Ill Airbag system
----=------------------------------
• in rear-end collisions
• in rollovers.
In some types of accidents the front a irbags a nd side a irbags may be
t riggered together.
& WARNING
• Safety belt s and the airbag sy stem will only provide prote ction
when occupants are in the proper seating position=>
page 220.
• If the airbag indicator l ight comes on when the vehicle is being
used , have the system inspected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer. The airbag may not work properly when the vehicl e
accele ration in a side collision is h igh enough to activate the
airbag .•
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and con help reduce the risk
of upper torso injuries for occupants who ore properly
restrained.
F ig. 2 04 Inflated side
ai rbag s on left s ide o f
veh icle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled with p ropellant gas
and breaks through a seam in the seat surface area marked
"AIRBAG". I t expands between the side t rim panel and the passenger.
In order to he lp provide this additional protection, the side airbag must inflate within a fraction of a second at very hig
h speed and with
great force. The supp lemen tal side airbag cou ld inju re you if yo ur
seat ing position is not proper or upr ight or if items are located in the
area where the s upplemental s ide a irbag expands. This applies espe
cially to children=>
page 222 , "Child Safety". Suppleme nta l s ide
airbags inflate between the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is s truck in certa in side collision=> fig. 204.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can "cush ion" the impact
and in t his way t hey can help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may develop w hen the airbag dep loys. This is norma l and
does not mean the re is a fire i n the vehicle. •
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airba gs are only supplemental restraints. Always prop
erly wear safety belts and ride in a proper sea ting posi
tion .
There is a lot that you and your passengers m ust know and act acco rd
ing ly to he lp the safety be lts and a irbags do the ir job to prov ide
supplementa l protection .
& WARNING
An inflating side airbag can caus e serious or fatal inju ry. Improp
erly wearing safety belts and improper seating po sition s increa se
the risk of serious personal injury and death whenever a vehicle is
being used .
• In order to reduce the risk of injury when the supplemental
side airbag inflates:
-Alway s sit in an upright position and never lean against the
area where the supplement al side airbag is located . _,
Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank Ill --------------'--':.......::-----=--=--------
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
• Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
• Blend must contain not more than 15% MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform especially well for
winter or summer driving. During seasonal change-over, we suggest
that you fill up at busy gas stations where the seasonal adjustment is
more likely to be made in time.
0 Note
• Methanol fuels which do not meet these requirements may cause
corros ion and damage to plastic and rubber components in the fue l
system .
• Do not use fuels that fail to meet the specified criteria in this
chapter.
• If you are unab le to determine whether or not a particu lar fuel
blend meets the specifications, ask your service station or its fuel
s u pplier.
• Do not use fue l for which the contents cannot be identified.
• Fuel system damage and performance problems resulting from
the use of fuels different from those specified are not the responsi
bility of Audi and are not covered under the New Vehicle or the Emis
sion Control System Warranties.
• If you experience a loss of fuel economy or driveability and perfor
mance problems due to the use of one of these fuel blends, we
recommend that you switch to unblended f uel. •
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufacturers is carbon depos it
build -up caused by the type of gasoline you use.
Safety first
Although gasoline grades differ from one manufacturer to another,
t hey have certain things in common. All gasoline grades contain
substances that can cause depos its to collect on v ital engi ne parts,
such as fuel injectors and intake valves. Although most gasoline
brands include additives to keep engine and fuel systems clean, they
are not equally effective .
Audi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline. For more
information on TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline, please go to the officia l
webs ite (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended per iod of using inadequate fuels, built-up carbon
deposits can rob your engine of peak performance .
0 Note
Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel quality is not covered by the
Audi New Vehicle Limited Warranty. •
Fuel tank
Fuel filler neck
The fue l filler neck is located on the right rear side panel behind the
fue l filler flap .
If the power locking system should fai l, you can sti ll open the flap
ma nually- for detailed instructions see:::::>
page 278.
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your vehicle in Technical Data
:::::, page 342.
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap tells you the correct fuel
for your vehicle. For more information about fuel specifications, see
:::::>
page 2 7 4 .
Your vehicle fuel tank has an on -board refuelling vapor recovery
system. This feature helps to prevent fuel vapors from escaping from
the tank and pollut ing the environment while you refuel your vehicle . .,,_
Vehicle care Technical data
lffll __ C_ h_ e_c _k _i _ n _g ~ a_n _d_ f_il _l_in _ g _________________________________________ _
- When the battery is fully charge d: T urn th e charg ing
equ ipment off an d remove the ma ins lea d from t he wall
ou tle t.
- Now remove the clamps for th e ch ar ging equip men t.
- Close the red cover o n the posit ive po le.
- Close the hood
=:> page 280 .
A discharged battery can freeze at tempe ra tu res of only 3 2 °F ( 0 °C) .
Allow a froze n battery to thaw comp lete ly before attempt ing to
charge it~ & . H owever, we recommend not using a thawed batte ry
again because the battery casing can be c rack ed d ue to ice format ion
and can lea k battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate of 30
amps/14.8 Volt)
Wh en charging a t /ow voltages (e.g. with a trickle charger), t h e
battery cables do not have to be disconnected first. The battery caps
should not be opened w hen c ha rging a ba ttery.
It is not necessary to remove the battery from the luggage compart
me nt.
Fast charging the battery (charging rate above 14.8
Volts)
For technical reasons do not use a battery cha rger that uses voltage
grea ter than 14.8 Vol ts to cha rge yo ur vehicle's batte ry.
& WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous .
• Always follow the operating instructions provided by the
battery charger manufacturer when charging your battery .
• Never charge a frozen battery . It may explode because of gas
trapped in the ice. Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
& WARNING (c on tinued )
• Do not reuse batteries which were frozen. The battery housing
may have cracked and weakened when the battery froze.
