_______________________________________________ A_ ir_ b_ a_,,,g ~ s,,._y _s _t_ e _ m ___ _
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
prot ection .
• Airbag work most effectively when u sed with p roperly worn
safety belts .
• Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your veh icle is properly restrained.
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , especially infants and small
c hildren, will re ceive serious injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the airbag when it inflates.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your v ehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger ai rbag if an infant or a
s mall child i s on the front passenger seat, nobody can ab solutely
guar antee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your veh icle.
• The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the
" low risk" option unde r the U .S . Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front
passenge r seat and the other conditions for airbag deployment
are met.
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position.
• For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and
younger, should alway s rid e in the back properly re strained for
their age and size. •
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle
is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
co mpliance wit h United St ates Feder al Motor Vehicle S afety St andar d
208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was manufactured .
Th e front A dvanced A irbag System supp lements the safety be lts to
prov ide addit ional protection for the dr iver's and front passenge r's
heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags inflate o nly in
frontal i mpacts w he n t he vehicle de ce le ra ti on is high enoug h.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is not
a s ubstitu te for your s afety be lts. R at he r, it is p art o f the ove rall occu
pant restrai nt system in your ve hicle. Always remembe r that the
air bag sys tem can on ly help to protect you, if yo u are s itting upr ight,
wearing your safety be lt and wear ing it properly . This is why you and
your passengers must always be p roper ly restra ined, not just beca use
the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been cert ified to
meet the " low r is k " requi remen ts for 3 and 6 ye ar-old childr en on the
passenger side and very sma ll adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployme nt criter ia a re in tended to he lp red uce the risk o f inju ry
throug h interaction with the fro nt a irbag tha t can occur, for examp le ,
by being too close to the stee ring wheel an d instr ument panel whe n
t he a irba g inflates.
In addit ion, the system has bee n certified to comply with the
"supp ression " requireme nts of the Safety Sta ndard, to turn off th e
front airbag for infants 12 mo nths old and you nger who are
re strai ned o n the fron t pa ssenge r sea t in child res tra ints that are
listed in the Standard=>
page 217, "Chil d restraints and Advanced
Air bag s".
" Supp ression" requ ires the front a irbag on the passenger side to be
turne d off if:
• a child up to a bout one year o f age is re stra ined on the fron t
passenger seat in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant
restr aints liste d in F ed er al M oto r Ve hicl e Sa fety S tandard 208 with
w hich the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur ve hicle was certified. For a ...
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
-Child Safety _____ ____;_..:::.:!.----------------------------
& WA RNING (conti nued)
• Alway s in stall rearwa rd-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat in exceptional circumstance s and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immed iately install the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected immedi
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child res traint on the front pas senger's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by it s manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer 's instruction s provided with
the child safety seat or carrier.
• Always move the passenger seat into it s rearmost position in
the seat 's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the child restraint. The back rest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .•
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equi pped wi th a fron t "Advanced Airbag System" in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
( F MVSS) 2 08 as appli ca ble at t he time your ve hicle was manufa c
tured. The Advanced A
irbag system in yo ur vehicle has been certif ied to
mee t the "low -r is k" requiremen ts fo r 3-and 6-ye ar old ch ildre n on
t he passenger side and small adults on the dr iver side . The low risk
dep loyment criteria are inten ded to reduce the risk of injury through
interaction with the a irbag t hat can occur, for example, by being too
close to the stee ring wheel an d instr ument panel when the airbag
inflates. In addi tion, the system has been certified to comp ly with t he
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Standa rd, to t urn off the
fron t air bag for infan ts up to 1 2 months who a re res train ed on the
front passenger seat in child restrai nts that are listed in the Stan
d ar d.
Even thoug h your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
system , a ll ch ildren, especially those 12 years and yo unger, should
always r ide in t he back seat p roperly restrained for t heir ag e and si ze .
Th e ai rbag on the passenge r si de makes the front seat a potentia lly
dange rous p lace for a child to r ide. Th e front seat is not th e safest
place fo r a child in a forward-facing c hild safety seat. It can be a very
d an ge rous p lace for a n infan t or a large r chil d i n a rea rwa rd-facing
seat. •
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
Th e Advanced A irbag System i n your ve hicle de tects t he p resence o f
an infa nt o r ch ild in a child rest rai nt on the fro nt passenger sea t using
the we ight-sens ing mat in the seat cushion and the senso r be low the
saf ety belt la tch o n th e front passenge r seat tha t measur es t he
tension on the safety belt.
