2013 AUDI A4 ABS

-Always mak e sure that objects cannot
fall into the driver footwell wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal caus ing a loss of veh icle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All Luggage and other objects must be prop­ erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
F ig. 1 41 Safe lo ad pos itio nin g: pl ace heavy objects as
l ow a nd a s far forwa rd a s possible .
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly , changing vehicle hand ling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision .
.,. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment .
.,. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as low
and as far forward as poss ible
c> fig. 141 .
.,. Secure the load w ith the cargo net* or with
non -elastic straps secured to the tie -downs*
c> page 71 c>page 72 .
.,. Make sure that the rear seatback is secu rely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly stored l uggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle caus ing serious
personal inj ury in the event of hard b rak­
ing or an accident. To help reduce the r isk
of serious personal injury :
Drivin g Sa fely 133
-Always put objects , for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­ partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the t ie-down eyelets
and suitab le straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads wi ll influence the way your ve­
h icle handles . To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
i n jury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle hand ling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat ­
ing or the Gross Vehicle We ight Rating
specif ied on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
missible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle different ly .
- Please observe informat ion on safe dr iv­
ing
c> page 127 .
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, a lways
keep the rear lid closed w hile driving.
- Never transpo rt objects larger than
those f itting comp lete ly into the luggage
area beca use the rear lid cannot be f ully
closed.
- If you absolutely m ust dr ive with the rea r
lid open, observe the following notes to
red uce the r isk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the sunroof,
- Open all air outlets i n the instrument
panel,
- Swi tc h off the air rec irculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.

138 Safet y belt s
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 14 3 Unbe lted occupa nts in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig . 14 4 The ve hicle c ras hes into t he wall
The physical princip les are simp le. Both the
ve hicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call th is energy ''kinetic en ­
e rgy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doub les from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this veh icle are not
using safety belts ¢
fig. 143, they will keep
mov ing at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, unti l something
stops them -here, the wall¢
fig. 144 .
The same pr inc iples apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal co llision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to
50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or
more. At greater speeds, these forces are
even
higher
.
Peop le who do no t use sa fe ty belts are also
not a ttached to their vehicle. In a frontal coll i­
sion they wi ll also keep moving forward at t he
speed their vehicle was travell ing just before
the crash. Of course, the laws of physics do n't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of acc idents and col ­
lis ions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed . Always wear your safe ty belts!
Fig. 14 S A driver not wea ring a safety belt is vio le n tl y
t hrown forward
Fig . 146 A re ar passe nger not w earing a safety be lt
w ill fl y forw ard a nd strike t he d rive r
Unbelted occupants a re not able to resist the
t remendous forces of impact by hold ing tight
o r bracing themse lves . Without the benefit of
safety restra int systems, the unrestra ined oc­
cu pan t will slam violen tly into the steer ing
whee l, instr ument pane l, w indshield, o r what­
ever else is i n the way r:!> fig . 145 . This impact II>-

with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection.
E ven when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection . Ai rbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
veh icle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­ mize t he risk of severe injury or death in a
crash .
Remember too, that airbags wi ll deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have a lready deployed . Unbelted
occupants ca n also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle whe re even more severe or fa tal in ju ries
can occur .
It is also impo rtant fo r the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbe lted passen­
ge rs in the rea r seats endanger no t on ly them­
se lves bu t also the driver a nd o ther passen­
gers
¢ fig. 146 . In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward vio lent ly, where they can
h it and injure the dr iver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it 's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
F ig . 1 47 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudden bral<·
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference . Safety be lts he lp to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
Safety belts 139
applied to the body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
ca use serio us injuries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and
give t hem the benefit of being s lowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features enginee red into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" t he kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t ime, the safety be lts make the
fo rces on the body more "tolerable" and less
li kely to ca use inju ry.
Althoug h these examples a re based o n a fron­
ta l co llision, safety belts can a lso substantia l­
l y reduce the risk of in jury in other kinds of
cr ashes. So, whethe r you're on a long trip o r
just going to the co rner store, a lways buckle
u p and make sure others do, too . Accident sta ­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
i njured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen ­
ta l airbags to do the ir job in a collision . Fo r
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in mos t countries including much of
t he United States and Canada.
Althoug h your Aud i is equipped wi th a irbags,
you st ill have to wear the safety belts p rov id­
ed . Front airbags, fo r example, a re activa ted
o nly in some frontal collisions. The front a ir­
bags are not act ivated in a ll frontal coll isions,
in s ide and rear co llisions, in roll ove rs or in
cases where t here is not eno ugh deceleration
through impact to the front of the veh icle.
The same goes for the other a irbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make su re everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrai ned!

