Intelligent technology
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Repl acing wheel s/tires
Vehicles wi th all wheel drive must a lways have tires of t he same size.
Also avoid tires with different tread depths. For details see page
=> page 303, "New tires and rep lacing tires and wheels".
Off -Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clearance to be used as an
off-road veh icle . It is therefore best to avo id ro ugh tracks and uneven
terrain as m uch as possible . Also refer to=>
page 247.
& WARNING
Alway s adju st your driving to road and traffi c conditi ons. Do not
let the ex tra safety afforded by all wheel dr ive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
• Although the all wheel dri ve is ve ry effecti ve, always
remember that braking capacity is limited by tire traction. You
should therefore not dri ve at ex cessive speeds on icy or slippery
road surfaces .
• On wet road surfaces , be careful not to drive too fast because
the front wheel s could begin to slide on top of the water (aqua
planing ). If th is should occur, you will have no warning from a
sudden increase in engine speed as with a front-wheel drive
vehicle. Always drive at speeds which are suited to the road cond i
tions -ris k of crash.
n
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
E
nergy management contr ols th e distributi on of elec
tri cal energy and thus optimizes the availabili ty of elec
tri cal energ y for star ting the engin e.
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system is not dr iven for a long
per io d of time, t he battery is di sch arged by idling cur rent consume rs
(e .g. immob il izer) . In certain c ircumstances it can result in there
being insuffic ien t energy av a ilab le to start t he eng ine .
Inte lligent energy management in your ve hicle hand les the d istribu
tion of e lectrical energy . Starting ability is ma rkedly improved and
the l if e of the battery is extended.
Bas ically, energy management consists of
battery d iagnos is, idling
current management
a nd dynamic energy management .
Battery diagnosis
Battery d iagnosis con tinuously dete rmines the st ate o f the batte ry.
Sensors determ ine battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
t empe ra ture. This de termine s the cur rent sta te of cha rge and the
power of the battery.
Idling current management
I d ling current management reduces energy consumption wh ile the
vehicle is s tanding. W ith t he igni tion swi tched off, it con trols the
energy supply to the var io us electrical components. Data from
b att ery diag nosis is considered .
Depend ing on the battery 's state of charge, individual consumers a re
gradually t urned off to p revent excessive discha rge of the battery and
thus main tain start ing capab ility.
Dynamic energy management
Whi le the vehicle is being dr iven , dynamic energy management
dis tributes the energy generated a cco rding to the needs o f th e in di-
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
___ C_ h_ e_c _k _i _ n _g ~ a_n _d_ f_il _l_in _ g _________________________________________ _
Have the battery checked when you take your vehicle in for service.
You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than 5 years.
With certain types of a irbag deployment, the battery is disconnected
from the vehicle e lectrical system for safety reasons=>
& in "Repair,
care and disposal of the airbags" on
page 204.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power window regulators, for example) are
lost if the battery terminals are disconnected. These functions have
to be relearned after the battery terminals are connected aga in . To
prevent this, the battery should only be disconnected from the
vehicle electrical system when absolutely necessary for repairs.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not dr ive your vehicle over a period of several days or weeks,
electrical components are gradually cut back or switched off. This
reduces energy consumption and maintains starting capability over a
longer period=>
page 243.
Take into consideration that when you unlock you r vehicle, some
convenience functions, such as the master key remote function or
power seat adjustment, may not be available. The convenience func
tions will be available again when you turn on the ign ition and start
the engine.
W inter operation
During the w inte r months, battery capacity tends to decrease as
temperatures drop. This is because more power is also consumed
wh ile starting, and the headlights, rear window defogger, etc., are
used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, particularly in city traffic or
when traveling only short distances. Let your authorized Audi dealer
check the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter sets in
=> page 288. A well charged battery will not only prevent starting
problems when the weather is cold, but will also last longer.
W Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several weeks at extremely low
temperatures, the vehicle battery should be removed and stored
where it will not freeze. This will prevent it from being damaged and
having to be replaced .•
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near the
battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compartment under the
floor. Before you check anyth ing in the lu~gage compart
ment,
read and heed all WARNINGS:=>& .
Always heed the safety warnings, when working on the vehicle
battery or the vehicle electrical system to prevent injury .
The following WARNINGS are very important when
working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYMBOLS and safety pre
cautions when working on the battery.
Always wear eye protection.
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Always wear
gloves and eye protection . .,,_
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Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emergency crew s and working
pe rsonnel who have the necessary tool s and equipment to perform
the se operation s. •
Starting by pushing or towing
0 Note
Veh icles with an automatic transmission cannot be started by
pushing or towing .•
Starting with jumper cables
If necess ary, the engine can be started b y connectin g it to
t he bat tery of another vehicle.
If the e ng ine shou ld fa il to start because of a discharged or weak
battery, the batte ry can be connected to t he battery of
another
veh icle, us ing a pair of jump er cables to start t he eng ine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of suffic iently large cross section to carry the
sta rter cur rent s afely . Refer to the m an ufa ct ur er's specificat ions.
Use only j umpe r cab les with
insulated te rmi nal clamps wh ich are
distinct ly marked :
plu s(+) cable i n most cases colored red
minus (-) cable i n most cases colored black .
& WARNING
Batterie s contain el ectricity, acid, and gas . Any of the se can cause
very serious or fatal injury. Follow the inst ructions below for safe
handling of your vehicle 's battery.
• Always shield your eyes and avoid leaning over the battery
whenev er po ssible .
• A discharged battery can freeze at temperatures just below
32 °F (0 °C ). Before connecting a jumper cable, you must thaw the
frozen battery completely, otherwise it could explode.
• Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes or sk in . Flush any
contacted area with water immedi ately .
• Improper use of a booste r battery to start a vehicle may cause
an explosion .
• Vehicle batteries generate e xplosive gases. Keep sparks, flame
and lighted cigarettes away from batterie s.
• Do not try to jump start any vehicle with a low acid level in the
battery.
• The voltage of the booster battery must also have a 12-Volt
rating. The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged battery . Use of batteries of
different voltage or substantially different "Ah " rating may cau se
an e xplosion and personal injury.
• Never charge a frozen battery . Gas trapped in the ice may cause
an explosion.
• Never charge or use a battery that has been frozen. The battery
case may have be weakened .
• Use of batteries of different voltage or substantially different
capacity (Ah) rating may cause an explosion and injury . The
capacity (Ah) of the booster battery should not be lower than that
of the discharged battery. .,_