@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/per
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par
ticular collision, it is possible that an airbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the safety belt is being used but will inflate at the
position where the safety belt is not being
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen-
Airbag system 123
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina
tions can change Advanced Airbag per
formance and increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
-
Items stored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the electronic con
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee a irbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig. 108 Dr iver's airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 108, the airbag for the passenger is at Ill>
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
side airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are always there to offer protect ion.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa
tion. In some collisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate . Remember too, that air
bags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al
ways there to offer protect ion in those acci
dents in wh ic h airbags are not supposed to
deploy or w hen they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not depl oy :
- when the ignition is turned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in rear-end collisions
- in ro llovers.
I n some types o f acc idents the front airbags
and side airbags may be triggered together.
& WARNING
-Safety belts and the a irbag system will
only provide protection when occ upants
are in the proper seating posit ion
c') page 128.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Aud i dealer. The a irbag may
not wo rk p roperly when the vehicle ac
c ele ra tion in a side co llision is h igh
enough to ac tiva te the airbag.
.
A irba g sy stem 12 7
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig . 1 11 Inflated side airbags on left side of vehicle
i
When the system is triggered, t he a irbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area ma rked
"AIR
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
th is add itiona l protection, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup
plementa l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos ition is not proper or up right o r if
items are loca ted in the area where the s up
plementa l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to chi ldren ¢
page 130, Child Safe
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col
lis ion ¢
fig. 111.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
128 Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro
vide supplemental protection.
& WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
-Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace
ment upholstery over the front seat
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer. -
Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates.
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cup holders, tel
ephone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other passengers to travel in this position.
-Always use the built-in coat hooks only for lightweight clothing. Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air
bag deployment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immediately by an au
thorized Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident ~
page 130, Child Safety.
-Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in any way .
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor rectly measure increasing air pressure in-
side the doors when air escapes through ..,.
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
Child Safety 131
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe cially those 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and si ze. The airbag on the pas
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•
132 Child Saf ety
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of chi ld re
straints and for the d ifferent models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child
restra int manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir
bag System. When a ch ild restrai nt is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi
cal 1 yea r-old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the in formation stor
ed in the electronic control unit.
The ele ctron ic cont rol unit also registers the
tension on the front passenge r safety belt.
The tension on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be different for an ad ult
who is properly using the safety belt as com
pared to the tension on the belt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measu res the
tension on the be lt. The input from this sen
sor is then used with the we ight to "decide",
whe ther there is a ch ild restraint w ith a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards a nd has been certified by its manu
facture r fo r u se w ith an airbag. Always be s ure
that t he ch ild res traint is p rope rly insta lled at
one o f th e rear seat ing pos itions. If in excep
tional c ircu mstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, caref ully read all of the
info rmation on c hild safety and Advanced Air
bags and heed all of the applicable WARN
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing mat
inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag stat us is always cor rect ly signa led
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child res traints
have been available over the years, new mod
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and older models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and diff erent 'footpr ints,' the s ize and shape
of the bo ttom of the ch ild restra int that sits
o n t he seat, when they a re inst alled on a vehi
cle sea t. Th ese d ifferences make it vir tually
impossible to certify compliance with the re
quirements for advanced airbags with eac h
and every child restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
For th is reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w ith the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model
Angel Guard Angel R ide AA 2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 200 7
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
·
Century SmartFit
4543
Cosco Arriva
22-013PAW and base
22-999W HO
Evenf lo Discove ry Ad
just Right 212
after .
De cembe r 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
'
.
December 1, 1999 IJ>,
156 Intellig ent technol ogy
Snow cha in s
Where t ire cha ins are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally a lso applies to vehicles
with a ll-wheel drive ¢
page 212, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels /t ir es
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must a lways
have tires of the same size. Also avoid t ires
with different tread depths. For details see
page ~
page 207, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off -Ro ad dri ving?
Your Aud i does not have enough ground clear
ance to be used as an off -road veh icle.
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un
even terrain as much as possible . Also refer to
¢ page 160.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel dr ive tempt you into
taking extra r isks.
- Although the all-wheel dr ive is very ef
fective, always remember that braking capacity is limited by t ire traction . You
should the refore not dr ive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road su rfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
dr ive too fast because the front wheels
cou ld beg in to s lide on top of the wa ter
(aquaplaning) .
If this should occ ur, you
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
is not driven for a long per iod of t ime, the bat
tery is discharged by idling current consumers (e .g. immobilize r). In certa in circumstances it
can resu lt in the re be ing insufficient energy
available to start the engine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cl e handles the distribution of e lectr ica l ene r
gy . Start ing ability is ma rkedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Bas ica lly, energy management consists of
b att ery diag nosis, idlin g curre nt manage
m ent
and dynamic en erg y manag em ent .
Battery di agnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determines the current state o f charge and the power of the battery .
Idling current managem ent
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing .
With the ig nition sw itched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electri ca l compo
nents. Da ta from ba ttery diagnos is is cons id
ered.
Depend ing on the batte ry's state of cha rge,
individual cons ume rs a re g radually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and th us maintain starting capability.
