
Hill descent control
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
Hill descent control is activated when these
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is suitable for the incline . Hill de
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach
ieved at the time of braking, within physical
and techn ica l limitations. It may still be nec
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
H ill descent control switches
off once the de
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles w ith the cruise control system*
¢ page 83, hill descent control is also activat
ed when the speed is set.
.&, WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to app ly the
brakes.
Manual shift program
App lies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
F ig. 99 Center console: shifting t he gea rs manually
Transmission 89
Fig . 100 Stee ring whee l: Shift buttons*
Gear selection with selector lever
The tiptronic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stat ionary or on the move .
.,. Push the se lector lever to the right from D/
5. An M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transmission has
shifted .
.,. To upshift, push the selector lever forward
to the plus position
0 ¢ fig. 99 .
.,. To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 .
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when these
l ector lever is in D/S or the tiptronic manual
shift program.
.,. To upshift, touch the button on the right
0
¢ fig. 100 .
.,. To downshift, touch the button on the left
0 .
.,. If you do not press a sh ift button within a
short time while in the D/S posit ion, the
transmission will return to automatic mode.
To keep shifting using the shift buttons,
move the selector lever to the right out of
the D/S position.
The transm ission automatically shifts up or
down before critical engine speed is reached .
The transmission only allows manual sh ifting
when the engine speed is within the permit
ted range.
(D Tips
-When you shift into the next lower gear,
the transmission will downshift only

94 Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
confirmed by the video camera, an acute
collision warning.
- For safety reasons, do not use adaptive
cruise control when driving on roads with
many curves, when the road surface is in
poor condition and/or in bad weather
(such as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and
hydroplaning). Using the system under
these conditions could result in a colli
sion.
- Switch adaptive cruise control off tempo
rarily when driving in turning lanes, on
expressway exits or in construction
zones. This prevents the vehicle from ac
celerating to the set speed when in these
situations.
- The adaptive cruise control system will
not brake by itself if you put your foot on
the accelerator pedal. Doing so can over
ride the speed and distance regulation.
- When approaching stationary objects
such as stopped traffic, adaptive cruise
control will not respond and braking
guard will have limited function.
- The adaptive cruise control system and
braking guard do not react to people, an
imals, objects crossing the road or on
coming objects .
- The function of the radar sensor can be
affected by reflective objects such as
guard rails, the entrance to a tunnel,
heavy rain or ice.
- Never follow a vehicle so closely that you cannot stop your vehicle safely. The
adaptive cruise control cannot slow or
brake the vehicle safely when you follow
another vehicle too closely . Always re
member that the automatic braking
function cannot bring the vehicle to a sudden or emergency stop under these
conditions.
- To prevent unintended operation, always
switch ACC off when it is not being used.
{[) Note
The sensor can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. That could affect the adaptive cruise control system and braking guard.
Have your authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility check their
function.
, In curves
Applies to vehicles: wit h Aud i adapt ive cr uise contro l
Fig. 104 Example: driv ing into a curve
When driving into a curve <=> fig. 104 and out
of a curve, the adaptive cruise control may re act to a vehicle in the next lane and apply the
brakes. You can override or prevent the brak
ing by pressing the accelerator pedal briefly.
Stationary objects
Applies to vehicles: with Aud i adaptive crui se contro l
Fig. 105 Example: object changing lanes a nd station
a ry object
The adaptive cruise control system only reacts
to objects that are moving or that the system
has already detected as moving. For example,
if a vehicle @, which has already been detect
ed by the adaptive cruise control, turns or
changes lanes and another stationary vehicle
@ is located in front of that vehicle, the sys
tem will not react to the stationary vehicle.