Th e weigh t-sens ing ma t me asures tot al we ight of the child and the
child safety seat and a child blanket on the fro nt passe nger seat . The
we ight on the fro nt passenger se at is re lated to t he design of the
child res traint and i ts "footpri nt", the size and shape of t he bottom
of the ch ild restraint as it sits o n the seat . The weight of a child
restrain t an d its "foo tpr int" vary for differe nt k inds of child res tra ints .,_
Intelligent technology
--------------------------------------------------' "---.L==--
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
-~_T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_ d_ w_ h_e_ e_ ls _______________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nu ed )
• Tire s age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly ,
especially at high speeds . Tires that are more than 6 year s old can
only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at low
s peed .
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined we ight (in excess of those sta nda rd items which
may be rep lace d) of automatic transmission, power steering, power
bra kes, powe r w indows , power seats, radio, and heater, to the extent
that these items are avai lab le as factory- installed equipment
(w het he r i nsta lled or no t).
Aspect ratio
me ans the ratio of t he he ight to t he w id th of the tir e in percent .
Numbe rs of 55 o r lower indicate a low sidewa ll for improved steer ing
respo nse an d be tter overa ll handling on dry p avemen t.
Bead
means the part o f the tire that is made of stee l w ires , wrap ped o r
re in forced by ply cords and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a brea kdown of the bon d between components in the bead .
Cord
means the st rands forming the plies in the tire.
& W ARNING (continued )
• Never mount used tire s on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous hi story ." Old used tires may have been damaged
eventhoughthedamagecannotbeseenthatcanleadtosudden
tire failure and lo ss of vehicle control.
• If you notice unu sual vibration or if the vehicle pull s to one side
when driving, alway s stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check
the wheels and tires for damage. •
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recommended by the vehicle ma nufa cturer
for a tire of a des ignated size t hat has not been driven for more than
a couple of m iles ( kilomete rs) a t low speeds in the t hree ho ur period
before the tire pressure is measured or ad justed.
Curb weight
mea ns the weig ht of a motor vehicle wit h standard equ ipment
including the max imum cap aci ty of f ue l, oil, and coo lan t, air condi
tioning and additiona l weight of optional equipment.
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loa ds and at higher inflation
pressures than the co rrespo nd ing standard tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewal l.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ( "GAWR ")
means the load -ca rry ing capacity of a s ingle ax le system, measured at
t he t ire-grou nd inte rfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the max imum total loaded we ight of the vehicle .
-~_T_ ir_e_ s_ a_ n_ d_ w_ h_e_ e_ ls _______________________________________________ _
vehicle at its maximum capacity weight and tires that were on your
vehicle at the tim e it was manufactured.
If you wish to improve comfort when operating the vehicle at
normal load (up to 3 occupants) , you can adjust tire pressures to
those specified for normal vehicle load. Before operating the
vehicle at maximum load, you must increase the tire pressures to
those specified for maximum vehicle load
=> &.
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring system* ca n only
monitor the tire pressures you have stored. The system does not
recogn ize the load condit ion of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitoring system* wi ll be
impaired if you store normal load pressures but then operate the
vehicle at its maximum load
=> &.
See the illustration => page 295, fig. 212 for the locat ion of the label
either on driver's side B-pillar or inside the fuel filler flap (color of the
actual label and exact location on the vehicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following tab le is accurate at the time of going to press
and is subject to change. In the event of discrepancies, the tire pres
sure label (On USA vehicles, the tire pressure label is located on the
dr iver's side B-pillar. On Canada vehicles, the tire pressure label is
located e ither on the driver's s ide B-pillar or inside the fuel filler flap)
always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold tire inflation pressures
for the Audi model covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehicle's
capacity weight and the tire sizes installed on the respective models
as origina l equipment, or as a factory option.
Engine
(displace ment in liter) Tire designation
Tire pressure front Tire pressure rear
normal load normal load
condition (up full load condition
(up
full load
to 2 occu- condition to 2 occu- condition pants) pants)
PSI Jl kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI II kPA
4-cylinder 225/50 Rl 7 94H All Season 32 220 33 230 29 200 33 230
2.0
245/45 Rl 7 95H All Season 32 220 33 230 29
200 33 230
245/40 R18
93H All Season 33 230 35 240 29 200 35 240
255/35 R19 96V XL High Performance 32 220 33 230 32 220 33 230
265/30 R20 94Y XL High Performance 30 210
33 230 29 200
33 230
XL=
reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xi, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire sidewall.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is located on a label
either on the driver's s ide B-pillar or inside the fuel filler flap.
