Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 179
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
B.J in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficu lt driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
possibility of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
•
•
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. ~
194 Trailer towing
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly w hen tow ing
a tr ailer because of the addit ional weight and
different weight distribution . Safety, perform
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become comp letely familiar with the way
your veh icle-trailer combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler genera lly requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your veh icle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve
hicle and the one in front of you . You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
When passing, remember that you cannot ac
celerate as fast as you normally would be
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your tra iler before chang
in g lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
{Dl Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler dur ing the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your A udi may re
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
q page 264.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol lowing :
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
veh icle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load.
.. Turn the whee ls towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking brake.
.. Move the selector lever to P.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake .
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the selector lever to D/S .
.. Release the parking brake and s lowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto
matic transmission to P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
later to move the lever out of the P posi
tion.
224 Tires and wheels
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR" )
means the maximum total loaded weight o f
the vehicle.
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 inflat ion pressure. You
may not find this informat ion on all tires be
cause it is not requ ired by law .
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the maxi
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 opt ions 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 kilog rams) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the tota l seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means dist ribution of occupants in a veh icle.
Outer diameter
means the overall 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 or ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubbe r-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production opt ions we ighing over 5
lbs. ( 2.3 kg) in excess of those standa rd items
wh ich they replace, not previously cons idered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, heavy duty
battery, and specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substa n
tially 90 degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation pressure
see <=;> page 223, Cold tire inflation pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
responding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewal l.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal 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 rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nom inal d istance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead .
you have stored. The system does not recog
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the ti re pressu re monitor
ing sys tem* will be impaired if you store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load¢,& .
See the illustration ¢
fig. 182 for the location
of the label on dr iver's side B-pillar (co lor of
the actual labe l and exact location on the ve
hicle wi ll vary slig htly) .
Note that the fo llowing tab le is accurate a t
the t ime o f go ing to press and is subject to
Model Tire designation
Engine
AS Cabriol et: 225/50 Rl 7 94H
2.0 lit er All S eason
4 -cy linder
24 5/40 R18 93H
All Sea son
245 /45 R17 95H
All Sea son
255 /35 R19 96 V
High Performanc e
S5 Cabriol et: 245/40 R18 9 7V
3.0 liter High Performance
6- cyl inder
255/35 R1 9 96V
High Performanc e
Tires an d wheel s 22 7
ch ange. In the event of discrepancies, the ti re
pressure label is located on the driver's side B
pillar always takes precedence .
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflat ion pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literat ure at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal
l ed on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
normal load condition full load condition (up to 2 occupants)
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
33 230 30 210 36 250 39 270
35 240 32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 29 200 35 240
38 260
32 220 32 220 3S 240 38 260
39 270
35 240
42 290 44
300
39 270 35 240 42 290 44
300
•
•
XL= reinfo rced or extra lo ad tire. It may al so appear a s xl, EX TRA LOAD , or R F on the tire side-
w all.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
l ocated on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equipment during the model year, a l
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle with the
tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire
size information on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the t ires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be
l ongs to someone else or you bought the ve hi- cle w
ith different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle .
Remember, your safety and that of your pas
sengers also depends on making sure that
l oad lim its are not exceeded. Vehicle load in
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are technically refer
red to as the veh icle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rat ing ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle We ight Rat
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two ax les .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and the .,,.
230 Tire s and wheel s
the function of the tire pressure monitor
ing system*.
- Always inflate tires to the recommended
and correct tire pressure before driving
off.
- Driv ing with under inflated tires bend
more, letting them get too hot resu lting
in tread separation, sudden t ire fail ure
and loss of control.
- Excess ive speed and/overloading can
cause heat bui ld-up, sudden t ire failure
and loss of control.
- If the t ire pressure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wear prematurely and the
vehicle will not hand le we ll.
- If the t i re is not flat and you do not have
to change a wheel immed iate ly, dr ive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta
t ion to check the tire pressure a nd add
air as required.
0 Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps can cause
damage to the t ire va lves . To prevent this,
always ma ke sure that facto ry installed
valve stem caps on all wheels a re secu re ly
mou nte d on the valve.
@) For the sake of the environment
Unde rinflated tires will a lso inc reas e the
fue l cons umption .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amo unt of load or
weight that any vehicle and any t ire can carry .
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overloading
can not only lead to loss of vehicle contro l,
but c an also damage import ant parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudde n tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause t he veh icle to crash .
Your safety and that of your passengers a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded . Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle. These load lim
its are technically referred to as the
vehicle's
Gro ss Vehicle Weight R ating
("GVWR").
T he "GVWR" includes t he weight of the basic
vehicle , a ll f actory installed accessories, a f ull
tank of fuel, oi l, coo lant and other f luids plus
maximum load. The max imum load incl udes
the number of passengers that the vehicle is
intended to carry ("seat ing capac ity ") wi th an
assumed we ight of 150 lbs . (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating posit ion
and the total weight of a ny luggage in the ve
hicle. If you tow a trai le r, the we ight of the
t ra ile r hi tc h and the tongue we ight of the
l oaded tra iler mus t be include d as part of the
vehicle load .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating ("GAWR ") is
the max imum load that can be applied a t each
of the veh icle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and the
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are listed on the
sa fety comp lian ce s ticke r label loca ted on the
driver's side B-pillar. Yo ur Audi has 4 seat ing
pos itions , 2 in the front and 2 in the rea r fo r
total seati ng capacity of 4. Each seating posi
t ion has a seat belt c:>
page 132, Safety belts.
