
child should always ride in the seat properly
restrained for its age and size .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re tractor is locked when installing a ch ild
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it .
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop o r in a coll ision
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
f orce and w ill smash t he ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, door or
roof .
- F orward-fac ing ch ild safe ty sea ts or in
f ant ca rriers installed on the front pas
senger's seat may inte rfe re with the de
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the ch ild.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave
hicle is being used¢ page 136 . Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
¢ page 116, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
m ust in stal l a forw ard or rearward-f acing
child restrain t on the front passenger's
sea t in except iona l situat ions:
- Whenever a fo rw ard or rearward- facing
child restraint is installed on the fron t
passenge r seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
Child Sa fet y 145
the checks described ¢ page 125, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on the inflating
airbag w ill hit the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and will
smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door or roof. Have
the airbag system i nspe cte d immed iate ly
by your Audi de aler.
- I mp roper installation of ch ild restraints
can reduce t heir effec tiveness o r even
preven t them from providing any pro tec
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restr aint
can interfere with the airbag as i t de
ploys and seriously injure o r even kil l the
child.
- Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur
er 's instructions p rovi ded with t he chi ld
safety seat or car rier .
- Never p lace additiona l items on the seat
that ca n increase the total weight reg is
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child rest raints:
- Always make s ure the forward- facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up , against or
very near the in
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat 's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
b ackrest mus t be ad ju ste d to a n up right
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and st ays o n all the
time whenever the ignit ion is switched
on. •
•

146 Child Safety
_& WARNING
Rearward -fac ing ch ild restraints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenge r
seat will be seriously injured and can be
ki lled if the front airbag inflates - even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstances .
- Make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t comes on and stays on. H the PAS
SEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag sys
tem inspected immediately by your Audi
dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
A lways heed the child safety seat man ufactur
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
• Place the child restraint on a seat .
• Slow ly pull the be lt
all the way out .
• Route it around or through the child re
stra int be lt path
c::> &_ .
• Push the child safety seat dow n with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight .
• Insert the be lt tongue into t he buckle for
t h at seating position. •
Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the be lt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
• You shou ld hear a "clicking" noise as the
be lt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convert ible lock ing retractor by pu lling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the be lt out of the retractor . The con
ve rtible locking re trac to r i s now activated .
• Ma ke s ure t hat the red release b utton is fac
ing away from the child rest raint so that it
can be unbuckled quic kly.
• Pull on the belt to make sure the safety be lt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2 .5 cm).
_& WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
p roperly installed chi ld restrai nt can cause
se rious pe rsonal injury or deat h in a cr ash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tracto r is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tracto r ca nnot hold the child safety sea t
in place dur ing no rma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fe ty seat firmly
in p lace even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a s udden stop or in a crash .
- Always ma ke sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright pos ition. Otherw ise, the seat
back with the ch ild safety seat attached
to it could fly forward in the event of an
accident o r other emergency situation .
- Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
c::> page 136. Special
p reca utions apply when insta lling a child
safety sea t on the front passenger seat
c::> page 116, Child re straints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
-

Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactiva ted automatically
when the belt is wound all the way back into the retractor.
" Press the red button on the safe ty belt buc k
l e. The bel t tongue w ill pop out of the buck
l e .
" Guide the safety be lt all the way back into
its stowed pos ition .
A lways le t the safety belt retrac t complete ly
into its stowed pos it ion . The sa fety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convert ib le lock ing ret ractor for chi ld
rest ra ints .
If the conver tible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadve rtently , the safety belt m ust
be unfastened and guided comp letely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the conver tib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and u ncomfo rtable to wea r.
A WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child saf ety seats in
c rease the risk of ser ious perso nal inju ry
a n d de ath in a colli sion.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti
va te the convert ible lo cking re tr actor for
ch ild re st rain ts w hile the veh icle is mov
ing. You would not be rest rained an d
cou ld be ser iously injure d in an accident.
- Always read and hee d all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being use d¢
page 136. Spec ial
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 116, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Child Safet y 147
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T here a re a number o f sources of add itiona l
information abo ut child restraint se lection, in
stallation and use :
N HT SA advises t hat the bes t ch ild safety seat
is the one that fi ts your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration
T el.: 1 -888 -3 27-42 36 (TIY: 1-800-4 24-9153)
www. n hts a .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 66 2-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSafe U. S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
Te l.: (800) 7 47-SANO (Span ish)
www. carseat .org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 (800) 333-037 1 or call
1 (613) 9 98-8616 if you are in the Ottawa
area
www.tc.gc. ca/ ro ad safe ty
Audi Cu stomer CARE
T el.: (800) 82 2-2834 •
•

