
90 Transmi ssion
Hill descent control
App lies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/t iptronic
The hill descent control system assists th e
driver when driving down declines .
Hill descent control is activated when these
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gea r that is su itab le for the incl ine. Hill de
scent control tries to maintain the spe ed ach
i eved at the t ime of bra king , wi thin physical
a nd techn ica l limita tions. It m ay st il l be nec
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes .
Hill descent control switches off once the de
cline levels out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles w ith the cruise control system*
c::> page 84, hill descent contro l is also act ivat
ed when the speed is set.
.&, WARNING
H ill descen t control cannot overcome
physical limita tions, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions . Always be ready to app ly the
brakes.
Manual shift program
App lies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptron ic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
F ig . 99 Ce nte r console: sh ifting t he gea rs man ually
Fig. 10 0 Stee ring w hee l: S hift b uttons*
Gear select ion with selector lever
N
--N
"' gi
The tiptronic mode can be selected ei ther with
the veh icle s tat io nary or on the move .
• Push the se lector lever to the right from D/
S. An M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transm ission has
shifted .
• To upshift, push t he se lector lever forwa rd
to the plus position
0 c::> fig. 99.
• To downshift, push the lever to the mi nus
posi tion
0 .
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when these
lector lever is in D/S o r the tiptronic manua l
shift program .
• To upshift, touch the button on the r ight
0
c::> fig. 100 .
• To downshift, to uch the but ton on the left
0 .
• If you do not press a sh ift b utton wi thin a
sh ort time w hile in t he D/S posit ion, the
t ransmiss ion w ill retur n to automatic mode .
To kee p shifting using the shift b uttons,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
the D/S pos it ion.
T he transm iss io n automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached .
T he tran sm iss io n only al lows manual sh ifting
when the eng ine speed is with in the permit
ted range .
(D Tips
-Whe n you s hift into the ne xt l ower ge ar,
t he transmission will downshift only

Audi adapt ive crui se c ontrol an d bra kin g guard 95
confirmed by the video camera, an acute
collision warning.
- For safety reasons, do not use adaptive
cruise control when driving on roads with
many curves, when the road surface is in
poor condition and/or in bad weather
(such as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and
hydroplan ing). Using the system under
these conditions cou ld result in a co lli
sion.
- Switch adaptive cruise control off tempo rar ily when driving in turning lanes, on
expressway exits or in cons truction
zones. This prevents the vehicle from ac celerating to the set speed when in these
situations.
- The adaptive cr uise control system wi ll
not brake by itse lf if you p ut your foot on
the accelerator pedal. Doing so can over
ride the speed and distance regulation .
- When approaching stationary objects
such as stopped traff ic, adaptive cruise
control will not respond and braking
guard w ill have limited function.
- The adaptive cruise control system and
braking guard do not react to people, an
ima ls, objects crossing the road or on
coming objects.
- The function of the radar sensor can be
affected by reflective objects such as
guard rails, the entrance to a tunnel,
heavy rain or ice.
- Never follow a ve hicle so closely that you
cannot stop your vehicle safely. The
adaptive cruise cont ro l cannot slow or
brake the veh icle safely when you follow
ano ther veh icle too closely. Alway s re
member that the automatic braking
function cannot bring the vehicle to a sudden or emergency stop under these
condit ions.
- To prevent unintended operation, always
switch ACC off when it is not being used.
(D Note
The sensor can be disp laced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, whee l housing and
underbody . That could affect the adaptive cruise control system and braking g
uard.
Have your authorized Audi dea ler o r au
thorized Audi Service Facility chec k their
funct ion.
In curves
App lies to vehicles: with A ud i ada ptive c ruise contro l
F ig . 1 04 Examp le: driv ing into a curve
When driving into a curve¢ fig. 104 and out
of a curve, the adaptive cru ise contro l may re
act to a vehicle in the next lane and app ly the
brakes. You can override or prevent the brak
ing by pressing the accelerator pedal briefly.
Stationary objects
App lies to vehicles: wit h Audi adapt ive cr uise contro l
F ig . 1 05 Examp le: objec t chang ing la ne s and station
a ry object
The adaptive cru ise control system only reacts
to objects that a re mov ing or that the system
has a lready detected as moving . For examp le,
if a ve hicl e@ , which has already been detec t
ed by the adaptive cru ise con trol , turns or
changes lanes and another stationa ry vehicle
@ is located in front of that vehicle, the sys
tem will not react to the stationary vehicle.

