Driving with your
quattro ®
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv
en .
Gene ral inform ation
W ith all-wheel dr ive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the t ime . See also <::;>
page 142.
Winter t ires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even with
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea
son t ires) for improved driveability and brak
ing: these tires must be mounted on
a ll f our
wheel s.
Snow chain s
Where snow chains are mandatory on certain
roads, th is normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive
Qpage 198, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheel s/tire s
Only the wheel/tire sizes specified by the
manufacturer may be used on vehicles with
all-wheel drive
<=> page 193 .
A WARNING
-Always adjust your driving to road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the extra
safety affo rded by a ll-wheel d rive tempt
you into taking extra risks .
- Although a ll-wheel drive is ve ry effect ive,
always remember that braking capacity
is limited by tire traction . You should
therefore not drive at excessive speeds
on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to drive too fast because the front wheels
cou ld begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning). If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in crease in engine speed as with a front-
-
Int ellig ent technolog y 147
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con
ditions. -risk of crash.
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 per iod of t ime, the bat
te ry is d ischarged by idling current consumers
(e .g. immobi lizer). In certain circumstances it
can resu lt in the re being insufficient energy
available to start the engine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle handles the distribution of e lectr ica l ene r
gy. Starting ability is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Bas ica lly, energy management consists of
b atte ry diag nosis, idling current m an age
m ent
and dy namic energ y manag ement .
Batte ry diagno sis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the batte ry. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and batte ry
temperature . This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current manag ement
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
Wi th the ign ition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrica l compo
nents. Data from battery diagnosis is consid
ered.
Depend ing on the ba ttery's state of charge,
individual cons umers are gradually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability. .,..
•
•
~ Install the battery cover.
~ Close the luggage compartment lid
¢page 37.
When charging at low voltages (e.g . with a
trickle charger ), the battery cables do not
have to be disconnected first. Before charging
at
high voltages, i.e. "fast charging", you
must disconnect both cables. In either case,
follow the instructions from the manufacturer
of the charger .
Fastcharging a battery is
dangerous ¢ & in
Working on the battery on page 179 .
It re
quires special charging equipment and the knowledge to go with it. We recommend hav
ing your battery fast charged only by a quali
fied workshop.
A discharged battery can
freeze at tempera
tures of only 32 °F (0 °C) . Allow a frozen bat
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
charge it¢ & . However, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat
tery casing can be cracked due to ice forma
tion and can leak battery acid .
Do not open the battery caps when charging
the battery.
_& WARNING
-
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Never charge a frozen battery .
It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice.
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which were fro
zen. The battery housing may have
cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame or elec
trical spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is explosive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion , never
connect or disconnect charger cables
while the charger is operating.
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe
tent technician with the proper equip ment.
Checking and filling 181
- Battery acid that may spill during charg
ing should be washed off with a solution
of warm water and baking soda to neu
tralize the acid .
@ Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc ., as well
as the battery charger .
(D Tips
-The vehicle battery must not be charged
with a standard small charger that plugs
into the cigarette lighter or outlet .
- Only charge the battery through the con
nections in the luggage compartment.
Replacing the battery
The new battery mus t have the same specifi
cations as the old one.
Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent
energy management system for distributing
electricity¢
page 147 . The battery charges
better in vehicles with the energy manage
ment system than in vehicles without the sys
tem . To ensure that the additional power is
available after replacing the battery , replacing
with the same type of battery from the same manufacturer (like the battery that was deliv
ered with the vehicle) is recommended. An au
thorized dealer must code the battery in the
energy management control module.
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12 volts), current and design and it
must be sealed with plugs. The battery must
conform to the standards TL 825 06 (from
April 2008) and VW 7 SO 73 (from April 2010).
Since the vehicle battery is difficu lt to reach,
we recommend having the battery replaced by
an authori zed Audi RB dealer or other quali-
fied workshop . ..,. •
•
182 Checking and filling
(D Note
- Your vehicle is equipped with a specia l
battery. Installing a different type of
battery can cause prob lems in the vehi
cle electrical system. When replacing the
vehicle battery, always install one with
the same spec ificat ions as the original
battery .
- Make sure that the gas venting hose is
always connected to the o riginal open ing
on the battery side. Otherw ise gasses or
ba tte ry acid could leak out .
