CD Note
-Avoid high engine speeds, fast accelera
tion or heavy engine loads whi le the en
gine is still cold. This could damage the
engine.
- The engine cannot be started by pushing or towing the veh icle.
@) For the sake of the environment
To avoid unnecessary engine wear and to
reduce exhaust emissions, do not let your
veh icle stand and warm up. Be ready to
drive off immediately after starting your
veh icle. Maintain moderate speed until the
eng ine is completely warm . Remember,
the engine performs best at operating
temperature .
Stopping the engine
~ Turn the ign ition key to position @
~page 71, fig. 71.
_& WARNING
-Never turn off the engine before the ve
hicle has come to a complete stop. The
full function of the brake booster and the
power steering is not guaranteed . You
must use more force to turn or brake if
necessary. Because you cannot steer and
brake as you usually would, this could
lead to crashes and serious injur ies.
- The radiator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 minutes even after you have
turned
off the engine and removed the
ignition key . The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build-up in the engine compartment.
CD Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended driving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up.
On the road 73
Parking brake
Parking brake
When the parking brake is set, it prevents the
vehicle from rolling away unintentionally .
Fig. 72 Center console: Parki ng b rake set
Setting the parking brake
~ Pull the park ing brake lever all the way up.
Releasing the parking brake
~ Pull the parking brake lever up slightly and
press the release button at the same time
~ fig. 72 -arrow-.
~ Keep the release button pressed and lower
the parking brake~&_ .
If you should drive
off with the parking brake
still set, a warning tone will sound and the
follow ing will appear in the instrument clus
ter to rem ind you to release the parking
brake:
Handbrake is applied
The parking brake warning comes on only af
ter you have driven for longer than 3 seconds
and faster than 5 mph (5 km/h) .
The parking brake warning light_
(USA)/ . (CON) illuminates when the park
ing brake is set and you switch on the ignition .
A WARNING
Always re lease the park ing brake com -
pletely. A partially engaged brake will
overheat the rear brakes, reduce their ef
fectiveness and cause excessive wear. This
could lead to brake failure and an accident. .,.
74 On the road
Only afte r the vehic le has come to com
p lete stop, should you f irm ly set the park
ing brake and either move the gearshift
lever into 1st. gear (manual transm iss ion)
or move the selector lever into "P" (Auto
mat ic transm ission).
Parking
Parking
.,. Stop the veh icle using the brake pedal.
.,. Set the parking brake firmly .
.,. Switc h off the eng ine.
.,. Move t he selecto r lever in to the P position
(autom atic tr an smi ssio n) or move the gear
shift lever into 1st . gear
(manual t ransmi s
sion ).
.,. Remove the ign ition key from the ignit ion
lock.
In addition on incline s and grad es
.,. Turn the steering whee l so that your vehicle
wi ll ro ll against the curb in case it should
start to move.
A WARNING
This is how you can reduce the risk of in
jury when leaving your veh icle.
- Never park the vehicle where it can come in contact with dry grass, sp illed fuel or
any other flammable mater ials .
- Never allow anyone - especially small
children -to remain in the vehicle when
it is locked. Locked doors make it more
difficult for rescuers to access the pas
senger compartment in the event of an
emergency. Danger to life!
- Never leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle. Children could re lease the park
ing brake o r move the gea rshift lever out
of gear. The vehicle could start to roll
away and cause an accident .
- No matter what the season is, the tem
perature in a parked vehicle can reach
dangerous levels .
Starting on hills
Applies to vehicles: wi th hill hold assist
Hill ho ld assist makes it easier to start on
hills.
T he system is activated when the bra ke peda l
is depressed
for a few sec ond s.
After releasing the brake pedal, the brake
power is held for a
brief moment to p reven t
the vehi cle from rolling back when s tarti ng. At
th is time, you can easi ly beg in to move your
vehicle .