A WARNING
- The limits of physics cannot be suspended by ESP. Even in vehicles w ith ESP, you
should always adapt your driving to road
and traffic conditions. This is particular ly
t rue on a slippery and wet road. Do not
be tempted by the inc reased safety pro
vided to take ris ks - danger of an acci
dent!
- Please note tha t when ESP/ASR is deacti
vated, the drive whee ls can spin on icy
and slippery roads and the veh icle can
break away - danger of skidding!
Switching on and off
Fi g. 130 Center co nsole wit h ESP switch
The ES P is a utomatically activated when the
engine is star ted, and it performs a self-test.
As soon as the test is completed, the system
is in normal operating mode.
Deactivating
ESP should normally be activated at all times
because this ensures optimum vehicle stabil i
ty. Only in some cases it does make sense to
deactivate the Electronic Stability P rogram
(ESP) by press ing the button
~fig . 130. Deac
tivation is ind icated by the ESP lamp
I in the
instr ument cluster f lashes. The message
ESP
OFF
appears in the instrument cluster. Ant i
Slip Regulation is completely deactivated and
the stabilization effects from the ESP system are lim ited. Th is makes a mo re agile and spor
ty driv ing style poss ible, but the fu ll exte nt of
t he s tabiliza tion f unct ion is not available .
Intelligent technolog y 149
Activating
Press the@] button again~ fig. 130. T he ind i
cator light
I goes out . The message ESP ON
appears brief ly in the instrument cluster dis
play.
&_ WARNING
i=
You shou ld only switch the ESP off if your
driving ab ility and the traff ic situat ion al
low. Please note that when ESP/ASR is de
activated, the d rive wheels can spin on icy
a nd slippery roads and th e vehicle can
b reak away- dange r of skidd ing!
a) Tips
- If Aud i magnetic ride* is malfunct io ni ng,
the ESP may not sw itch off or it may
switch off automatically.
- In the event of a defect in the rear spoil er sys tem or in Audi magnet ic ride, it can
happen that ASR and ASR/ESP cannot be
deactivated, o r they are ac tiva ted au to
matically in the deactiva ted st ate.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The electronic differential lock monitors the
rotational speed of the drive wheels.
General notes
The electronic d ifferential lock (EDL) helps the
ca r to start moving, accele rate and climb a
gradient on su rfaces provid ing poor or a lmost
no g rip. Withou t EDL, this would be d iff icul t ,
i f not impossib le.
How the system works
The EDL operates automatica lly. It mon itors
the rotational speed of the dr ive wheels on an
axle with the help of the ABS sensors
c;:> page 153. If a noticeable difference in ro
tational speed
between the drive wheels on
o ne axle is detected (e.g. on s lippery ground
on one side), the s pinning wheel is braked,
thereby t ransferring power to the other drive
whee l or wheels (a ll-wheel drive). This is done
up to a speed of about 60 mph (100 km/h). ..,_

150 Intelligent te chn olog y
Noises from the b rake system signal that
wheel spin is being controlled.
Driving off
When drivi ng off, a lways be sure to keep road
conditions in mind as you accelerate. If one
d rive wheel spi ns because it is on a surface
with less grip, gradua lly increase the press ure
on the accelerator pedal until the car starts to
move. The wheel less able to transfer power
spins.
O verheating of bra kes
To prevent the disc brake of the braked wheel
from overheating if subjected to excessive
loads, the EDL cuts out temporarily. The vehi
cle rema ins operationa l and behaves in the
same way as a vehicle without EDL.
As soon as the brake has cooled down, EDL
switches on again automatically .
A WARNING
-When accelerating on slippery surfaces,
such as on ice or snow, always be careful
when depressing the acce lerator pedal.
Even with the EDL working, the drive
wheels can spin and reduce yo ur ability
to contro l your car. -Risk of crash!
- The increased safety afforded by EDL
does not mean that you can ta ke safety
risks. Always adapt your dr iving sty le to
the road conditions and traff ic situa tion.
@ Tips
If a fa ult occurs in the ABS, the EDL is also
not f unct ion ing. This is indicated by the
ABS warning light ¢
page 17.
Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR)
The Anti-Slip Regulation System prevents the
driven wheels from spinning wh en the car is
accelerating.
General notes
The Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR) is inte
grated in the electronic stabilization program
(ESP). When th e vehicle starts up and acceler- ates, the whee
ls are prevented from spinning
by adjusting the engine power to match the
amount of grip available from the road sur
face.
How the system works
ASR pe rforms a utomat ica lly, i.e . w ithout t he
driver's intervention. With the aid of the ABS
sensors ¢
page 153, ASR monitors t he speed
of the dr iven whee ls . If the whee ls start to
spin, the engine torq ue is reduced automati
cally until the tires find enough gr ip to lock
onto the road surface . The system is active
across the ent ire speed range .
The ASR works in conjunction with the ABS. If
a malfunction should occur in the ABS, the
ASR w ill also be out of act io n.
@ Tips
To ensure that the ASR works properly, all
four whee ls must be fitted wit h ident ica l
tires . Any differences in ro lling radius of
the tires can cause the system to reduce
engine power wh en this is not desired. See
a lso
¢ page 205, New tires and repla cing
tires and wheels.
Rear spoiler
The rear spoiler improves vehicle handling
and enhances driver control .
Fig. 131 Switc h fo r rear spo iler
The rear spoiler deploys and retracts. Spoiler
operation can be set for automat ic or manual
operation .

