2012 AUDI A5 COUPE steering wheel

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dealer.
,& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
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 backrest 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.
@ Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
Child Safety 187
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas ­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the ..,. •
•

vertical axis, vehicle acceleration in the fore ­
and-aft and lateral directions , the brake pres­
sure, and the steering ang le are all measured .
The direction in which the d river wishes to
travel is determined with the aid of the steer­
ing angle and vehicle speed and is continually
compared with the actual behavior of the ve­
h icle. If the two do not match, for examp le,
when the vehicle starts hydroplaning on a wet
road, ESP will automatically brake the appro­
priate wheel to correct the problem.
The vehicle is then stabili zed by the forces act ­
ing on the wheel dur ing braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering (the veh icle turns too sharply
and the rear wheels sl ide toward the outs ide
of a curve), the brakes are main ly applied on
the wheel that is on the outside of the curve.
I n the case of a ve hicle that is
understeering
(the vehicle does not turn sha rply enough and
pushes out of a curve) , the brakes are applied
as needed on the whee l that is on the inside of
the curve o r additiona lly on the other wheels.
An acoust ic signal indicates when ESP brake
application cuts in
q .& .
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
q page 208. If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESP will be out of ac­
tion as well.
Acti vating
When you turn on the engine, ESP wi ll auto­
matica lly be activated and will perfo rm a se lf­
test. As soon as the test is completed, the sys­
tem is in normal operating mode .
You can activate a deactivated ESP or deacti ­
vated ESP/ASR if required by pressing the
qfig. 196 q fig . 195 button. When they are
activated, the message
Stabilisation prog ram
on
appears briefly in the d isplay.
D eacti vating
The ESP sho uld normally be activated all the
time. If necessary, you can deactivate Anti ­
Slip Regulation (ASR) or the Electron ic Stabili­
zation Program (ESP) by pressing the button
<:::;, fig. 196 .
Intellig ent technolog y 205
-Dea cti vating ASR: Tap the b utton. In cer ­
tain exceptional situations (e.g . driving with
tire chains), the Anti -Slip Regu lation (ASR)
can be deactivated
q page 206. The mes­
sage
ASR off Caution ! Limited d riv ing sta­
bilit y
appears in the display as we ll.
- Deacti vating ESP /A SR Press the button for
more than 3 seconds. Wi th the ESP/ASR de­
activated, the ind icator light comes on, see
c:::;, page 15 . The message War ning! R estrict­
ed stability
appea rs in the d isp lay as well.
.8, WARNING -
The Electronic Stabi liz a tion Program is
neverthe less subjec t to the laws o f phys­
ics. It is part icu la rly important to pay a t­
tention to this fact on wet and slippery roads. It is therefo re important that you
a lways adapt your driving to the condit ion
of the road and traff ic conditions. Do not
allow the increased safety provided by the Elect ronic Stabilization Program system to
lull you into accepting addit iona l safety
r isks.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The electronic differential lock monitors the
rotational speed of the drive wheels .
General not es
The electronic d ifferential lock ( E0L) he lps the
car to star t moving, acce lerate and climb a
gradient on surfaces providing poor or almos t
no grip . Without EDL, this would be d iff icult,
if not impossible .
How the sy stem works
The EDL operates automatically. It mon itors
the rotational speed of wheels with the he lp
of the ABS sensors
q page 208 . If a noticea­
ble
slip is detected at the wheels (e .g . on s lip ­
pery ground
on one side), the sp inning wheels
are braked and power is t ransferred to the
othe r whee ls. Thi s is done up to a speed of
abo ut 60 mph (100 km/h) . Noises from the
brake system signa l that wheel spin is be ing
controlled .
Ill>
•
•

