oil AUDI S3 2015 Owner's Manual

222 Check ing and F illin g
Using the proper engine o il is important for
the functionality and service life of the en­
g ine. Your engine was factory-filled with a
high-quality oil which can usua lly be used
throughout the entire year.
0 Note
Your L imited New Vehicle Warranty does
not cover damage or ma lfunctions due to
fai lure to follow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Ma intenance booklet.
- Use only a high quality eng ine oil that ex­
pressly complies w ith the Audi o il quality
standard spec ified for your veh icle's en­
gine. Using any other oil can cause seri­
ous eng ine damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants o r othe r addi­
tives into the eng ine o il. Doing so can
ca use engine damage.
If you need to add oi l and there is no ne
availab le tha t mee ts the Audi oil qua lity
s tandard your engine requires, yo u may
add a tota l of no more than 0 .5 quart/liter
of a high-quality "synthetic"oil that meets
the following specifications.
- Vehicles with gaso line engine: ACEA A3
or API SM with a viscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30, SAE SW-30 or SAE SW-40.
- Vehicles with diesel engine: ACEA C3 or
API CF with a v iscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30 or SAE SW-30.
- For more information abo ut eng ine oil
that has been approved for your vehicle, please contact either your a uthorized
Audi dealer or Audi Customer Relations
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 on ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports .
In order to provide effective lubricat ion and
cooling of interna l eng ine components, all in­
ternal combust ion e ngines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumpt ion va ries from
engi ne to engine and may change sig nifican tly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a spec ified break -in period (see
¢ page 197) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they cons ume after oi l
consumption has stabilized.
U nder normal cond itions, the rate o f oi l con ­
s u mption depends on the q uality and viscos ity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road conditions. Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil dilut ion from water
condensation or fue l residue a nd the oxida­
t ion level of the oil. As any eng ine is subject to
wea r as m ileage builds up, t he oil co nsump ­
t ion may increase over time until replacemen t
of worn components may be come necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumpt io n can be es­
tabl ished o r spe cified . There i s no alte rnative
to regu lar and frequent che ck ing of the o il lev ­
el , see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil leve l wa rning symbo l
Ill in the inst rument cl uste r lights up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
i=> page 223 . Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
i=> page 223 .
A WARNING
--
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS¢ page 217.
(D Note
Driving wit h an insufficient o il level is like -
l y to cause severe damage to the engine.
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@ Tips
- The oil pre ssure wa rning display. i s
not an indicator of the o il level. Do not
rely on it. Instead , chec k the oil le vel in
your engine at regular inter vals, pref ­
era bly each t ime you r efuel , and always
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression your engine
consumes excessive amounts of oi l, we
r ecommend that you consult an author­
iz ed Audi dealer to have the cause of
you r concern properly di ag nose d. Keep in
mind tha t the ac curate measuremen t of
oi l consumption requires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Audi
dealer has instructions about how to measure oil consumption accurately.
Checking the engin e oil lev el
Fi g. 1 61 Ga so line e ngine oil d ip sti ck: guide for meas­
urin g the oil level (ex ample)
F ig . 162 Diese l e ngine oil dipstick : guide for m easur­
i ng the o il leve l (exa mple)
Determining the oil level
• Pa rk your vehicle on a level surface .
• Let the engine run in id le briefly while it is a t
opera ting temperat ure and then shut the
engi ne off .
• Wa it approximately two mi nutes .
Che cking and Fillin g 223
• Remove the oi l dipstick . Wipe off the oi l dip ­
stick with a clean cloth and insert it all the
way in aga in .
• Remove the dipstick again and then read the
oil level ¢
fig. 161 or¢ fig. 162 .
• Evaluate the oil level¢ table on page 223 .
Add e ngine o il if necessary ¢ page 223.
0 You must add o il. After add ing oil, the
level shou ld be in the @ area .
® You may add oil. After adding o il, the
level s hou ld be in the@area.
@ Do not add any o
il.
@ Do not add any o il. You may cont inue
driving .
0 Do not add any o il. Drive to an author-
ized Aud i dealer or authorized Aud i Serv -
ice Fac ility immediately .
Applies to vehicles with diesel engines: If you
operate your vehicle with b iod iesel, fuel may
enter the engine oil. T his ra ises the o il level in
the engine.
It also decreases the quality of t he
engine oil¢
page 24.
The oil consumptio n of the engine may be up
to 1/2 q uart per 600 m iles (0.5 liter per
1,000 km), depend ing on d riving style and
cond it io ns. Consump tion may be higher du r­
ing the first 3,000 m iles (5,000 km) . Be ca u se
of this, the eng ine oi l level must be checked
regular ly . It would be best to check each time
you ref uel your vehicle and before long dr ives.
