108 Audi drive select
- Fo r vehicles wi th an automatic t ransmis
s io n, select ing t he
Dynamic mode re
s ul ts in sporty shift ing characteristics .
The S gear posit io n engages a utomat i
ca lly.
- In vehicles that have dynamic steering *,
operating noise is heard when starting or
st opping th e eng ine . Th is does not ind i
cate a problem .
Selecting the driving mode
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
You con choose between Comfort, Auto, Dy ·
namic
and Individual * modes.
Fig . 1 19 Ce nte r co nsole: Contro l for Au di dri ve select
Fi g. 120 MM I•: Aud i dri ve se lect
Adjusting the Individual mode
Applies to vehicl es: with MMI and Aud i drive select
.,. To set the mode, press the f:l:-.i b utton
i=> fig . 119 multi ple times until the des ired
mode is displayed in the instrument cl uster .
Or
.,. In the MMI* , select: ICA Rlfunction button>
Comfort , Auto , Dynamic or Individual *.
In vehicles without the MMI*, the~:/;-~ button
is foun d underneat h the shift/se lecto r lever .
You can c hange the d rivi ng mode whe n the ve
hicle is stationary or wh ile driving . If traffic
permits , after changing modes, br iefly take
yo ur foot off the acce le rator pedal so t hat the
r ecently selected mode is a lso act ivated for
t h e e ngine and transm ission .
Comfort -provides a comfort-oriented veh icle
setup and is s uited fo r long drives o n high
ways .
Auto -provides an overall comfortable yet dy
nam ic dr iving feel and is suited for every day
u se.
Dynamic -gives the vehicle a sporty driving
f eel and is suited to a spo rty driv ing style.
Individual * -¢page 108.
& WARNING
Pay atte ntion t o tra ffic when operati ng
dr ive select to prevent potential risk of a n
accident .
You con personally specify the vehicle setup in the MMI* .
.,. Se le ct t he ICA RI func tion bu tto n > Set indi ·
vidual
con trol but ton. Once y ou se le ct th e
m enu, you will automat ica lly d rive in the
in·
dividual
mode.
Systems Comfort
Engine/Transmi ssion
ba lance d
Steering comfortable T
he e qui pment in you r vehicle will determi ne
wh ich se ttings yo u can adjust. The foll owing
t ab le p rov ides an o verview of the chara cteris
t ics of eac h driving mo de.
Auto Dynamic
balanced s
p orty
balanced sporty
Systems Comfort Auto
Dynamic steering*
comfortable/ind ire ct balanced/direct
Adaptive dampers* comfortable balanced
Sport differenti al* balanced agile
Adaptive cruise control*
comfortable balanced
Engine sound *
subtle subtle/sportya>
a)
Sub tle in t he driving pos it io n D an d sp orty in t he dr iv ing p osition S.
(D Tips
Your Individual * mode settings are auto
mat ically stored and assigned to the re
mote control key being used.
Audi drive select 109
Dynamic
sporty/direct
sporty
spo rty
sporty
spo rty
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 140 U nbe lted occupa nts in a ve hicle hea ding for a
wall
F ig. 141 T he ve hicle c ras hes into t he wall
The physical principles are simp le. Both the
ve hicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith vehicle speed and body
weight . Enginee rs call this energy "kinetic en
e rgy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle 's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" i n the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most sign ificant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h) , the energy inc reases 4 t imes !
Because t he passengers of t his ve hicle are not
using safety belts
c:> fig . 140, they w ill keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, unt il something
stops them -here, the wall
c:> fig . 141 .
The same pr inc iples apply to peop le sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal co llision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to
50 km/h) , the forces act ing on the body can
Safety belts 133
reach one ton (2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are
even
higher .
People who do not use sa fe ty belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal coll i
sio n they wi ll also keep moving forward at the
speed their veh icle was t ravell ing just before
the crash. Of co urse, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of acc idents and col
lis ions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelt ed o ccupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fi g. 142 A dr ive r n ot wea ring a safety be lt is vi olently
throw n fo rwa rd
F ig . 14 3 A rear passenger no t wea ring a safety belt
w ill
fly forwa rd and strike the dr ive r
Unbelted occ upants a re not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves . Without the benefit of
safety restra int systems, the unrestrained oc
cupant will slam violently into the steer ing
whee l, instrument pane l, w indshield, o r what
ever else is in the way c:> fig . 142. This impact IJll-
134 Safety belts
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them
selves but also the driver and other passen
gers~
fig. 143. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 144 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudden brak·
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent
the uncon trolled movement that can
ca use serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"abso rbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable " and less
likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a fron
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada .
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not eno ugh deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
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.
•
•
always help to reduce the risk of loss of
vehicle control.
(D T ips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
a ll four wheels are eq uipped with identi
ca l tires . Different tire s izes can lead to a
reduction in eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are working.
- If the indicator light
DJ or r.1:1::1 (U SA
models) ;tiJ (Canada mode ls) appears,
there may be a malfunction
c:> page 19,
c:> page 19.
Switching on/off
ESC turns on automaticolly when you start
the engine.
Fi g. 16 7 Version A: lowe r ce nter console,~ OFF but
to n
:.!;::.:-, I I ---- 1- n~I -
l.
~
- o~ -· \)1) 1./ .., l~c~~ ·-WJO -J •-MJTO -~, -
-----....... -... ~ ~ -~
Fi g. 16 8 Versio n 8: upper ce nter conso le,~ OFF but
to n
Tu rning off ASR
In some situations, it may be useful to switch
ASR off to allow the wheels to spin. For exam ple:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
Intelligen t technolog y 181
- Driving with snow chains
Quick ly press the
lf3 O FF ! button c:> fig. 167
and c:> fig. 168. The I indica to r li ght turns on
and the message
Trac tion control (ASR ): Off.
Warning! Restri cted stabilit y
appears in the
display.
It i s only poss ib le to turn off the ASR up to
30 mp h (SO km/h) fo r vehicles with front
whee l drive. At about 45 mph (70 km/h) it au
tomatica lly turns on again. It is possible to
turn off the ASR at any speed for vehicles with
all wheel drive.
Turning off ESC
Press and hold the It, O FF I button fo r th ree
seconds. The
fl ESC indicator light t urns on
and the message
Stabil ization cont rol (ES C):
off. Wa rnin g! Restricte d stability
appears in
the d isplay. A5R is also switched off when ESC
is sw itched off.
Switching on
Press the I~ OF FI button again. The fl indica
tor lig ht t urns on and the message
Stabiliza
tion cont rol (ES C): O n
appears in the disp lay.
_.& WARNING
- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
contro l of t he vehicle more eas ily w hen
ASR and ESC are sw itched off, especially
when the road is slipp ery .
- Sw itch A5R/ESC off only when your driv
ing skills, t raffic and weather conditions
pe rm it .
(D Tips
You cannot sw itch ASR and ESC off when
adaptive cruise control* is worki ng.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
Ne w brake p ads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new
-
brake pads do not possess the ir full brak ing
effect, they have to be "broken in" first
c:> .&.. .,.
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. .,.
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