2013 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET light

-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system only if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower d riving range . Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often. This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and dimin ish braking
effi ciency.
- Do not "r ide the b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake. This may cause the b rakes to
overheat, premat ure wear and increased
stopp ing distance .
- Under certain climatic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy rain or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and d rums . Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­ ings will be cleaned off afte r a few ca re­
f ul brake appl ications.
- Driv ing fo r an ex tended pe riod of time on
salt-covered ro ads w ithout using yo ur
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumu lated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few caref ul
brake applicat ions.
- 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 co uld
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­
creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
wor kshop.
- Never let the v ehicle roll to a stop w ith
t he engine shu t off.
Int ellig ent technolog y 183
-If the brake booster is not working, for
examp le when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed conside rably 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 steer ing adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defecti ve! Do not d rive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and t his message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed .
Do
not con tinue dr iv ing . See your author ized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
fo r ass istance.
f-r,ij Dynamic st eering: System fault! You can
continue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cu lt to move or more sensit ive tha n usual. The
stee ring wheel may a lso be at an angle when
driv ing straight .
Drive slowly to your a uthorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lfunction
correc ted .
fifl Dynamic steer ing: in itializing
If this drive r message appea rs and the indica ­
tor light is flash ing on the instrument panel,
dynamic steer ing * is being rein itia lized. Once
you start the engine after th is is finished, the
steering wheel will be easy to move. Re- init i­
al ization might be necessa ry if the steering
wheel was moved ha rd to the left a nd right
wh ile the vehicle was not moving. The display
goes ou t as soon as initialization is comp lete. .,.
•
•

184 Intelligent technology
_& WARNING
Have the dynamic steering* system mal­
function repaired as soon as possible by an
authorized Audi dealer or any qualified
workshop -risk of accident!
(D Tips
- If the . or
'-r,ij indicator light only stays
on for a short time, you may continue
driving.
- The dynamic steering* stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction.
- For additional information on dynamic
steering*, refer to¢
page 107.
Driving with your
quattro®
App lies to vehicles: with all-wheel dr ive
-
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time . See also
¢ page 179.
A center differential distributes the driving
power variably to the front and rear axle . It
works together with selective wheel torque control, which activates when driving through
curves
c> page 180. With the sport differen­
tial*, power distribution to the rear wheels is
variable and can be adjusted with drive select
c:>page 107.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
high engine power . Your vehicle is exception­
ally powerful and has excellent driving charac­
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precautions ¢
&.
Winter tires
When driving in the winter , your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even with
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for
improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on all four
wheels. See also ¢ page 242, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 243, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see
page
c> page 238, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off·Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle.
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un­
even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
c:> page 187.
_& WARNING
-Always adjust your driving to road and traf-
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning). If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in­
crease in engine speed as with a front­
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at speeds which are suited to the road con­
ditions - risk of crash .

Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long period of time , the bat­
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e.g. immobilizer). In ce rtain c ircumstances it
can result in there being insuff icient ene rgy
avai lab le to start the engine .
Intell igent energy management in your vehi­
cle hand les the d istribution of electrical ener­
gy. Starting ab il ity is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended.
Basically, energy management consists of
batt ery di agno sis, idlin g current man ag e­
m ent
and dyn ami c en ergy m anage ment .
Batter y diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery . Sensors determ ine
battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This dete rm ines the current
state of charge and the powe r of the battery.
Idling curr ent man agement
Idling current management reduces ene rgy
consumption while the vehicle is stand ing .
W ith the ignition switched off, it cont ro ls the
energy supply to the va rious electr ical compo ­
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
i nd ividua l consumers are gradual ly t urned off
to prevent excess ive d ischarge of the bat tery
and thus maintain starting capability .
Dynamic en ergy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en­
e rgy management dist ributes the energy gen­
e rated according to the needs of the individu­
a l components.
It reg ulates cons umption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
Int ellig ent technolog y 185
than is being generated and ensures an opti ­
mal state of charge for the battery.
(0 Tips
- But even energy management canno t
negate the limits of physics . Consider
that the power and life of a battery are
limited .
- If starting ability is threatened, the indi­
cator light (•) appears~
page 17.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
T he bat tery is severe ly taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Ab undant electrical energy is re­
quired, but on ly a little is generated .
It is also
critica l if the engine is not running and electri­
ca l components are turned on . In this in­
stance energy is be ing consumed but none is
being generated .
It is in precisely these situations that you will
notice energy management active ly regulat­
ing the d istribution of energy.
V ehicle stand s for an ex tend ed peri od
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, e lectrica l compo­
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and ma in­
ta ins start ing capability over a longer period .
Some of the convenience functions may not
operate, such as the interior l ights or the
power seat adjustme nt. The convenience
funct ions w ill be available again when you
swi tch on the ignition and sta rt the eng ine .
With the eng in e turn ed off
If you listen to the radio, for example, w ith
the engine tu rned off or use other MMI func­
tions, the battery is be ing d ischarged.
If starting capability is jeopardized due to en ­
ergy consumption, the following warning ap- pears in the MM I display: ..,.
•
•

186 Intelligent technology
Plea se start the engine soon or the system
will be tu rned off.
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automa tic ally after 3 m inu tes. If
you wish to cont inue using the functions , you
have to start the engine .
With the engine running
Although ele ct ric al e nergy is generated when
the vehicle i s be ing driven , the battery can be­
come d ischarged. This happens most ly w hen
little energy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery 's state of
charge is not optima l.
To br ing the energy balance back into equili­
brium, cons umers which require especia lly
l arge amounts of energy are temporarily c ut
back or switched off. Heating systems in par·
ticular requ ire a great deal of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they have been temporar ily cut back o r switched
off. These systems will be ava ilable again as
soon as the ene rgy ba lance h as been restored.
You will a lso notice that engine idle speed has
been inc reased slightly . This is norma l and not
a cause fo r conce rn . By increas ing engine idle
speed the add itiona l ene rgy required is gener­
ated and the ba tte ry is charged.