Adding engine oil~
Fig . 1 63 En gin e co mpar tment: e ng in e o il fi ller ope n­
ing cover
• Turn the engine off.
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224 Check ing and F illin g
• Unscrew the engine oil fi ller opening cap
~ ¢ fig. 163, ¢page 220, fig . 159.
• Carefu lly add 0 .5 quart (0.5 liter) of the ap ­
propr iate oil¢
page 221.
• Check the oil level again after two minutes
¢ page 223, Checking the engine oil level.
• Add o il, if necessary .
• Close the engine oil filler cap and push the
dipstick all the way in.
.&_ WARNING
- When add ing o il, do not le t oi l dr ip onto
hot engine components . There could be
risk of a fire .
- You must sec ure the cap on the oil filler
opening correctly so that oil does not
leak out onto the hot engine and exhaust
system when the engine is running, be­
cause this is a fire hazard.
- Always clean skin thoroughly if it comes
into contact w ith eng ine oil.
([) Note
- Applies to vehicles with gasoline en­
gines: The oil level cannot be above the
(!) range¢
page 223, fig. 161, because
th is can ca use damage to the cata lytic
converter or the engine. Contact your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qua lified repair
facil ity to have excess o il extracted if
necessary.
-Applies to vehicles with diesel engines: The oil level must not be in the
0 range
¢
page 223, fig. 162 -The oil must not
be extracted, because this can damage
the engine. Drive to an au thorized A udi
dealer or authorized A udi Service Facility
immediately.
- Do not mix any additiona l lubricants into
the engine o il. Damage cause by such ad­
ditives is not covered by the war ranty.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Oil should never enter the sewer system
or come into contact with the ground .
- Pay a tte ntion to leg al req uirements
when disposing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by
an authorized Audi dealer or a qualified serv­
ice station.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
always read and h eed all WARN­
INGS
¢ page 217.
The engine oil must be changed according to
the interva ls specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet . This is very important
because the lubricat ing propert ies of o il di­
min ish g radually du ring normal vehicle use.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
should be changed more frequently. Change o il more often if you drive mostly short d is­
tances, operate the ve hicle in dusty a reas or
under p redo min ant ly stop-and-go traffic con­
di tions, or have yo ur vehicle where tempera­
tures remain below freezing for extended pe ­
riods .
De te rgent additives in the oil will make fresh
o il look dark after the engine has been run ­
ning for a sho rt time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than
recommended.
Beca use of the p roblem of proper disposal,
along wi th the specia l tools and necessary ex­
pertise req uired, we st rongly recommend that
you have your oil changed by an a uthorized
Audi deale r or a qualified service station.
If you choo se to chan ge your oil your self ,
please note the fo llowing important informa­
tion:
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal in jury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protect ion.
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en-
g ine oi l, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the o il drain p lug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible. ..,

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Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run­
ning down your arm.
- Drain the oi l into a conta iner designed
for this p urpose, one large eno ugh to
hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engi ne.
- Engine oil is poisono us. Keep it well out
of the reach of c hildren .
- Cont inuo us contact with used engine oil
is harmful to your skin. Always protect
you r sk in by washing oil off thoroug hly
with soap and water .
(D Note
Never mix oil addit ives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en­
gine and adversely affect y our Aud i Limit­
ed New Vehicle Wa rra nty .
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oi l, f irst make sure
you know whe re you can proper ly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always d ispose of used engine oil proper­
l y. Do not dum p it o n ga rden so il, wood ­
ed a reas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine o il by taking it to a
u se d engine oil collection facility in your
a rea, or contact a servi ce station .
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 sea led an d generally re ­
q uir es little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the f ac­
tory with a pe rm anen t coo lan t which does no t
n eed to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of specia lly conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glyco l-based coo lant add i-
tive Gl3 antifree ze with ant icorros ion addi-
Checking and Fillin g 225
tives (50% for USA mode ls; 60% fo r Canadian
models) . This mixture both ass ures the neces­
sary frost protection and protects metal com ­
ponents in the eng ine's cooling system from
corros io n and scaling. It also raises the bo il­
ing point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool ­
ant in the s ummer by adding p lain water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50°/o but not more than 60 %
to main­
ta in antifreeze protect io n and cool ing eff ic ien­
cy . If the coo lant frost p rotection is too low ,
t he coo lan t could freeze and damage the vehi ­
cl e heating and engine cooling sys tem.
Fo r year- round drivi ng, a ntifreeze is added at
the factory fo r temperatures down to:
- -31 °F
< -3s0c) u sA
- -40°F ( - 40°C) Canada.
