-The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S . Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de
ployment are met .
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe
cially 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufac tured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng
er's head s and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
T he airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
T he front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle.
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up
right , wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
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 very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by being too
Airbag system 113
close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard ¢
page 132 , Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 132,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old , ..,. •
•
-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 ..,.
•
•
switched on all the time. In certain situations
when you need less traction, you can switch
off ESC by pressing the button
lru . Be sure to
switch ESC on again when you no longer need
less traction.
Anti -loc k brak ing s ystem (ABS )
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking . The vehicle can still be steered
even during hard braking. Apply steady pres
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
B rake ass is t system
The brake assist system can decrease braking
d istance. It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over .
Anti-slip regulati on (ASR )
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Elect ronic diff erential lock (EDL )
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-wheel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h).
In extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheating. EDL w ill switch on again au
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
..&, WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR and EDL cannot ove rcome
t he laws of physics. This is espec ia lly im
portant on slippery or wet roads.
If the
systems begin act ing to stab ilize your ve
hicle, you should immediately change
yo ur speed to match the road and traffic
condit ions. Do not let the increased safe
ty provided by these systems tempt you
Intelligen t technolog y 151
to take risks. Doing so will increase the
risk of a loss of vehicle control, co llision
and serious personal injuries.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when driving too close to vehicles up ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys
tem, EDL and ASR cannot preven t coll i
sions.
- Always ac celera te with spe cial care on
even, smooth s urfaces su ch as those th at
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with these assistance systems that cannot al
ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve
hicle control.
@ Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correct ly when
all four whee ls are equipped with identi
cal tires. D ifferent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems described are working.
-If the ind icator lightD] orE (USA
models)/ [iJ (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction¢ page 18,
¢page 17.
TT/TTS: Switching on/off
Applies to vehicles: TT Coupe and TTS Coupe
ESC turns on automatically when you start
the engine.
Fi g. 126 Cente r console: ESC OFF button
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 ..,.
198 Tires and wheels
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. You
may not find this informat ion on all tires be
cause it is not req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity we ight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle .
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ
ing elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands o r ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those insta lled
regular production options weighing over 5
lb s. (2 .3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory we ight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and special tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan
t ia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see <=> page 19 7, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire designed to operate at higher
loads and at higher inflation pressures than
the cor responding standard tire. Reinf orced
ti res may be identified as "XL" , "xl", "E XTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.
200 Tires and wheels
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for various designated seating
capacities
Designated seating capacity,
number of occupants Vehicle normal load
, number Occupant distribution in a nor-
of occupants _____ mally loaded vehicle
4 2 2 in fro nt
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling , p erformance and safe ty of a vehicle.
Fi g. 14 2 T ire p ress ure la b el: loca ted on driver's side B·
p ill ar
Tire pressure genera lly refers to the amount
of air in a t ire that it needs it to do its job and
safely carry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents . Tire pressure is
measured in kilopasca ls (kPa), the i nterna·
tional measur ing unit and in pou nds pe r
squa re inc h (PSI). Tire pressure is based in
par t on the vehicle's desig n and load limit -
the greatest amoun t of weight that the vehi·
cle can carry safe ly and the t ire size . The prop·
er tire pressure is freq uently referred to as the
" recommended cold tire inf lation pressure."
A ir in the tires expands when the tire heats up
because of internal frict ion when it flexes in
use . The t ire p ressu re is higher when the tire
h as wa rmed up tha n when it is "cold ." It is the
in flat io n pressu re i n a "cold" tire that counts.
Th erefore, you shou ld neve r let air ou t of a
warm tire to match " co ld tire inflat ion pres
sure" recommendations . The t ires wo uld then
be underinflated and could fail su ddenly .
