Instruments and warning/indicator lights 15
-The light illuminates when the folding top
opens or closes .
- It flashes if one of the conditions for auto
matically lowering or raising the convertib le
top is not met and the switch to actuate the convertible top is pressed.
- The light i lluminates when the convertib le
top is opened or closed
incompletely.
nl /J Electronic stabilization program
(ESP)
If the G1 i ndicator lamp blinks while dr iv ing,
the ESP or ASR (Ant i-S lip Regulation) is active
l y regulating.
If the G1 indicator lamp illuminates, the sys
tem has sw itched the ESP off. In this case, you
can switch the ignition off and then on to
switch the ESP on again. The system is func
tioning completely whe n the indicator lamp
switches off .
I f the
I indicato r lamp illuminates, the ESP
was switched off with the
[ru bu tton.
ESP/ ABS fault! See owner's manual
If the G1 indicator lamp and the ll] ABS indi
cator lamp illuminate and the dr iver message
appears, the ABS or e lectronic differential lock
is malfunctioning. This also interrupts the
E SP . The brakes st ill function with the ir nor
mal power, but ABS is not active.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dea ler immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
For more information about the ESP
¢page 148.
~ Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfunction Ind icator Lamp (MIL) is part
of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system .
The symbol
rfl lights up when the ignition is
turned o n and will turn off after the engine
has started and ha s settled at constant idle
speed. This ind icates that the MIL is working
p roperly.
The warning light illuminates when there is a
malfunction in the engine e lectronic system. Contact
your authorized Audi dea ler and have
the malfunction corrected .
An improperly closed fuel filler cap may also
cause the MIL light to illuminate
¢page 176.
For more information ¢ page 28.
[D High beam
The . warn ing/ indicato r light illum inates
when the high beams are on or when you use
the headlight flasher. For more information
about using the high beams, see¢
page 55.
-::}. Rear spoiler
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electrically retractable rear spoiler .
The warning/indicator light I! has the follow
ing functions:
- It comes on for about 3 seconds as a func
tion check when the ignition is switched on.
- It comes on if there is a malfunction in the
electrically ret ra ctab le rea r spo ile r.
Additional informat ion about the e lectr ically
retractable rear spoiler ¢
page 150.
¢¢Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal.
Whenever you use the left II or the right II
turn s ignal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flasher, both indicator
lights flash.
If one of the turn signa l light bulbs burn out,
the turn signal will blink twice as fast as nor
mal.
Additional information on the turn signals
¢page 55.
Instrument s and warnin g/indi cator ligh ts 17
Par king brak e set
The 1111 warning/indicator light ill uminates
when the parking brake is set¢
A.
,&. WARNING
,-
- USA models:: If both, the -warning
light and the
m warning light come
on at the same time, the rear whee ls
could lock up first under hard braking.
Lock-up of the rear wheel brakes can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci
dent . Have your vehicle repaired immed i
ately by your authorized Audi dealer or a qualified wo rkshop. Dr ive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ion.
- Canada models: If both, the brake warn
ing light . and the ABS warning light
Ii] come on at the same time, the rear
wheels co uld lock up first unde r hard
braking . Lock-up of the rear wheel brakes
can cause loss of vehicle control and an
acc ident. Have your vehicle repaired im
med iately by your authorized Audi dealer
or a qualified workshop. Drive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ion
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the
park ing brake re leased, or lights up while
you a re d riving, the fluid level in the
brake fl uid reservo ir is too low. If you be
lieve that it is safe to do so, p roceed im
mediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified wo rk
shop and have the brake system inspect
ed.
- Please be very carefu l and always keep in
mind that after several brake applica
t ions, you will need greater pressure on
the brake pedal to stop your vehicle. Consequently, you must allow for in
cr eased braking distances. Trying to
brake as quickly as usual could lead to an
acci den t.
ABS/ (8 ) Anti-lock brake system
This warning/indicator light m (USA)/
Ii] (Canada) monitors the ABS and the elec
tronic differential lock (EDL).
The m light w ill come o n for a few seconds
when the ignition is switched on. The light
will go out after an automatic check sequence
is comp leted.
There is a malfunction in the ABS when:
-The warning/indicator light does not illumi
nate when you switch o n the ignition.
- The warning/indicator light does not go out
after a few seconds.
- The warning/indicator light illuminates
while driving.
The brake system will still respond e ven
without the a ssistance of the ABS system.
See your author ized Audi de aler as soon as
possible to restore full braking performance.
For more information regard ing the ABS
¢ page 153.
The AB S warning light and the b rake w arn
ing light come on togethe r. The ABS will not
work and you will no tice a ch ange in braking
r e sponse and perform ance .
