Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
q page 133, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adu lts thei r
muscles and bones are not fully developed. In
many respects children are at greater risk of
serio us inju ry in crashes than adults .
Because children's bod ies are not fu lly deve l
oped, they require restraint systems especial
l y des igned for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many co untries and all states of th e
United States and p rovinces of Canada have
laws requ iring the u se of approved ch ild re
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed o f 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-po und
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . Th is means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds ( 120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restrai nt properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Ch ild restr aints must be used p roperly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can inc rease
the risk of serious in jury i n an accident.
Consult the chil d safety seat manufacture r's
i nstr uctions to be s ure the seat is r igh t for
your chi ld's size
q page 164, Important safe
ty instructions for using child safety seats .
Please be sure to read and heed a ll of the im
portant informat ion and WARNINGS abo ut
child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the ins tal
lation of child restraints in this chapter.
T here is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be
cause of the large amount of important i nfor-
Child Sa fet y 161
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detai led information in this
owner 's man ua l about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transpor t
ing ch ildren on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
ar e extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of you r passenge rs, especially in
f an ts and small chi ld ren.
A WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that c hil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained p roperly when
ever riding i n a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improper ly restrained chi ld could be
in ju red by str iking the interior o r by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuve r or impact. A n un re
s tra ine d or improperly restrained ch ild is
a lso at greate r risk of injury o r dea th
through contact with an inflating airbag .
- A suitable ch ild restrai nt properly inst al
led and used a t one o f the rear seat ing
positions prov ides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in
ju red or even killed when an a irbag i n
flates. A child in a rearward -fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on t he front passen
ger seat w ill be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag infla tes.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
s afe ty seat or i nfant carrie r wi th grea t
force and will sm ash the child safety se at
and child against the bac krest or doo r.
- Always install rearward-faci ng ch ild safe
t y seats on the re ar seat.
•
•
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict 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.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair 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 over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 179
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
JjJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
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 interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During 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.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
•
•
-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 .
188 Driving and en vironm ent
8_ WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc ., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re
store the full braking effect.
CD Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
@ Tips
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switc h the engine off when driving
t hr ough water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep fo r you r vehi
cle to dr ive through safely.
-
- Avoid dr iving thro ugh salt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con
trol system (catalytic converter) is function
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run
ning in on environmentally sound manner.
,,. Always use lead-free gasoli ne¢ page 207,
Fuel supply .
,,. Never run the tank down a ll the way to
empty.
,,. Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine ¢
page 217, "t':::r. Adding engine oil.
,,. Never t ry to push- o r tow-start your veh icle.
The catalytic converter is an effic ient "clean
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalytic converter burns
many of the polluta nts in the exhaust gas be
fore they are released into the atmosphe re. The exclusive
use of unleaded f uel is critica lly
important for the life of the catalytic convert
er and proper funct ion ing of the eng ine .
A WARNING
= -
-Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in co ntact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire .
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
r u stp roofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, cataly tic con
ver ter or heat shields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used for under coa ting co uld
overhea t and cause a fire.
CD Note
- Be aware that just o ne tank filling with
leaded fu el w ill already ser io usly de
gr ad e the per form ance o f the catalytic
c onverte r.
- Do not ex ceed t he corre ct engine oil level
r:;!) page 217.
- Do not drive until the fuel tank be co m es
completely emp ty. The engine co uld mis
fire . Unburned fuel could also get in to
the exhaust system and this co uld cause
the cata lytic converter to overheat .
- Do not turn off the igni tion whi le the ve
hicle is mov ing.
- Do not contin ue to ope rate your veh icle
unde r these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalyt ic converte r. T his
co uld resu lt in overheating of the con
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- H ave you r vehicle maintained p rope rly
and in accordance w ith the se rvi ce rec
ommen dat ions in yo ur Warranty &
M ain tenance boo klet.
- L ack of prope r maintenan ce as we ll as
i mprope r use of t he ve hicl e wi ll impair
the func tion of the em ission cont ro l
system and could lea d to damage .
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.
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.
-
194 Cleaning and protection
Cleaning and
protect ion
General information
Regular core preserves vehicle value .
Any automobile is exposed to industrial
fumes, corrosive road salt, etc. A well cared
for Audi can look like new many years after
purchase . Regular and correct care w ill con
tr ibute to maintaining the beauty and value of
your Aud i.
Furth erm ore, goo d car e m ay be a c onditi on
for substantiat ing a warrant y claim shou ld
c orrosion dam age or paint d efe ct s occ ur.
Your author ized Audi dealer has a variety of
d ed ica ted vehicl e-ca re product s and can ad
vise which ones to use for cleaning the exter i
or and inte rior of your vehicle .
Whether you use products recommended by
Aud i or other commercially ava ilable clean ing
agents, please make sure you apply them cor
rectly .
A WARNING
-Cleaning agents may be poisonous. Keep
them out of the reach of children.
- Heed all caut ion labels.
- Always read directions on the container
before using any product . Follow the di
rect ions carefu lly.
- Most chemical cleaners are concentrated
and have to be diluted.
- Use spot removing fluids only in well
ventilated areas.
- Do not use gasoline, kerosene, d iesel
fuel, nail pol ish remover or other volati le
fluids. They may be toxic, flammab le or
haza rdous in other ways. Do not wash,
wax or dry the vehicle with the ignit ion
on or the engine running.
- Do not clean the undersides of chassis,
fenders, wheel covers, etc. without pro
tecting your hands and arms. You may
c u t yourself on sharp-edged metal parts . -
Moisture and ice on brakes may impair
brak ing eff ic iency
c::> page 181. Test the
brakes carefully each time you wash the
veh icle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Select on ly environ mentally friendly clean
i ng products. Leftover cleaning products
should not d isposed of in the househo ld
waste .
Care of exterior
Washing
Frequent washing protects the vehicle .
The best protection against environmental in
fluences is
frequent washing and waxing . How
often this is required depends on:
- How much the veh icle is used
- Where the veh icle is parked (garage, in the
open under trees, etc.)
- The seasona l and weather conditions
- Environmental infl uences
T he longer b ird droppings, insects, tree resin,
road and indus tria l gr ime, ta r, soot, road salt
and other materials remain on the vehicle body, the more lasting their destr uctive ef
fects wi ll be . High temperatures caused by ex
pos ure to intense sun light intens ify the corro
s ive effect, particularly when humid ity is high
as well.
Under certain circumstances,
weekl y washing
may be necessary. Under other cond itions, a
monthly washing and waxing may be ade
quate .
After the winter, the underside of the vehicle
should be thoroughly washed, preferably in a professional car wash.
Vehicles with matte finish paint
c::> poge 197.
A WARNING
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
c::> page 194.