-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.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat o ccupan ts.
F ig . 153 Location of driver airbag: in steer ing whee l
Fig. 154 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped w ith an "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicle w as manufac tured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a va lve, depending
on the distance between the respect ive seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­
sioners" that he lp to take slack out of the belt
system . The pretensioners are also activated
by the electron ic contro l unit for the airbag
sys tem.
A irba g sy stem 149
The front sa fety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub
q fig. 153 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~fig. 154 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the ai r­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read t he
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety i n this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of yo ur passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
N ever rely on airbags alone for protec tion.
- E ven w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only s uppleme nta l pro tect ion .
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
wit h properly wor n safety belts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safe ty belts
and make sure that eve rybody i n your ve­
hicle is p rope rly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rson on the fron t passe nger seat, es­
pe cial ly infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­ l ed by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenge r airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these specia l
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
b le sit uat ions that may happen during
t he useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with t he "low risk" option
un der the U.S. Fede ral Standa rd if a child
that is he avie r than the typical one-year
-
..

Fo r exa mple, the airbag may depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 168),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off , the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light in the center
of the inst rument panel w il l come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk " deployment criteria to help re­
duce the risk of inj ury through in teraction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de ­
celerations as defined in the electronic control unit.
¢ page 156
Alway s remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in-
A irbag system 15 1
flates - even with an Advanced Ai rbag
¢page 145.
_&. WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System .
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child restraint has been instal led on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­ lutely guarantee that dep loymen t is im ­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen during the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- 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 chi ld re ­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fa cing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-=
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make s ure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru-
ment panel.
~
•
•

160 Airbag system
dealer is familiar with these re quirements
and we recommend that you have your
dea ler perform this serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not app roved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, incl uding the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors a nd make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hich it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle fo r the
d river and front passe nger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not.
If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular collision, it is poss ible that an a irbag
will not deploy at a seating position whe re the
safety belt is being used but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not bei ng
used. It is important tha t noth ing inte rfe re
with the safety belt buckles so t hat the sen­
sors can send the correct information a bout
safety belt use to the electronic contro l unit.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim c ombina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of ser ious
personal i njur y in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characterist
ics as the components origi­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim com binations that
have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
= -
Items stored between the safety be lt
b uckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­ bag System from wo rking prope rly.
- Always make s ure that nothing can inter­
fe re with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
F ig . 1 57 Side a irbag loca tion in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢
fig. 157 and the rear
back rest facing the doors. They are ident ified
by the wo rd "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consist s of:
- the electronic contro l modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the s ides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster .
T he air bag system is mon itored e lec tronically
to make ce rtain tha t it is function ing p roperly ..,.

