188 Intelligent technology
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new
b rake pads do not possess their fu ll braking
effect , they have to be "broken in" first¢.&. .
You can compensate for this slightly reduced braking power by push ing harder on the brake
pedal. Avoid heavy braking loads during 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 wea r, depending largely on operat
ing conditions and driving habits¢.&. . On
vehicles that are e ither driven mostly in stop
and-go city traffic or are driven hard, the b rake pads should be checked by your author
ized Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maint enan ce booklet . Failure
to have your b rake pads inspected can res ult
in red uced brake pe rformance.
On steep slopes, you shou ld use the brak ing
effect of the engine. This way, you p revent un
necessa ry wear on the brake system. If yo u
must use yo ur brakes, do not hol d the brakes
down continuously. P ump the brakes at inter
va ls.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, brak ing fo rce and outside condi
tions such as temperature and humidity.
Effect of water and road salt
In ce rtain situat ions, for example after driving
through water , in heavy ra in, after overn ight
conde nsation or afte r washing your car, the
b rak ing effect can be redu ced by mois ture or
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads . The
brakes must be dried first with a few careful
brake applications .
A t higher speeds and with the w indshield w ip
ers turned on, the brake pads press against
the brake rotors for a short amount of time .
This occurs at regular intervals witho ut the driver noticing and p
rovides fo r bette r brake
response time under wet conditions .
T he effec tiveness of the brakes can be red uced
when the vehicle is d riven on a sa lt -covered
r oad and the brakes are not used . Likewise,
you clean off accumulated salt coating from brake d iscs and pads with a few cautio us ap
plicat ions of the brake ¢ .&. .
Corro sio n
The re may be a tendency for di rt to b uild up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not driven regularly or only fo r short trips w ith litt le use of the
brakes.
If the brakes are not used frequently, o r if cor
rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean off the pads and d iscs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately high
speed ¢.&. .
Fault s in the brak e syst e m
If you s hou ld notice a sudden increase i n
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
c ircuits may have failed ¢.&. .
Low brake fluid level
Malfunctions can occ ur in the b ra ke system if
the brake fluid level is too low. The brake fluid
l evel is monitored electronica lly.
Brake booster
T he bra ke booster inc reases the pressure that
you generate wi th the b rake peda l. It works
o n ly when the engine is runn ing .¢ .&.
Brake lining wear status
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in
spect ion of the condition of the brake pads
th rough the ope nings in the wheel. If neces
sary, the wheel may be removed for t his in
spect ion ¢
page 253, Changing a wheel.
_& WARNING ,____
-New b rake pads don't have the best stop
p ing power and m ust be "broken-in" dur-
ing the initial 100 to 150 miles (150 to
11>-
194 Driving and en vironm ent
8_ WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc ., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re
store the full braking effect.
CD Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
@ Tips
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switc h the engine off when driving
t hr ough water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep fo r you r vehi
cle to dr ive through safely.
-
- Avoid dr iving thro ugh salt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con
trol system (catalytic converter) is function
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run
ning in on environmentally sound manner.
,,. Always use lead-free gasoli ne¢ page 211,
Fuel supply .
,,. Never run the tank down a ll the way to
empty.
,,. Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine ¢
page 221, "t':::r. Adding engine oil.
,,. Never t ry to push- o r tow-start your veh icle.
The catalytic converter is an effic ient "clean
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalytic converter burns
many of the polluta nts in the exhaust gas be
fore they are released into the atmosphe re. The exclusive
use of unleaded f uel is critica lly
important for the life of the catalytic convert
er and proper funct ion ing of the eng ine .
A WARNING
= -
-Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in co ntact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire .
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
r u stp roofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, cataly tic con
ver ter or heat shields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used for under coa ting co uld
overhea t and cause a fire.
CD Note
- Be aware that just o ne tank filling with
leaded fu el w ill already ser io usly de
gr ad e the per form ance o f the catalytic
c onverte r.
- Do not ex ceed t he corre ct engine oil level
r:;!) page 2 21.