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard 97
the tachometer @and is also shown briefly
in the display @<:::>
fig. 108.
Switching Audi adaptive cruise control off
~ Push the lever away from you into position
@ until it clicks into place. The message
ACC off appears.
@ Indicator lights
II-Adaptive cruise control is switched on. No
vehicles are detected up ahead. The stored
speed is ma intained.
I-A moving vehicle is detected up ahead .
The adaptive cruise control system regulates
the speed and distance to the moving vehicle
ahead and acce lerates/brakes automatica lly.
I -When automatic braking is not able to
keep enough distance to a previously detected
mov ing vehicle up ahead, you must take con
trol and brake
c:> page 99, Request for driver
intervention.
© Display
If adaptive cruise control is not shown in the
d isplay, you can call it up with the
I RES ET I
button c:> page 24.
Based on the symbols in the d isplay, you can
determine if the system is maintaining a dis
tance to the vehicle ahead and what that dis
tance is.
No vehicle -No vehicle ahead was detected.
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected .
Red vehicle -Prompt for the driver to take ac
tion
c:> page 99.
Both arrows on the scale © indicate the dis
tance to the vehicle ahead . No ar row appears
when the vehicle is on an open road and there
is no object ahead . If an object is detected
ahead, the arrow moves on the scale.
The green zone on the scale shows the stored
distance. For information on changing the
stored distance, refer to
c:> page 98. If the
distance selected is too close or may soon be
come too close, the arrows move into the red
zone on the scale.
A WARNING
Improper use of the adaptive cruise con
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injuries.
- Pressing the
!SET ! button when driv ing at
speeds below 20 mph (30 km/h), w ill au
tomatically accelerate the vehicle to
20 mph (30 km/h), which is the mini
mum speed that can be set.
@ Tips
-If you switch the ignit ion or the adaptive
cruise control off, the set speed is erased
from the system memory.
- The electronic stab ilizat ion control
(ESC)
and the anti-slip-regulat ion (ASR) are au
tom atica lly turned on when the adaptive
cruise control is turned on. Both systems
cannot be turned off if the adaptive
cruise control is turned on .
Changing the speed
Applies to vehicles: with Aud i adapt ive c ruise control
0
f
jJ
0
Fig. 109 Selector lever: ch anging the speed
~ To increase o r reduce the speed in incre
ments,
tap the lever up or down.
-0:, N 0 ± ... a)
~ To incr ease o r reduce the speed quickly,
hold the lever up or down until the red LED
@ reaches the desired speed
c:>fig . 108 .
Following any changes, the new stored speed
will be displayed briefly in the display @
c:>fig. 108 .

98 Audi adapti ve cruise control and bra king gu ard
Interrupting cruise control
App lies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 110 Selector lever
Requirement: adaptive cruise contro l must be
switched on
¢fig.110 (i).
Ove rrid ing crui se contr ol
.. To accelerate manually, press the accelera
tor pedal. The message
ACC o ver ride ap
pears .
.. To resume adaptive cruise control, remove
your foot from the gas pedal. The system re
turns again to the speed that was saved be
fore .
.. You can save a new speed at any t ime by
pressing the
I SETI button ¢ fig. 4 .
Canceling crui se control while dri ving
.. Move the lever into posit ion @. The mes
sage
ACC sta ndb y appears . Or
.. press the brake pedal.
.. To resume the stored speed, move the leve r
into position @.
&_ WARNING
Never resume the stored speed if the
speed is too high for prevailing road, traf
fic or weather cond itions.
Setting the distance
Applies to vehicles: wit h Audi adapt ive cr uise contro l
Fig. 111 Selector lever : sett ing t he d istance
.. Tap the switch to display the current set dis
tance
¢ fig. 111 .
.. To increase or reduce the distance by incre
ments, tap the switch again to the left or
r ight. The distance between the two vehicles
w ill change in the instrument cluster dis
p lay .
When approach ing a mov ing vehicle up ahead,
the adaptive cruise control system brakes to
match that object's speed and then ma inta ins
the stored dis tance. If the vehicle ahead ac
ce le rates, adaptive cruise contro l will also ac
ce lerate up to the stored speed.
T he higher the speed, the greater t he d istance
in yards (mete rs)
c:::> /1. . The Di stan ce 3 setting
is recommended .
T he distances provided are specified va lues .
Depend ing on the dr iv ing s ituation and the
how the veh icle ahead is driving, the actual
distance may be more or less than these tar
get d istances.
T he various symbo ls for the time inc reme nts
appear briefly in the information line @
¢ fig. 108 when you change the se ttings .
,:;:::::,_c:::::, ___ Distance 1 : This setting corre-
sponds to a d istance of 92 feet/28 meters
when traveling at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a
t ime interval of 1 second.
,:;:::::, __ ,:;:::::, __ Distanc e 2: This setting corre
sponds to a d istance of 118 feet/36 meters
when traveling at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a
t ime interval of 1.3 seconds .

