2012 AUDI A5 COUPE ESP

190 Child Safety
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu ­
facturer of the seat you are using .
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident . The child will strike the in- terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety
seat and child against the backrest,
door or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child
safety seats or infant carriers on the
rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment
range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position.

194 Child Safety
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 188 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos­
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly over the stronger pa rts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a chi ld on a booster seat .
.. Always position the shou lder portion of the
safety belt midway over the child's shoulder.
If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt he ight adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly .
.. Always make sure that the shoulder portion
of the safety belt never rests against or
across the child's neck .
.. Always make sure that the child can proper­
ly wear the lap portion of the belt low across
the thighs or pe lvis and
never over the
stomach or abdomen.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best
protected in ch ild safety seats designed for
the ir age and weight. Experts say that the
skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they must not
use the vehicle safety belts without
a suitab le child restraint.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portio n of the vehicle 's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­
less of how big the chi ld is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle 's three point
lap and shoulder belts . The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt port ion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
c hild' s stomach or abdomen.
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right p laces. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
i mportant for the child's protect ion, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occ upant who is out of posit ion and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
Jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial-
ly any children, who m ust be in the front s eat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between ..,_

196 Child Safety
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­ ly restrained fo r their age and weight.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
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 sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat . A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child safe­
ty seats or infant carriers on the rear
seat. -
Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger 's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child .
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
~ page 186. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
~ page 163, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
.&_ WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger 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
the checks described
~ page 173, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.

-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
_&. WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- 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 .
- 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 position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
_&. WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be
killed 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 will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, 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.
-A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air-
Child Safety 197
bag System. The heavier weight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­ ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­ 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, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path
c:> ,&. .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con ­
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly. .,. •
•

202 Child Safe ty
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment .
- Never use child restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at­
tach a child restraint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure more weight than is ac­
tually on the seat.
- The heav ier weight reg istered can make
the Advanced Airbag System wo rk as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced A irbag when it m ust
be s uppressed causing ser ious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rearward f acing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan ­
ces and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 194 Tether strap: prope r rou ting and mo unt ing
Inst all in g the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions . .,.
Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint co
fig. 194 (raise the head re­
straint if necessary).
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten t he te ther s trap firmly fo llowing
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions.
Relea sing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension fo llowing the child re­
straint manufacture r's instructions.
.,. Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the ancho rage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restra int w ith the
tether strap firm ly installed for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up ­
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would also be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap . This applies espec ia lly to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come w ith a tether. Please read and
heed the chi ld restra int system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether .
A WARNING
-
-
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
van ced A irbag System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
for ce and will smash the child safe ty seat
~

204 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle 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.
Although 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 pe riod 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 we ll 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 information
The ESP improves the vehicle stability .
Fig. 195 f;. OFF button
Fig. 196 Center console wit h ~ OFF button
ESP is designed to help you maintain vehicle
control in situations where the car approaches
the limits of "grip", especia lly when accelerat­
ing and cornering . ESP reduces the risk of
skidding and improves stability under all road
conditions .
The system operates across the ent ire speed
range in combination with the ABS system . If
the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) malfunc­
tions, the ESP will also shut down.
How the system works
The Anti -Lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic
Differential Lock (EDL) and the Anti-Slip Regu­
lation System (ASR) are integrated in the elec­
tronic stabilization program. In addition to
the data provided by these functions, the ESP
control unit requires additional measurement
data provided by high performance sensors.
T he rotational speed of the vehicle about its
II>-

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>
•
•

206 Intelligent technology
Driving off
When driving off, a lways be sure to keep road
conditions in mind as you accelerate. If one
drive wheel spins because it is on a surface
with less grip, apply
plenty of throttle until
the car starts to
move .
Overheating of brakes
To prevent the disc b rake o f the bra ked wheel
from overheating if subjected to excessive l oads on this whee l, the EDL cuts out tempo­
rarily. The vehicle remains operational and be­
haves in the same way as a vehicle without
EDL.
As soon as the brake has coo led 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 accelerator pedal. Even with the EDL working, the drive
wheels can spin and reduce your ability
to control your car. Risk of crash!
- The increased safety afforded by EDL
does not mean that you can take safety
risks. Always adapt your dr iving style to
the road conditions and traffic situation.
0) Tips
If a fault occurs in the ABS, the EDL is also
not funct ion ing. Thi s is indicated by the
ABS war ning light ¢
page 16.
Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR)
The Anti-Slip Regulation System prevents the
driven wheels from spinning when the car is
accelerating.
General notes
The Anti -Slip Regulation System (ASR) is inte­
grated in the electronic stabilization program
( E SP). When the vehicle starts up and acceler­
ates, the wheels are p revented from spinning
by adjusting the engine power to match the amount of grip available
from the road sur­
face.
How the system works
ASR performs automat ically, i .e. w ithout the
driver's intervention. With the aid of the ABS
sensors ¢
page 208, ASR monitors the speed
of the driven whee ls. If the whee ls start to
spin, engine torque is reduced automatica lly
until the tires find enough grip to lock onto
the road surface. The system is active across
the entire speed range.
The ASR works in conjunction with the ABS . If
a malfunction should occur in the ABS, the
ASR will also be out of act ion.
Activating
T he ESP is automatica lly activated when the
engine is started and it performs a se lf-test .
You can activate a deactivated ASR if required by pressing the
¢ page 204, fig. 196 button.
When it is act ivated, the message
ESP/ASR
on
appears briefly in the display .
Deactivating
You can deactivate the ASR if required by
pressing the button (for less than 3 seconds)
¢
page 204, fig . 196. With the ASR deactivat­
ed, the ESP check light comes on, see
¢
page 15 . The message ASR off appears in
the d isplay as well. The ASR can be deact ivat­
ed at any speed.
The ASR s hould normally be activated all the
time . Only in certain exceptional situations
when some slip is desirable does it make
sense to deact ivate the ASR . Examples :
- when driving with tire cha ins
- when driving in deep snow or on loose
ground and
- when rocking the vehicle loose after it has
become stuck.
When the abnormal situation is
over, you
shou ld activate the ASR again .