A WARNING
- If you did not begin moving immediate ly
after releasing the brake pedal, under
certain circumstances, the vehicle would
begin to roll backward. Depress the
brake peda l immediately or engage the
hand brake.
- Should the engine stall, depress the
brake peda l immediately or engage the
hand brake .
- In order to prevent the vehicle from roll ing back unintentionally when starting in
stop-and-go traffic, keep the brake pedal
depressed for a few seconds before driv
i n g off.
@ Tips
You can find o ut if yo ur vehicle is equ ipped
with "Hill hold ass ist" at an authorized
Audi dealersh ip.
Speed warning system
Overview
The speed warning system helps you to keep
your driving speed below a set speed limit.
The speed warning system warns the driver if
he exceeds a previous ly stored maximum
speed. A warning tone will so und as soon as
the vehicle speed exceeds the set speed by
about 3 mph (3 km/h). At the same time, a
warning symbol appears in the display. .,,.
84 Transmission
tiptronic operation
Applies to vehicles: with S tron ic
Tiptronic allows the driver to shift gears man
ually.
--
-
Fig. 83 Center conso le : Manual shift in g (tiptronic)
Fig . 84 Display : Manual sh ift ing (tipt ron ic)
Switching to manual
.,. Move the selector lever to the right out of
the D position. The disp lay changes once the
transmission has switched to manual mode.
For example,
M4 indicates that 4th gear is
engaged.
Upshifting
.,. Tap the selecto r lever forward (in the tip
tron ic setting)
¢ fig. 83 G).
Downshifting
.,. Tap the selector lever backward (in the t ip-
tron ic sett ing)
0-
Switching to manual can be carried out with
the vehicle stationary as well as moving.
When accelerat ing, the transmission shifts in
to the next gear in gears 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
shortly before the maximum permissible en
gine speed is reached. If
you have selected a lower gear than the cur
rent one, the transmission will only shift down
when the eng ine cannot be overspeeded.
If kick-down is act uated, the transmission
shifts into a lower gear independently of
speed and engine rpm.
Steering wheel with Tiptronic ® controls
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic
The selector paddles allow the driver to keep
both hands on the steering wheel when shift
ing gears.
Fig . 85 Sport steering wheel with selecto r padd les
Shifting up
.,. Pull the right paddle, marked 0 ¢ fig. 85
briefly towards you .
Shifting down
.,. Pull the left padd le, marked 0 ~ fig. 85
briefly towards you.
T he selector paddles on the steering wheel
are activated when the se lecto r lever on the
center co nsole is in D, Sor in the manua l posi
tion (Tiptronic mode).
You can also shift gears in the Tiptronic mode
using the selector lever on the center console .
@ Tips
With the gear selector lever in either Dor
S the transmission will switch back to the
automatic mode if you do not use the pad
dles within approx. 30 seconds.
90 Driving Safel y
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, a irbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori
ty number 1.
Always observe the info rmat ion
and warn ings in th is sect ion -fo r yo ur own
safety as well as for that of your passengers.
The information in this se ction app lies to all
model ve rsions of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures desc ribed in this sec tions may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Aud i dealer.
A WARNING
- Make certain that you follow the instruc
t ions 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
yo ur vehicle so that this important info r
mation will a lways be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if you have
ques tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations.
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a varie ty o f fea tures
avai la bl e to he lp re duce the risk of injury in an accident
. The following is a lis ting o f just a
few of the safety features in your Audi:
- sophis tic ated s afety be lts fo r drive r and a ll
passenger sea ting pos it ions,
- safety belt pre-tensione rs,
- fro nt airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- ad justab le steering column .
T hese ind iv idual safety features can wor k to
ge ther as a sys tem to he lp p rotec t you and
you r passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot wo rk as a system if
they are not always p roper ly adjusted and
properly used!
Safet y is everyb ody's re spon sibilit y!
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 yo ur safety and the safety of you r passen
gers,
befor e driving alwa ys:
"' Make su re that all lig hts and signa ls a re op
erati ng correctly .
