
110 Audi drive select
-For vehicles with an automatic transmis
sion*, se lecting the
Dynamic mode re
su lts in sporty shifting characteristics.
The S gear position engages automati
cally.
- In vehicles that have dynamic steering*,
operating noise is heard when starting or
stopping the eng ine . This does not ind i
cate a problem .
Selecting the driving mode
Applies to vehicles: w ith drive se lect
You can choose between Comfort, Auto, Dy
namic
and Individual * modes.
Fig. 113 Center console: Control for Au di dri ve select
Fig. 114 MMI•: Aud i drive select
Adjusting the Individual mode
Applies to vehicles: with MMI a nd drive se lect
.,. To set the mode, press the f:l:-.i button
~ fig. 113 multiple times until the desired
mode is displayed in the instrument cluster .
Or
.,. In the MMI*, select: ICARlfunction button>
Comfort, Auto, Dynamic or Individual *.
In vehicles without the MMI*, the~:/;,~ button
is found underneath the shift/selector lever.
You can change the driving mode when the ve
hicle is stationary or while driving. If traffic
permits, after changing modes, briefly take
your foot off the accelerator pedal so that the recently selected mode is also activated for
the engine and transm ission .
Comfort -provides a comfort-oriented vehicle
setup and is suited for long drives on h igh
ways .
Auto -provides an overall comfortable yet dy
namic driving feel and is suited for every day
use.
Dynamic -gives the vehicle a sporty driving
feel and is suited to a sporty driving style.
Individual * -¢page 110.
& WARNING
Pay atte ntion to traffic when operating
Audi drive select to prevent potential risk
of an accident.
You can personally specify the vehicle setup in the MMI* .
.,. Select the ICAR I function button > Set indi
vidual
control button. Once you select the
menu, you will automatically drive in the
in·
dividual
mode.
Systems Comfort
Engine/Transmission
balanced
Steering comfortable T
he equipment in your vehicle will determine
wh ich sett ings you can adjust. The following
table provides an overview of the characteris
tics of each driving mode .
Auto Dynamic
balanced sporty
balanced sporty

134 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are nec
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means avai lab le to reduce the risk of se
r ious injury and dea th in a utomob ile acci
dents. For your protection and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- P regnant women, injured, or physically
im paired perso ns mu st also use safety
bel ts. Lik e all veh icle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser iously injured if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions: two in the front and two in the rear. Each seat
ing position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or weari ng them
improp erly increases th e risk of ser ious
pe rsonal i njury and dea th.
- N ever st rap more than one pe rson, in
cl uding small ch ild ren, into any belt.
It is
e speci ally dange rous to pla ce a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in the ve hicl e
than there are s afe ty be lts avail able. -
Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safe
ty belt or child restra int.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the
driver and (on USA models only) front seat
passenger to remind you about the impor
tance of buckling-up .
Fi g. 130 Safety belt warni ng lig ht in the instrument
cluster -en larged
Before driving off, always :
.. Fasten you r safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make s ure that yo ur passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect your children w ith a child rest raint
system approp riate fo r the size and age of
t he children.
The . war ning light in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a
rem inder to faste n the safety belts. In addi
t ion, you will hea r a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime.
Fasten your safety b elt now and make sure
that your pas sengers also properly put on
their safety belts.

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 149
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 153 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u
ment panel
<:!;> page 153, fig . 143 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensi ng mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
r:!;> pag e 143, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

in the instrument cluster display. This is to in
form the drive r of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING t a=
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Aud i dea ler. It is pos
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearwa rd-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing chi ld re
st raint that has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed .
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by yo ur au
thori zed Aud i dea ler.
- A tight tether or other st rap on a rear
ward-fa cing child restr aint at ta ched to
the front passenger sea t can put too
much pressure on the weight -sens ing
-
A irbag system 15 5
mat in the seat and reg ister more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re
s traint o n the front passenger seat, al
ways move the sea t into its rearmos t po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as poss ible . The backrest must be ad just
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
eve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult is sitting
on t he front passenger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
ad ult is prope rly seated and restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspe cted by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If t h e weight-sensing mat in the front p as
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Aud i. Insta lling,
removi ng, servicing or repa iring a par t in an
ar ea of the veh icle can damage a part of an
a irbag system and p reven t that system from
wor kin g p ro perly in a coll is io n. .,,.
•
•