This automatic adjustment process will cause
a
slight vib ra tion of the brake pedal and some
noises to alert you that vehicle speed must be
adapted to existing road and traffic condi­
tions.
A WARNING
Although the ABS is very effective, always
remember that braking capability is limit­
ed by t ire traction . A lways adjust your dr iv­
ing speed according to the road and t raff ic
conditions. Do not let the extra sa fety af­
forded by the ABS tempt you into taking
extra risks. The ABS cannot overcome the
laws of physics .
(D Tips
-If ABS is not functioning properly, a
warning light will come on . See
~ page 16.
-If a fault occu rs in the ABS, the EDL is al­
so not functioning . This is indicated by
the ABS warning light .
Brake assist
Brake assist is designed to achieve the opti­
mum broking effect.
Brake assist helps to increase the effective
brak ing power and thus to achieve a shorter
stopping distance. If the driver presses the
brake peda l very quick ly, brake assist auto­
mat ica lly boosts the braking force to the max­
imum level, up to the point where the anti­
lock brake function (ABS) intervenes to stop
the wheels from locking . You should then
keep the brake pedal pressed u ntil the vehicle
has braked to the required speed . Brake ass ist
sw itches itself off as soon as you release the
b rake peda l.
A WARNING
Please remembe r that the accident r is k al­
ways increases if yo u drive too fast, espe ­
cially in corners or on a s lippery road, or if
you fo llow the vehicle ahead of you too
close ly. Increased risk of an accident can-
Int ellig ent technolog y 209
not be compensated for even by brake as­
sist, so always maintain a safe speed.
S .
®
ervotron1c
-
advanced power
steering system
The power steering systems uses the power of
the running engine to allow precise steering
with little effort.
T he advanced Servotronic ® power steer ing
system senses the road speed and elect ron i­
ca lly adjusts power assistance to provide com­
fortab le and safe ste ering response exact ly
matched to the vehicle speed .
Power steering will not work i f the engine is
off. As a result, the stee ring wheel will be hard
to turn .
T he power steering fluid level is checked d ur­
ing the schedu led maintenance services .
(D Note
If there is an e lectronic malfunction, ser ­
votronic
will s till function like a conven­
tiona l power steering system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed.
This is most noticeable when turning the
steering wheel at low speeds (for example
when parking), -more effort w ill be re­
q uired than usual.
- Be aware of the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer ­
ing force acco rdingly .
- Have the problem checked and set right
by an Audi dealer as soon as possible.
(D Tips
-Whe n the engine is running, never hold
the steering w heel turned all the way to
the rig ht or to the left for longer t han 15
seconds. The powe r steering pump will
overheat the hydraulic fluid if you keep
holding the stee ring wheel turned all the
way. This is likely to damage the power
steering system .
IJI>
•
•

210 Intellig ent technol ogy
- If the power steer ing system should fail
entirely, or if the engine is not running (for example, while being towed), you
will still be ab le to steer the vehicle.
However,
considerably more effort w ill
be required to do so .
- If the power steer ing system should
have a leak, or is not functioning proper­
ly, contact your authorized Aud i dealer
i mmediately.
- The power steering system requires a
spec ially formulated hydraulic flu id . T he
power steer ing reservoir is the one locat­
ed farthest to the rear on the left side of
the engine compartment~
page 239.
The correct flu id leve l in the reservo ir is
important for proper functioning o f the
power steering.
Driving with your
quattro ®
With all wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
Gener al inform ation
W ith all wheel dr ive, power is distr ibuted to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your dr iving style and the road
conditions at the t ime . See also ~
page 205,
Electronic differential lock (EDL) .
The all wheel drive concept is designed for
h igh engine power . Your vehicle is exception­
ally powerful and has excellent dr iving charac­
ter istics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice . Always read and follow
safety precautions
~ ,&. .
Winter tires
When driving in the w inter, your vehicle w ith
all wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular t ires. In winter road conditions it may
be adv isable to mount winter t ires (o r all-sea ­
son t ires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing : these tires must be mounted on all four
wheel s. See also
q page 267, Winter tires .
Tir e chain s
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain roads, this norma lly also app lies to vehicles
with all wheel drive~
page 268, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles with a ll wheel d rive must always have
ti res of the same s ize. A lso avo id tires w ith
different t read dep ths . For detai ls see page
~ page 263, New tires and replacing tires
and wheels .
Off-Road dr iv ing?
Your Audi does not have enough g round clea r­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle .
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
9 page 214.
A WARNING
-
Always adjust your dr iv ing to road and traf-
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all whee l drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all whee l drive is very effec­
tive, always remember that braking ca­ pacity is limited by tire tract ion. You
should t herefore not d rive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road s urfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front whee ls
co uld begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning) . If th is should occur, you
wi ll have no warning from a s udden in ­
crease in engine speed as w it h a front­
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash.

220 Trailer towing
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when towing
a trailer because of the additional weight and
different weight distribution. Safety, perform­
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become completely familiar with the way
your vehicle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler genera lly requires
steering action opposite to that when backing up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turn ing radius .
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
ing lanes aga in.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes .
(D Tips
-Do not tow a tra iler during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
q page 293.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­ lowing:
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load.
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking brake.
.. Place an automatic transmission* in
P, re­
spectively a manual transmission in first or reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the se lector lever to
D , respectively a
manual transmission in first gear .
.. Release the parking brake and slow ly pu ll
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission* to
P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
lat er to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion.

