2013 AUDI A4 SEDAN steering wheel

154 Airbag system
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­ riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
~page 145.
A WARNING
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 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, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- 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
authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the area of the front air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec- tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­ phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
'-
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­
ing conditions.
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems, those with asthma or other respiratory
conditions should get fresh air right
away by getting out of the vehicle or
opening windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.

158 Airb ag sys te m
There are some impor tant things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impa ired and t hat dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol ­
l ute t he e nvironm ent.
A WARNING
Improp er care, s ervicing a nd r epair proce­
dures can increase t he risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag
from deploy ing when needed o r deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units .
- F or cleaning the horn pad or instrumen t
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect proper ly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system .
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified tech nician who has the t raining
and special equipment necessary.
- For any wor k on the ai rbag system, we
st rongly recommend that you see you r
au thori zed Audi dealer or qualified wo rk­
shop .
- Never mod ify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make su re that the side airbag
can infla te wi tho ut interferen ce:
- Never insta ll seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi . -
Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
inflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side a ir­
bag module must a lways be repaired
immediately by an author ized Audi
dealer .
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
m ust be replaced by an autho rized Aud i
dea le r o r qualified technician who has
the techni cal info rmation, training and
specia l equipment necessary.
- T he airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it mus t be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed an d approved espe­
cially fo r your A udi model version. Re­
p lacement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops on ly.
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet unde r
AIRBAG REPLAC E­
M ENT RECORD .
-In accidents when an airbag is dep loyed,
the vehicle batte ry separates the alterna­
tor and the star ter from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system fo r safe ty reasons w ith a
py rotechn ic circuit inte rrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dea le r - risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre ­
cautions must be fo llowed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
s ione rs might be classif ied as Perchlorate
Ma teria l -special handling may app ly, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/per­
ch lorate. W hen the veh icle or parts o f th e
r est rain t sys tem including airb ag modu les
s a fety be lts wi th pre tensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicab le laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
1J1-

166 Child Safety
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
.&, WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured . The
Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas ­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat.
It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the .,.

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 electronic i nteraxle differential lock* /selective
wheel torque control* . ESC is switched on all
the t ime. I n certain s ituations when you need
less traction, you can switch
off ASR by press­
i ng the button~~
page 186, fig. 159 or
~ page 186, fig. 160. Be sure to sw itch ASR
on again when you no longer need less trac­
tion.
Anti-lock b ra king s ystem (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered
even d uring hard brak ing . Apply ste ady p res­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
a l. A pulsing in the brake peda l indicates t hat
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease bra king
d istance. It increases braking power when the
d river presses the brake pedal quick ly in eme r­
gency situations . You must press and hold the
brake peda l until the situation is over. In
veh icles w ith adaptive cru ise contro l*, the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d istance detected to the veh icle ahead is too
small.
Anti- slip regulati on (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Elect ronic diffe renti al lo ck (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or wheels if the vehicle is equipped with
all-wheel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h) .
In extreme cases, EDL automatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL w ill switch on again au-
Intellig ent technolog y 185
tomat ica lly when conditions have returned to
norma l.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles with dynam ic steering*, ESC helps
stab il ize the s teer ing in crit ica l sit uat io ns.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
T he electronic i nteraxle differential lock (front
whee l dr ive) or the se lective whee l to rque
control (all-whee l dr ive) opera tes when dr iv­
ing thro ugh curves. The front wheel on the in­
side of the c urve or both whee ls on the inside
of the curve are braked selectively as needed .
This min imizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
cu rves . The applicable system may not acti­
vate when dr iv ing in wet or snowy conditions.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS , ASR, EDL dynam ic steering*
a nd the elect ronic interaxle differential
loc k* /se lective wheel torque control*
function cannot overcome the laws of
physics. This is especially important on
slippery or wet roads . If the systems be­
gin acting to stabilize your vehicle, you
should immediately change yo ur speed
to match the road and traff ic conditions.
Do not let the increased safety provided
by these systems tempt you to take risks .
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle contro l, col lision and ser ious per­
sonal injuries.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffi c
and wea ther conditions. The risk of los­
ing con tro l of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys­
tem, ASR, EDL dynam ic steering* and the
electronic interaxle differentia l lock*/se­
lective whee l torque control* function
cannot prevent collisions.
•
•

