2013 AUDI A5 COUPE warning lights

124 Driving Safely
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others. We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, child restraints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe the information
and warnings in this section -for your own
safety as well as that of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the
features described in this sections may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others. If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the interest of your passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter­
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
your vehicle so that this important infor­
mation will always be available to the
driver and passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find it easily if you have
questions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations.
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a variety of features
available to help reduce the risk of injury in an accident.
The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in your Audi:
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all
passenger seating positions,
- belt force limiters for the seats,
- belt pretensioners for the seats,
- head restraints for each seating position,
- front airbags,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- side curtain airbags,
- special LATCH anchorages for child re-
straints,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features, can work to­ gether as a system to help protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always correctly adjusted and cor­
rectly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu­
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and signals a re op­
erating correctly.
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
.,. Make sure that all windows are clean and
afford good visibility to the outside.
.,. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
qpage59 .
.,. Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir­
rors correctly for your height.
.,. Instruct rear seat passengers to adjust the
head restraints according to their height.
.,. Make sure to use the right child restraint
correctly to protect children¢
page 166,
Child Safety. "'

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.

will have no warning from a sudden in­
crease in engine speed as with a front­
wheel drive vehicle. A lways drive at
speeds wh ich are suited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash .
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
i s not driven for a long period of time, the bat­
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e.g. immobilizer) . In certain circumstances it
can result in there being insufficient energy
avai lab le to start the engine.
I ntelligen t energy management in your vehi­
cle handles the distribution of electrical ener­
gy . Starting ability is marked ly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Basically, energy management consists o f
battery diagnosis, idling current manage­
ment
and dynamic energy management.
Battery diagnosis
Batt ery d iagnosis continuously dete rmines
the state of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
I dling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is stand ing.
With the ignition switched off, it contro ls the
energy supply to the various electrica l compo­
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
individual consumers are gradually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and thus mainta in start ing capability.
Intelligent technology 191
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en­
ergy management distrib utes the energy gen ­
erated according to the needs of the individ u­
al components. It regulates consumption, so
that more e lectrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti­
mal state of charge fo r the battery .
{!) Tips
- But even energy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
that the power and life of a battery are
limited .
- If start ing ability is threatened, the indi­
cator light(•] appears¢
page 17.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severe ly taxed in short-distance
driv ing, in city traff ic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electrical energy is re­
quired, but on ly a little is generated . It is also
c rit ical if the engine is not running and electri­
ca l components are turned on. In this in­
stance ene rgy is be ing consumed but none is
being generated .
It is in precisely these situations that you will
notice energy management actively regulat­
in g the distribution of energy.
Vehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electr ical compo ­
nents are gradually cut back or switched off .
T h is reduces energy consumption and main­
tains starting capability over a longer period .
Some of the convenience functions may not
operate, such as the interior lights or the
power seat adjustment. The convenience
functions will be available again when you
switch on the ignition and start the engine.
•
•

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

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns.
Trailer towin g 197
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trai ler has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the lo ad in the tra iler is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 198.
Engine cooling system
T owing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard ­
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•

