2013 AUDI A4 SEDAN light

to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is diff icult to install the
child seat w ith the head restraint in place
¢ page 57. Install the head restraint
again immed iate ly once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head rest raints
o r with he ad 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 rest rained in ave ­
hicle is being used
¢page 136, Safety
belts,
¢ page 144, Airbag system and
¢ page 165, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If except ional circumstances requ ire the
use of a forward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat, the ch ild's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-fac ing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
factur er for use on a front seat with a
passenge r fron t and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
st ruct ions provided with the child sa fety
sea t or infan t carrier.
- Always mov e the front passenge r seat in­
to the rearmost posit ion of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft ad justment r ange,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before instal ling the child restraint.
- Always make sure that noth ing prevents
the front passenger's seat from bei ng
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an upright position.
- Make su re 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 155, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
-
Child S afety 173
- Take the chi ld restraint
off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BA G OF F
light does not stay on
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con 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.
In .... N 0 ±
~
Fig . 152 Rear seat: ch ild properly res trained 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 me ters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg) . Booster seats raise these chi l­
dren up so tha t the safety belt w ill pass p rop­
erly over the stronger parts of the ir bodies
and the safety be lt can he lp protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the conver tible locking ret ra ctor
when using the ve hicl e's s afety be lt to re­
s train a ch ild on a booster seat.
... The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild'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 s ure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
th e belt to tighten if necessary.
.,. If you must transport an o lder ch ild in a
booster seat on the front passenger sea t,
you can use the safety be lt height adjust ­
ment to he lp ad just the shou lder portion
properly.

-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
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 ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing sideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in se rious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat o n the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
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
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG O FF
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
PA SS EN ­
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
c::> page 136, Safety
belts,
c::> page 144, Airbag system and
c::> page 165, 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 lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
Child Sa fet y 175
front passenger's seat safety be lt have a con ­
vertib le locking retractor for child restraints .
The safety belt must be locked so that be lt
webb ing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
dur ing normal dr iv ing . A child safety seat can
on ly be properly insta lled when the safety belt
is locked so that the chi ld and child safety
seat w il l stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
ly restrained for the ir age and we ight .
A WARNING
=
Improperly installed chi ld safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing norma l dr iving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing 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 cente r rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear cen ter safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int.
- 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 insta ll rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen- ger airbag inflates. .,_ •
•

176 Child Safety
-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 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A 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 155, 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 .
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.

-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 lock ing
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 seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
Child Safety 177
.. 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.
.. 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
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 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 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-
•
•

182 Child Safet y
-Never attac h a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment .
- Never use c hild restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restra ints .
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at­
tac h a child restraint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the weight -sensing
mat to measu re more weight than is ac­
tua lly on the seat.
- The heav ier weight reg istered can make
the Advanced Airbag System wo rk as
though an adult we re on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced A irbag when it m ust
be s uppressed causing ser ious or even
fatal inj ury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rearward f acing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan ­
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 a nd
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig . 1 58 Tethe r strap: prope r rou ting and mounting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restra int acco rding to the child re­
straint manufacturer's instruct ions . .,.
Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint co
fig. 158 (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 t he tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tethe r strap hook so that the
spri ng catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tight en t he te ther s tra p firmly fo llow ing
the child restraint manufac turer's instruc­
tions .
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tens ion fo llowing the child re­
s traint manufa cture r's instr uctions.
.,. Depress the spring c atc h o n the hook and
release it from the ancho rage.
(D Note
If yo u leave the child restr aint w ith the
tethe r strap firm ly ins talled for several
days, this could leave a ma rk on the up­
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
i n 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 res traint
systems come w ith a tether. Please read and
heed the c hild restra int system man ufactur­
er 's instr uctions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether .
A WARNING
-
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passeng er seat
will be s erious ly inju re d and ca n be killed if
the fr ont air bag infla tes -even with an Ad­
va nced A irbag Sys tem .
- Th e inflating airbag will h it th e chi ld
safety sea t or infant c arrie r wi th gre at
for ce and will sma sh the child s afety seat
~

and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-fac ing c hild restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System . T he heav ie r
we ight registe red ca n make th e system
wor k as thoug h an adu lt were on t he seat
and dep loy the A dvanced Airbag when i t
must be suppressed ca using serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t inst all a rearw ard facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iate ly install the rearward-facing
child safety seat in a rear seat ing pos i­
t io n and have the airbag system inspect­
ed by you r a uthorized Audi dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about ch ild restrai nt select ion, in­
stallat ion and use:
NHTSA advises that t he best child safety seat
is the one that fits y our child and fits i n your
ve hicle, and that you w ill use correctly and
consis tently.
Try before you buy !
U.S National Highway T raffic Safety Admin­
istration
T e l. : 1-888-327-4236 (T TY : 1-800-424-9153)
www.nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Te l.: (202) 662 -0600
www.safekids.o rg
Child Sa fet y 183
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45 -SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 -800-333-0371 or ca ll
1 -6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa a rea
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu.htm
Audi Customer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
•
•

184 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), ins talled by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict the retr ieval 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.
A ltho ugh yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir 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 ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of ve hicle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
o ut of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
whee ls, and/or reducing eng ine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle o n the dr iver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
G) in the inst rument cluster
blinks when ESC is ta king action to help yo u
control the veh icle.
ESC has limitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It wi ll not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
F or example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of
dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
s lush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been in terrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehi cle under con ­
trol and on the road during ex treme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.

186 Intelligent technology
-Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such 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.
(i_) Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identi­
cal tires . Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are working .
- If the indicator light
I] or l;S (USA
models);tl] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction ¢
page 19,
¢page 19.
Switching on /off
ESC turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig. 159 Vers ion A: low er ce nter c onsol e, 1', OFF but­
to n
.... .. [ I _j nw· 1-_, .. _ , 1 -- - .-=---1
I;· . i-a~ -~ ~-,' I ' .;- c;.il..-~ -~ 1,1
~' . -' ' 1 ' ...... ~ ... ~- ;. '"~ l __,
Fig. 160 Versio n B: upper ce nter console,!'> OFF but­
to n
Turning off ASR
In some situations, it may be useful to switch
ASR
off to allow the wheels to spin. For exam­
ple:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow chains
Qu ickly press the
i.i, OFF I button ¢ fig. 159
and¢ fig. 160. The fi indicator light turns on
and the message
Traction control (ASR): Off.
Warning! Restricted stability
appears in the
display .
It is only possible to turn off the ASR up to
30 mph (SO km/h) for vehicles with front
wheel drive . At about 45 mph (70 km/h) it au ­
tomatically turns on again .
It is possible to
turn
off the ASR at any speed for vehicles with
all wheel drive.
Turning off ESC
Press and hold the I B OFFI button for three
seconds . The
Ii ESC indicator light turns on
and the message
Stabilization control (ESC):
off. Warning! Restricted stability
appears in
the display. ASR is also switched
off when ESC
is switched off.
Switching on
Press the 1 .$ OFFI button again. The 11 indica­
tor light turns on and the message
Stabiliza­
tion control (ESC): On
appears in the display .
_&. WARNING
- Drive wheels can spin and you can lose
control of the vehicle more easily when
ASR and ESC are switched off, especially
when the road is slippery .
- Switch ASR/ESC
off only when your driv­
ing skills, traffic and weather conditions
permit.
(D Tips
You cannot switch ASR and ESC
off when
adaptive cruise control* is working.
-