188 Intelligent technology
200 kilometers) of normal city driving.
You can compensate for this by pressing
the brake pedal more firmly. This also applies later when new pads are instal­
led .
- You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit.
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmission into a lower
gear or lowe r driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often. This could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake . This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance.
- Under certain climatic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few care­
ful brake applications.
- Driving for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed . Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­
creased stopping distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near- est authorized Audi dealer or
qualified
workshop.
- Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving . See your authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
for assistance.
E!"4 Dynamic steering: System fault! You can
continue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual. The
steering wheel may also be at an angle when
driving straight .
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected .
ls!'fl Dynamic steering: initializing
If this driver message appears and the indica­
tor light is flashing on the instrument panel,
dynamic steering* is being reinitialized. Once
you start the engine after this is finished, the ..,..

steering wheel wi ll be easy to move . Re­
initialization might be necessary if the steer ­
ing wheel was moved hard to the left and
right while the vehicle was not moving. The
d isplay goes out as soon as in itializat ion is
comp lete .
A WARNING
Have the dynamic steering* system mal­
function repaired as soon as poss ible by an
authori zed A udi dealer or any qualified
workshop -risk of accident!
@ Tips
- If the . or 1;r,ij indicator light only stays
on for a short t ime, you may continue
driving.
- The dynamic steering * stability systems
are not available in t he event of a system
malfunction.
- Fo r additional informat ion on dynamic
stee ring*, re fer to
c::> page 111.
Driving with your
quattro ®
Applies to vehicles: with all-wheel drive
With oil-wheel drive, oil four wheels ore driv­
en.
General information
W ith all -whee l dr ive, power is dis tributed to
a ll fo ur wheels. This happens automatica lly
depending on yo ur driving sty le and the road
conditions at the time. See also
c::> page 184 .
A center different ial d is tributes the dr iv ing
power var iably to the front and rear axle. It
wo rks together with se lective whee l to rque
contro l, which activates when driving throug h
curves
c::> page 185. With the sport d ifferen­
tial*, power distribution to the rear w heels is
variable and can be adjusted with Audi drive se lect
c::> page 111 .
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
hi gh engine power. Your vehicle is exception­
ally powerful and has exce llent dr iving charac ­
ter ist ics both under normal d riving conditions
Int ellig ent technolog y 189
and on snow and ice . Always read and follow
safety precautions
c::> & .
Winter tires
When dr iving in t he winter, yo ur vehicle wi th
a ll -wheel drive h as an adv ant age, even w it h
regular tires. In wi nter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea ­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing : these tires must be mounted on
all fou r
wheels .
See also c::> page 245, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains a re mandatory on certain
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to veh icles
with all-wheel drive
c::> page 246 , Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles wi th a ll-wheel drive must alw ays
have tires of the same s ize. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For detai ls see
page
c::> page 241, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
Your A udi does no t have enough g ro und cle ar­
ance to be used as an off -road vehi cle. It is
therefore best to avoi d rough tracks and un­
even te rrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
c::> page 192.
A WARNING
A lways ad just yo ur dr iv ing to road and traf­
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
-Al tho ugh t he all-wheel driv e is ve ry ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire t raction. You
should t herefore not d rive a t excessive
speeds on i cy or slippery ro ad s urfa ces.
- On wet road surfa ces, be careful not to
d rive too fast bec ause the fron t whee ls
co uld begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplani ng) . If th is should occur, yo u •
•

198 Trailer towing
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when tow ing
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
different weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become completely familiar with the way
your veh icle-trailer combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler generally requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
in g lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler dur ing the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
q page 2 72.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­ lowing :
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load.
.. Tur n the wheels towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking b rake.
.. Place an automatic transmission* in P, re­
spectively a manual transmission in first or reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake .
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the se lector lever to D/S, respectively
a manual transmission in first gear.
.. Release the parking brake and slow ly pu ll
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission* to P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
lat er to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion.

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have bee n dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items wh ich may be rep laced)
of automati c transmission, power steering,
power br akes, power wi ndows, power sea ts,
radio, and heater, to the ex tent that these
items are avai lab le as factory -installed equip­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to the w idt h of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means the pa rt of the t ire that is made of
s teel wires, wrapped or re inforced by ply cor ds
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold t ir e infl ation pr essure
means the tire pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a t ire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure i s measu red or adjusted.
Tire s an d wheel s 231
-If you notice un usua l vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
Curb weight
mea ns the weight of a motor ve hicle w ith
standard equipment includ ing t he maximum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, ai r cond i­
tion ing a nd addi tional weig ht o f optiona l
equipment .
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
respondi ng s tanda rd tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "X L", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", o r
"R F" on the sidewall .
Gross Axle Weight Rating ( "GAWR ")
mea ns the load-carrying capacity of a single
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicle.
Groo ve
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load tha t a t ire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. Yo u
may not find this information on all tires be­
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the load r ating for a tire at the maxi­
mum pe rm issi ble inflat ion pressure for that
ti re .
•
•
...