Automatic mod e (normal operat ion)
- Automatic deployment: At a speed of about
75 mph (120 km/h), the rear spoiler deploys
automatically .
- Automatic retraction: When speed drops be
low abo ut SO mph (80 km/h), the rear spoil
er retracts automatically.
Manual mode
- Manua l dep loyment: Tapping briefly on the
switch
¢ fig. 131 dep loys the rear spo iler .
- Manual retraction: At speeds up to about 10
mph (20 km/h), retract the rear spoiler by
pressing and holding the switch ¢
fig. 131.
At speeds between 10 mph (20 km/h) and
75 mph (120 km/h), retract the rear spoi ler
by tapping on the switch
¢ fig. 131 .
A WARNING
Driv ing at higher speeds w ithout the rear
spoiler dep loyed can impair handling char
acteristics, making the vehicle harder to
control.
- Always make sure that the spoiler is de·
ployed whe n driving at speeds over 85
mp h (140 km/h) . If the rea r spo ile r
wa rning/ind icator light in the instru
ment cluster comes on, the rear spo iler
may not have dep loyed.
- Never drive at speeds hig her than 85
mp h (1 40 km/h) if the spoiler is not de
ployed. Have the spoi ler inspected as
soon as possible by an authorized A udi
dealer or qualified workshop .
- Always obey speed limits and other traf
fic laws.
A WARNING
Improper operation of the rear spoiler can
cause crushing injuries .
- Always make sure that nobody, especia lly
children, is in the way when the rear
spoiler is deployed or retracted.
Q) Note
Never push the vehicle o r apply fo rce to
the rear spoiler -it could be damaged.
Int ellig ent technolog y 151
(D Tips
Clean the spoiler compa rtment every 2 to
3 months. The spoiler compartment must
a lways be free of ice, snow, leaves or other
debr is .
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Ope rating condition s and driving h abits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat
ing condit ions and driving habits ¢.&, . On ve
hicles that a re either dr iven mostly in stop
and-go city t raff ic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be chec ked by yo ur author
ized Audi dea ler mo re often than specified in
the
W arranty & Maintenanc e boo klet. Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result in reduced brake performance .
On steep slopes, you should use the braking
effect o f the engine . This way, you prevent un
necessary wear on the brake system. If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down cont in uous ly. Pump the brakes at inter
vals.
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, braking force and o utside condi
tions such as temperature and humid ity.
Moisture o r ro ad s alt
U nder certa in conditions, for examp le, when
driving through water or very heavy rain , or
even after washing your vehicle, the b raking
effect can be reduced due to moist ure (or in
freezing cond itions ice) on the brake pads. A
few cautious brake applications should dry off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings .
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a salt-covered road and t he brakes are not used. L ikewise,
you clean off accumulated salt coating from brake d iscs and pads with a few cautious ap-
plications of the b rake ¢ .&, .
IJJ,
•
•

