78 On the road
Audi magnetic ride
Applies to vehicles: with mag netic r ide
Damping can be adjusted to the driver's pref
erence and it adapts automatically to the cur
rent driving situation.
Fig. 77 Cente r console: Switch for Audi magnetic r ide
.,. Press the switch ~ fig . 77 to turn spo rt set-
t ing o n or off.
Aud i magnetic ride is an electron ically con
trolled damp ing system . Th is chassis system
assists the driver by adapting to the par ticular
situatio n th rough imper cep tible con trol p roc
esses. The
damping provides individual mod u
l ation of damping forces. For example, with
dampi ng cha racterist ics set to p rovide greater
comfort, damping is set somewhat harder for
a brief period only as required, when rounding
a curve and when braking.
Standard setting
Select the standard sett ing if you prefer a sus
pension setting emphasizing comfort.
Sport setting
Select the sport setti ng if you prefe r a sporty
suspe nsio n setting . The LED in the sw itch
8
comes on to indicate spo rt setting .
@ Tips
The w arning/indicator light 8 in the in stru
ment cluster comes on in the even t of a
malfunction . Drive to the closest au thor
ized Audi dealer as soon as possible and
have the malfunction repaired.
Sport mode
Applies to vehicles: wit h Sport but ton
F ig . 7 8 Button in th e ce nte r console
.,. To switch sport mode on, press the button
in th e cente r console. The indicator light
t ur ns on .
.,. To swi tch spor t mo de off, press the bu tto n
in the center co nsole again. The indicator
light turns on .
A mo re agile and spo rty d riv in g style is po ssi
ble when driving the vehicle in "sport mode".
T his mode affec ts thrott le response and the
sound of the engine and the damping charac
teristics of the Audi magnetic ride for dynamic
s uspension tuning .
@ Tips
If there is a malfunct ion in the retracta ble
rear spoiler* or the Audi magnetic ride*, it
may not be poss ible to activate sport
mode.
Acoustic parking system
Rear acoustic park assist
Applies to vehicles: wit h 4-channel acoustic park assist
Acous tic park assist gives a warning about
obstacles behind the vehicle.
Description
T he rea r acousti c park ass ist (4-cha nnel
a coustic park ass ist) determines the distance
of the vehicle from an obstacle using ultra
son ic sensors. The sensors are in the rear
bumper. The volume a nd the pitch of the
chimes can be adjusted through the menu disp lay ~
page 24 .
The range a t which the sensors start to meas
ure is
about :
To the side
Center rear
Activation
2 feet (0.60 m)
5 feet (1.60 m)
The parking assist is activated when
r ev erse
g ear
is engaged . A b rief tone confi rms that
the system is activated .
Bac king up
Distance warning when backing up starts
when an obstacle is detected in the range of
the park assist system . As the d istance de
creases, the time interva l between the audib le
tones becomes sho rter.
When the d istance is less than 1 foot (0 .30
m), the tone becomes cont inuous . At this
point you should stop backing up.
Please note that low objects already signalled
by a warning can disappear from the system's
detection range and w ill not continue to be
signalled.
Potential malfunction s
If a warning buzzer sounds for a few seconds
when the ignition is sw itched on, there is a
system malfunction w ith the aco ustic park as
sist . If the malfunction persists unti l the igni
tion is sw itched off , there will be no acoustic
warn ing at the next attemp t to activate the
system . Have the problem corrected.
Th ere is no confirmation tone when reverse
gear is engaged if there is a system ma lfun c
tion .
For the park ing ass ist to operate, the sensors
must be kept clean and free of ice .
.8, WARNING
- Senso rs have b lind spots in which obje cts
cannot be detec ted . Pay speci al atten tio n
to small c hildren and animals. They can-
On th e ro ad 79
not always be detected by the sensors -
danger of an accident!
- The parking assist cannot replace the
driver's attention. The driver alone is re
sponsib le for parking and similar driving
maneuvers. Always watch where you are
driving .
(D Note
Low obstacles already signa lled by a warn
i ng can d isappear from the system's detec
tion range as they are approached and w ill
not continue to be signalled . Objects such
as ba rrie r cha ins, trailer d raw bars, th in
painted vertica l poles, o r fences may not
be dete cted by the system -risk of dam
age.
