2013 AUDI A4 warning light

174 Child Safety
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the
child seat with the head restraint in place
<=> page 61 . Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=>page 137, Safety
belts,<=> page 145, Airbag system
and
t::> page 166, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well -being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer 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 infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in 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.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
<=> page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced 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.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help pro te ct
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.
"' .....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 165 Rea r seat: child properly rest rai ned in a boos­
te r se at
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 parts 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 child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.

176 Child Safety
-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi­
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
must come on and stay on, whenever the
ignition is switched on.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- 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 .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 137, Safety
belts,
c::> page 145, Airbag system and
c::> page 166, Important things to know .
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger's seat can be locked with the con­
vertible locking retractor to properly secure
child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the front
passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
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 for 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 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 146, 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 156, 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.
Child Safety 177
- 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 .
A 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.
A 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 .
•
•

178 Child Safety
-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
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¢,&. .
.., 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 sea ting position .
.., Guide the safety belt back into the retrac tor
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 o f 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.
.., Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING ~
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash .
- 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
cra:;;h.
- 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 crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 146, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-

_& WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- 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 heavier weight registered can make
the Advanced Airbag 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.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PASSENGER 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 airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Child Safety 183
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 172 Sedan Tether strap: proper routing and
mou nting
Fig. 173 allroad Tether strap: proper routing and
mo unting
Installing 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 ~
fig. 172 or¢ fig. 173 (raise
the head restraint if necessary).
.,. Sedan: Tilt the recess flap up to expose the
anchor bracket.
.,. Sedan: Attach the tether strap anchorage
hook into th e opening of the tether anchor­
age .
.,. allroad: Slide the tether strap hook over the
anchor bracket.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
t ions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension following the child re -
straint manufacturer's instructions.
1J1-

184 Child Saf ety
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for several
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat c ushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. Th is applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rea rward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child rest raint
systems come with a tether . P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to properly instal l the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rea rward-facing child sa fety
s e at insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag infl ates -even wit h an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflati ng a irbag wi ll hit the child
sa fety sea t or infan t carrier w it h grea t
f orce and w ill smash the c hild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, or door.
- A tight tet her or ot her st rap on a rear ­
wa rd-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat i n the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ie r
we ight registe red can make the system
wor k as though a n adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the A dvan ced Airbag when i t
mus t be suppres sed c ausing seriou s or
eve n fa tal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rea rw ard fa ci ng
ch ild s afety se at on the front passenge r
sea t beca use of excep tional circ ums tan - ces and t
he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi·
tion and have t he ai rbag system inspec t­
e d by your authorized A udi dealer .
Additional Information
'
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of add itiona l
information about child restra int selection, in­
sta llation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your ch ild and fits in your
vehicle, and that you will use correct ly and
cons istently .
Try before yo u buy!
U .S National Highway Traffi c Safet y Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888-327- 4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www.n htsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662 -0600
www.safek ids.org
Safet y BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 7 47-SANO (Spanis h)
www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
T el.: 1 -800 -33 3-0371 o r ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are i n the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822 -2834

-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 .
-

188 Intelligent technology
allroad: Switching on /off
ESC turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig. 176 Version A: lower ce nter console,~ OFF but­
to n
...... [ I I n-I _,,. .,., -------' -"~ __..,
Fig. 177 Versio n B: upper ce nter conso le,~ OFF but­
to n
ESC Offroad mode
In order to maintain maximum traction and
optima l brak ing when driving offroad , the
conditions for the ESC to work are reduced to
such a degree, tha t the vehicle whee ls co uld
start to spin . The stabilizing effects start to
work later wh ich results in limited vehicle sta­
b ili ty.
The ESC Offroad mode should on ly be used in
the following situations:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving on rough terra in when much of the
car's weight is lifted off the wheels (axle ar­
t icu lation)
- Driving with snow cha ins
- Driving downhill while braking on loose
ground
F or your safety, switch off the ESC Offroad
mode in advance.
Switching on th e ES C Offroad mode
Press the In OF FI button ¢ fig. 176 or
¢ fig. 177 . The I indicator light turns on and
the message
St abilization cont ro l ( ES C): Off­
ro ad. Wa rning! Rest ricted stability
appears
in the disp lay.
Swit ching off th e ESC Offroad mode
Press the !.$ O FF I button again to sw itch the
ESC back on . The
IJ indicator light turns off
and the message
Stabil ization contro l (ESC ):
On
appears in the display.
_& WARNING
- You shou ld only turn on the ESC Offroad
mode when driving offroad or with snow
chains.
- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
control of the vehicle more easi ly when
ASR and ESC are in Offroad mode, espe ­
cially whe n the road is slippery.
- Switch to Offroad mode only whe n your
driving skills, traff ic and weather condi­
tions permit .
(D Tips
You cannot sw itch Offroad mode on when
adaptive cruise control* is working.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pad s
During the first 250 mi les (400 km), new
brake pads do not possess the ir full brak ing
effect, they have to be "broken in" first¢ .&,.
You can compensate for this slightly reduced
braking power by p ushing harde r on the brake
pedal. Avoid heavy brak ing loads dur ing the
break-in pe riod.
Oper ating cond ition s and driving habit s
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat ­
ing co nd it ions and driving hab its
¢ .&, . On
vehicles that are either driven most ly in stop-
and-go city traff ic or are dr iven hard, the
lilJ,,