
If you have selected a lower gear than the cur
rent one, the transmission w ill only shift down
when the engine cannot be overspeeded .
If kick-down is actuated, the transmission
shifts into a lower gear independent ly of
speed and engine rpm .
Steering wheel with Tiptronic ® controls
The selector paddl es allow the driver to keep
both hands on the steering wheel when shift
ing gears.
Fig. 101 Sport steer ing wheel w ith selector paddle s
Shifting up
.. Pull the right paddle, marked 0 ¢ fig. 101
briefly towards you .
Shifting down
.. Pull the left paddle, marked 0 ¢fig. 101
briefly towards you.
The selector paddles on the steering wheel
are activated when the selector lever on the
center console is in
D , S, or in the manual po
sition (Tiptronic mode) .
You can also shift gears in the Tiptronic mode
using the selector lever on the center console.
@ Tips
With the gear selector lever in either "D"
or "S" the transmission will switch back to
the automatic mode if you do not use the
paddles within approx. 30 seconds.
Transmission 91
Kick-down feature
The kick-down feature allows maximum ac
celeration .
If you depress the accelerator pedal fully be
yond the full-throttle position, the transmis
s ion automatically downshifts one gear, de
pending on vehicle speed and engine rpm. The
upshift into the next higher gear takes place
as soon as the maximum specified engine
speed is reached.
_&. WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if the kick-down is used on a smooth slip
pery road -risk of sk idding!
Launch Control Program
The Launch Control Program permits maxi
mum acceleration.
In order to use Launch Control, the ASR (Anti
Slip Regulation) must be disabled. When ASR
is disabled, the ESP warning/indicator light
I
in the instrument cluster illuminates. So that
Launch Control can be used, the engine must
be at operating temperature and the steering
wheel must not be turned .
.. With the engine running, briefly press the
ESP button. The message "ESP off" appears
in the instrument cluster display.
.. Shift the gear lever to "S" or the tiptronic ®
position.
.. Step on the brake pedal with your left foot
and keep the brake pedal fully depressed for
at least one second.
.. W ith your right foot, step on the accelerator
to the wide-open throttle position or Kick
down. The engine speed settles at about
3,200 rpm.
.. Take your left foot off the brake.
&_ WARNING
-
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow.

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re nec
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
imp roperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci
dents . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
impa ired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi TT Roadster has two seating posi
tions. Each seat ing pos ition has a safety be lt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improper ly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, in
clu ding small ch ild ren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in the ve hicle
t h an t he re a re safety be lts ava ilable.
Sa fety belts 107
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe
ty belt or child restra int.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling-up.
Fi g. 1 10 Safety be lt warn ing lig ht in the instr ume nt
cl uster -enla rged
Befor e driv ing off, always :
~ Fasten your sa fe ty belt and make su re you
wear it p roperly.
~ Make s ure that yo ur passenge rs a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
~ Protect childre n with a child rest raint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The wa rning light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up w hen the ig nit ion is switched on as a
remi nder to fasten the safety belts. In addi
tion , you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their saf ety belts .
A WARNING
-Safety belts are the s ingle most effect ive
means ava ilable to reduce t he risk of se
rio us i nju ry and de ath in au tomobile a cci
dents . Fo r yo ur pro tection and tha t of
your passen gers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts when t he ve hicl e is moving .
- Fail ure to p ay att ent io n t o the wa rni ng
lig ht that come on , could lead to person
a l injury . •
•

122 Airbag sys te m
the front passenger seat is checked by t he
e lectronic control unit when the i gnition is on .
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected. The function of the
a irbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il be low. Because the front passenger
seat conta ins impo rtant parts of t he Ad
v a nce d Airb ag System, you m ust ta ke ca re to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The f ront Advanced Airbag System
consi sts o f th e following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts.
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit a lso "dec ides" w hethe r th e safety be lt
pretensioners should be a ctivated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
th e d river ins ide the steer ing whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in
s ide the instrument pane l for the front pas
senger.
- A weig ht-sens ing mat under the upholste ry
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush io n
t h at meas ure s the tot al we igh t on the seat.
T he information registered is sen t con tinu
o usly to the electron ic cont ro l u nit to regu
l ate dep loyment of the front A dvanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
¢ page 125.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru
ment pane l¢
page 126, fig. 122 and tells
yo u when the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenger s ide has been turned off. -
A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety belt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 116, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv
er and fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses whet her t hat safety bel t is latche d or
not and transmi ts this information to t he
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Improper repair or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
fu nctioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never rem ove t he front passenger or
driver seat from t he vehicle.
- Never
remove th e upho lstery from the
front passenge r seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur poc kets
or place them on the seat. If the weight
sensing mat in the passenge r seat is
punctured it cannot work properly .
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong in formation to the airbag co ntrol
un it.
- Never store items under the front pas
senger sea t. Parts of the Advan ced Air
b ag Sys tem unde r the p assenger se at
-
could be damaged, p reven ting t hem and ~

routed around the child restraint as descri
bed in the chi ld restraint manufacturer's
instruct ions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety belt for the front passen ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
~ page 144 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and child safety seat are
not being transpo rted on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenge r sea t back and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, ma ke s ure that i t is not so tight tha t it
ca uses the weight -sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actually on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
d oes not come o n
and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- ta ke the ch ild restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and insta ll it p roperly at one of the
rear seat pos itions. Have the a irb ag system
inspected by your A udi dealer immediately.
- move the chi ld to a rea r seat posi tion and
make su re that the ch ild is p roperly res train
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light shou ld
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and an
ad ult is sitting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat.
If the PASSENGER
AIR B AG O FF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while dr iv ing, un
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the ad ult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
c u shi on with h is or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
A irbag system 127
~ page 99, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing we ight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In add ition to the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGE R AIR BAG O FF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster d isp lay . This is to in
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
a irbag sta tus.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An ai rbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong wi th the Advanced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the ai rbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspected imme
diate ly by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rearward -facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been proper ly installed
-
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed. ~
•
•