Dynamic energ y manag ement
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en
ergy ma nagement distr ibutes the energy gen
era ted accord ing to t he needs of the individ u-
al components .
It regula tes consumption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used ..,.
166 Cleaning and protection
sponges to prevent scratches. It is best
to use soapy water .
- You should remove debris (such as in
sects) from the headlight lenses on a
regular basis, for example when refuel
li ng your vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
On ly wash the vehicle in facilit ies specially
designed for that purpose. This w ill reduce
the risk of d irty water contaminated with
oil from entering the sewer system. In
some areas, washing vehicles outs ide of
these facilities is prohib ited.
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 washe r, make sure
you have read and understood the WARN
I N GS 9 .&. in General information on
page 1 64.
• Always fo llow the opera ting ins truc tions for
the power washer.
• Make sure that the jet on the spray hose
produces a "fan shaped spray" .
• Do
no t ho ld the spray no zzle too close to
soft materia ls.
Keep a distance from soft materials such as
rubber hoses or insulat ing mater ial as we ll as
sensors and camera lenses.
When clea ning the vehicle wit h a power wash
er
always f o llow the operating instructions .
This applies particularly to the operating pres
sure and the spraying distance. Do not po int
the spray directly at the sea ls around the s ide
windows, a round t he doors, on the rear lid or
on the su nroof* . Likew ise, do not point it di
r e ctly at t ires, r ubber hoses, insul ation mate
rial or sensors. Hold t he sp ray noz zle at least
1.3 ft ( 0.4 m) away from the vehicle.
D o not use a h igh-pressure powe r washer to
r emove snow and i ce. D
o not use a jet which sprays water in a d irect
stream o r one that has a rotating jet .
Water temper ature sho uld n ot ex ceed 140 °F
(6 0 °C).
A WARNING ~ -
N eve r wash t ires wi th a jet that sprays wa
ter i n a direct stream. This could cause in
v is ib le damage to the t ires and weaken
them, even if the spray is from a re lative ly
l ong distance and for a short time. Dam
aged and weakened tires can fail a nd cause
a ccidents and pe rsonal i njury.
([) Note
To avoid damaging your vehicle, a lways
make sure that there is suffic ient d istance
between the spray head and soft materia ls
like rubber hoses, plast ic pa rts and sound
deade ning ma ter ia ls as w ell as s ensors
and camera lenses. Neve r aim t he sp ray
head a t the same point fo r a long time.
This also applies to cleaning headligh ts
and painted bumpers. Remembe r: the
closer the nozzle is to the surface of the
materia l, the greater the stress on the ma
terial.
Caring for vehicles with matte finish
paint
Applies to vehicles: with matte finish paint
Vehicles with ma tte finish paint require spe
cial care due to the characteristics of the
paint.
Wa shing by hand
To avoid damaging the paint when washing,
first remove dust and large par ticles from
your vehicle. Insects, grease spots and fi nger
pri nts are best removed w ith a
special cleaner
for matte finish paint .
Apply the product us ing a microfiber cloth . To
avo id damag ing the pa int surface , do not use
too much pressure . ..,.
188 Checking and filling
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
alwa ys r ea d and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 180.
• Park your vehicle on a level surface.
• Switch the ignition off.
• Read the coolant level at the coolant expan
s ion tank ¢
page 182, fig . 134. With a cold
engine, it must be above the "min" mark .
With a hot engine, it ca n be a little above
the indicated range .
The location of the coolant expans ion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus
tration
¢ page 182.
To obtain an accurate read ing, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion tank in yo ur vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor .
When the coo lant level is too low, the warning
light in the A uto- Check System ¢
page 16 will
illuminate until yo u add coo lant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coo lant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to time .
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system . In the event of coolant loss, the cool
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your author ized Audi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant .
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheat ing.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator lea k seal
ant to your vehicle's eng ine coolant. Add
ing radiator repair f luid may adversely af
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could res ult in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 180 .
• Turn off the engine.
• Let the engine cool down.
• Place a thick rag over t he coo lant expansion
tank
¢ page 187, fig . 138 a nd carefully
tw ist the cap counter-clockwise ¢&_ .
• Add coo la nt.
• Twis t the cap on aga in
t ightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions ¢
page 18 7, Coolant.
Even in a n emerge ncy, if coolant add i-
t ive G1 2++, G12+ or G12 is not ava ilable , do
not use a d iffe ren t addit ive. Use plain water
instead unti l you can get the cor rect additive
and can restore the correct ratio . This sho uld
be done as soon as possible .
If you have los t a considerab le amount o f
coolant , then you sho uld add cold ant ifreeze
and co ld wate r on ly w hen the engine is cold.
Alw ays use
new engine coo la nt whe n refilling .
Do not fill coola nt above the "MAX" mark. Ex
cess coola nt wi ll be fo rced o ut through the
pressure relief valve in t he cap w hen the en
gine becomes hot.
,&. WARNING ~ -
- T he cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by followi ng
these steps.
- T urn off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect yo ur face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap w ith a large, t hick rag.
- T urn the cap s lowly a nd ve ry carefully
in a counter-clo ckwise direction while
applying light, downward pres sure on
the top of the cap.