(D Tips
F o r the pa rking assist to operate, the sen
sors m ust be kept clean and free of snow
a nd ice.
The park lock must only be engaged with the
vehicle
stationary c::> &.
To engage P and to remove the lever from th is
position, you must depress the release b utton
(button in the selector lever handle)
and si
multaneously you must step on the brake
pedal.
R · re verse
I n th is position, reverse is engaged.
Reverse gear must only be engaged with the
veh icle
stationary and the eng ine runn ing at
id le speed
c::> ,&. .
To engage R, you have to depress the release
button
and s imultaneously step on the brake
pedal. In the R position, the back-up lights il
lum inate with the ign ition on.
N • N eutra l
The transmission is in neutral in this position .
D -Norm al p osi tion f or d riving forwa rd
In this position, the forward gears are auto matica lly shifted up and down, depending on
engine load and vehicle speed.
To engage D from N, the brake peda l must be
depressed at speeds be low 5 km/h or when
the vehicle is stationary
c::> & .
In certain circumstances (driving in the moun
tains for examp le) it can be beneficial to
switch temporarily to the manua l shift pro
gram
c::> page 84 in order to adjust the gear
ratios to driving cond itions
manually.
S -Sport setting
The 5 se tt ing shou ld be selected for spor ty
d riving . The power reserves of the engine can
be fu lly exp loited through later upshifts.
To engage S from N, the brake pedal must be depressed at speeds be low 5 km/h or when
the vehicle is stationary
c::> & .
Tra n sm iss io n 81
A WARNING
- Never p lace the selector lever in the R or
P posit ion while the veh icle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- With the engine running, it is necessary
to hold the vehicle with the foot brake in all selector lever positions (except P and N), because even at idle speed the trans
fe r of power is never completely inter
rupted -the vehicle " creeps". If the vehi
cle is stationary and the transmission is
engaged, the engine should never be
speeded up unintentionally (e .g. manual
ly from under the hood). Otherwise the
veh icle w ill immediately start to move -
sometimes even if the park ing brake is
firmly applied - risk of an accident!
- Before you or other persons open the
hood and work on a running engine, the
selecto r lever must be moved to P and
the park ing brake applied f irmly - risk of
an accident! Follow the wa rning sticke rs
c::> page 174, Engine compartment.
(D Tips
If yo u have inadvertently shifted into N
while the vehicle is moving, you shou ld re
move you r foot from the accelerator and
wait unt il the engine speed has dropped to
idle before shifting back to Dor 5 .
Selector lever lock
Applies to veh icl es: w ith S tronic
The selector lever lock prevents a gear from
being engaged accidentally and unintention
ally setting the vehicle in mo tion.
F ig. 81 Selector lever locks
"rollback" 9 &,. Do not try to prevent the
vehicle from ro lling back by revving the en
gine wh ile it is in gear .
Starting on a h ill
.,. Apply the hand brake firm ly .
.,. With the eng ine in gear, gradua lly acce ler-
ate and release the hand b rake.
The engine can only be
s ta rt e d with the selec
tor lever in P o r N
9 page 72 . At low ambient
temperatures (14 °F / -10 °C), it is only poss i
b le to start the engine with the selector lever
in
P.
When parking on level gro und, it is sufficient
to p lace the selector lever in
P. On a steeply
sloping road, yo u should first app ly the park
ing b rake firm ly and then place the selector
l ever in
P. This way, yo u do not overload the
pawl mechanism and it is eas ier to move the
selector lever out of
P .
A WARNING
- Never leave you r vehicle with the eng ine
running wh ile in gear . If you must leave
yo ur vehicle with the engine running, set
the parking bra ke and engage the pa rk
lock.
- Whe n the engine is running and the
t ransmission is in gear (D,
5 or R) or in
"tiptronic" mode, it is essentia l that you
stop the vehicle with the footbrake .
When idling, the t ransmission of power
does not stop completely- the vehicle
"creeps" .
- Do not accelerate when you change the
selector lever position with the vehicle
stationary and the engine r unning -risk
of an accident!