100 Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
Audi braking guard
Descript ion
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 113 Instrument cluste r: approach warn ing
Braking guard uses a radar sensor. It also
functions within the limits of the system
when adaptive cruise control is switched off .
What can Audi braking guard do?
When detected in time, the system can assess
situations when a vehicle ahead brakes sud
denly or if your own vehicle is traveling at a
high speed and approaching a vehicle up
ahead that is moving more slowly . Braking
guard does not react if it cannot detect the
situation.
The system advises you of various situations :
- The
distance warning is given if you are too
close to the vehicle ahead for a long time. If
the vehicle ahead brakes sharply, you will
not be able to avoid a collision. The indicator
light
I in the display comes on .
- The
approach warning is given when a de
tected vehicle up ahead in your lane is mov ing much more slowly than you are or if it
brakes sharply . When th is warning is given,
it may only be possib le to avoid a collision
by swerving or braking sharply . The indicator
l ight
I and indicato r in the display will warn
you about the danger
¢ fig. 113 . You will al
so hear an acoustic signal.
I f you do not react fast enoug h or do not react
at all to the situat ion , Braking guard will in-
ll This is not available in some co un tri es .
tervene by braking and the message braking
guard intervention
wi ll appear.
- If a coll is ion is imminent, the system wi ll
fi rst provide an
acute warning by briefly and
sharply applying the brakes.
- If you do not react to the acute warning,
braking guard can brake within the lim its of
the system. This reduces the vehicle speed
in the event of a collision .
- At speeds under 20 mph (30 km/h), the sys
tem can initiate a comp lete deceleration
short ly before a co llision .
1
).
- If the braking guard senses that you are not
brak ing hard enough when a co llision is im
minent, it can increase the braking force.
Which functions can be controlled?
You can switch braking guard and the dis
tance/approach warning on or off in the radio
or MMI
¢ page 101, Settings in the radio/
MMI.
A WARNING
-Lack of attention can cause collisions, oth
er accidents and serious personal injuries.
The braking guard is an assist system and
cannot prevent a collision by itself. The
driver must always intervene. The dr iver is
always responsible for braking at the cor
rect time .
- Always pay close attent ion to traffic,
even when the braking guard is switched
on. Be ready to intervene and be ready to
take complete control whenever necessa
ry. Always keep the safe and legal dis
tance between your vehicle and vehicles
up ahead.
- Braking guard works within limits and
will not respond outside the system lim
its, for examp le when approaching a
stopped vehicle or stationary obstacle (end of a traffic jam or vehicle that has
broken down in t raffic).

