
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
11-Keep the switch@¢ page 79, fig. 92 pulled
and depress the accelerator. The park ing
brake stays applied and prevents the vehicle
from roll ing backward.
11-You can release the switch @ once you are
su re that yo u are develop ing enough dr iv ing
f orce at the wheels by depress ing the accel
erator.
D epending on the weight of the r ig (vehicle
and tra ile r) and the severi ty of the in cli ne, you
may roll backwards as you start. Yo u can pre
vent rolling backwards by holding the parking brake switch @ pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill with
a conventional hand brake.
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake system fails or locks.
11-In an emergency, pull the switch @
¢
page 79, fig. 92 and contin ue to p ull it to
s low your vehicle down with the parking
brake.
11-As soon as you release the sw itch @ or ac-
ce lerate, the braking process stops .
If you pull the sw itch @ and ho ld it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the emergen
cy braking function is in itiated. The vehicle is
braked at all four wheels by activating the hy
draul ic brake system . T he b rake performance
i s simi lar to making an emergency stop ¢
.&,.
In order not to activate the emergency brak
i ng by m istake, an audible warning tone (buz
zer) sounds when the switch @ is pu lled. As
soon as the switch @ is released, o r th e accel
e rator pedal is dep ressed , emergency bra king
stops.
WARNING
Emergency braking should on ly be used in
an eme rgency, when the normal foot brake
On th e ro ad 81
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed.
Using the parking brake to perform emer
gency brak ing will slow your vehicle down
as if you had made a full brake application .
The laws of physics cannot be suspended
even with ESC and its associated compo
nents (ABS, ASR, EDS). In corners and
when road o r wea the r cond itions are b ad,
a full brake application can ca use the vehi
cle to skid or the rear end to break away -
risking an accident .
Speed warning system
, Overview
The speed warning system helps you to keep
your driving speed below a set speed limit.
The speed warning system warns if the driver
exceeds a previous ly stored max imum speed.
A war ning tone w ill sound as soon as the vehi
cle speed exceeds the set speed by about
3 mph (3 km/h) . At the same t ime, a warn ing
symbol appears in the display. The symbo l's
appearan ce might be different in some mod
els.
The speed warn ing system has two warning
thresholds that funct ion i ndependent ly of
each othe r and that have somewhat different
purposes:
Speed w arning 1
You can use speed warning 1 to set the maxi mum speed while you are driving . This setting
will remain in effect until you turn off the ig ni
tion, assumi ng that you have not changed or
rese t the set ting.
The . (USA models) /. (Canada models)
speed warning symbo l in the warning 1 dis
play appears when you exceed the maximum
speed . It goes ou t when the speed falls be low
the stored maximum speed.
T he speed warn ing symbol w ill also go out if
the speed
exceeds t h e stored maximum speed
by more than about 25 mph (40 km/h) for at
least 10 seconds . The stored max imum speed
is de leted . ..,_

-Always acce lerate with specia l care on
even, smooth surfaces s uch as t hose that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can s pin even with
the se assistance systems that cannot al
ways help to reduce the risk of loss of ve hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equ ipped w ith ident i-
Switching on /off
Intelligen t technolog y 181
cal tires. D iffe rent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
described are working .
- I f the ind ica to r light
$1 or ml (USA
mode ls)/ [i] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
¢ page 18,
¢ page 19.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 16 7 Versio n A: lower ce nter console,~ OFF but
to n
The ESC is designed to function in levels. De
pending on the leve l that is selected, the sta
b ili zation function of the ESC is limited or
switched off . The amount of stab ilizat ion con
trol will diffe r depend ing on the level.
The follow ing s ituations are exceptions where
it may be useful to switc h on sport mode to
allow the whee ls to spin:
~ • _j ---------' -~ _.,.,
Fig. 168 Ve rsio n 8: uppe r ce nte r console,~ OFF bu t
to n
-Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow o r on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains

184 Intelligent technology
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one brake circuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in
creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop .
- Never let the vehicle roll to a stop w ith
the engine shut off .
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed conside ra
bly harder to make up for the lac k of
booster assistance .
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power as sist helps
the driver when steering.
Powe r stee ring adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Do not drive vehicle!
If this ind icator lig ht tu rns on and stays on
an d th is message appears, t he power steer ing
may have f ailed.
D o
not cont in ue d riving. See yo ur autho rized
Aud i deale r or a q ua lifi ed r epa ir facility for as
sistance.
'II Dynamic steering : System fault! You can
cont inue driv ing
If the indic ator light t urns on and the mes
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi
cul t to move or more se nsitive than usual. The
steer ing wheel may also be at an angle whe n
d riving straight .
Drive s low ly to your author ized Audi dealer or
q ua lified workshop to have the malfunction
cor rected .
'y.ij Dynamic steering: initializing
If this driver message appears and the indica
tor light is f lashing on the instrument panel,
dynam ic steer ing * is being re in it ia lized. After
starting the engine, the steering wheel will move s light ly. Re- initiali zation might be nec
essary if the steering wheel was moved hard
to the left and right wh ile the vehicle was not
moving . Th e display goes out as soon as ini ti
ali za tion is complete.
_& WARNING
Ha ve the dy namic stee ring * system m al
f u nction repa ired as soon as possible by an
a uthorized Au di dea ler or qua lified work
shop -risk of acc ident !
(D Tips
-If the . or 'II indic ator li ght only s tays
on fo r a shor t time, you m ay continue
dr iving.
- The dynamic s teerin g* stabi lit y syste ms
are no t av ail ab le in the even t of a system
ma lf u nction .
- F or ad di tion al information on dynamic
steering *, refe r to ¢ page 106 .
-
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to vehicles: wi th all-w hee l drive
With a/I-wheel drive , all four wheels are driv
en .
General information
With a ll-wheel d rive, power is distr ib uted to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
co ndit ions at the time . See also ¢ page 179 .
A center d ifferential distributes the driving
power variably to the front and rear axle. It
wor ks together with selective w heel torque
co ntrol, wh ich activates when dr iving t hro ugh
c ur ves ¢page 180. With the sport differe n
t ia l* , pow er d istr ibut ion to the rea r wheels is
variable a nd can be adjusted w ith drive se lect
Q page 106. .,..

The all-wheel drive concept is designed fo r
high engine power. Your vehicle is exception
ally powerful and has exce llent dr iving charac
ter istics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice . Always read and follow
safety precautions
c> & .
Winte r tires
When driving in the winter, your ve hicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even with
regular t ires. In winter road conditions it may
be adv isable to mount winter tires (or all-sea
son t ires) for imp roved driveability and brak
i ng: these tires must be mounted on
a ll four
w heel s.
See also c> page 23 7, Winter tires.
Tire chain s
Where tire cha ins are mandatory on certain
roads, th is normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive
c> page 238, Snow
chains.
R eplacing wheel s/tire s
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must a lways
have tires of the same size. Also avoid t ires
with d ifferent tread depths . For details see
page ~
page 233, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Ro ad dri ving ?
Your Audi 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
c> page 187.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf
fic condit ions . Do not let the ext ra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
- Although the all-whee l dr ive is very ef
fective, a lways remember that b raking
capacity is limited by tire traction. Yo u
sho uld therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
dr ive too fast because the front wheels
Int ellig ent technolog y 185
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning). If th is should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in crease in engine speed as w it h a front
wheel drive veh icle . Always drive at
speeds which are su ited 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 conventiona l energy system
is not driven for a long period of time, the bat
tery is discharged by idling current consumers (e .g. immobilizer). In certain circumstances it
can resu lt in there being insuffic ient energy
available to start the eng ine .
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle handles the distribution of e lectr ica l ener
gy. Start ing ability is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Basically, energy management consists of
battery diagnosis , idling current manage
ment
and dynamic ene rgy management .
Batte ry diagnos is
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the batte ry . Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
With the ign ition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrical compo
nents. Data from battery d iagnos is is cons id
ered .
Depend ing on the battery's state of charge,
individual consumers are gradually turned
off .,_ •
•

Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at wh ich a tire is des igned to
be driven for extended periods of t ime . The
ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h)
¢page 234. You may
not find this information on all tires because
it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, where applica b le, is molded on the tire sidewall and indi
cates the maximum permissible road speeds
¢ &. in Winter tires on page 238.
Tire pressure monitoring system*
means a system that detects when one or
more of a vehicle's tires are underinflated and
illuminates a low tire pressure warn ing te ll
tale .
Tread
means that port ion of a tire that comes into
contact with the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread from the tire
carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the pr incipal
grooves designed to give a visual ind ication of
the degrees of wear of the tread. See
¢
page 232, Tread Wear Indicator (TWI) for
mo re inf ormat ion on measuring tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system developed by the
United States National Highway Traffic Safety
Admin istration (N HTSA) that is designed to
help buyers make relative comparisons among
tires . Th e U TQG is not a safety rating and not a
g ua ran tee that a tir e will last for a prescribed
number of mi les (kilometers) or perform in a
certain way. It simply gives tire buyers addi
tional information to combine with other con-
Tires and wheels 225
siderations, such as price, brand loyalty and
dealer recommendations. Under UTQG, tires
are graded by the t ire manufacturers in three
areas : treadwear, traction, and temperature
resistance. The UTQG informat ion on the tires,
molded into the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number". It begins
with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federa l standards. The next two
numbers or letters indicate the plant where it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of manufacture.
For example,
DOT ... 2213 ...
means that the tire was produced in the 22nd
week of 2013. The other numbers are market
ing codes that may or may not be used by the
tire manufacturer. This information is used to
contact consumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and luggage load plus
150 lbs . (68 k ilograms) times the vehicle's to
tal seating capacity as listed on the label lo
cated on the driver's side B -pillar .
Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is
determined by distributing to each axle its
share of the maximum loaded vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individual tire that is
determined by distributing to each ax le its
share of the curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (distr ibuted in
accordance with table below¢
page 226)
and dividing by two.
•
•

232 Tires and wheels
to determine how this reduces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
.,.Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 233, fig. 186) to de
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
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. 184 Tire tread: tread wear indicators (TWI)
_____ ___,.J)
Fig. 185 Rotating tires for more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
c:> fig. 184 running across the tread. Depend·
ing on the make , there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the tire. M ar ks on
the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicators. Worn tires must be replaced. Different
figures may apply in other countries
c:>& .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c:> page 228.
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 intervals outlined in your
Maintenance and Warranty 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. 185.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c:> page 249 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed. .,.