96 Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
shown in the tachomete r@ and is also
shown briefly in the display @
~fig . 108 .
Switching Audi adaptive cruise control off
.. Push the lever away from you into position
@ until it clicks into p lace. The message
ACC off appears.
@ Indicator lights
II-Adaptive cru ise control is switched on .
No vehicles are detected up ahead . The stored
speed is maintained.
• -A moving veh icle is detected up ahead.
The adaptive cruise control system regulates
the speed and d istance to the moving vehicle
ahead and a ccelerates/brakes automatica lly.
• -When automatic brak ing is not able to
keep enough distance to a previously detected
mov ing vehicle up ahead, you must take con
trol and brake~
page 98, Request for driver
intervention.
© Display
If adaptive cruise control is not shown in the
display, you can call it up with the
I RES ET I
button ¢ page 24.
Based on the symbols in the display, you can
determ ine if the system is maintaining a dis
tance to the vehicle ahead and what that dis
tance is.
No vehicle -No vehicle ahead w as detected.
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected.
Red vehicle -Prompt for the driver to take ac
tion
~ page 98.
Both arrows on the scale © indicate the dis
tance to the vehicle ahead. No arrow appears
when the vehicle is on an open road and there
is no object ahead . If an object is detected
ahead, the arrow moves on the scale .
The green zone on the scale shows the stored
d istance. For information on changing the
stored distance , re fer to
q page 97. If the
distance selected is too close or may soon be
come too close, the arrows move into the red
z one on the scale .
A WARNING
Improper use of the adaptive cruise con
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injur ies .
- Pressing the
!SET ! button when driving at
speeds below 20 mph (30 km/h), w ill au
tomatically accelerate the vehicle to
20 mph (30 km/h), which is the mini
m um speed that can be set.
(i} Tips
-If you switch the ignit ion or the adaptive
cruise control off, the set speed is erased
from the system memo ry.
- The electronic stab ilizat ion control (ESC)
and the anti-slip-regulat ion (ASR) are au
tomatically turned on when the adapt ive
cruise contro l is turned on. Both systems
cannot be turned off if the adaptive
cruise control is turned on.
Changing the speed
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cru ise control
0
f
• 0
Fig. 109 Selector lev er: ch an gin g the speed
.. To increase o r reduce the speed in incre
ments,
tap the lever up or down.
-"' ... 0 ±
" a,
.. To increase or reduce the speed quickly, hold
the lever up or down until the red LED@
reaches the desired speed
¢ page 95 ,
f ig. 108 .
Following any changes, the new stored speed
will be displayed briefly in the display @
Qpage 95, fig. 108.

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard 97
Interrupting cruise control
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 110 Selector lever
Requirement: adaptive cruise control must be
switched on
¢fig. 110@.
Overriding cruise control
• To accelerate manually, press the accelera
tor pedal. The message
ACC override ap
pears.
• To resume adaptive cruise control, remove
your foot from the gas pedal. The system re
turns again to the speed that was saved be
fore.
• You can save a new speed at any time by
pressing the
I SETI button ¢ page 11, fig. 4.
Canceling cruise control while driving
• Move the lever into position @. The mes
sage
ACC standby appears. Or
• press the brake pedal.
• To resume the stored speed, move the lever
into position @.
A WARNING
Never resume the stored speed if the
speed is too high for prevailing road, traf
fic or weather conditions.
Setting the distance
App lies to vehicles: wit h Aud i adapt ive cr uise contro l
Fig.
111 Selector lever: setting the distance
• Tap the switch to display the current set dis
tance
¢ fig. 111.
• To increase or reduce the distance by incre
ments, tap the switch again to the left or
r ight. The distance between the two vehicles
w ill c hange in the instrument cluster dis
p lay .
When approach ing a moving vehicle up ahead,
the adapt ive cruise control system brakes to
match that object's speed and then mainta ins
the stored distance. If the vehicle ahead ac
ce lerates, adaptive cruise contro l will also ac
celerate up to the stored speed.
T he higher the speed, the greater the distance
in yards (meters) ¢& .The
Distance 3 setting
is recommended.
T he distances provided are specified va lues .
Depend ing on the driv ing s ituation and the
how the vehicle ahead is driving, the actual
distance may be more or less than these tar
get distances.
T he var ious symbols for the time increments
appear briefly in the informat ion line @
¢ page 95, fig. 108 when you change the set
tings.
c:::::,_c:::::, ___ Distance 1 : This setting corre-
sponds to a distance of 92 feet/28 meters
when traveling at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a
time interval of 1 second.
c:::::, __ c:::::, __ Distance 2 : This setting corre
sponds to a distance of 118 feet/36 meters
when traveling at 62 mph ( 100 km/h), or a
time interval of 1.3 seconds.