Malfunction in the brake sy stem
USA models: If both, the 1111 warning light
and the
B warn ing light come on
¢ page 16when the parking brake is released,
the re may be a malfunct ion in the ABS, and
there may also be a malfunction in the brake
system itself¢
A.
Canada models: If both, the brake warning
li ght . and the ABS warning light
(I] come
o n ¢
page 16 when the parking brake is re
l eased, there may be a ma lf u nction in the
ABS, a nd there may a lso be a malfun ct ion in
the b ra ke system itse lf¢
A .
Malfunction in th e electronic differential
lock (EDL)
T he two systems EDL and ABS work togethe r.
T he
&1!B w ar ning lig ht w ill come on if there is
a mal func tion in the EDL system¢
page 149. .,.
148 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers fo r the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for example, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts .
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during normal vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as well as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Program (ESP)
General
The Electronic Stability Program increases
driving stability.
With ESP, control over the vehicle is increased
in situations when the vehicle is close to the
limits of grip, such as during acceleration and
in curves . ESP reduces the risk of skidding and
improves vehicle stability under all road con
ditions.
It operates at all speeds.
The Anti -Lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic
Differential Lock (EDS) and Anti-Slip Regula
tion System (ASR) are integrated in the Elec
tronic Stability Program .
How ESP works
The ESP control unit processes the following
data from high-sensitive sensors : the rota
tional speed of the vehicle about its vertical
axis , fore-and-aft and lateral acceleration
forces, brake pressure and steering angle.
Using steering angle and vehicle speed, the
direction the driver wishes to travel is deter
mined and continuously compared with actual
vehicle behavior. If the two do not match, for
example when the vehicle begins to skid, ESP
brakes the appropriate wheel automatically.
The vehicle is stabilized again by the forces
acting on the wheel during braking. With an
oversteering vehicle (tendency for the rear end to skid out of the curve), the brake appli
cation is mainly at the front wheel on the out
side of the curve, with an understeering vehi
cle (tendency to run wide in the curve) at the
rear wheel on the inside of the curve or addi
tionally at the other wheels as needed. This
brake application is accompanied by noises.
ESP works in conjunction w ith ABS
~ page 153. If there is malfunction in the
ABS, ESP is also inoperative.
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). ..,_
154 Intelligent technology
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser
votronic
w ill st ill function like a conven
tional power steer ing system, prov iding a
constant steer ing support force that is no
longer proportionate to the ve hicle speed .
This is most noticeable when turning the
steer ing whee l at low speeds (for examp le
when par kin g), -more effo rt will be re
qui red th an usual.
- Be aware of the different than usual
stee ring response and adjust you r steer
i ng force a ccord ingly.
- Have the p roblem chec ked and set right
by an authori zed Audi dealer as soo n as
poss ib le.
- If a stee ring malfunct io n occu rs, this is
s ignaled with the
42J or .• indic ator
li ghts and a wa rning tone, see.
(D Tips
- If the power steering system shou ld fa il,
or if the eng ine is no t runn ing (fo r exam
ple, while being towed), yo u wi ll st ill be
able to stee r the veh icle. However, more
effort will be req uired to do so .
- If the power steer ing system is not func
tioning p roperly , contact your a uthorized
A udi dealer immediate ly .
Driving with your
quattro ®
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels are driv
en.
General inform ation
W ith All Whee l Dr ive, power is d istributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your dr iv ing sty le and the road
conditions at the t im e. See also ¢
page 149,
E lectronic differential lock (EDL) .
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle w it h
All Wheel Drive has an advantage, even with regular t ires. In winter road co nditions it may
be adv isable to mount winter tires (o r all-sea- son tires) for
improved driveability and brak
ing : these tires must be mounted o n
all four
wheel s.
See also ¢ page 209, Winter tires .
Snow chains
Where tire chains a re m andatory o n certa in
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to ve hicles
wi th All Wheel Drive
¢ page 210, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles wi th A ll Wheel D rive mus t always
have t ires of the same s ize. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For deta ils see
page ¢
page 205, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
Your Aud i does not have enough g ro und clea r
an ce to be used as an off- road vehicle. It is
therefore bes t to avoid rough tracks and un
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
¢ page 158.
A WARNING ~
Always ad just your dr iv ing to road and traf-
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by All Wheel Dr ive tempt you into
taking ext ra ris ks.
- Although the All Wheel Drive is very ef
fective , always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire t raction . You
should therefore not d rive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road s urfa ces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front whee ls
could begin to slide o n top of the wate r
(aquapla ning). If th is should occur, yo u
will have no warning from a s udden in
crease in eng ine speed as wit h a front
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con
d itions. -risk of crash.