- Battery holder and term inals a lways
have to be secured cor rectly.
- Read and follow the warnings under
9 page 179, Working on the battery be
fore performing any work on the batte ry.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you . Batteries contain sulfur ic ac id and
lead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in compliance with a ll environmenta l
reg ulations. D isposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat
tery ca nnot overbalance, otherwise sulfu
r ic acid might escape!
Windshield washer
container
Fig. 147 Luggage compa rtment : W inds hield washer
fl uid reservo ir
The windshield washer container O is located
in the luggage compartment. You can find the
reservo ir capacity in the table in
¢page 218.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets . Always add a glass cleaner
solution (with frost protection in the winter) .
(D Note
- Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind
shield washer reservoir.
- Do not use glass cleaners containing
pai nt so lvent; you risk damaging the
paint.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressu re."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 k ilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle .
Outer diameter means the overall diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ
ing e levations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated para llel cords.
Production options weight
means the comb ined weight of those installed
regular production options weighing over 5
lbs . (2 .3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, r ide leve lers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic t ire in which the p ly cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan
tially 90 degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Tires and wheels 185
Recommended inflation pressure
see~
page 184, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire designed to operate at higher
loads and at higher inflat ion pressures than
the corresponding standard tire. Reinforced
ti res my be ident ified as "XL" , "xl", " EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal d iameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you w ill have to
purchase new tires to match the new r im di
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width.
Rim width
means nom inal distance between rim fla nges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire is designed to
be driven for extended periods of time. The
ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h)
~pag e 194 . You may
not find this information on all tires because
it is not requ ired by law.
T he speed rating letter code, where applica
ble, is molded on the tire sidewall and indi
cates the maximum pe rmissib le road speeds
~ .&. in Winter tires on page 198.
Tire pressure monitoring system
means a system that detects when one or
more of a veh icle's tires are underinflated and
illuminates a low tire pressure warning tell
tale.
•
•
210 What do I do now?
connected to the battery of another veh icle,
using a pair of jump er cable s to start the en
g ine.
Both batter ies must be rated at 12 vo lts. The
ca pacity (Ah) of the booster battery must not
be substantially less than the capacity of the
d ischarged battery .
J umper cables
Use
only jumper cables of sufficiently large
cr oss sec tion to safely carry the starter cur
rent . Re fer to the manu facturer's specifica
tions .
Use only jumper cables which have
insulated
termina l clamps and are properly marked for
distinction :
plu s(+) ca ble: in most cases co lored red
minu s(-) ca ble: in most cases colored black
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, ac id, and gas .
Any of these can cause ve ry serious or fatal
injury. Follow the instructions below fo r
safe handl ing of your veh icle's battery.
- Always shield you r eyes and avoid lean
ing over the batte ry whenever possible.
- A discharged battery can already freeze
a t temperatures just be low 32 ° F (0 °C).
Before connecting a jumper cable, the
frozen battery must be thawed com
pletely, otherwise it could exp lode .
- Do not a llow battery ac id to contact eyes
or s kin. Fl ush any contacted area w ith
water immediately .
- Improper use o f a booster battery to
start a ve hicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries gene rate explos ive gas
es . Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga
rettes away from batteries .
- Do not try to jump s tar t any veh icle with
a low acid level in the battery.
- Th e volt age of the booster battery must
also have a 12-Volt rating . The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery shou ld not be
lower than that of the discharged bat
tery. Use of batter ies of different voltage or substantially d
iffe rent "Ah" rating
may cause an exp losion and persona l in
jury.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trap
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen . The battery case may have
be weakened .
- Use of batter ies of different voltage or
substantially d ifferent capacity (Ah) rat
ing may cause an exp losion and injury.
The capac ity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine compa rtment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
,=;, page 169, Working in the
engine comportment.
(!) Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster bat
tery will cause expens ive damage to sen
sitive e lectronic components, such as
cont ro l uni ts, relays, rad io, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be
tween the vehicles as otherwise cur rent
c o ul d already start to f low as soon as the
positive( +) terminals are connected.
(D Tips
- T he d ischa rged ba ttery m ust be properly
c onnected to the veh icle's e lectr ica l sys
t em.
- Switch off any car phone, o r follow the
car phone instructions for th is si tuat ion.