lot near the shift cover and pry
off the shift cover¢
fig. 94.
"' Pull the frame and the cover upward. You can
fold the cover up over the sh ifter knob.
Selector lever emergency release
"' Press and hold the yellow release button
¢ fig . 95.
"' Press the button on the selector lever and move
the lever into N position.
"' Clip the frame to the cover again .
A WARNING
-
If you re lease the parking lock using the
emergen cy release , secure your vehi cle with
the parking brake or the brake pedal if the
parking brake is not work ing. The vehicle can
roll away if it is not secured and cause a crash.
Automatic transm ission
87

(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen­
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air­
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Installing, remov­
ing, servicing o r repa iring a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a pa rt of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly in a co llision.
There are some importa nt things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly :
-
-Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or a irbag cover or the in ­
strument panel or mod ify them in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
er ing the airbag units .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners
cou ld damage the a irbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the mater ial so
that the airbag cannot dep loy and protect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, instr ument
pane l, front seats or electrical system (in­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellu lar telephones and CB radios, etc .)
must be performed by a qualified technician
Airb ag sys tem
who has the training and special equ ipment
necessary.
- For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
Audi .
- Never use addi tional seat cushions that
cove r the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an authorized Aud i dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . A fter an airbag has inflated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technic ian who has the technical
information, training and spec ial equ ipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new rep lacement
parts des igned and approved especially for
your Aud i model version. Replacement of
comp lete airbag systems or airbag compo­
nents must be performed by qualified work­
shops only. Ma ke sure that any airbag serv­
ice act ion is en tered in your Aud i Wa rranty
& Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE ­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
@ For the sake of the environment
Un deployed airbag modules and p retension-
ers might be classif ied as Perchlorate Materi -
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re-
straint system including airbag modu les safe-
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regu lations must be ob­
se rved. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar .,.
125

Driving and th e en vironm ent
A WARNING
-The temperature of the exhaust system is
high, both when driving and after stopping
the engine.
- Never touch the exha ust tail pipes once they
have become hot . This could result in burns.
- Do no t park or operate the vehi cle in areas
where the hot exha ust system may come in
contact with dry grass, br ush, fue l spill or
other mater ial which can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust mani­
fold, exhaust p ipes, catalytic converter or
heat sh ields. During dr iv ing, the substance
used for undercoating could ove rheat and
ca use a fire .
(D Note
-Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will a lready ser iously degrade
the performance of the catalytic converter .
- Do not exceed the correct eng ine oi l level
¢ page 181.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
complete ly empty. The engine cou ld mis­
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into the
exhaust system and this could cause t he
catalytic converte r to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignition whi le the vehicle
i s mov ing.
- Do not continue to operate your veh icle un­
der these cond itions, as otherwise fue l can
r each the catalytic converte r. This cou ld re­
su lt in ove rheating of t he converte r, req uir ­
i ng its re placement.
- T o assure efficient operation of the Emis­
s ion Control System:
- Have your ve hicle maintained properly and
in accordance with the se rvice recommen ­
dations in your Wa rranty
& Maintenance
book let .
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as im­
proper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the em ission cont rol system
and co uld lead to damage.
160
-
® For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emiss ion Control System is op­
e rating properly, the exhaust gas can have a
su lfu r-li ke exhaust gas sme ll under some op­
erating states. T his depends on the sulfur
content of the fuel being used. Us ing a d iffer­
ent brand of fuel may help, or fi lling the tank
with lead-free super g rade gasoline.
Shutting down vehicle
If you would like your vehicle to remain inopera­
tive for a longer pe riod of time, contact an Audi
o r othe r spec ia liz ed dealer. They ca n adv ise you
o n necessa ry p recautions e.g. corros io n preven­
tion, m aintenance and storage . Pay attention to
additional in formation concer ning the battery .
Refer to¢
page 187 .
Economical and environ­
mentally-friendly driving
General
Your personal style of driving will determine the
economy of your vehicle, a s well as exhau st and
noise levels .
Fu el economy, env ironmenta l impact, and wear
o n your e ngine, brakes and tires large ly depend
o n t hree fa ctors:
- your personal d riving style
- operat ing cond itions
- technical limitat ions
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your f uel
consumption by 10-lS percent. Th is sect ion wi ll
give you some tips on how you can help the envi­
ronment and your pocketbook .
{l) Tips
The consumption estimates as published by
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIO N AGENCY
(EPA) and T ransport Canada may not corre­
spond to your actual consump tion on the
r oad, which wi ll vary depending upon vehicle
l oad and speed, road a nd wea ther conditions,
tri p l engt h, etc.