"' Ma ke s ure that the ti re p ressu re is co rrec t.
"' Mak e s ure th at all windows are clean and
afford good v is ibility to the o utside .
"' Secu re a ll luggage and other items caref ully
I:!) page 64.
"' Make s ure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
"' Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir
rors co rrectly for your height .
"' Instruct passenge rs to adjust the head re
st raints accord ing to the ir height .
"' Ma ke s ure to use the r igh t child re straint
correc tly to protect c hildren¢
page 130,
Child Safety .
"' Sit properly in your seat and make s ure that
your passengers do the same
I:!) page 54,
General recommendations. .,_
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly.
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts properly ¢
page 100.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi
tion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver's ability to concentrate on the road
without being distracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the
veh icle and a ll of its occupants . If your ability
to drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road ¢
,&..
Therefore:
.. Do not let yourself be distracted by passen
gers or by us ing a cellular telephone.
.. NEVER drive when your driv ing ability is im
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, drugs, etc .) .
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense.
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic
and weather condit ions .
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips . Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch .
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under
pressure or when you are stressed.
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when
ever a vehicle is being used .
Driving Safely 91
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor
tant for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 91 The correct d istance between d river a nd stee r
in g whee l
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
foll owing pos ition:
.,. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
while keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
q&_ ,
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position so that your back
comes in full contact with it when you drive.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be
tween the steering wheel and your breast
bone ¢
fig. 91. If not possible, see your au
thorized Audi dealership about adaptive
equ ipment .
.. Adjust the steer ing wheel so that the steer
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face .
.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with
your elbow(s) slightly bent .
.. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head . If that is not poss ible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible .
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
qpage 104.
92 Driving Safely
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c::> page 55.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in
flates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect- edly and you could lose control of the ve
hicle .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
c::> page 130. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat¢
page 108.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even with the top of your head as
possible but not lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
c::> page 94.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c::>page 104.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c::> page 54 .
A WARNING
-
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
102 Safet y belt s
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
F ig . 97 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
F ig. 98 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will
fly forward a nd strike the d river
Unbelted occupants are not able to res ist the
tremendous fo rces of impact by holding tight
or brac ing thems elves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unres trained o c
cupa nt w ill slam vio lent ly into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, winds hield, or what
ever else is in the way
q fig . 97 . This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Neve r rely on airbags a lone for p rotection .
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
addit ional protection . Airbags are not sup
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to min i
mize the risk of severe inju ry or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that a irbags will deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always there to offe
r protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to dep loy or
when they have already dep loyed . Unbelted
occupa nts can also be thrown o ut of the ve hi
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them
se lves but also the driver and othe r passen
gers¢
fig. 98 . In a frontal coll is ion they w ill
be th rown forward violently, where they can
hi t and i njur e the d river a nd/or fro nt sea t pas
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to us e the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 9 9 Driver is proper ly restrained in a sudden brak
in g maneuve r.
Safety be lts used p roperly can make a big dif
fere nce. Safe ty belts help to keep passengers
in the ir seats, gradua lly reduce energy leve ls
applied to the body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that ca n
ca use serio us inju ries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
S afety be lts attach passenge rs to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t i me, the safety be lts make th e
lilJJ,
108 Airbag sys tem
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, a lways:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 91,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=:;page 55,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=; page 103,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 130.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is impo rtant, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it prope rly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenge r
compa rtment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemental protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r=:; page 91,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 55 and c:, page 56.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 130.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the drive r side can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents yo
u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, o r call Audi Customer Re
lations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi
fica tions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad
ded cove rs, and inflate between t he steering
whee l and the dr ive r and be tween the instru
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
me nt so that the front occupants can see
t hr ough the windshie ld again witho ut inter
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link o f an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
t h e airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their w ay when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas
senger from hitti ng pa rts of the inside the ve
hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re
pair costs o r even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-