-Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often. This could cause the
brakes to get hot and dimin ish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "r ide the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake. Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, prema ture wear and increased
stopping distance .
- Under certain climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing through wa
ter, driving in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
brakes can be reduced . In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
for a test . Brakes will dry and ice coat
ings will be cleaned off after a few care
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads w ithout us ing your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads w ith 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 could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one brake circuit 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
workshop .
Brake booster
The brake booster adds extra braking power.
The brake booster works with vacuum pres
sure which is created only when the engine is
running¢ &,.
Int ellig ent technolog y 229
A WARNING
-Never let the veh icle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off .
- If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your vehicle, or because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance .
Functioning of Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up un
der braking.
T he ABS contributes effect ively to vehicle con
trol s ince it preve nts the whee ls from
locking
when the brakes are applied. This means that
the vehicle remains steerable and is less likely
to skid .
With ABS y ou do not n eed to pump the
bra ke. Just h old t he br ake ped al d own .
However, do not expect the ABS to shorten
braking distance under
all circumstances.
When dr iving on g ravel or on new ly fallen
snow o n top of icy s urfaces, braking dis tance
may be even longer, therefore, under these
circumstances, it is especia lly important that
you drive s low ly and with great care.
How the ABS s ystem works
An a utomat ic check is made when a speed of
about 12 mph (20 km/h) is reached . When
th is happens, a pumping noise can be heard.
If an ind iv idual whee l begi ns to rotate too
s low ly in relation to vehicle speed and tends
to lock, the ABS automatically reduces brake
pressure to prevent that whee l from locking .
T his automatic adjustment p rocess will cause
a
sli ght vibrati on of the brake pedal and some
noises to a le rt you that ve hicle speed m ust be
adapted to existing road and traffic condi
tions. •
•
234 Driving and environment
Driving and
environment
The first 1,000 miles
(1,500 km) and
afterwards
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1,500 km).
For the fir st 600 miles (1,000
kilometers ):
.,. Do not use full throttle.
... Do not drive at engine speeds that are more
than 2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM.
From 600 to 1,000 miles (1 ,000 to
1,500 kilometers):
.,. Speeds can gradually be increased to the
max imum pe rm iss ible road or eng ine speed .
During and after break-in per iod
... Do not rev the eng ine up to h igh speeds
when it is cold. Th is app lies whether the
transmission is in N (Neutral) or in gear.
After the brea k-in period
... Do not exceed max imum eng ine speed un
der any circumstances.
... Upshift into the next higher gear
before
reaching the red area at the end of the tach
ometer scale¢
page 10.
During the first few hours of driving, the en
g ine's inter na l friction is higher tha n later
when alt the moving parts have been broken
i n. How welt this break- in process is done de
pends to a conside rable extent on the way the
ve hicl e is driven du ring the first 1,000 miles
(1, 500 kilome ters).
(D Note
E xtremely high engi ne speeds are auto
mat ica lly re duced. However, these rpm
lim its are programmed for a n engine welt
r u n- in, not a new eng ine.
{® For the sake of the environment
Do not drive with unnecessarily high en
g ine speeds - upshifting ear ly saves fuel,
reduces no ise and protects the environ
ment.
, New tires
If your vehicle is runni ng on new tires, drive
part icularly caref ul for the first 350 miles
(500 kilomete rs) afte r fitt ing.
A WARNING
N ew tires tend to be sl ippery and mus t al
so be "broken -in" . Be s ure to remember
this dur ing the fi rst 350 mi les (500 kilo
meters) . Brake gently . Avoid fo llow ing
closely behind other vehicles or other sit
uations that m ight require sudden, hard
braking.
New brake pads
Remember that new brake pads do not have a
full bra king effect dur ing the fi rst 250 m iles
(400 kilomete rs) afte r they a re insta lled.
New brake pads have to be "burnished in" be
fo re t hey have optima l grab¢
A .
During the break- in period, you should avoid
putting severe loads on the brakes. Severe
l oads include, for example, sudden hard brak
i ng, in particular at very high speeds or, for
example, on mounta in passes .
A WARNING
New b rake pa ds don't have t he bes t stop
pi ng power and mus t be "broke n-in " dur
i ng the in iti al 1 00 to 150 mi les (150 to
20 0 kilometers) of no rma l city driving . You
can compensate for this by pressing the
br ake peda l mo re f irm ly . This also applies
l ater when new pads are installed.
chains, make sure they will not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The cha ins shou ld cross under the trai le r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trailer, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
¢page 159, Towing a trailer.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
core and consideration.
To obtain the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded tra iler whe n your car it
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
vehicles .
.. Observe speed limits.
.. Do not d rive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Tow ing a loaded trai ler with an empty ca r re
sults in a high ly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
l ow speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permiss i
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi
ble under the circumstances. Whenever possi
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com
partment of the tow vehicle wh ile observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations .
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re-
Trailer towing 243
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable - particularly
when going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail
er shows the slightest sign of sway ing.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
f or vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles.
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downh ill, shift into a lowe r gear to use the en
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 10
must be observed carefully. If the need le
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 in
the instrument cluster starts flashing ., pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build -up .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
prov ided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
-
Your vehicle handles differently when towing
a trai ler because of the additional weight and
different weight distr ibution. Safety, perform
ance and economy will great ly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actua lly tow your tra iler, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
•
•