- Never place the selector lever in the R or
N position while the vehicle is moving -
risk of a n accide nt!
- If you have to bring your vehicle to a stop
wh ile on an incl ine, keep the foot brake
depressed all the way down so tha t the
vehicle does not start to roll backward .
You should never hold the vehicle using
the clu tch if you are going to be stopped
Tran sm iss ion 83
on an incl ine. If you do, the cl utch w ill
start to slip when it ove rheats ca used by
the constant overload. This is dangerous because if the vehicle starts to roll back
ward, you co uld cause an acc iden t. If the
clutch should start to s lip, you w ill feel
the vehicle "jerk" and the se le ctor lever
disp lay w ill st art bl ink ing .
- Before driving down a steep slope, re
duce your speed and shift i nto a lowe r
gea r with "tiptronic".
- Do not ride the bra kes o r apply the bra ke
pe dal too often or too long. Const ant
brak ing c auses the brakes to overheat
and substantially reduces b raking per
formance, increases braking d istance or
causes complete fa il ur e of the brake sys
tem.
Hill Descent Assist
App lies to vehicles : wit h S t ronic
Hill Descent Assist helps the driver when driv
ing down inclines .
Hill Descent Assis t is activ ate d by pressing the
brake while descending when the se lec tor lev
er is in D/S. The
5 tronic transmission auto
matically shifts down to a gea r su itable for
the incline. H ill Descent Ass ist attempts to
maintai n the current veh icle speed w hen the
braking occurs, as far as physical and techn i
ca l limits allow. It may be necessary to adjust
the speed using the brakes .
Hill Descent Assist sw itches off when the in
cli ne leve ls out o r when the gas peda l is p ress
ed.
On vehicles with cruise control *
9 page 76,
Hill Descent Assist is also act ivated when the
speed is set .
A WARNING
Hill Descent Ass ist cannot overcome physi
cal limitations, so it may not be poss ible to
maint ain a constant vehicle speed under
all ci rcumst ances. A lways be re ady to ap
p ly the brakes.
Kick-down feature
Applies to vehicles: with S tron ic
The kick-down feature allows maximum ac
celeration .
If you depress the accelerator pedal fully be
yond the full-throttle position, the transmis sion automatically downshifts one gear, de
pending on vehicle speed and engine rpm . The
upsh ift into the next higher gear takes place
as soon as the max imum specified engine
speed is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if the kick-down is used on a smooth s lip
pery road - risk of skidding!
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: with S tron ic
The Launch Control Program permits maxi
mum acceleration .
In o rder to u se La unch Control, the ASR (An ti
Slip Reg ulation) mus t be d is a b led. When ASR
is disab led, the ESC wa rning/ind icator light
IJ
in the inst rument cluster illuminates . So that
L aunch Cont ro l can be used, the engine must
be at operating temperature and the steer ing
wheel must not be turned.
~ With the eng ine running , brief ly press the
ESC button . The message "Stabilization pro
gram off" or "Sport control Warning! Re
stricted stability" in the driver information
system d isplay.
~ Sh ift the gear lever to "S" or the tiptronic ®
pos it ion .
~ Step on the b ra ke peda l w ith your left foot
and keep the bra ke peda l fully depressed for
at leas t one second .
~ With your right foot, step on the acce lera
tor to the w ide-open throttle position o r
K ickdown . The engine speed settles at about
3,200 rpm.
~ Take your left foot off the brake .
Transm iss ion 85
A WARNING
-Always adapt your dr iving to the traffic
f low.
- Onl y use Launch Control when road and
traffic cond itions allow it and other dr iv
ers will not be endangered or annoyed by
your driving and th e acce le rat ion of the
veh icle.
- Ma ke sure that ESC remains enab led.
With the ESC disab led, th e vehicle could
b ra ke away, part icularly on a s lick and
slippe ry ro ad - ris k of skid ding!
- Once acceleration is fi nished, switch AS R
on agai n by br iefly pushing t he ESC bu t
ton.
Back-up program
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic
In the event of a system malfunction, there is
a back-up program.