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard 99
Audi braking guard
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 113 Instrument cluste r: approac h warn ing
Braking guard uses a radar sensor. It also
functions within the limits of the system
when adaptive cruise control is switched off.
What can Audi braking guard do?
When detected in time, the system can assess
situations when a vehicle ahead brakes sud
denly or if your own vehicle is traveling at a high speed and approaching a vehicle up
ahead that is moving more slowly . Braking
gua rd does not react if it cannot detect the
situation .
The system advises you of various situations:
- The distance warning is given if you are too
close to the vehicle ahead for a long time. If
the vehicle ahead brakes sharply, you wi ll
not be able to avoid a collis ion. The indicator
light. in the display comes on .
- The approach warning is given when a de
tected vehicle up ahead in your lane is mov
ing much more slowly than you are or if it
brakes sharply . When th is warning is given,
it may only be possible to avoid a collision
by swerving or braking sharply. Th e indicator
light. and indicator in the display will
warn you about the danger
c::> fig. 113. You
will a lso hear an acoustic signa l.
If you do not react fast enough or do not react
at all to the situation, Braking guard will in-
ll This is not ava ilable in som e coun tri es.
tervene by braking and the message braking
guard intervention will appear.
- If a coll ision is imminent , the system will
first provide an acute warning by briefly and
sharply applying the brakes.
- If you do not react to the acute warning,
braking guard can brake within the lim its of
the system. This reduces the vehicle speed
in the event of a collision.
- At speeds unde r 20 mph (30 km/h), the sys
tem can initiate a comp lete deceleration
shortly before a collision
ll.
- If the braking guard senses that you are not
braking hard enough when a collision is im
minent, it can increase the braking force .
Which functions can be controlled?
You can switch braking guard and the dis
tance/approach warning on or off in the radio
or M MI
c::> page 100, Settings in the radio/
MMI.
A WARNING
-Lack of attention can cause collisions, oth-
er accidents and serious personal injuries.
The braking guard is an assist system and
cannot prevent a collision by itself. The
driver must always intervene. The dr iver is
always respons ible for braking at the cor
r ect time .
- Always pay close attention to traffic,
even when the braking guard is switched
on . Be ready to intervene and be ready to
take comp lete control whenever necessa
ry. Always keep the safe and legal dis
tance between your vehicle and vehicles up ahead.
- Braking guard works within limits and
will not respond outside the system lim
its, for examp le when approaching a
stopped vehicle or stationary obstacle (end of a traffic jam or vehicle that has
broken down in traffic).

180 Intelligent technology
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys
tem, anti-slip regulation (ASR) , e lectronic dif
ferential lock (EDL), dynamic steering" and
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock* /selective
wheel torque control* . ESC is switched on all
the t ime. I n certa in s ituations whe n you need
l ess t raction, you can switch
off ASR by p ress
i ng the bu tto n
[ru ¢ page 181, fig. 167 or
¢page 181, fig. 168. Be sure to sw itch ASR
on aga in when yo u no longer need less t rac
tion .
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braki ng. The veh icle can still be steered
even d uring h ard br aking. Apply ste ady p res
sure to the brake pedal. Do no t pump the ped
a l. A pulsing in the brake peda l indicates t hat
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assis t system can decrease b ra ki ng
d ista nce. It incre ases braking power w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal q uic kl y in eme r
gency situations . You must p ress and hold the
b rake peda l until the situation is over. In
vehicles w ith adapt ive cru ise contro l", the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d ista nce detected to t he vehicle a head is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start , accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differenti al lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if t he vehicle is equipped with
all-w heel 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 bra ke on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL wi ll switch on again au-tomat
ica lly when conditions have ret urned to
no rma l.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic steering*, ESC he lps
st abi liz e the steer ing in cr itical situ ations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
T he elec troni c int eraxle differentia l lock (front
whee l dr ive) o r th e se lec tive whee l torque
control (all-whee l dr ive) oper ates when dr iv
ing t hro ugh curves. The front wheel on the in
side of the c urve or both whee ls on the inside
of the c urve are b raked se lectively as needed.
This m inimizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
curves . The applicable system may not acti
vate when dr iving in wet o r snowy cond itions.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL dynam ic steering*
a nd the ele ct roni c interaxle d ifferential
lo ck* /se lective whee l torque con trol *
cannot ove rcome the laws of physics .
This is especially important on sli ppery
or wet roads.
If the systems beg in acting
to stabilize your veh icle, yo u should im
mediately change your speed to match
the road and traffic conditions . Do not
let the increased safety prov ided by
these systems tempt you to take r isks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle cont ro l, col lision and ser ious pe r
sonal injur ies.
- Always ada pt your speed to road, traffi c
a nd wea ther conditions. The r isk of los-
ing con trol of the vehicle i ncreases when
d riving too fast, es pec ia lly through
curves and o n slippe ry or wet roads, an d
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys
tem, ASR, EDL dynam ic steer ing* and the
e lectronic inte raxle differentia l lock*/se
lec tive whee l to rque control* cannot p re-
-
vent co llisi ons. ~