198 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.
-

Automatic car wash
The vehicle can be washed in almost any
modern automatic car wash .
The vehicle paint is so durable that the vehicle
can normally be washed without problems in
an automatic car wash. However, the effect on
the paint depends to a large extent on the de­
sig n of the fac ility, the filte ring of the wash
water, the type of wash and care mater ial , etc.
If the paint has a dull appearance afte r go ing
through the car wash or is scratched, bring
this to the attention of the operator immedi­
ately. If necessary, use a different car wash.
Before going through a ca r wash, be s ure to
take the usual precautions such as closing the
windows and the roof . Factory installed an­
tennas must not be removed.
If you have installed additional accessories on
the vehicle -such as spoilers, roof rack, etc. -
it is best to ask the car was h operator if these
should be removed .
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200.
(D Note
Before washing the vehicle in an automatic
car wash, p lease make sure to retract the
exterior m irrors to prevent them from be­
ing damaged.
Washing the vehicle by hand
A lot of water is needed when washing a vehi­
cle by hand.
~ Before you start washing, make sure yo u
have read and understood the WARNINGS
¢ A in General information on page 200 .
~ First soak all dried dirt until it is soft, then
rinse it off .
~ As you clean your veh icle, start with the
roof and work your way down to the bottom,
us ing a sponge , a sponge glove o r a clean
brush.
Cleaning and protec tion 20 1
~ Rinse the sponge or the sponge g love often,
flushing it clean eac h time .
~ Use spec ia l car shampoo only for very per­
sistent d irt .
~ Rinse the car thoroughly with water.
~ Use a chamois leather to gently w ipe the ex-
ter ior d ry .
U se a separate sponge for cleaning the
whee ls, door sills and other regions exposed
to road dirt . In this way, you w ill not scratch
the pa int wit h coarse particles imbedded in
the sponge the next time you wash the car.
&_ WARNING
- Do not clean the underside of the chas ­
sis, fenders, wheel covers, or o ther ha rd
to reach pa rts without protect ing you r
hands and arms. You may cut yourself on
sharp-edged metal parts .
-Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 200.
(D Note
- N ever try to remove dirt, mud or dust if
the s urface o f the veh icle is dry . Never
use a dry cloth or sponge, since this
co uld scratch your vehicle's paint or win ­
dows.
- Never wash your car in bright s unlight .
Drops of wate r act as magnifying lenses
and may damage yo ur paint .
- When you wash yo ur car in the winter: if
you rinse yo ur vehicle with a hose, be
careful not to aim the stream of water
directly at locks, or at door or hatch
openings -they can freeze shut .
- Never use sponges designed to
remove
insects, or any k itche n scou ring sponges
or s imilar products. They can damage
your paint finish .
- You should remove debris (such as in­
sects) from the headlight lenses on a
regu lar bas is, for exampl e w hen refuel­
ing your veh icle . Never use a dry cloth o r
sponge to clean t he headlights. On ly use
wet cloths o r sponges to prevent
scratches. It is best to use soapy water.
-
•
•

202 Cleaning and protec tio n
@ For the sake of the environment
In the interest of the environment, the ve­
hicle should on ly be washed in special
wash bays.
Washing your vehicle with a power
washer
Cleaning the exterior of your car with a high­
pressure power washer is safe as long as you
observe a few simple rules .
~ Before using the power washer, make sure
you have read and understood the WARN­
INGS
c::> A in General information on
page 200 .
~ Always follow the operating instructions for
the power washer.
~ Make sure that the jet on the spray hose
produces a "fan shaped spray".
~ Do not ho ld the spray nozzle too close to
soft materials.
When cleaning the vehicle with a power wash­
er
always follow the operating instructions .
This applies particularly to the
o per atin g
p re ss u re
and the s p rayin g distance . Maintain
a sufficient d istance to soft materials such as
rubber hoses and sound/vibrat ion deadening
materials (part icularly on the underside of the
engine hood). Do not use a jet wh ich sprays
water in a
dire ct st ream or one that has a ro ­
ta ting
jet.
Water temperature should not exceed 140 °F
(60 °() .
A WARNING
Never wash tires w ith a je t that sprays wa­
ter in a direc t stream. This cou ld cause in­
visib le damage to the tires and weake n
t hem, even if the spray is from a relatively
long distance and for a short time . Dam­
aged and weakened t ires can fai l and cause
accidents and persona l injury.
([) Note
To avoid damag ing your vehicle, always
make sure that there is sufficient distance between the spray head and soft materia
ls
like rubber hoses, plastic parts and sound­
deaden ing mater ials. Never aim the spray
head at the same point for a long time.
This also applies to cleaning headlights
and painted bumpers. Remember: the
closer the nozzle is to the surface of the
mater ial, the greater the stress on the ma­
terial.
Sensors and camera lenses
- Remove snow with a hand brush and remove
ice with a de -icing spray that does not con­
tain so lvents.
- Clean the sensors (adaptive c ruise control*,
parking system *) with a cleaning so lution
that does not contain so lvents and a soft
cloth.
(D Note
- If you wash your vehicle with a pressure
washer,
- make sure there is enough distance to
sensors in the rear bumper.
- do not clean the camera lenses and the
area around them with the p ressure
washer.
- Never use warm or hot water to remove snow o r ice from the camera lens. This
could cause the lens to crack.
- Never clean the camera lens with abra­
sive products .
Waxing and Polishing
Waxing
A good wax coating prot ects the vehicle paint
to a la rge extent against the envi ronmental
factors lis ted under
c::> page 200, Washing and
even against s light scra tches .
You can use a liquid car wax to protect you r
paint as soon as one wee k afte r you r vehicle
has been delivered.
Even if you regularly use a
wa xing process in
automat ic car washes, we recommend that
you manually apply a coat of wax to g ive the
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