In the event of system ma lfunction, the auto
matic transmission switches to the fai l-safe
mode. All of t he se lector lever position d is
plays for the au tomatic tra nsmission a re hi gh
li gh ted wi th a light b ackgro und in t he i nstr u
ment cluster d isp lay . In some cases you can
not use reverse gea r any more.
If the t ransmission swi tches to fail-safe
mode, yo u should t ake the ve hicle to an au
t horized Audi dea le rship as soon as possib le
to have the condition corrected.
Clutch is overheating
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic
• Clutch is overheating ! Please stop veh i
cle!
If the symbols a re i lluminated, the clutch is
ove rheating a nd could be damaged if you con
tin ue to drive. Stop the vehicle and a llow the
transmission to cool with the se lector lever in
the P posit ion while the engine runs at idle. If
the warn ing does not turn off, do not continue
dr iv ing . See your author ized A udi dealer or
i,..
86 Transmis sion
qualified repair facility for assistance. Other
wise serious transmission damage could re
sult . Once the indicator light has turned off,
drive to your authori zed Audi dealer or quali
fied repair facility immediately to have the malfunction corrected .
Selector lever emergency release
Applies to vehicles: with S tro nic
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selec
tor lever can be released in an emergency.
-----Fig. 86 Se lector lever : Remov ing th e selector lever
boot
Fig. 87 Se lector lever: Using the eme rgency re lease to
move out of the Park pos ition
The emergency release mechanism is located
in the right front area under the selector lever
shift gate. Using the emergency release can
be comp licated. We recommend contacting
your authorized Audi dealer for assistance, if
necessary.
Removing the selector lever boot
.,. Activate the parking brake .
.,. Carefully pry the selector lever boot out of
the trim @using a small screwdriver .
.,. Pull both sides of the selector lever boot
upward in the direction of the arrow @ .
.,. Fold the selector lever boot upward.
Selector lever emergency release
.,. Press the release lever down and hold it in
p lace
¢ fig. 87.
.,. Press the release button in the selector lev
er © and move the lever into the N position.
.,. Clip the selector lever boot back into the
shift gate after using the emergency re
lease .
If the vehicle must be pushed or towed due to
a power failure (for example, the battery is
discharged), the selector lever must first be
moved to the N position using the emergency
release mechanism .
A WARNING
-Only move the selector lever out of the P
position when the park ing brake is activat
ed. Otherwise, the veh icle could start to
move unintentionally when the selector
lever is moved out of the P position.
Homelink®
Universal remote
control
General information
The HomeLink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand-held transmitters
from existing equipment.
You must first program the Homelink ® trans
mitter before you can use the system
~ page 87, Programming the HomeLink ®
transmitter .
In order to program the Home Link ® transmit
ter for devices utilizing rolling code, a second
person on a ladder who can safely reach the
garage door opener motor is recommended.
It is also necessary to locate the "learn" but
ton on your garage door opener motor . Refer
to the ope rating inst ructions for the opener ,
as the location and color of this bu tton may
vary by manufacturer .
You can still use the origina l remote control
fo r the device at any time.
A WARNING
-
- Never use the Homelink® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does
have not the safety stop and reverse fea
ture as requ ired by federal safety stand
ards. This includes any garage door open
er model man ufactured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder
al safety standards. Using a garage door
opener without these features increases
risk of serious injury or death.
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle.
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the Homelink ® remote control is being pro
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac-
Homelin k® 87
tivated, this can overstrain motor and
damage its e lectrical components -an
overheated motor is a fire hazard!
- To avoid possible injuries or property
damage, please always make abso lutely
certain that no persons or objects are lo
cated in the range of motion of any
equipment being operated.
{!) Tips
- If you would like more information on
Homelink ®, where to purchase the
Homelink ® compatible products, or
would like to purchase the Homelink®
Home Lighting Package, please cal l to ll
free: 1-800-355-3515.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula
tions~
page 246.
Programming the Homelink ®
transmitter
The transmitter is programmed in two phas
es. For rolling code transmitters, a third
phase is also necessary.
Fig . 88 Ove rhead co nsole: Homelink ® keypad
Fig. 89 Fro nt b umper , driver side : locatio n of tran smi t-
t er uni t
II>
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. .,_