Beca use technica l changes may be made to vehicle equipment during
the model year, always compare the tir e s ize designation on the tir e
pressure label on your vehicle with the tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire size information on the vehicle label is the same as
the
size of the tires on the vehicle. This is especially important if the
vehicle belongs to someone e lse or you bought the vehicle with
different rims/tires or you bought the veh icle as a previous ly ow ned
vehicle. _.,,
-~_T_ i_ re _ s_ a_n _ d_ w_ h _e_ e_ ls _________________________________________________ _
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wea r a nd can cause sudden
t ire blow-out. For this reason, ti re p ressure must be checked at least
once a month ~
page 297.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acce le ra tion and hard brak ing
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your veh icle to have the same service life, we
re commend that the fron t and re a r tires are rotate d according to the
tire manufact urer's suggested tire rotation interva ls . Please
remember the fo llow ing:
• Tir e rotat ion inte rvals may differ from t he ve hicl e service intervals
outlined in your Maintenance and War ranty Booklet .
• T he longer one tire is used in one location on the veh icle, the more
it wears at certa in points; therefore, we recommend that you follow
t he t ire m anufac ture r's suggested tire rotation in terva ls.
• V ehicles with front-whee l drive expe rience mo re tread wea r on t he
fron t wheels compa red to all-whee l drive (quattro
® ).
• Please rotate tires as s hown ~fig. 215.
• Extra care must be taken when rotating d irection-specific tires
~ page 321.
Wheel balancing
The w heels on new vehicles are balanced. Howeve r, va rious sit uat io ns
dur ing eve ryday dr iv ing can cause them to become unbalanced,
re su lt ing in v ibr ations yo u can usually fee l throug h the steering
wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to avoid excessive wea r on
steeri ng, suspension and t ires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
w hen a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrec t whee l alignment can ca use excessive tire wear, impai ring
t he sa fety of the veh icle . If tires show excess ive wear, have the wheel
alignment checked by an authorized A udi dealer or qualified wo rk
shop .
All wheel drive
Vehicles w ith q uattro ® must always have ti res of the same size,
const ructio n and trea d type. For details see~
page 242 .
& 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 wea r ind icato rs.
• Worn tire s are a safety hazard, they do not grip well on wet
roads and in crease your risk of "hydroplaning" and lo ss 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 tire s 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. •
________________________________________________ T_i_re _ s_ a _ n_d_ w_ h_ e_ e_l_s __ _
numbers or letters indicate the plant where it was manufactured, and
t he last f our num be rs represen t the wee k an d ye ar of man ufacture.
For examp le, t he numbers 2209 mean that the t ire was prod uced in
the 2 2nd week of 2009. The ot her num bers are marketing co des that
may or may not be used by the t ire manufacturer . Th is information is
used to contact consumers if a tire defect requires a reca ll.
Audi Original tire
Tir es wi th the identifi cat io n "A O" or "RO" have bee n specially
matched w it h your Aud i. W e recommend using only these t ires
because t hey meet the hig hest standards regard ing safety and
driv ing c ha racteris tics when used correct ly . Yo ur aut ho rize d Aud i
dealer wi ll gladly p rovide you with more information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
T he num ber o f plies ind ica tes the numbe r of layers o f rubber -coa ted
fab ric in the tire. I n ge neral, th e greater the n umber of plies, the
more weight a tire can support . Tire manufacture rs a lso must in di
cate the mater ials in the t ire, which incl ude stee l, nylon, polyes ter,
and others .
Maximum Load Rating
This num ber indicates t he maximum load in kilog rams and pounds
tha t can be carr ied by the t ire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear, traction, and
temperature resistance
T read wea r, traction and tempe rat ure gra des => page 306 .
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
This number is the g rea tes t a mou nt o f air pressure th at sh ould ever
be put in the t ire under normal driv ing cond itions.
Safety first
& WARNING
• Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/ or wheels or improper
tire and wheel combination s can lead to loss of control, collision
and serious personal injury.