182 Intelligent technology
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC/ASR on
Behav ior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza- The stabilization function The full stabilization func-
tion functions are limited is not ava ilable
c> .&. . ESC tion of the ESC and ASR is
¢ _&.. and ASR are sw itched off. available again.
Operation Press the l.i; OFF ! button P ress and hold the 1.i; OFFI Press the l.i; OFF ! button
briefly. button
longer than 3 sec-
again.
onds.
Indicator II turns on. II and Ill turn on. II turns off or II and II
lights tur n off.
Driver mes- Stabilization control Stabilization control Stabilization control
sages (ESC): Sport. Warning! (ESC): off. Warning! Re- (ESC): On
Restricted stability stricted stability
It is only possible to turn off the ASR up to 30
mph (SO km/h) for vehicles with front wheel
drive . At about
45 mph (70 km/h) it automat i
cally turns on aga in . It is poss ible to turn off
the ASR at any speed for veh icles with all
wheel dr ive.
.&, WARNING
Yo u should only switch sport mode on or
switch ESC/ASR off if your driving abilities
and road conditions permit.
- The stabilization function is limited
when sport mode is switched on. The
driving whee ls cou ld spin and the vehicle
cou ld swerve, especially on slick or slip
pery road surfaces.
- There is no vehicle stabilization when
ESC/ASR are switched off.
(D Tips
ESC/ASR cannot be switched off or sport
mode cannot be switched on when adap
tive cruise control* is switched on.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new
brake pads do not possess their fu ll braking
effect, they have to be "broken in" first
c> .&. .
You can compensate for this slightly reduced
braking power by push ing harder on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy brak
ing loads dur ing the
break -in period.
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat
ing condit ions and driving hab its
c> .&. . On
vehicles that are either driven mostly in stop and-go city traff ic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author
ized Audi dea ler more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have you r brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking
effect of the engine . This way, you prevent un
necessary wear on the brake system.
If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuous ly . Pump the brakes at inter
vals.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, b rak ing force and outside cond i
t ions such as temperature and humidity .
Effect of water and road salt
In certain situations, for example after driv in g
t hr ough water, in heavy rain, after overnight
condensation or after washing you r car, the
braking effec t can be reduced by mois ture or
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads. The
brakes must be dried first with a few careful
brake applications .

At higher speeds and with the windshield wip
ers turned on, the brake pads press against
the brake rotors for a short amount of time.
This occurs at regular intervals without the
driver noticing and provides for better brake
response time under wet conditions.
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is dr iven on a salt-covered
road and the brakes are not used . Likewise,
you clean
off accumulated sa lt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few cautious ap
plications of the brake~&. .
Cor ro sion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven regularly or
only for short trips with little use of the
brakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor
rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean
off the pads and discs by brak ing
firm ly a few times from a moderately h igh
speed
¢ .Li). .
Fa ults in the brake system
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal travel, then one of the two brake
circu its may have failed~&,. .
Low brake flu id le vel
Malfunct ions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fluid level is too low . T he brake fluid
level is monitored electronically .
Brake boo ste r
The brake booster increases the pressure th at
you generate w ith the bra ke pedal. It works
only when the engine is running
. ¢ &.
Brake lining w ear statu s
Brake lining wea r may be c hecked by vis ual in
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces
sary, the whee l may be removed for this in
spection
¢ page 244, Changing a wheel.
Int ellig ent technolog y 183
A WARNING
-New brake pads don't have the best stop
ping power and must be "b roken-in" dur
ing the initial 100 to 150 miles (150 to
200 kilometers) of normal c ity dr iving .
You can compensate for this by pressing the brake pedal more firmly. This also
applies la ter when new pads are instal
led.
- You should perform braking m aneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit .
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may ca use an accident!
- Before descend ing a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gea r or lower dr iving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often . Th is could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by rest ing your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to b rake. This may cause the brakes to
overheat, p remature wear and increased
s topping distance.
- Unde r ce rtain cl imatic and ope rat ing
conditions such as passing thro ugh wa
ter, dr iv ing in heavy rain o r after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumu late on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully app ly brakes
for a test. Brakes w ill dry and ice coat
ings w ill be cleaned
off after a few care
fu l brake applicat ions .
- Driving for an extended period of time o n
salt-cove red roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency.
C lean
off accum ulated salt coa ting from
bra ke disc s and pad s wi th a few ca reful
bra ke applica tions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a diffe rent spoiler, be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct
ed . Otherw ise the bra ke system could
•
•