If you must ad d coo lant, use a mixture o f wa ­
te r and coolant additive. Mixing the coo lant
additive with dist illed water is recommended.
A WARNING
Before you chec k anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNI NGS
c:> page 217.
-
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­ mate condit ions. This is especially impor­
t ant if you l ive i n a region where the win-
t er is extremely cold. If necessary, in-
c rea se t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 6 0% .
- Whe n ad d ing coolant addi tiv e to yo ur
c ooling sys te m , reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coo lant ad­
d itive Gl2 ++ or Gl3 (check the labe l)
for your vehicle. This coolant additive is ava ila ble at autho rized Aud i dea le rs .
Othe r ty pes of antifreeze ca n sig nifi­
cantly reduce cor ros io n protec tion . The
r esu lting co rrosion can cause a lo ss of
c o o lant a nd serio us e ng ine da mage.
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226 Checking and Fill in g
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your ve hicle's engine coolant.
Adding rad iator 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.
Adding coolant
Fig . 164 Engine co mpa rtment: mark in gs on the coo l­
ant expans ion tank
R ea d a nd f ollow ing th e W ARNING S before
checking anything in the eng ine compartment
¢ page 217.
Ch eck ing t he e ngi ne coolant level
"Park your vehicle on a level surface .
.. Switch the ign ition off .
" Read the coo lant level on the coolant expan­
s ion tank ¢
fig. 164. The coo lant level must
be between the markings when the eng ine
in cold. When the engine is warm it can be
sl ightly above the upper marking .
Adding coolan t
Requirement : There must be a residual
amount of coolant in the expansion tank ¢(D .
.. Let the engine cool down.
" Place a cloth over the coolant expansion
tank cap and unscrew the cap counterclock­
wise ¢&_ .
.. Add coolant mixed in the correct ratio
¢ page 225 up to the upper marking.
.. Make sure that the fluid level remains sta­
ble. Add more coolant if necessary.
" Clove the cap securely. A coolant loss suggests a
leak. Immediately
drive your vehicle to an authorized repair fa­
c ility and have the cooling system inspected.
If the cooling system is not leaking, a loss can
come from the coolant boiling through over­
heating and being pushed out of the cooling
system.
A WARNING
The cooling system is press urized and can
become very hot. To reduce the r isk of
b urns from hot coolant:
- Do not open the coolant expansion tank
cap with the engine ho t. T here is a risk of
burns.
- Stop the eng ine and a llow it to cool.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping coolant and steam by covering
the coolant tan k cap with a large, th ick
cloth.
- Turn the coolan t tank cap counterclock­
wise slowly and keep light pressure on
the cap .
- To reduce the risk of burns, do not allow
any antifreeze or coolant to drip onto the
exhaust system or hot engine compo ­
nents. The ethy lene g lycol in engine
coo lant can catch fire under certain cir­
cumstances.
- The coolant additive and the coolant can
be dangerous to your health . For this
reason, keep the coo lant in the origina l
container away from ch ildren . There is a
risk of poisoning.
- When working in the engine compart­
ment, remember that the rad iator fan
can switch on even if the ignition is
sw itched off, which increases the risk of
pe rsonal injury.
(D Note
Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty . Air could enter the cooling system
and damage the eng ine .
If this is the case,
do no t continue dr iving. See a n author ized
A udi dealer or authori zed Aud i Service Fa­
cility for assist ance.

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Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
An auxiliary electric radiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolan t temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions .
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself<=>.& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant 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 injury 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 switches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
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Fig. 165 Engine compa rtment: cove r on the brake fluid
rese rvoir
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS r::;, page 217 .
Checking and Filling 22 7
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir <=>
fig. 165, <=> page 220,
fig. 159.
T he brake fluid level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be seen in the engine compartment illustration
<=>page 220.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light . (U.S. models)
I. (Canadian
models) will come on
c:> page 18 . Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The complete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied facility and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light will illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dealer
immediately.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time. The boiling point of the
brake fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years . Always use new brake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you.
II>-

Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle. Tires are, how­
ever, one of the most important
parts of a vehicle, particularly
considering the comparatively
small patch of rubber on each
tire that assures that all-impor­
tant contact between you, your
vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire
pressure, making sure that your
vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry more weight than they can safely handle, avoiding
damage from road hazards and
regularly inspecting tires for
damage including cuts, slashes
irregular wear and overall con­
dition are the most important
things that you can do to help avoid sudden tire failure includ­
ing tread separation and blow-
~ outs.