T he fact that there is an upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating means
t h at the total weight of whatever is being car
ried in the vehicle ( includ ing the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the
loaded tra iler) is lim ited. The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier tha n the sta ndard we igh ts assumed
mean that less we ight can be carried as lug
gage.
The tire pressure label o n your Aud i also lists
the max imum combi ned weig ht of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
t h e vehi cle can carry . Fo r th e lo ca tion of the
l a bel c:>page 226,
fig.182.
8_ WARNING
<=
Over loading a vehicle can cause loss o f ve -
hicl e co ntro l, a c rash or other accident, se-
rious personal injury, and even death. .,.
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, including the installation of replace
ment or alternate tires or whee ls on the veh i
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct io ni ng
p roperly . Always check the T PMS malfunct ion
tellta le afte r replacing one o r more t ires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re
p lacemen t or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly .
Tire pressure indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 187 Display: underinflatio n warning
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni
toring system compares the t ire tread circum
ference and vibration characteristics of the in
d iv idual tires . If the pressure decreases in one
or mo re tires, th is is indica ted in the instru
ment clus ter with a
RE wa rning symbol and a
message¢
fig. 187 . The driver message in the
disp lay goes out after 5 seconds . The driver
message can be displayed again by pressing
the
! SET ! button. If only one tire is affected,
the display will indicate its pos ition.
The ti re pressu re monitoring system must be
reset via radio or MMI* each time the pres
sures are adjusted (e.g . when switching be
tween partia l and full load pressure) or after
changing or replacing a t ire on your vehicle
¢
page 242 . The TPMS indicator only moni
tors the tire pressure that you have prev iously
Tire s an d wheel s 241
stored . You can find the recommended t ire
pressures for yo ur vehicle on the label on driv
er's side 8-pillar ¢
page 226.
T ire tread circum ference and vibration charac
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- t he t ire p ress ure in one or more tires is too
low,
- t he t ire has s tructural damage,
- the t ire pressure was changed, wheels rotat-
ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢ page 242.
Warning symbo ls
RE Loss of pressure in at least one tire c> & .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repa ir if
necessary. The
RE ind icator light in the instru
ment cluster a lso illuminates
c::!;> page 13.
Check/correct the press ures of all fou r tires
and reset TPMS via radio or MMI*.
Ill (T ir e Pre ssure Monitor ing System) Tire
press ure: Syst em malfun ction!.
If II! appears after switching the ignition on
o r while dr iv ing and the
RE i ndicator light in
the instr ume nt cluster blinks for app rox i
mately o ne minute and t hen stays o n, there is
a system malf unct ion.
Attempt to store the co rrect tire pressure
¢ page 242 . If the ind icator light does not
tu rn off o r if it turns on sho rtly the reafter, im
med iate ly dr ive your vehicle to a n author ized
Audi dealer or au thorized repair faci lity to
have the malfunc tion corrected .
A WARNING
-=
-If the tire pressure indicator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or
more of your t ires is significant ly under
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard steer ing or b raking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possib le and
check the tires and their pressures. In
flate the tire p ressure to the prope r pres
sure as indica ted on the vehicle's tire
pressu re labe l
¢page 226. Driving on a
significantly under-inflated tire causes
•
•
24 2 T ire s and wheel s
the tire to overheat and can lead to tire
failure. Under-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's handling and stop
ping ability .
- The driver is responsible for ma inta ining
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the t ire pressures regularly .
- Under certain cond itions (such as a spor
ty driving style, winter condit ions or un
paved roads), the pressure monitor ind i
cator may be de layed .
-Ask your author ized Audi dealer if run
flat tires may be used on your veh icle.
Your vehicle registrat ion becomes invalid
if you use these tires when not permit
ted. Damage to your veh icle or acc idents
cou ld also resu lt.
@ Tips
- The tire pressure monitoring system
stops working when there is an ESC/ABS
malfunction.
- Using snow chains may resul t in a system
malfunction.
- The tire pressure monitoring system on
you r Audi was developed using t ires with
the "AO" or "RO" identification on the
tire sidewall¢
page 233 . We recom
mend using these t ires .
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels are ro
tated or changed, the TPMS must be reset via
radio or MMI*.
11> Before resett ing the TPMS, the cu rrent pres
sures of all fou r tires m ust correspond to
the specified val ues . Adjust the tire pressure
and reset the pressure i n the tire press ure
monitoring system according to the load
you are carry ing
¢ page 226.
11> Turn on the ignition .
11> Select : the ICAR I function button > Tire pre s
sure monitoring
> Stor e now . Or
i,. Se lect : the ICA RI function button > Ca r sys
tem s*
control button > Servicing & check s >
Tire pre ssure m onito ring > St or e tire pre s
s ure s.
@ Tips
Do not store the tire pressure if there are
snow chains on the tire .