M ain taining p roper t ire pr essu re is one of the
most im po rt an t th ings you ca n d o to he lp
avoid sudden tire failure. Underin fla ted t ires
a re a ma jo r cause of s udden tire failure. Keep·
i n g tires at the right pressure is also impor
tant for safe and responsive vehicle handling,
-U'>
-
---------------------- ,;
•(=~= I: I::... 1)§ :l!: n-...,....,....,~ ...... ~-...,..., ..... _ ... U ........ ~-·~N.-..-.we..... .... lllt-
-AVANT ...,.
-...... .. _
-KPA. a PSI
- KPA. a PSI
-KPA. a PSI
Fig. 14 3 Tire pr essure labe l
SEE OWNEJICS MANUA1 FOA A,DOITl<>N.IU. INfORMATlON
VOIR L£ MANUll DUPR0ftlET""" P"OUR i-t.US DE RENSEIGMEMENfS
traction, braking and load carrying. Tire pres
sures are particularly important when the
vehicle is being driven at higher speeds, and
then especially when heavily loaded even
within the permissible load-carrying capaci
ties approved for your vehicle .
The recommended tire pressures f or y our Audi
depe nd on the kind of tires o n your ve hicle
and the numbe r of passe ngers and/o r amount
of luggage you w ill be t ransporti ng .
The tire pressure label is located on the driv
er 's side B-pillar . The tire pressure labe l lists
the recommended cold t ire inflat io n press ures
for the vehicle at its maximum capac ity
weig ht an d tires t hat were o n your veh icle at
t h e time it was m anufactur ed .
If you wish to improve comfort wh en operat
ing the vehicle at normal load (up to 2 occu
pant s), you can ad just tire pre ssure s to tho se
specified for normal vehicle load . Before op
erating the vehicle at maximum load, you
mu st increase the ti re pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle load
~ ,&. .
Bear in min d that the tire pressure mon itor ing
system ca n only moni to r the tire pressures .,.
Tires and wheels 201
you have stored. The system does not recog
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressu re monitor
ing system w ill be impaired if you store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load¢,& .
See the illustration ¢
fig. 142 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual labe l and exact location on the ve
hicle will vary slig htly) .
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of go ing to press and is subject to change.
In the event of discrepancies, the tire
pressure label (on driver's side B-pi llar) always
takes precedence.
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the tir e sizes instal
l ed on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
I
Model/ U Tire designation Tire pressure front Tire pressure rear
Engine normal load normal load
condition full load condition full load
(upto 2 oc- condition (up to 2 oc-
condition
cupants) cupants)
PSI JI kPA PSI ]I kPA PSI II kPA PSI II kPA '.
TT/TIS: 225/50 Rl 7 94H All Sea-
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
2.0 liter son
4-cylin-
225/50 Rl 7 94W XL High
der Performance
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
245/45 R17 95H All Sea- 32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
son
245/45 R17 95VXL High
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
Performance
245/40 R18
93H All Sea-
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200 son
245/40 R18 93V XL High
32 220 33 230 29 200 30 210
Performance J
255/35 R19 96V XL High
32 220 32 220 29 200 29 200
Performance
TT RS:
245/40 R18 93V 220
2.5 liter
255/35 R19 96V XL High
5-cylin- Performance
35 240 36 250 32 220 32 220
der
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the spore wheel i s
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
ve hicle equipment during the model year, a l
ways compare the tire size designation on the tire press
ure label on your vehicle with the
tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire
s ize info rmat ion on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the veh icle .
This is especially important if the vehicle be-
long s to someone e lse o r you boug ht the ..,.
•
•
206 Tires and wheels
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv
ing style.
Fig. 144 Tire tread: tre ad wea r ind icators (TWI)
l --------- ---
Fig. 145 Rotating t ires for more ev en wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
c::> fig . 144 running across the tread. Depend
i ng on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewa ll (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced .
Different figures may apply in other countries
c::> & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden t ire blow-out. For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 202 .
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remember the follow
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service interva ls outlined in your
Warranty
& Maintenance Booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com
pa red to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
c::> fig. 145.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c::> page 22 7 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced.
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal
anced, re sulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A whee l must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the veh i
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop.
all-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
For details see
c::> page 155. ..,.