2013 AUDI S4 four wheel drive

Starting and autom ati call y relea sing the
pa rking b rake
~ When you start to drive as usua l, the park­
ing brake is automatically re leased and your
vehicle begins to move.
When stopping at a traffic signa l or stopp ing
in city traffic on vehicles with an automatic
transmission, the parking brake can be ap­ plied. The vehicle does not have to be held
w ith the footbrake . The park ing brake elimi­
nates the tendency to creep with a drive range
engaged. As soon as you dr ive off as usual,
the park ing brake is released automatically
and the vehicle sta rts to move .
Starting on slop es
When starting on inclines, the start ing ass ist
prevents the vehicle from unintentionally roll­
ing back. The braking force of the parking
brake is not released until sufficient dr iving
force has been b uilt up at the whee ls.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake is re­
leased automatically only when the dr iv­
er 's safety belt is engaged in the bu ckle.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
~ Keep the switch@¢ page 85, fig . 98
pulled and depress the accelerator . The
park ing b rake stays app lied and p revents
the vehi cle from rolling backward.
~ You can release the switch @once you are
s u re that yo u are developing enough driving
force at the wheels by depressing the accel­ erator.
D epending on the weight of the rig (vehicle
and trai ler) and the severity of the incline, you
may roll backwards as you start. Yo u can pre­
vent roll ing backwards by holding the parking
brake switch @pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill wit h
a conventional hand brake .
On the ro ad 87
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­
tem fails or locks .
~ In an emergency, pull the sw itch @
¢
page 85, fig. 98 and continue to pull it to
slow your vehicle down with the parking
brake .
~ As soon as you release the switch @ or ac-
celerate, the b ra ki ng process s tops.
If you pull the switch @and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the eme rgen­
cy bra king funct ion is initia ted . T he ve hicle is
braked at all four whee ls by activating the hy­
draulic brake system. The brake performa nce
is similar to making an emergency stop¢&..
In order not to act ivate the eme rgency brak­
ing by mis take, an audib le warning tone (buz ­
zer) so unds when the switch @is pulled. As
soon as the switch @ is re leased, or the acce l­
erato r peda l is depressed, emergency braking
stops.
A WARNING
...--
Emergency braking should only be used in
an emergency, when the normal foot brake has fa iled or the brake pedal is obstructed .
Using the par king b rake to pe rform eme r­
gency brak ing will slow your vehicle down
as if you had made a full bra ke application.
The laws of physics cannot be suspended
even with ESC and its associated compo ­
nents (ABS, ASR, EDS) . In corners and
when road or weather conditions are bad,
a full brake application can ca use the vehi­
cle to sk id or the rear end to break away -
risking an accident.
Speed warning system
Overview
The speed warning system helps you to keep
your driving speed below a set speed limit.
The speed warn ing system warns if the driver
exceeds a p reviously sto red max imum speed .
A warn ing tone w ill sound as soon as the
Ill>

-Always acce lerate with specia l care on
even, smooth surfaces s uch as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways help to reduce the risk of loss of ve­ hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equ ipped w ith ident i­
ca l tires. Different tire s izes can lead to a
reduct ion i n eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are wo rking .
- If the indicator light D] or m!S (USA
models) ;tiJ (Canada models) appears,
the re may be a malfunct ion
c:> page 19,
~ page 19.
Sedan : Switching on/off
ESC turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig . 174 Vers io n A: low er c en te r co nsol e, 1', O FF bu t­
to n
Fig. 175 Ve rsio n B: upper ce nte r console,~ OFF bu t­
to n
Intelligen t technolog y 187
Turning off ASR
In some sit uatio ns, it may be useful to switch
ASR
off to a llow the wheels to spin . For exam­
ple:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when i t is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
Qu ick ly press the
I~ O FF I button c:> fig. 174 or
c:>
fig . 175. The fil indica tor light turn s on and
t he me ssage
T rac tion control (A SR ): Off.
War ning! R estrict ed stability
appears in the
display .
It i s only possible to turn
off the ASR up to
30 mph (SO km/h) for vehicles wi th front
wheel drive . At about 45 mph (70 km/h) it au ­
tomat ically turns on again .
It is possible to
turn
off the ASR at any speed fo r vehicles with
all wheel drive .
Turning off ESC
Press and hold the I;; OFFI button for three
seconds . The
fl ESC indicator light turns on
and the message
Stabil ization cont rol (ESC ):
o ff . Warni ng ! Re str icted stab ilit y
appea rs in
the d isplay. ASR is also sw itched
off when ESC
i s sw itched off.
Switching on
Press the j ;; O FFI button again . The fi indica­
tor light t urns on and the message
St abi liz a­
t ion control (ESC ): On
appears in the disp lay.
_&. WARNING
- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
contro l of the vehicle more eas ily when
ASR and ESC are switched off, especia lly
when the road is s lippery .
- Switch ASR/ESC
off only when yo ur driv ­
ing skills, traffic and weather conditions
permit.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch ASR and ESC off when
adaptive cruise control* is working .
-