236 Tire s and whee ls
- All four wheels must be fitted with radia l
t ires of th e same ty pe, size (r olling c ir
cumfe rence) and the same tread pattern.
Dr iv in g with different tires reduces veh i
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
c o ntrol.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
t ires that are mounted on the veh icle -
for example with winter tires - on ly use
the spare tire for a short period of time
and dr ive with extra care. Refit the no r
ma l road whee l as soon as safely possi
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maxim um
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
sudden ly.
- Overloading ti res cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades app ly to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un
derinflated.
- For technical reasons it is not a lways
poss ible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel tr im discs on the ve
hicle whee ls, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked . Reduced air
flow to the brakes can them to overheat,
increasing stopping d istances and caus
ing a collision.
- Run flat t ires may on ly be used on
vehicles that we re eq uipped w ith them
at the factory. The vehicle must have a
chassis des igned for r un flat t ires and a
factory-installed tire press ure monito r
ing system * that indicates a loss of tire
pressure. Incorrect use of run flat tires
can lead to vehicle damage or accidents.
Check with an authorized Audi dea ler or
t ire spec ialist to see if you r vehicle can be
equipped with run flat tires .
If run flat
t ires a re used, they must be insta lled on
all four wheels. M ixing tire types is not
permitted.
(D Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
poss ible to use the wheel rims from oth
er veh icles. T his can hold tr ue for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the tires that you have mounted on your ve
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profi le tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive w ith
extra care. Replace the flat tire w it h the
ti re mat ching the othe rs on your vehicle
as soon as possi ble.
- Never d rive without the valve stem cap.
The v alves co uld get damaged.
@ For the sake of the environment
Dispose of o ld tires in accordance w ith the
l ocal requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Tra ction AA A B (
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the t ire s ide wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
c> page 233,
fig . 186.
For e xample: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA ,
Temperature A .
All passenger car ti res must conform to Feder
al Safety Requirements in add ition to these
grades .
Tread w ear
The tread wear g rade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
u nder contro lled conditions on a specified
government test course.
F o r example, a tire graded 1S0 wo uld wear
one and one ha lf (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a ti re graded 100. ..,_

The relative perform a nee of ti res depends
upon the actua l conditions of their use, how
ever, and may depart sign ificantly from the
norm due to var iat ions in dr iving habits, serv
ice practices and differences in road character
istics and climate .
Trac tion
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the
tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled cond itions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete . A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance ¢,&. .
Temp erature
The temperature grades are A (the h ighest),
B, and
C, representing the t ire's resistance to
the generat ion of heat and its ability to dissi
pate heat when tested under controlled condi
tions on a specified i ndoor laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the
materia l of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden ti re fa ilu re ¢ ,&. .
The grade
C corresponds to a level of perform
ance which all passenger car tires must meet
u nder the Federa l Moto r Veh icle Safety Stand
a rd No.
1 09. G rades Band A represent h igher
l eve ls of perfo rmance on the laboratory tes t
wheel than the m inimum required by law .
A WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this ti re is
based on stra ight-ahead b raking t raction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydrop lan ing or peak traction
character istics.
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this t ire is es
tablished for a t ire that is p roperly inflated
and not overloaded. Excessive speed, un
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
-
Tire s an d wheel s 237
separately or in combinat ion, can ca use
heat bui ldup and possible tire failure.
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice. At temperatures below 45 °F (7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires.
In some heavy snow areas, local governments
may require true winter o r "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. These tires should
o nly be used in pairs and be installed o n all
four wheels . Make sure you purchase snow
t ires that are the same size and construction
type as the other tires on you r vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with all wheel drive,
th is w ill improve traction during winter driv
i ng, even with the standa rd tires . However, we
strong ly recommend that you always equip all
fo ur wheels on you r vehicle wit h corre ct ly fit
ted winter tires or all-season t ires, when win
te r road cond itions are expected . This also im
proves the veh icle's braking per formance and
reduces stopping dista nces.
Summe r tires provide less grip on i ce and
snow.
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
o n all fo ur wheels .
Ask your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop for permitted
winter tire size s. Use
o nly rad ial w inter t ires.
Winter tires lose their effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .157 inch
(4 mm) .
Only drive w ith w inter t ires under w inter con
dit ions. Summer t ires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °() .
If you have a flat tire, see notes on spare
whee l
¢page 233.
Please a lways remember that winter tires may
have a lowe r speed rating than the tires o rigi -
nally installed on your vehicle at the time it .,.
•
•