The side airbags are located in the sides of the
fro nt seat backrests ¢
fig. 125 facing the
doors. They are identified by the word "AIR
BAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the e lectronic control module and external
s ide impact senso rs
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the a irbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electron ically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times . Each time you turn on the igni
tion, t he a irbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnos tics) .
The s ide a irbag system supplements the safe
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in
jury to the driver's and front passenge r's up
per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision. The airbag deploys in
side impacts and only when the vehicle acce l
eration registered by the control unit is hig h
enough. If this rate is below the reference val
ue programmed into the control un it, the side
airbags w ill not be triggered, even though the
car may be badly damaged as a result of the
coll is ion . It is not poss ible to define an airbag
triggering range that will cover every possible
angle of impact, since the circumstances w ill
va ry considerably between one collis ion and
another. Important factors include, for exam
ple, the nature (hard or soft) of the impacting
object, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc.
c> page 134, Important safety instruc
tions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safe
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
coll is ion so that the side a irbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wear ing
Airbag system 133
your safety be lt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety be lts, not just because the law re
quires you to do soc;,
page 107, General
notes.
It is important to remember that wh ile the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed s ide airbags. Remember too,
s ide airbags wi ll dep loy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
a re always there to offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of veh icle damage are not necessarily an indi
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa
tion. In some collision s, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air
bags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al
ways there to offer protection in those acci
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is turned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration
meas ured by the sensor is too low
- in rea r-end co llision s
- in rollove rs.
In some types of accidents the front airbags
and s ide a irbags may be triggered together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in th e proper seating position
c;,page 134.
- If the airbag indicator light 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 vehicle ac
celeration in a side coll is ion is high
enough to activate the a irbag. •
•

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). ..,_

Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long period of time, the bat
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e.g. immobilizer). In ce rtain c ircumstances it
can result in there being insuff icient ene rgy
avai lab le to start the engine .
Intell igent energy management in your vehi
cle handles the d istribution of electrical ener
gy. Starting ab il ity is markedly imp roved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Basically, energy management consists of
batt ery diagno sis, idlin g current man ag e
m ent
and dyn ami c en ergy manag emen t.
Batter y diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery . Sensors determ ine
battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determ ines the current
state of charge and the powe r of the battery.
Idling curr ent man agement
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is stand ing .
W ith the ignition switched off, it cont ro ls the
energy s upply to the various electr ical compo
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid
ered.
D epending on the batte ry's state of charge,
i nd ividua l consumers are gradual ly t urned off
to prevent excess ive d ischarge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability .
Dynam ic en ergy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en
e rgy management dist ributes the energy gen
e rated according to the needs of the individu
a l components.
It reg ulates cons umption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
Int ellig ent technolog y 155
than is being generated and ensures an opti
mal state of charge for the battery.
(0 Tips
- But even energy management canno t
negate the limits of physics . Consider
that the power and life of a battery are
limited .
- If starting ability is threatened, you are
informed by a warning
r::!)poge 156,
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severe ly taxed in short -distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electrical energy is re quired, but only a little is generated .
It is also
critical if the engine is not running and electri
cal components are turned on . In this in
stance energy is be ing consumed but none is
being generated.
It is in precisely these situations that you will
notice energy management actively regulat
ing the d istribution of energy .
Vehicle stands for an e xtended peri od
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, e lectr ical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and ma in
ta ins start ing capability over a longer period .
Take into considerat ion that when you unlock
your vehicle, some convenience functions, such as the remote key or power seat adjust
ment, may not be available . The conven ience
funct ions w ill be available again when you
tu rn o n the ignition and start the engine .
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, w ith
the engine turned off, the battery is being d is-
charged.
~
•
•

156 Intelligent technology
If starting capability is jeopa rdized due to en
ergy consumption, a message appears in the
driver information disp lay.
You have to start the engine to charge the
battery.
With the engine running
A lthough electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be
come discharged. This happens most ly when
little energy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state o f
charge is not optima l.
To bring the energy balance back into equili
brium, consumers which require especially
l arge amounts of energy are temporarily cut
back or switched off. Heating systems in par
ticular require a great dea l of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they
have been temporar ily cut back or switched
off. These systems will be ava ilable again as
soon as the energy balance has been restored.
You will also notice that engine idle speed has been increased slightly . This is normal and not
a cause for concern . By increas ing engine idle
speed the add itiona l energy required is gener
ated and the battery is charged.
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If battery power drops into the range where it
can limit the ability of the engine to start, th is
is shown in the instrument cluster display
with the following driver message:
(•) Low battery charge : battery will be
charged while driving
This notification reminds you that the starting
capability of the engine may be limited. As
soon as you start driving again, the battery
will be recharged and the notification will go
out.
Driver notification appears and goes out
again
If this driver notification appears after the ig
nition is turned on or whi le driving and it goes
out again after a while, the battery has been
adequately recharged.
Driver notification appears and does not
go out again
If this driver notif ication appears after the ig
nition is turned on or while driving and does
not go out again, the battery 's state of charge
is not in the optimal range. Starting ability is
restricted . Have the battery checked as soon
as possible by an autho rized Aud i dea le r o r
qualified wo rkshop.