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Tires and wheels 233
Avoiding damage
If you have to drive over a curb
or similar obstacle, drive very
slowly and as close as possible
at a right angle to the curb.
Always keep chemicals includ­ ing grease, oil, gasoline and
brake fluid off the tires.
Inspect the tires regularly for
damage (cuts, cracks or blis­
ters, etc.). Remove any foreign
bodies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires
Mark tires when you remove
them to indicate the direction
of rotation. This ensures you to be able to mount them correct­
ly when you reinstall them.
When removed, the wheels or
tires should be stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark place.
Store tires in a vertical position if they are not mounted on
rims, in a horizontal position if
they are mounted on rims.
New tires
New tires have to be broken in
¢ _&. .
The tread depth of new tires
may vary , according to the type .,.
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236 Tires a nd whee ls
Bead Extra load tire
means the part of the tire that means a tire design to operate
is made of steel wires, wrapped at higher loads and at higher
or reinforced by p ly cords and inflation pressures than the
that is shaped to fit the rim . corresponding standard tire .
Bead separation Extra load tires may be identi-
fied as "XL", "xl", " EXTRA
means a breakdown of the bond LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
between components in the
bead .
Gross A xle Weight Rating
(" GAWR ")
Cord
means the load-carrying capaci-
means the strands forming the ty of a single axle system,
p lies in the tire .
measured at the tire-ground in-
Cold tire inflation pressure terfaces.
means the tire pressure recom-
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
mended by the vehicle manu-( "GVWR ")
facturer for a t ire of a designat-
means the maximum total
ed size that has not been driven loaded weight of the vehicle.
for more than a couple of miles
Groove
(kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before means the space between two
the tire pressure is measured or adjacent tread ribs.
adjusted.
Load rating (code )
Curb weight
means the max imum load that
means the weight of a motor a tire
is rated to carry for a giv-
vehicle with standard equip -en inflation pressure
. You may
ment including the maximum not find th
is information on all
capacity of fuel, oil, and cool- tires because it is not required
ant, air condit ioning and addi- by law.
...
tional weight of optional equip-
ment.

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Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or weight that any vehi­
cle and any tire can carry. Ave­
hicle that is overloaded will not
handle well and is more diffi­
cult to stop. Overloading can
not only lead to loss of vehicle
control, but can also damage
important parts of the vehicle
and can lead to sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowout and
sudden deflation that can cause
the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your
passengers also depends on
making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and every­
thing in and on the vehicle.
These load limits are technical­
ly referred to as the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the
weight of the basic vehicle, all
factory installed accessories, a
full tank of fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum
load. The maximum load in­
cludes the number of passen­
gers that the vehicle is intend-
Tires and wheels 249
ed to carry ("seating capacity")
with an assumed weight of 1
SO lbs (68 kg) for each pas­
senger at a designated seating
position and the total weight of
any luggage in the vehicle. If
you tow a trailer, the weight of
the trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of the loaded trailer must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of
the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­
ing and the Gross Axle Weight
Rating are listed on the safety
compliance sticker label locat­
ed on the driver's side 8-pillar.
Your Audi has 5 seating posi­
tions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for total seating capacity
of 5. Each seating position has
a safety belt¢
page 135, Safe­
ty belts.
The fact that there is an upper
limit to your vehicle's Gross Ve­
hicle Weight Rating means that
the total weight of whatever is
being carried in the vehicle (in­
cluding the weight of a trailer ""
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-The longer one tire is used in one location on the vehicle,
the more it wears at certain points; therefore, we recom­
mend that you follow the tire
manufacturer's suggested tire
rotation intervals.
-Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience more tread
wear on the front wheels com­ pared to all-wheel drive (quat­
tro).
-Please rotate tires as shown
¢ fig. 171.
-Extra care must be taken when
rotating direction-specific
tires
Q page 2 74.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, various sit­
uations during everyday driving
can cause them to become un­
balanced, resulting in vibra­
tions you can usually feel
through the steering wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be re­
balanced to avoid excessive
wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be
rebalanced when a new tire is
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Tires and wheels 253
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can
cause excessive tire wear, im­pairing the safety of the vehi­
cle. If tires show excessive
wear, have the wheel alignment checked by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must al­
ways have tires of the same size, construction and tread
type. For details see
¢ page 193 .
.8, WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead
to loss of control, a crash and serious personal injury!
-Never drive a vehicle when the tread on any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
-Worn tires are a safety haz­ ard, they do not grip well on
wet roads and increase your risk of "hydroplaning" and
loss of control.
-Always keep chemicals that can cause tire damage, such
-
as grease, oil, gasoline and
brake fluid away from tires.
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