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items wh ich may be rep laced)
of automa tic tra nsmission, power steering,
power br akes, power w indows, power sea ts,
radio, and heater, to the ex tent that these
items are avai lab le as factory -installed equip ­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the rat io of the height to the w idt h of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re ­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means the pa rt of the t ire t hat is made o f
s teel wires, wrapped o r rein force d by ply cor ds
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold tire infl ation pressure
means t he tire pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a t ire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure
i s measu red or adjusted.
Tire s an d wheel s 253
-If you notice un usua l vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicle w it h
standard equipment in cl ud ing t he maximum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, ai r cond i­
tion ing a nd addi tional weig ht o f optiona l
equipment .
Extra load tire
means a t ire design to operate at h igher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
respondi ng s tanda rd tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "X L", "xl", "EXTRA LOA D", or
"R F" on the sidewall .
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
mea ns the load-carry ing capac ity of a s ingle
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load tha t a t ire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. Yo u
may not find this information on all tires be­
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the loa d ra ti ng f or a t ire at the maxi­
mum pe rm issi ble inflat ion pressure for that
ti re .
•
•
...

262 Tires and wheels
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
Fig. 212 Tire tread: tread wear ind icators (TWI)
_____ __,.J)
Fig. 213 Rotating t ires for more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
¢
fig . 212 running across the tread. Depend­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewa ll (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn tires must be replaced .
Different figures may apply in other countries
¢ & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden t ire blow-out. For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
¢ page 258.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­
ing:
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service interva ls outlined in your
Ma intenance and Warranty Booklet .
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pa red to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown¢
fig. 213.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires¢
page 279.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced.
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal­
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces ­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi­
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro ® must a lways have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details see
¢page 210. ..,.

wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re­
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly .
Tire pressure indicator appears
Appl ies to vehicles: w ith t ire pressure monitoring sys te m
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig . 2 15 Display: underin flati on wa rning
Fig. 216 Disp lay: System malfunction
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni­
tor ing system compares the t ire tread circum ­
fe rence and vibration characteristics of the in­
d iv idual tires.
If t he pressure decreases in one
or mo re tires, th is is indica ted in the instru­
men t clus ter with a
[I] warning symbo l and a
message ¢
fig. 215. The driver message in the
disp lay goes out after 5 seconds . The drive r
message can be d isplayed again by pressing
the
! SET ! button. If only one tire is affected,
the display will indicate its pos ition.
The tire press ure monitoring system must be
reset via radio o r MM! * each time the p res­
sures are adjusted (e.g . when sw itching be­
tween partial and full load pressure) or after
changing or replacing a t ire on your vehicle
<::> page 2 72 . You can find the recommended
Tires and wheels 2 71
tire p ressu res for your vehicle on the label on
drive r's side B-pillar
c!;> page 256 .
Tire tread circumference and vibrat ion charac­
teris tics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- t he t ire p ress ure in one or mo re tires is too
low,
- t he tir e has s tructural damage,
- the t ire pressu re was changed, w heels rotat-
ed or rep laced but the TPMS was not reset
c::>page272 .
Warning symbols
[I] Loss of pressure in at least one tire c::> .&. .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repa ir if
necessary . T he
[I] indicator l ight in the instru­
ment cluster also illum inates
<::> page 13.
Check/cor rect the p ress ures of all fou r tir es
and reset TPMS via radio o r M MI*.
11@1@1 (Ti re Pressure Monito ring System) Tire
pre ssure! Sy stem ma lfunction .
Ifll@lf:1 appears after switching the ignition
on or while driving
c::> fig . 216 and the [I] indi­
cator light in the instr ument cluster blinks for
approximately one m inute and then stays on,
there is a system malfunction. See your au­
thorized Aud i de aler as soon as possible .
& WARNING ~
- If the tire pressure ind icator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or more of your tires is significant ly unde r­
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard steering or b raking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possib le and
check the tires and their pressures . In­
flate the tire pressure to the prope r pres­
sure as indica ted o n the v ehicl e's tire
p ressu re labe l
c::>page 256. Driving on a
sig nifican tly un der- infla te d tire causes
the t ire to ove rheat and can lead to ti re
fa ilu re . Unde r-inflation also is l ikely to
impair the vehicle's hand ling and stop­
ping ability .