_________________________________________________ O _n_ t_h _e _ r_o _a _d __ lfflll
R elea sing th e parking br ake
- Pu ll the parking brake lever up slight ly and press the
release button at the same time~
page 108, fig. 110
-arrow-.
- Keep the release button pressed and lower the parking brake ~& .
If you should drive off with the parking brake sti ll set, a warning tone
will sound and the fo llowing wil l appear in the instrument cluster to
remind you to re lease the parking brake:
Parking brak e set
The parking brake warning comes on only after you have driven for
longer than 3 seconds and faster than 5 mph (5 km/h).
The parking b rake warning light Brake (USA)/ «D>
(CDN) illuminates
when the parking brake is set and you switch on the ignition .
& WARNING
Alway s re leas e the par king br ake completely . A p artiall y engaged
br ake w ill overheat the r ear brake s, reduce their effective ness and
ca use e xcessive w ear. T his co uld le ad to brake failur e and an acc i
dent .
0 Note
Only after the vehicle has come to co mplete stop, should you firm ly
set the parking brake and either move the gearshift lever into 1st .
gear (manual transmission) or move the selector lever into "P"
(Automatic transmission). •
Controls and equip
ment
Parking
To prevent a parked vehicle from rolling away, there are a
few things you should do.
When you park your vehic le, do the fo llowi ng:
- Stop the vehicle using the brake pedal.
- Set the parking bra ke firm ly .
- Move the selector lever into the
P pos ition ( automatic
tran smi ssion)
or m ove the gea rshi ft lever into 1s t. gear
(manual transmission ) ~ &.
- Switch off the engine and remove the ignitio n key from
t h e igniti on loc k.
Wh at else you should d o wh en p arking your vehicle o n
a n i ncline or dec line
Turn the steering wheel so that if the vehicle should start to roll, it
will ro ll into the curb.
I f you are parking on a
declin e (the front of your vehic le facing
downhill!, turn the front wheels to the right so that they point
toward the curb .
If you are parking on an incline (the font of your vehicle fac ing
uphill!, turn the front whee ls to the left so that they point
away from
the curb.
Move the selector lever into the P position ( autom atic tran sm iss ion)
or move the gearshift leve r into 1st. gear (manual tr ansmi ssion ).
& WARNING
Thi s is how you can redu ce the r isk of injury when leaving y our
vehi cle .
• Never p ark the vehi cle where it can come in conta ct with dr y
gra ss, spi lled fuel or any other fl amm able m ater ials . .,_
I • •
____________________________________________________ T_ r_ a _n _s_ m_ i_ s _ s_ i_ o _ n _ ___.1111111
Ap plies to vehicl es: with S tro ni c® and w ith Tip tr onic cont rols o n the stee ring wh eel
Steering wheel with Tiptronic ® controls
The selector paddles allow the driver to keep both hands
on the steering wheel when shifting gears.
Shifting up
Fig . 119 S port
s tee ring w he el w it h
selector pa ddles
-Pull the right paddle, marked 0 ==> fig. 11 9 briefly
towar ds you .
Shifting down
-Pull the left paddle, mar ked O ==> fig. 119 briefly towards
you.
The selector paddles on the steering wheel are activated when the se lector lever on the center console is in
D , S , or in the manua l posi
tion (Tiptronic mode) .
You can a lso shift gears in the Tiptronic mode using the se lector
lever on the center console .
[ i] Tips
With the gear selector lever in ei ther "D" or "S" the transmission wi ll
switch back to the automatic mode if you do not use the paddles
within approx . 30 seconds .•
Con tro ls and eq uip
ment
Ap plies to vehi cles: wit h S tr on ic ®
Kick -down feature
T he kick-down feature allows maximum acceleration.
If you depress the accelerator pedal ful ly beyond the ful l- throt tle
position, the transmission automatically downshifts one gear,
depending on vehic le speed a nd eng ine rpm . The upshi ft into the
next higher gear takes place as soon as the max imum specified
engine speed is reached .
& WARNING
Please note th at th e drive wheel s can spin if the kick -do wn is used
o n a s mooth slippery r oad -ri sk of sk idding! •
Applies to ve hicles: w it h L aunch Contro l and S tronic ® and Gaso line engine
Launch Control Program
The Launch Control Program permits maximum accelera
ti on.
In order to use Launc h Control, t he ASR (Anti-Slip Regula
tion) must be disab led . When ASR is disabled, the ESP
warning/indicator light in t he instrument cluster illumi
nates . So that Launch Control can be used, the engine must
be at operat ing temperature and the stee ring wheel must
not be turned.
- With the engine running, briefly press the ESP button.
The message "ASR off" appears in the instrument c luster
disp lay .
- Shift the gear lever to "S" or the tiptronic® pos ition.
- Step on the brake peda l w ith yo ur left foo t and keep the
brake peda l fully depressed for at least one second . _,.
Vehicle care I I Technical data
___ D_ r _i_v _i_n -=g =--- S_ a_ f_ e____, ly'----------------------------------------------------
Proper occupant seating positi ·ons
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important for safe,
relaxed driving.
Fig . 124 The correct
distance between
driver and steering
wheel
Fig . 125 Correct head
restraint position for
driver
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of injury in the
event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the
driver's seat to the following position:
- Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily push the
pedals all the way to the floor while keeping your knee(s)
slightly bent=:>& . - Adjust the angle of the seatback so that
it is in an upright
position so that your back comes in full contact with it
when you drive.
- Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a distance of at
least 10 inches (25 cm) between the steering wheel and
your breast bone=:> fig. 124. If not possible, see your
authorized Audi dealership about adaptive equipment.
- Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering wheel and
airbag cover points at your chest and not at your face.
- Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your elbow(s)
slightly bent.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but no lower
than eye level and so that it is as close to the back of your
head as possible=:> fig. 125.
- Fasten and wear safety belts correctly=:>
page 139.
- Always keep both feet in the footwell so that you are in
control of the vehicle at all times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the driver's seat, see
=>
page 73, "Adjusting front seats manua lly" or=> page 74,
"Adjusting the power seat".
& WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help reduce
the risk of serious personal injury:
• Always adjust the driver's seat and the steering wheel so that
there are at least 10 inches (25 cm} between your breastbone and
the steering wheel. .,_
________________________________________________ D_r_iv _ i _n_ g~ S_ a_ fe_ ly __ !II
& WARNING (continued)
• Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering
wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions
to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag
inflates.
• Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or with
your hands at other positions inside the steering wheel rim or on
the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the
driver's airbag deploys .
• Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the
ability of the supplemental driver's airbag to protect you in a colli
sion.
• Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or
place any part of your body too close to the area where the airbags
are located.
• Before driving, always adjust the front seats and head
restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are properly
restrained .
• Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving. Your seat
may move unexpectedly and you could lose control of the vehicle .
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury
due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child safety seats~
page 167.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 145. •
Controls and equip ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the ris k of injury in the
event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the
seat for the front passenger to the following pos ition:
- Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in an upright
position and your back comes in full contact with it
whenever the vehicle is mov ing.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but not lower
than eye level and so that it is as close to the back of your
head as possible::::;,
page 129.
Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the front
passenger seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts correctly::::;,
page 139.
For detailed information on how to adjust the front passenger's
seat, see
~ page 72.
& WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too
close to the airbag can be seriously injured or killed by the airbag
as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury :
• Passengers must always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye. ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=:> page 136, fig. 129, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops
them -here, the wall
=:> page 136, fig. 130.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph
(30 to 50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more . At greater speeds, these forces are
even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they
determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions. •
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig . 131 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is
violently thrown
forward
Safety belts
Fig . 132 A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the
driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=:> fig. 131. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not
supposed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver,
must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of
severe injury or death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents
in which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have
already deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the
vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly . Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers=:> fig. 132. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Vehicle care I I Technical data
__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a...; g::- s_ y=--- s_t _e _m __ llll
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
=>
page 126,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly=> page 73,
-Wear safety belts properly=> page 138,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children=>
page 167.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force . The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not seated properly. There
fore in order to help the airbag to do its job, it is important, both as
a driver and as a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions =>
page 126. For details on the operation of the seat
adjustment controls =>
page 74.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 167.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system .
Proper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. If you have a physical impairment or
condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat
with the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, or if
you have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi dealer or other qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-
800 -822 -2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator will fill the
airbags, break open the padded covers, and inflate between the
steering wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel
and the front passenger. The airbags will deflate immediately after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind
shield again without interruption .
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they deploy. Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement .
Together they help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside of the vehicle while reducing the
forces acting on the occupant during the crash. In this way they help
to reduce the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash.
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal collisions. The trig
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehicle deceleration
rate caused by the collision and registered by the electronic control
unit. If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the airbags will not be triggered, even though the car
may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehicle damage,
9J),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
repair costs or even the lack of vehicle dama ge is not necessa rily an
in dic ati on of wh ether a n airb ag s hould infl ate or not.
S inc e th e circumsta nces w ill vary considerably b etw een one colli
s ion and anothe r, it is not po ssib le to define a range of vehic le
speeds t hat w ill cover eve ry po ssib le kin d a nd a ngle of im pact tha t
wi ll a lwa ys trigger the airbags . Impo rtant facto rs include, fo r
e xa mpl e, the natu re (ha rd o r sof t) o f th e object whic h th e car h its,
the ang le of impact, vehic le speed, etc. The front airbags will also
n o t in flate in s id e or rear co ll is ions, o r in ro ll-ov ers.
Always remember : Airba gs will d ep loy only once, and on ly in c ertain
k inds o f co llision s. Yo ur s afe ty bel ts are a lways the re t o offe r protec
ti on i n th ose si tuat io n s in whic h airba gs a re not suppose d to deploy,
or when they have a lready dep loyed; f or examp le, when yo ur veh ic le
str ikes o r is struc k by anot her ve hicle a fte r th e fir st coll isio n.
T his is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a supplementary
res train t an d is not a su bstit u te fo r a sa fe ty belt. T he ai rbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts . T herefore,
a lw ays pro per ly wea r your safe ty be lts ~
page 135.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel .
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to help you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward, sitting sideways or out
of position in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag .
& WARNING (continued)
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates , always
wear safety belts properly=:>
page 139 , "Safety belts".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained , they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel=:>
page 126 .
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
i nflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced .
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly repla ce any ai rbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash .
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
& WARNING !continued)
• Improper installation of child restraints can reduce their effec
tiveness or even prevent them from providing any protection .
• An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the
airbag as it deploys and seriously injure or even kill the child -
even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
• Never place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight registered by the weight-sensing mat and can cause injury in a crash. •
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection
to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Safety first
Fig . 139 Location of
driver airbag: in
steering wheel
'l
-- -
Airbag system
Fig . 140 Location of
front passenger's
airbag: in the instru
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Airbag System" in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan
dard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu
factured. The safety belts for the front seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the belt system. The pretensioners are
also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters to help reduce the
forces applied to the body in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel hub~ fig.
139 and
the airbag for the front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 140. The general location of the airbags is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags in your vehicle. We
urg e you to read the detailed information about airbags, safety belts
and child safety in this and the other chapters that make up the
owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, especially infants and small children.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection.
Vehicle care I I irechnical data