- Do not drive until the fuel tank be co m es
completely emp ty. The engine co uld mis
fire . Unburned fuel could also get in to
the exhaust system and this co uld cause
the cata lytic converter to overheat .
- Do not turn off the igni tion whi le the ve
hicle is mov ing.
- Do not contin ue to ope rate your veh icle
unde r these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalyt ic converte r. T his
co uld resu lt in overheating of the con
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- H ave you r vehicle maintained p rope rly
and in accordance w ith the se rvi ce rec
ommen dat ions in yo ur Warranty &
M ain tenance boo klet.
- L ack of prope r maintenan ce as we ll as
i mprope r use of t he ve hicl e wi ll impair
the func tion of the em ission cont ro l
system and could lea d to damage .
Ill>
Automatic climate control Air vents ... ................ ... .... 69
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Setup ... .. ................. .. .... 70
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL) . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Automatic transmission . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 88
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL) . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Driving .. .. ............. .... .. .. .. 82
Dynamic shift program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Emergency mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Emergency release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 94
Kick -down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Manual shift program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Removal lock (ignition key) . .. .. .. .. .. 71
Selector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
84
S tronic .. ..... ........... ... ... ... 88
also refer to S tronic transmission ..... 88
Automatic wipers ................ .. .. 49
Auto Safety Hotline ........ .. .. .. .. . 132
Average speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Avoid damaging the vehicle ... ... .. .. . 193
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,226
Battery location inside the luggage com-
partment .. ................ ... ... 227
Charging ... ................ ... ... 229
Important warnings when working on
the battery . ............. .... .. ... 227
Jump starting ............ .... .. ... 263
Low ..... ... ...... ............. .. 191
Replacing the battery ..... .. .. .. .. . 230
State of charge ........... .... .. .. . 191
W inter operation ......... .. .. .. .. . 226
Working on the battery .... .. .. .. .. . 227
Before driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Bio-ethanol (Fuel) ................ .. . 212
Blended gasoline .......... .. .. .. .. . 211
Blower (automatic climate control) . . . . . . 69
Body cavity sealing ............ ... .. . 205
Booster seats .............. ... ... .. 174
Brake fluid Changing the brake fluid ... .. .. .. .. . 226
Checking the brake fluid level ... .. .. . 225
Reservoir .. ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 225
Index 279
What is the correct brake fluid level? . . 225
What should I do if the brake fluid warn- ing light comes on? ............... . 225
B rake system .. .. .. .... ........... .. 225
Anti- lock b raking system ........ .. .. . 19
Brake assist system ............... . 185
Brake fluid . ..... ................. 225
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re-
placement .. .. .. .... ........... .. 226
Brake light defective ............... . 21
Brake power assist unit ............. 188
Brakes .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ........ 188
Ceramic brakes ... .. ............... 188
Electromechanical parking brake ..... . 76
Warning/ind icator lights ........ .. .. . 15
Worn brake pads symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Braking Emergency braking function .......... 78
braking guard . .. .. .... ............. . 95
Messages . .. .. .. .. ............... 103
Settings .. .. .. .. .... ... .... .... .. 102
Break-in period . ..... ............... 193
Tires ........... .. ............... 193
Bu lbs .......... .... ............... 262
C
California Proposition 65 Warning ... .. 217
Battery specific ...... ......... .. .. 228
Capacities .. .. .. .. .... ........... .. 271
Car care ..... ... .... ............... 200
Interior ..... .... .. ............... 206
Plastic and vinyl .... .............. . 203
Care of exterior .. .. .... ........... .. 200
Cargo area
refer to Luggage compartment. . . 63, 130
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Center armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Central locking .. .. ............... .. . 32
Central locking switch .......... .... . 36
Convenience key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Remote control key .... ....... .... .. 35
Ceramic brake rotors New brake pads .. ................. 188
Certification .. .. .. ... ............ .. 276
Changing a flat tire ................. . 253
Changing a wheel .... .............. . 253
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