• Charge the battery in a well ventilated area. Keep away from
open flame or electr ical spark . Do not smoke . Hydrogen gas gener
ated by the battery is explosive .
• To reduce the danger of explosion, never connect or disconnect
charger cable s while the charger i s operating.
• Fast charging a battery is dangerous and should only be
attempted by a competent technician with the proper equipment .
• Battery acid that may spill during charging should be washed
off with a solution of warm water and baking soda to neutralize
the ac id.
0 Note
N ever use a fast charger as a booster to start the engine. This w ill seri·
ously d amage sens it ive e lec tronic components, suc h as con trol units,
re lays, rad io, etc., as well as t he battery charger. •
Battery replacement
Th e ne w batt ery m us t hove the s ome speci fic ati ons and
d imensio ns as the origi nal e quip ment battery.
Inte lligent e ne rgy management in yo ur vehicle is respo nsib le for
dis tribu ting the elec trical energy througho ut yo ur vehicle
~ page 247. The intelligent energy management system will keep
t he e ngine bat tery ch arged bette r then vehicles wi thou t this syste m.
T o make sure the addi tional e lectr ica l energy is available once aga in
after you have changed the batte ry, we recommend that yo u inst all
batter ies of the same type a nd m anuf actu re only ( the same as t hose
installed at the time yo ur vehicle was delive red). Specificat ions are
listed o n the batte ry hous ing . You r a utho rized Audi dealer w ill then
code the battery management control unit. .,_
-~_T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_ d_ w_ h_e_ e_ ls _______________________________________________ _
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most abused
parts of a motor vehicle.
T ir es may be the least apprec iated and most abused pa rts of a moto r
vehicle. Tires are, however, one of the most important parts of a
veh icle, parti cularly conside ring the comparative ly small patch of
rubber on eac h tire that assu res that all- important co ntact between
you , your ve hicle and the road .
Ma inta in ing t he correct t ire pressu re, making s ure that your veh icle
and i ts tires do not have to carry more weight than they can safely
hand le, avoid ing damage from road ha za rds and reg ula rly inspect ing
tires for damage incl ud ing c uts, s lashes irregular wea r and overall
condi tion are the mos t important th ings that you can do to help avoi d
sudden tire fa ilure includ ing t read separation and blowouts .
Avoiding damage
If you have to drive over a curb or sim ilar obstacle, drive very s lowly
and as close as poss ible at a right angle to the cu rb .
Always keep chemicals including grease, oil , gasoline and bra ke fl uid
o ff the t ires .
Inspect the ti res regularly for damage (cuts, crac ks o r bl ist ers, e tc .).
Remove any foreign bodies embed ded in the trea ds.
Storing tires
M ar k tires when yo u remove t hem to indica te the d irect ion of rota
tion . This ens ures yo u to be able to mo unt them co rrectly whe n you
re insta ll them.
Wh en r emoved, t he wheels or tires s hould be sto red in a c ool, dry and
preferably da rk p lace. Sto
re tires in a ver tica l pos it ion if they a re not mounted on rims, in a
hor izonta l position if they are mo unted on r ims.
New tires
N ew tires have to be bro ken in~ & .
Th e tread dep th of new tires may v ary, ac cor ding to t he type an d
make of t ire and the tread pattern.
Hidden damage
Dama ge to t ires and rims is often not readi ly visible . If yo u notice
unusu al v ib ra tion o r the veh icle pulls to one sid e, t his may i ndicate
that one of the tires has been damaged. The tires must be c hecke d
i m medi ately by an a uthor ized A udi deale r or quali fied w or ksh op .
Unidirectional tires
A u nidirectional tire can be identified by arrows on the sidewall, that
point in the d irect io n the tire is des igned to rotate. Yo u m ust follow
t he s peci fied dire ction of ro tation . T his is nece ssary so th at t hese
tires can develop the ir optimum c haracter istics regarding gr ip, road
noise, we ar and hy dropl aning res istance. For more informa tion
~page 326 .
& WARNING
New tires or tires that are old , worn or damaged cannot provide
maximum control and braking ability.
• New tires tend to be slippery and must also be broken-in. To
reduce the risk of losing control, a collision and serious personal
injuries , drive with special care for the first 350 miles (560 km).
• Driving with worn or damaged tires can lead to loss of control,
sudden tire failure , including a blowout and sudden deflation ,
crashes and serious personal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immediately. .,_
________________________________________________ T_ i_ re _ s_ a_ n_d_ w_ h_ e_ e_l _s _ ....... JIII
Unbalanced wh eels must be rebalanced to avoid e xcessive w ear o n
st eeri ng, sus pens ion and tires. A w heel must a lso be re balan ced
w hen a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect whee l alignm ent can ca use excessive ti re wea r, impairing
th e safe ty o f the vehicle. If tir es show excessive we ar, ha ve the w heel
alignment checked by a n authorized A udi dealer or qualif ied wo rk
s hop .
All wheel drive
Vehicle s wi th qu att ro ® mus t alw ay s ha ve tires of the sa m e siz e,
construct ion a nd tread type. For details see~
page 246.
& 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 indicators.
• Worn tires are a safety hazard, 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.
• Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly,
especially at high speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years old can
only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at
lower speeds.
• Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history ." Old used tires may have been damaged
even though the damage cannot be seen that can lead to sudden
tire failure and loss of vehicle control. •
Vehicle OP-eration
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and w heel s hav e to b e brok en in .
Fig. 231 Tire specificat ion codes on the sidewall of a tire
No.
©
®
®
©
©
©
Description
Passenger car tire (where app licable)
Nom inal width of ti re in mil lim eters
Ratio of hei9ht to width (aspect ratio)
Radial
jj Rim diameter code
L oa d index and speed rating
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data