180 Intelligent technology
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
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock* /selective
wheel torque control* . ESC is switched on all
the t ime. I n certa in s ituations whe n you need
l ess t raction, you can switch off ASR by p ress
i ng the bu tto n
[ru ¢ fig. 167 or ¢ fig. 168. Be
sure to sw itch ASR on ag ain when you no lon
ger need less trac tion.
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents t he wheels from locking up
when braking. The veh icle can still be st eered
even d uring ha rd b rak ing . Apply steady p res
sure to the br ake pedal. Do no t pu mp the ped
a l. A puls ing in t he bra ke peda l ind icates that
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease bra king
d ista nce. It increases braking powe r w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal quickl y in eme r
gency situa tions . You mus t press and ho ld the
brake peda l until the situation is over. In
ve hicles with adaptive cruise contro l", the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d ista nce detected to t he vehicle a head is too
smal l.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engi ne power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic diffe rential lock (EDL )
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
tra nsfers t he d rive powe r to the other d rive
wheel or whee ls 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 a utomatica lly switches
off to help keep the bra ke on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL will switch on aga in au
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic s teering *, ESC he lps
sta bilize the steer ing in crit ica l sit uat ions.
Electronic interaxle differential lock*/
selective wheel torque control*
T he ele ctroni c in te raxle di fferentia l lock ( fron t
whee l drive) o r th e se lective whee l torque
control (all -whee l drive) operates when driv
ing t hro ugh cu rves. The front wheel on the in
s ide of the c urve or both whee ls on the inside
of the curve are braked selectively as needed .
Th is mi nimizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise d rivi ng through
cu rves . The a ppl icable syste m may not acti
vate when dr iv ing in wet o r snowy cond itions.
_&. WARNING
- E SC, A BS, ASR, ED L d ynam ic steering *
a nd the elect roni c in ter ax le d ifferenti al
loc k* /se lective whee l torque control *
cannot ove rcome the laws of physics .
This is especia lly important on slippery
or wet r oads. If the systems beg in acting
to stabilize your veh icle, yo u should im
mediately change you r speed to match
the road and t raff ic conditions. Do not
let the increased safety prov ided by
t hese systems temp t you to ta ke r is ks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a lo ss of
veh icle cont ro l, col lision an d ser io us per
sonal injur ies.
- Always adapt your speed to ro ad, traff ic
an d wea ther conditions . The risk of los
ing contro l of t he vehicle increases when
driving too fast, es pec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
a head. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys
t e m, ASR, EDL dynam ic s teer ing* and the
elec tronic inte raxle differe ntia l lock*/se
lective whee l to rque contr ol* cannot p re
vent co lli sion s.
- Always accelerate wi th special care on
eve n smooth s urfaces su ch as those that
'
ar e we t or covered w ith i ce and snow.
T he drive whee ls can spin even w ith
-
these assistance systems that can not ~

182 Intelligent technology
You can compensate for this slightly reduced
braking power by pushing harder on the brake
pedal. Avoid heavy braking loads d uring the
break-in per iod.
Operating condition s and d riv ing hab it s
The brakes on today 's automob iles are st ill
subject to wear, depending largely on operat
ing conditions and driving habits¢.&. . On
vehicles that are either driven mostly in stop
and-go city traffic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be checked by your author
ized Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
Warra nty & Maint enance booklet . Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result in red uced b rake pe rformance.
On steep slopes, you should use the brak ing
effect of the engine . Th is way, you prevent un
necessa ry wear on the brake system. If you
must use yo ur brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuously . P u mp the brakes at inter
va ls.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, braking fo rce and outside condi
tions s uch as temperature and humidity .
Effect of w ater and ro ad s alt
In certain situat ions, for example after driving
through water, in heavy ra in, after overn ight
condensat ion or after washing your car, the
b rak ing effect can be reduced by moistu re or
ice on the bra ke roto rs and b rake pads . The
b rakes must be dried fi rst with a few caref ul
b rake app lications .
At higher speeds and with the w indshield w ip
e rs turned on, the brake pads press agains t
the brake rotors for a short amount of time.
This occurs at regular intervals without the
driver noticing and provides for better brake response time under wet condit ions.
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a salt-covered road and the brakes are not used. Likewise,
you clean
off accumulated sa lt coating from brake d
iscs and pads with a few cautio us ap
plications of the brake
Q ,&. .
Corrosion
The re may be a tendency for dirt to bu ild up
o n the brake pads and corros io n to fo rm on
the d iscs if the car is not driven regu la rly or
only for short trips with litt le use of the
brakes.
If the brakes a re not used frequently, o r if cor
rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean
off the pads and discs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately high
speed
c> &. .
Faults in the brak e syst em
If you shou ld no tice a sudden increase in
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
ci rcuits may have fai led
c> &. .
Lo w brake fluid lev el
Malfunctions can occu r in the bra ke system if
the b rake fluid level is too low. The brake f lu id
level is monitored electronically.
Brake booster
The brake booster increases the pressure that
yo u generate with the brake peda l. It works
o n ly when the engine is running .¢
&
Brake lining we ar status
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in
spect ion of the condition of the brake pads
through the open ings in the wheel. If neces
sary, the wheel may be removed for th is i n
spect io n ¢
page 249, Changing a wheel.
_&. WARNING
- New brake pads don't have the bes t stop
p ing power and m ust be "bro ken-in" dur
ing the initial 100 to 150 miles (150 to
200 kilometers) of normal city driving.
You can compensate for this by pressing
the brake pedal more firmly. Th is also
applies later when new pads are instal led.

-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. .,.
•
•