152 Intelligent technology
Corrosion
There may be a tendency fo r dirt to bu ild up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not driven regularly or
only for short trips with little use of the brakes .
I f the b rakes are not used frequen tly, or if cor
rosion has fo rmed on the discs, it is advisab le
to clean
off the pads and discs by b raking
firm ly a few times from a moderate ly high
speed
c> .& .
Fault s in the bra ke sy ste m
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake peda l travel, then one of the two brake
circu its may have failed¢.& .
Low brake fluid level
Malf unc tions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fl uid level is too low. The b rake fluid
l eve l is monitored electronica lly .
Brake lining wear status
Brake lin ing wea r may be c hecked by visual i n
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces
sary, the whee l may be removed for this in
spection ¢
page 222, What should I be
aware of when changing a tire?.
Brake power assist unit
The brake power assist un it increases the
p ress ure th at yo u genera te with the b rake
pedal. It works on ly when the engine is run
ning.
& WARNING
- Yo u should perform braking maneuve rs
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system on ly if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss io n into a lowe r
gear or lowe r driving position . Do not
ride the brak es or ho ld the pedal down
too long or too ofte n. This cou ld cause the brakes to get hot and dimin
ish b rak
ing efficiency.
- Do not " ride the brakes" by rest ing you r
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake. This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance .
- Under certain cl imatic and ope rat ing
conditions such as passing through wa
ter, dr iv ing in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
b rakes can be reduced . In wi nte r, ice can
a ccumu late on the br ake pads , lin ings,
d iscs and drums. Cautiously app ly bra kes
for a test . Brakes wi ll dry and ice coat
ings wi ll be cleaned
off after a few cau
tious b rake app lications .
- Driving for an exten ded period of t ime on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect bra king efficiency.
Clean
off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few cautious
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a diffe rent spoiler, be sure the a ir
f low to the front b rakes is not obs truc t
ed. Otherwise the bra ke system could
overhea t redu cing t he effectiveness o f
the entire brake system.
- Fai lure of one b rake circuit will impa ir
the braking capa bility result ing in an in
cre ase d stopping dist ance. Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near
est A udi dealer or qualified workshop .
- Never let the vehi cle roll to a s top with
the engine sh ut
off .
- If t he bra ke booste r is no t working, for
examp le when towing yo ur vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the bra ke peda l must be
pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance .

Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking under braking.
The anti-lock brake system (ABS) makes a ma
jor contribution to increasing active dr iving
safety. You should not expect that braking d is
tances will be
shortened under all circumstan
ces with ABS. Braki ng d istance may even be
come somewhat
longer, for example, on grav
e l or in new snow on slippery g round, even if
you are driving care fully and s low ly.
ABS operation
When a vehicle speed of about 10 mph (20
km/h) is reached, an automatic test sequence
is run. Some noise from the pump may be au
d ible.
I f the speed of a wheel slows down too much
r e lative to veh icle speed and it starts to lock,
brake pressure to this wheel is reduced. This
ad justment process can be felt as a
pul sin g
moti on of the br ake pedal , accompanied by
some noises. You as the driver are intentiona l
ly being given the information that the whee ls
are tending to lock (ABS control range). In or
der for ABS to be able to operate optimally in
this range, you must keep the brake pedal de pressed - do not "pump the brakes ".
Brake a ssist ant
The brake power assist unit increases the
pressure that you generate with the brake
pedal. It works only w hen the eng ine is run
ning .
Automatic full br ak ing
This function allows full brak ing in spite of
high brake pedal forces (e.g. when the brakes
are severely stressed because the vehicle is
fully loaded) . The driver notices th is function
throug h a reduction of pedal force and in
creased pedal travel. When the brake pedal is released, fu ll braking assist switches off again
automatically .
Intellig ent technolog y 153
If there is an ABS failure, the b rake assistant
and automatic fu ll braking assist are not avail
able.
A WARNING
- ABS cannot suspend the laws of physics.
You should keep th is in mind in particu
lar on an icy or wet road . If ABS control
of braking intervenes, you should adjust
your speed immed iately to road and traf
fic conditions. Do not be tempted by the increased safety provided to take risks -
danger o f an accident .
- Please keep in mind tha t the risk of an
accident is increased by driving too fast,
particularly in bends and on icy or wet
roads, and by driving too close to the ve
hicle ahead . The increased risk of an acci
dent cannot be reduced by the brake as
sistant - danger of an accident.
(D Tips
If a malfunction occurs in the ABS, this is
s ignalled by an indicator light, see
<=:> page 17.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
The degree of power assist is electronically
matched to vehicle speed.
The power steering system assists the driver
so that he can steer the vehicle with reduced physical effort .
Power steering will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
A WARNING
If the system develops a problem, you
must seek qualified professiona l assis
tance.
•
•