186 Intelligent technology
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys ­
tem, anti-slip regulation (ASR) , e lectronic dif­
ferential lock (EDL), dynamic steering" and
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock* /selective
wheel torque control* . ESC is switched on all
the t ime. I n certa in s ituations whe n you need
l ess t raction, you can switch
off ASR by p ress­
i ng the bu tto n
[ru ¢ page 188, fig. 176 or
¢ page 188, fig. 177. Be sure to sw itch ASR
on aga in when yo u no longer need less t rac­
tion .
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braki ng. The veh icle can still be steered
even d uring h ard br aking. Apply ste ady p res ­
sure to the brake pedal. Do no t pump the ped­
a l. A pulsing in the brake peda l indicates t hat
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assis t system can decrease b ra ki ng
d ista nce. It increases braking power w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal quic kly in eme r­
gency situations . You must p ress and hold the
brake peda l until the situation is over. In
vehicles w ith adapt ive cru ise contro l", the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d ista nce detected to t he vehicle a head is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start , accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differenti al lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if t he vehicle is equipped with
all-w heel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h).
In extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the bra ke on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL wi ll switch on again au-tomat
ica lly when conditions have ret urned to
no rma l.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic steering*, ESC he lps
st abi liz e the steer ing in cr itical situ ations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
T he elec troni c int eraxle differentia l lock (front
whee l dr ive) o r th e se lec tive whee l torque
control (all-whee l dr ive) oper ates when dr iv ­
ing t hro ugh curves. The front wheel on the in ­
side of the c urve or both whee ls on the inside
of the c urve are b raked se lectively as needed.
This m inimizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
curves . The applicable system may not acti­
vate when dr iving in wet o r snowy cond itions.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL dynam ic steering*
a nd the ele ct roni c interaxle d ifferential
lo ck* /se lective whee l torque con trol *
cannot ove rcome the laws of physics .
This is especially important on sli ppery
or wet roads.
If the systems beg in acting
to stabilize your veh icle, yo u should im­
mediately change your speed to match
the road and traffic conditions . Do not
let the increased safety prov ided by
these systems tempt you to take r isks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle cont ro l, col lision and ser ious pe r­
sonal injur ies.
- Always ada pt your speed to road, traffi c
a nd wea ther conditions. The r isk of los-
ing con trol of the vehicle i ncreases when
d riving too fast, es pec ia lly through
curves and o n slippe ry or wet roads, an d
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys­
tem, ASR, EDL dynam ic steer ing* and the
e lectronic inte raxle differentia l lock*/se­
lec tive whee l to rque control* cannot p re-
-
vent co llisi ons. ~

-Always acce lerate with specia l care on
even, smooth surfaces s uch as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways help to reduce the risk of loss of ve­ hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equ ipped w ith ident i­
ca l tires. Different tire s izes can lead to a
reduct ion i n eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are wo rking .
- If the indicator light D] or m!S (USA
models) ;tiJ (Canada models) appears,
the re may be a malfunct ion
c:> page 19,
~ page 19.
Sedan : Switching on/off
ESC turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig . 174 Vers io n A: low er c en te r co nsol e, 1', O FF bu t­
to n
Fig. 175 Ve rsio n B: upper ce nte r console,~ OFF bu t­
to n
Intelligen t technolog y 187
Turning off ASR
In some sit uatio ns, it may be useful to switch
ASR
off to a llow the wheels to spin . For exam­
ple:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when i t is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
Qu ick ly press the
I~ O FF I button c:> fig. 174 or
c:>
fig . 175. The fil indica tor light turn s on and
t he me ssage
T rac tion control (A SR ): Off.
War ning! R estrict ed stability
appears in the
display .
It i s only possible to turn
off the ASR up to
30 mph (SO km/h) for vehicles wi th front
wheel drive . At about 45 mph (70 km/h) it au ­
tomat ically turns on again .
It is possible to
turn
off the ASR at any speed fo r vehicles with
all wheel drive .
Turning off ESC
Press and hold the I;; OFFI button for three
seconds . The
fl ESC indicator light turns on
and the message
Stabil ization cont rol (ESC ):
o ff . Warni ng ! Re str icted stab ilit y
appea rs in
the d isplay. ASR is also sw itched
off when ESC
i s sw itched off.
Switching on
Press the j ;; O FFI button again . The fi indica­
tor light t urns on and the message
St abi liz a­
t ion control (ESC ): On
appears in the disp lay.
_&. WARNING
- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
contro l of the vehicle more eas ily when
ASR and ESC are switched off, especia lly
when the road is s lippery .
- Switch ASR/ESC
off only when yo ur driv ­
ing skills, traffic and weather conditions
permit.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch ASR and ESC off when
adaptive cruise control* is working .
-