@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is
operating properly, the exhaust gas can
have a sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under
some operating states. This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used.
Using a different brand of fuel may help,
or filling the tank w ith lead-free super
grade gasoline.
Operate your vehicle
economically and minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex­
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmental impact, and
wear on you r engine, bra kes and t ires largely
depend on th ree factors:
= your persona l dr iving style
- operating conditions
- technica l lim itations
I f you anticipate what yo u need to do next and
drive economically, you can easi ly cut your
fuel consumption by 10-15 percent. This sec­
tion will give you some t ips on how you can
he lp the environment and your pocketbook.
@ Tips
The consumpt ion estimates as published
by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre­
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, wh ich will vary depending upon vehi­
cle load and speed, road and weather con­
ditions, tr ip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerating.
" Avoid unnecessary accele rat ing and braking.
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 18 9
Vehicles use the most fue l when they a re ac ­
ce lerating. If you anticipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
th us, acce lerate less. Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible -for example when you see
that the next traff ic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and
improves your mileage.
" Try and keep well below your car's maxi-
mum speed.
Acce lerating gently red uces fue l cons ump­
tion, engine wear, and does not disturb the environment.
Fuel consumpt ion, exhaust emiss ions and en ­
gine noise increase disproportionately at high
speeds . If you drive at approximately th ree
quarters of top speed, fuel consumption w ill
be reduced by one half. Never drive faster
than the posted speed limit and weather con­
ditions perm it.
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up
fuel .
" Shut the eng ine off when you are not driv­
ing the vehicle.
" Do not warm up the ve hicle by letting the
eng ine run at idle .
It makes sense to shut off the engine in traffic
jams, when wa it ing for tra ins to pass at rail­
road crossings, or at traffic lig hts t hat have
long waits on red . T ur ning the eng ine off for
just 30-40 seconds saves mo re fuel than is
bur ned star ting the e ngine again.
It takes a long t ime for the engine to warm up
fully when it is run ning at idle . However, wea r
and noxious emissions are espec ia lly high
whe n the eng ine is wa rm ing up. So yo u shou ld
drive away as soon a s you start the e ngine and
avo id r unning at high rpms whi le the engine is
still warming up.
Ill-
•
•

190 Driving and en vironm ent
(0 Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended af­
ter starting . If warning lights should come
on to indicate improper operation, they
would go unheeded. Extended idling also
produces heat, which could result in
over­
heating or other damage to the vehicle or
other property.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot of fuel .
.,. Have your vehicle serv iced at regular inter-
vals.
By having your vehicle regularly serviced by an
author ized Audi dealer he lps to ensure that it
runs properly and economically. The condition
of your vehicle not only affects its safety and
ab il ity to hold its value, it also affects
fu el
con sump tion .
C heck your oil each time you fill your tank.
The amount of oil used is related to engine
l oad and speed.
I t is normal for the oil consumption o f a new
engine to reach its lowest val ue after a certain
mileage has been driven.
You mus t drive yo ur vehicle abo ut 3,000 miles
(5,000 kilometers) be fo re yo u can properly
assess oi l consumption.
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and en­
g ine output.
(]) Note
-Have yo ur vehicle maintai ned properly
and in accordance with the service re c­
ommendations in your War ran ty
& Mai n­
tenance bookle t. Lack of proper mainte ­
nance as well as imp roper use of the
ve­
hicle will impair the function of the
emission control system and could lead
to damage. -
Do not alter or
remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap­
proved by the manufacturer .
- Do not alter or
remove any device, such
as heat shie lds, switches, ignition w ires,
valves, which are designed to protect
your vehicle's Emission Control System and other important vehicle compo­
nents.
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips .
.,. Try to avoid driv ing short distances w ith a
cold engine.
The engine and cata lytic converter have to
reach their opt imal
oper ating temperature to
reduce fuel consumpt ion and nox ious em is­
s ions effectively.
Just after starting, a co ld engine in a mid-size
car on ly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 m iles
per gallon (30-40 l/100 km). After about a
half a mile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg
(20 l/100 km) . After about
2 .5 miles (4 km),
the engine is at its prope r operating tempera­
tu re and fuel economy has reached a normal
level. So you can see that yo u should avo id
short trips whenever poss ible.
T he
outside temperatur e is also cr it ical in t his
regard. Your car consumes more fue l in the
winter tha n in the s umme r.

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns.
Trailer towin g 191
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trailer has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the lo ad in the traile r is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 19 2.
Engine cooling system
Towing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard ­
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•

192 Trailer towing
Tire pre ss ure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver 's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac ­
turers' specifications.
Light s
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Saf ety chains
Be sure tra iler sa fe ty cha ins a re p roperly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve ­
hicle. Leave eno ugh slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling o f vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded tra iler whe n your car it ­
self is no t loaded .
.,. Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles .
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weigh t di stribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steer ing control. A "ba
lanced' ' rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rving
tongue load requ irements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at t he maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rtic ularly
whe n going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do n ot
try to sto p th e swaying by acc elerating .
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
fo r vehicles tow ing tra ile rs a re lower than for
regular veh icles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . U se of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant tempe rature
The coo lant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefu lly. If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
i n t he i nstrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut two min utes to prevent he at build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restra ined in a mov ­
i ng vehicle is a t a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in yo ur car
who is not p roperly wea ring the rest raints
prov ided by Audi.
-