@ Tips
- If the . or
fT j indicator light on ly stays
on for a short t ime, you may continue
driving.
- The dynamic steering* stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction.
- For additional information on dynamic
steering*, refer to
c:> page 113.
Driving with your
quattro ®
Applies to vehicles: with a ll-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
Gener al inform ati on
W ith all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your dr iving style and the road
conditions at the t ime. See also
c:> page 185.
A center different ial distr ibutes the dr iv ing
power var iably to the front and rear axle . It
works together with selective wheel torque
control, which activates when driving throug h
curves
c:> page 186. With the spo rt d ifferen ­
tial*, power dist ribution to the rear wheels is
variable and can be adjusted with drive select
c:> page 113.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
h igh engine power. Yo ur vehicle is exception ­
ally powerful and has exce llent driving charac ­
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and fo llow
safety precautions
c:> A .
Winter t ir e s
When driv ing in the w inter, your veh icle w ith
all-wheel drive has an advantage,
even with
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son t ires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
a ll four
w heels . See also c:> page 250, Winter tires .
Intellig ent technolog y 191
Tire chain s
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain roads, this no rma lly also applies to veh icles
with all-wheel drive
c:> page 251, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles with a ll-wheel drive must always
have tires of t he same s ize. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For detai ls see
page
c:> page 246, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
You r A udi does no t have enough ground clear ­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle .
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
c:> page 194.
A WARNING
Always adjust your dr iving to road and traf­
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not d rive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfa ces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
co uld begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning) . If this should occur, yo u
will have no warning from a s udden in ­
crease in engine speed as w ith a front­
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash.
•
•

Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at wh ich a tire is des igned to
be driven for extended periods of t ime . The
ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢
page 247 . You may
not find this information on all tires because
it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, where applica­ ble, is molded on the tire sidewall and indi­
cates the maximum permissible road speeds
¢ &. in Winter tires on page 250.
Tire pressure monitoring system*
means a system that detects when one or
more of a vehicle's tires are underinflated and
illuminates a low tire pressure warn ing te ll­
tale .
Tread
means that port ion of a tire that comes into
contact with the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread from the tire
carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the pr incipal
grooves designed to give a visual ind ication of
the degrees of wear of the tread. See
¢
page 244, Tread Wear Indicator (TWI) for
mo re inf ormat ion on measuring tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system developed by the
United States National Highway Traffic Safety
Admin istration (N HTSA) that is designed to
help buyers make relative comparisons among
tires . Th e U TQG is not a safety rating and not a
g ua ran tee that a tir e will last for a prescribed
number of mi les (kilometers) or perform in a
certain way. It simply gives tire buyers addi ­
tional information to combine with other con-
Tires and wheels 237
siderations, such as price, brand loyalty and
dealer recommendations. Under UTQG, tires
are graded by the t ire manufacturers in three
areas : treadwear, traction, and temperature
resistance. The UTQG informat ion on the tires,
molded into the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number". It begins
with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federa l standards. The next two
numbers or letters indicate the plant where it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of manufacture.
For example,
DOT ... 2212 ...
means that the tire was produced in the 22nd
week of 2012. The other numbers are market­
ing codes that may or may not be used by the
tire manufacturer. This information is used to
contact consumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and luggage load plus
150 lbs . (68 k ilograms) times the vehicle's to­
tal seating capacity as listed on the label lo­
cated on the driver's side B -pillar .
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is
determined by distributing to each axle its
share of the maximum loaded vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is
determined by distributing to each ax le its
share of the curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (distr ibuted in
accordance with table below¢
page 238)
and dividing by two.
•
•

symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicators. Worn tires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other co untries
c:> .&. .
Tir e pres sure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow -out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c:> page 241.
Driving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for mo re even wear
For all four t ires on your vehicle to have the
same se rvice life, we recommend that the
fro nt and rea r tires are rotated according to
the t ire manufacture r's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow ­
ing:
- T ire rotat ion inte rva ls may differ from the
vehicle service intervals outlined in your
Maintenance and Wa rranty Booklet .
- T he longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certa in
points; therefore, we recommend that you
fo llow the t ire manufacturer's suggested
t ire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front -wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all whee l drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
c:> fig. 194.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c:> page 263 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
H oweve r, va rio us situations d uring eve ryday
driving can cause them to be come unbal­
anced, resu lting in vibrations you can us ually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on s teer ing , suspens ion
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Tire s an d wheel s 245
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incor rect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the sa fety of the vehi ­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an a uthorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles wi th quattro ® must a lways have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type. For details see
<=:> page 191.
_8 WARNING
Sudden tire fa ilure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn ti res are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your r isk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, o il, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires .
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. T ires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your veh icle if
you are not sure of the ir "previous histo­
ry ." O ld used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control. •
•

248 Tire s and whee ls
Tir e pl y c ompo sit ion and materi als used
The numbe r of plies ind icates the number of
l ayers of rubber -coated fabric in the tire. In
general, the greater the number of p lies, the
more weight a tire can support . Tire manufac­
turers also must indicate the materials in the
tire, wh ich include steel, nylon, polyester, and
others .
Max imum Load R ating
This number indicates the maximum load in
kilograms and pounds that can be carried by
the tire .
Tire quality grading for treadw ear ,
tr act ion, a nd t emper ature re sis tan ce
Tread wear, traction and temperature grades
c:> page249.
Max imum Permiss ibl e Inflation Pressur e
This numbe r is the greatest amo unt of air
p ressure that should ever be put in the ti re
under normal driving conditions .
A WARNING
-Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
combinations can lead to loss of contro l,
collision and serious persona l injury .
- Always use tires, rims and wheel bo lts
that meet the specifications of orig inal
factory-installed t ires or other combina­
t ions that have been spec ifically ap­
proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tir es that are more than 6 years
o ld can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used ti res on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not su re of their "previous histo­
ry ." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure and loss of vehicle control.
- All four wheels must be fitted with radia l
t ires of the same type, size (roll ing c ir- cumference) and the same tread pattern
.
Driving with different tires reduces vehi­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
tires that are mounted on the vehicle -
for example with winter tires -only use
the spare t ire fo r a short period of time
and drive with extra care . Refit the nor­
mal road wheel as soon as safely poss i­
b le.
- Never drive faster than the max imum
speed for which the tires on you r vehicle
are rated because tires that are dr iven
faster than their rated speed can fai l
suddenly .
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire fa ilure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of contro l.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that are properly inflated and not over or un­
derinf lated .
- For technica l reasons it is not always
possible to use whee ls from other
veh icles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same veh icle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the a ir flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
f low to the brakes can them to overheat,
increas ing stopp ing distances and caus­
ing a co llision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on veh icles that were equipped with them
at the factory. The veh icle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires and a
f a ctory -insta lled tire pressure monitor­
ing system* that indicates a loss of tire
pressu re . I ncorrect use of run flat tires
can lead to vehicle damage or accidents.
Check with an authorized Audi dealer or
tire specialist to see if your vehicle can be
equ ipped w ith run flat t ires. If run flat
tires are used, they must be installed on
all fou r wheels . Mix ing tire types is not
pe rm itted.

250 Tire s and wheel s
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice . At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires.
In some heavy snow areas, local governments may require true winter or "snow " tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. These t ires shou ld
only be used in pairs and be ins talled on all
four wheels. Make sure you pu rchase snow
tires that are the same size and const ruction
type as the other tires on your vehicle.
Your veh icle is equipped with all whee l drive ,
this wi ll improve tract ion du ring w inter driv­
ing,
even with the standard tires. Howeve r, we
strongly recommend that you a lways equip a ll
four wheels on you r vehicle with correctly fit­
ted winter tires or all -se ason tires, when w in ­
t e r r oad conditions are expected . This also im­
proves the vehicle's braking performance and
reduces stopping distances .
Summe r tires provide less grip on ice and
snow.
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
on all four wheels.
Ask your autho rized Aud i dea ler or qualified
workshop for permitted
wi nter tir e sizes . Use
only radia l winter tires.
W inte r tir es lose the ir effe ctiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of
0.15 7 inch
(4 mm).
Only drive with winter tires unde r winter con­
d itions . Summer tires hand le better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is
above 45 °F ( 7 °C).
I f you have a flat tire, see notes on spare
wheel
9 page 246.
P lease always remember that w inter t ires may
have a lower speed rating than the t ires origi­
na lly installed on your vehicle at the t ime it
was manufactured. Please see
9 page 247 ,
Speed rating (letter code)
for a List ing of the
speed rating letter codes and the maxim um
speed at which the tires can be driven . The speed rating letter code
(
¢ page 23 7) is
on the side wall of the tire
9 page 246 .
A WARNING ,-
Winter tires have maximum speed lim its
that may be lower than your vehicle's max­
i mum speed. Always know the max imum
speed before dr iv ing off . Never dr ive faster
than the speed permitted for yo ur specific
winter tires. This wi ll cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and ser ious
personal injury to you and your passen­
gers .
A WARNING ,..___ -
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your ve hicle
were designed can cause tire fail ure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation, loss of control, crashes and ser ious per­
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immediately .
- W inter tires have maximum speed rating
that may be lower than your vehicle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
which the winter or other tires installed on yo ur vehicle are rated .
A WARNING
-Always ad just your dr iv ing to the road and
traffic condit ions . Never let the good ac­
celeration of the winter t ires and al l wheel
drive tempt yo u into ta king ext ra risks. Al­
ways remember:
- When braking, an all wheel drive vehicle
handles in the same way as a front drive
vehicle .
- Drive c arefully a nd reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even w inter t ires
cannot help under black ice conditions .
@ For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires whe n weather condi­
tions permi t. T hey are qu ieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumption .

254 Tire s and wheel s
stored. You can find the recommended tire
pressures for your vehicle on the label on driv­
er 's side 8-p illar
c> page 238.
Tire tread c ircumference and vibration charac­
teristics can change and ca use a tire pressure
warning if :
- the tire pressure in one or more t ires is too
low,
- the tire has st ructu ral damage,
- the tire pressure was changed, wheels rotat-
ed o r replaced but the TPMS was not reset
c>page254.
Warning s ymbols
[DJ Loss of pressure in at least one tire c> .&..
Check the tire or tires and replace o r repair if
n ecessary. The
[DJ ind icator light in the instru­
ment cluster also illuminates
c> page 13.
Chec k/correc t the pressures of all four tires
and reset TPMS via radio or
MMI* .
1181&1 (T ire Pressure Monitor ing System) Tire
pr essur e: Sy st e m malfuncti on !.
If!JHJL, appears after switching the ignition
on or wh ile driving and the
[DJ indicator light
i n the instrument cluster blinks for approxi­
mately one mi nute and then stays on, the re is
a system ma lfunction .
Attempt to store the correct tire pressure
¢
page 254. If the ind icator light does not
turn
off or if it tu rns o n short ly thereafter, im­
mediately drive your veh icle to an autho riz ed
Aud i dea le r or autho rized repair facility to
have the ma lfunction corrected.
A WARNING
- If the tire pressure indicator appears in
the instrument cl uster display, one or
more of your tires is significantly under­
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard stee ring or braki ng
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible and
check the t ires and the ir pressures. In­
flate the tire pres sure to the proper p res­
s u re as in dic ated on the vehicle 's t ire
pressure label ¢
page 238. Driving on a
significantly under-inf lated tire ca uses the tire to overheat and can
lead to tire
fa ilure. Under-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
- The driver is responsible for maintaining
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the tire pressures regu larly .
- Under certain conditions (such as a spor­
ty driving style, winter conditions or un­ paved roads), the pressure monitor indi ­
cato r may be delayed .
-Ask your authorized Aud i dea ler if run­
flat t ires may be used on you r vehicle.
Your vehicle registration becomes invalid
if you use these t ires when not perm it­
ted. Damage to your vehicle or accidents
could a lso result.
(D Tips
- The tire pressure mon itoring system
stops work ing whe n there is an ESC/ABS
m alfu nction.
- Us ing snow chains may result in a system
ma lf u nction.
- The tire pressure mon itoring system on
your Audi was deve loped using tires with
t he "AO" or "R O" ident ifi cat ion on the
tire s idewa ll
c> page 246 . We recom ­
mend using these tires.
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h tire p ressu re mo nito rin g system
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels are ro ­
tated or changed, the TPMS must be reset via
radio or MMI*.
.. Before resett ing the TPMS, the current pres ­
sures of a ll four tires must correspond to
the specified values . Ad just the tire p ressu re
and reset the pressure in the tire pressure
mon ito ring system according to the load
you are carrying
i=>page 238.
.. Turn on the ignition.
.. Select: the
ICARI funct ion button > Tire
pressur e monitoring
> Stor e now . Or
.,. Select: the
ICARI funct ion button> Car sy s­
tem s*
cont ro l button > Servi cing & che ck s > .,.