• Always u se tire s, rim s and wheel bolts that meet the specifica
tions of original factory -installed tires or other combinations that
have been specifically approved by the vehicle manufacturer.
• Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly,
e specially at high speed s. Tires that are more than 6 years old can
only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at
lower speed s.
• Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history ." Old u sed tires may have been damaged
eventhoughthedamage cannotbeseenthatcanleadtosudden
tire failure and loss of vehicle control.
• All four wheels must be fitted with radial t ires of the same
type , size (rolling circumference ) and the same tread pattern .
Driving with different tires reduces vehicle handling and can lead
to a loss of control.
• If the spare ti re is not the same as the t ires that are mounted
on the vehicle -for example with winter tires -only use the spare
tire for a short period of time and drive with extra care. Refit the
normal road wheel as soon as safely possible .
• Never drive faster than the ma ximum speed for which the tires
on your vehicle are rated becau se tire s that are driven faster than
their rated speed can fail suddenly .
• Overloading tire s cau se heat build-up, sudden tire failure,
including a blowout and sudden deflation and loss of control.
• Temperature grades apply to tires that are properly inflated
and not over or unde rinflated.
• For technical reasons it is not always possible to u se wheels
from other vehicles- in some cases not even wheels from the same
vehicle model. ..,_
Vehicle care Technical data
________________________________________________ T....:.i.:....r -=e -=s -=.: a..:.n .:.... d::..:__ w:..:....: h..:. e -=-= e:...:l-=s --"'
Sa fety Standa rd No. 109 . G rades Ba nd A rep resent higher levels of
p erf or ma nce on t he laborato ry tes t w hee l than t he mini mum
r e q uir ed by law .
& WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on straight-ahead
braking traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction characteristics.
& WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is established for a tire that is
properly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinfla
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or in combination, can
cause heat buildup and possible tire failure. •
Winter tires
Winter tir es co n imp rove ve hi cle ha ndlin g on sno w an d
ice. At temp eratur es be low 45 °F (7 °C) w e rec ommen d
ch angin g to wi nte r tires .
In some heavy snow areas, loca l gover nme nts may requ ire t rue
w inter o r "snow" tires, those with very deep ly cut trea d. These tires
sho uld only be used in pairs and be installed on all four wheels . Make
s ur e you pu rc h ase snow ti res t hat a re the same size and const ruction
type as the ot he r tir es o n your veh icle .
Your vehicle is equipped wi th all-whee l dr ive, this wi ll improve trac
ti on dur ing w inter dr iv in g, even w it h th e stand ard tire s. Howeve r, we
strong ly recommend t hat you a lways equ ip all four wheels on yo ur
vehicle wi th co rrec tly fitte d win ter tires o r all- season tires, when
w inter road conditions are expected . T hi s also improves the veh icle 's
bra king perfo rma nce and re duces stop ping distances .
S um mer tir es p rovide less gr ip on ice and s now .
Safety first
Wi nter tires (snow tires) m ust always be fitted on all fo ur whee ls .
Ask yo ur aut horized Audi dealer o r q ualified wor kshop for permitted
winter tire sizes . Use only rad ia l w inte r tir es .
Winter tires lose t heir effectiveness whe n the trea d is worn down to
a dep th of 0 .157 inch ( 4 m m).
Only dr ive w it h w inter t ires u nder w inte r cond it io ns. S u mme r tir es
hand le better w hen the re is no snow or ice on the roads an d the
t empe ra tu re is a bove 45
°F (7 °() .
If you have a flat ti re, se e notes on s pare w hee l=> page 303.
P lea se al way s rem em ber th at win ter tire s ma y have a lower speed
rating t han the t ires or iginally installed on yo ur veh icle at t he t ime it
was ma nufact ured. Please see=>
page 304, "S pee d rat ing ( letter
code)" for a lis ting of the s peed rating letter codes a nd the maxim um
speed at which the tires can be dr iven .
Th e spee d ratin g le tt er code( =>
page 294 ) is on the s ide w all o f the
t ire=>
page 303 .
& WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits that may be lower than
your vehicle's maximum speed. Always know the maximum speed
before driving off. Never drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific winter tires. This will cause damage to the tires leading to an accident and serious personal injury to you and your
passenger s.
& WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed for which the winter tires
on your vehicle we re designed can cause tire failure including a
blowout and sudden deflation, loss of control, crashes and serious
personal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires replaced immedi-
ately. .,,_
Vehicle care Technical data