Drive smoothly and keep a lookout ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler­
ating .
11-Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler­ ating . If you anticipate what is going to happen
next, you will need to brake less and, thus, accel­
erate less . Let the vehicle coast whenever possi­
ble - for example when you see that the next traf ­
f ic light is red .
Avoid full throttle
Driving a t modera te speeds saves fuel and im­
proves your mileage .
11-Try and keep well be low your car's max imum
speed.
Accelerating gent ly reduces fuel consumption,
engine wear, and does not disturb the environ ­
ment.
F ue l cons umption, exha ust emissions and engine
noise increase disproportionately at high speeds.
If you drive at approximately three quarters of
top speed, fuel consumpt ion will be reduced by
one half. Never drive faster than the posted
speed limit and weather conditions permit.
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling i t burns up fuel.
11-S hut the engine off w hen you are not driving
the vehicle.
11-Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the en-
gine ru n at idle .
It makes sense to shut off the eng ine in traffic
jams, when wa iting for trains to pass at rai lroad
crossings, or at traffic lights that have long waits
on red . Turn ing the eng ine off for just 30 -40 sec ­
onds saves more fue l than is bu rned starting the
engine agai n.
It takes a long t ime for the engine to warm up
fu lly when it is runni ng at idle . However, wear
and noxious emiss ions are especially high when
the eng ine is wa rm ing up . So you should d rive
Driving and the envir onment
away as soon as you start the eng ine and avoid
running at high rpms w hil e the engine is sti ll
warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave eng ine idling una ttended after
starting. If wa rning lights shou ld come on to
i ndicate improper operation, they would go
unheeded. Extended idling also prod uces
heat, which could result in overheating or
other damage to the vehicle or other proper ­
ty .
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot
of fuel .
11-Have your vehicle serviced at regular interva ls.
By having your vehicle regular ly serv iced by an
authorized Audi dea ler helps to ensure that it
runs properly and economically. The cond ition of
your vehicle not only affects its safety and ability
to hold its value, it also affects
fuel con sump­
tion .
Chec k your oil each t ime you fill your tank.
T he amount o f oi l used is related to engine load
and speed.
It is normal fo r the oil consump tion of a new en­
gine to reach its lowest value after a ce rtain m ile­
age has been dr iven.
You m ust dr ive your ve hicle about 3,000 m iles
(5,000 kilometers) befo re yo u can prope rly as­
sess oil consumpt io n.
T h is also app lies to fuel consumption and eng ine
output.
(D Note
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and in accordance with the se rvice recommenda­
tions i n your Warranty
& M aintenance book-
le t. La ck of prope r maintenan ce as we ll as
imp roper use of the ve hicle will im pair the
function of the em ission cont rol sys tem and
co uld lead to damage . .,.
161

Trailer mod e
Weight d istribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car res ults
in a high ly unstable distribution of weight . If this
cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds on ly
to avoid the risk of losing steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easie r to operate and con trol.
This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded
to the extent possible and permissible, while
keeping the trai le r as light as possib le under the
circumstances. Whenever possible, transfer
some cargo to the luggage compartment of the
tow vehicle while observ ing tongue load requ ire­
ments and vehicle loading considerat ions.
Spee d
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to contro l the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permiss ible speed. Reduce
your speed even more if load, weather or w ind
conditions are unfavorable - part icularly when
goi ng downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediatel y if the tra iler
shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not try
to stop the sway ing by acc ele rating .
Observe speed lim its. In some areas, speeds for
veh icles towing trailers are lower than for regular
ve hicles.
A lways app ly brakes early. When driving down­
h ill, shift into a lower gear to use the engine
braking effect to slow the veh icle. Use of the
brakes alone can cause them to overheat and fail.
Coolant temp era ture
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 10 must
be observed carefully. If the needle moves close
to the upper end of the scale, reduce speed im­ mediately and/or turn off the air conditioner.
If the coo lant temperature warning light in the
instr ument cluster starts flashing., pull off
the road, stop and let the engine
idle for about
two minutes to prevent heat bu ild-up.
A WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restrained in a moving
vehicle is at a much greater risk in an acci-
166
-
dent . Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wear ing the restraints provided
by Audi.
Trailer mode notes
Important to know
You r vehicle handles differently when towing a
trailer because o f th e additiona l weight and dif­
ferent weight distribution. Safety, performance
and economy will g reatly depend on how carefu l­
l y you load your trai ler and operate your rig.
Before yo u actually tow your trailer, pract ice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traffic . Keep practicing unti l you have be­
come complete ly familiar w ith the way your vehi­
cle-tra iler combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer genera lly requires steer­
ing action opposite to that when backing up your
vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your vehicle
and the one in fro nt of you . You will need more
room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you
will need a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel­ erate as fast as you normally wo uld beca use of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow p lenty of room for
your trailer before changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
@ Tips
- Do not tow a trailer du ring the break-in peri­
od of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trai le r, your Au di may requi re
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
t ra load ¢
page 232.

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a high-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
year .
Q) Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set fo rth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Wa rranty
& Maintenance booklet.
- Use only a high qua lity eng ine oi l th at ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil qua lity
stan dard specified for your vehi cle's engine.
Using any o ther oil can cause serious engine
damage .
- Do not mix any lubricants o r other addit ives
i nto the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
(D Tips
I f you nee d to add oi l and there is none availa­
ble that meets the Audi o il qu ality st andard
your engine requires, you may ad d a total of
no more than 0 .5 quart/liter of a high-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- ACEA A3 o r API SM with a viscosity g rade of
SAE OW-30, SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine oi l that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Audi Custome r Relat ions at
1 (800) 822-2834 or visit our web site at
www.audiusa.com or www .aud icanada .ca.
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 provide effective lubrication and cool­
ing of internal engine components, all internal
180
combust ion engines consume a certa in amo unt
of oil. Oil consumption varies from engine to en­
gine and may change significantly over the life of
the engine. Typically, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see
c:::;, page 159) consume more
o il dur ing the break-in per iod than they consume
af ter o il consumption has stab ilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscos ity of
the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
wh ich the engine is operated, the amb ient tem­
perature and road condit ions. Further factors a re
the amount of o il di lution from wate r co ndensa­
tion or fue l resid ue an d the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is sub ject to wear as mileage
builds up, the oi l cons umption may increase over
time unt il 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 estab­
li shed or specified. The re is no alternative to reg­
u lar and frequent checking of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l Ell
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
check the oil level as soon as possible
c:::;, page 181. Top off the oil at your earliest con­
venience
c:::;,page 181.
A WARNING
Before you check anyth ing in the e ng ine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
I NGS
c:::;, .&. in Working in the engin e compart­
ment on page 177.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insuffic ient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing d isplay. is not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rely on
it. Instead, check the oil level in your en­
g ine at regular int ervals , pr eferably each
time you refuel, and alway s before going
on a long trip .