160 Airbag system
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 146 Side a irbag locat ion in the d river 's seat
The s ide airbags are located in the sides of the
front sea t backrests
~ fig. 146. They are iden
tified by the word "AIRBAG" .
The s ide a irbag system basicall y con sists o f:
- the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly at all times. Each time you turn on the igni
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide airbag system supplements the safe
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up
per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side col lision . The airbag deploys
on ly in side impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control unit is h igh eno ugh . If this rate is below the refer
ence value programmed into the control un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered,
even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re
sult of the collision. It is not possible to de
fine an airbag trigger ing range that will
cover
every
possible angle of impact, since the cir
cumstances w ill
vary considerably between one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
Q page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc
cupant restraint system in your vehicle . Al
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wearing it properly . This
is anothe r reason why you should always wear
yo ur safety be lts, not j ust because the law re
quires you to do so~
page 134, General
notes .
It is important to remembe r that w hile the
s u pplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising ,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
s ide airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are always there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa
t ion . In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate . Remember too, that air
bags will deploy only once and only in ce rtain
ki nds of collisions -your safety belts a re a l
ways there to offer protection in those acc i
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed.
Th e side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit ion is turned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration measured by the sensor is too low
- in front -end collisions
- in rear-end collisions

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 185
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.
•
•

220 Check ing and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for
long periods.
Detergent addit ives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am age or m alfunc tions du e to lack of
m ainten ance
It
is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended in tervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a t imely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, a ll in
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certa in
amount of oil. O il consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typica lly, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 193) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the ox ida
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If
the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
I! in the instrument cluster lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 221. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 221.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressu re warn ing display . is
not an indic ator of the oil l evel. Do not
r el y on it . In stea d, check th e oil l eve l in
y our engin e at regular inter val s, pref
erably ea ch time you r efu el, and alwa ys
before go ing on a long trip .
-If you have t he impression yo ur engine
consumes excessive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consu lt an author
ized Aud i dea ler to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in m ind that the accurate measu rement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Aud i
dealer has instructions about how to
measu re oil consumption accurately.
-

Checking the engine oil level
Fig . 170 MMI Disp lay: Oil l eve l ind icator
Re ad oil le vel
.,. Park you r vehicle so that it is horizontally
level.
.. Shut the engine off when it is at operating
temperature.
.,. Switch only the ignition back on.
.,. Wait approx . two minutes .
.,. Select : Funct ion button
ICAR I > Oil l evel. Or
.,. Se lect: Function button
ICA RI > Car syste m s
control button > Servic ing & c he ck s > Oil
l e v el.
.,. Read the oil leve l in the MMI * Display
r:!> fig . 170 . Add engine oi l if the bar o f the
oi l level ind icator is near "Min"
c> page 221
D epending on the way the veh icle is driven
and the operating conditions, oil consumption
can be up to a 1/2 quart per 600 miles (0 .5
li
ter per 1,000 km) . Consumption may be high
er within the first 3,000 mi les (S,000 km).
@ Tips
The oil level indicator in the MMI* Disp lay
is only an information display.
If the oi l
level is too low, a min imum oil warning ap
pears in the instrument cluster. Add oil
¢ page 221 . If the hood has been opened,
the current oil level is shown in the instru
ment cluster the next time the ign ition is
sw itched on . Checkin
g and fillin g 221
~ Adding engine oil
Fig. 171 Eng in e compa rtm en t: Cove r on the oil filler
n eck
.,. Before yo u check anything in the engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys read and h eed all
WARNING S
c> .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216 .
.. Unscrew the cap
'e:;r. to the engin e oil filling
hole ¢fig . 171, r:!>page 218, fig. 169 .
.,. Carefully top off with the appropr iate oil in
0 .5 liter doses .
.. Check the oil level aga in after two minutes
r:!> page 221 .
.,. Top off the o il aga in, if necessary.
.,. Sc rew the c ap back on the filling hole .
&_ WARNING
-Wh ile topping off, the o il m ust not come
in contact with hot engine parts -fire
hazard!
- The oi l filler cap mus t be p roperly se
cured to prevent oil from being sprayed
on the hot engine and exhaust system
when the engine is running -fire hazard!
- If you r skin has come in contact with the
engine o il, you must subsequently
cleanse it thoroughly.
(D Note
- Check the oil leve l using the radio or
M MI* . If the message
Plea se reduce oil
level
appears, contact yo ur authorized
Audi dea ler or other qualified workshop
to have excess oil extracted if necessary.
- Audi does not recommend the u se of o il
addit iv es. They m ay damage the engine
and adversely aff ect your New Vehi cle
W arranty .