2014 AUDI S4 warning

Intelligent technology 189
Sedan: ESC levels
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC /ASR on
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza- The stalbilization f unct ion The fu ll sta bilization f unc-
tion funct ions are lim ited is not ava ilable
c:> A . ESC tion of the ESC and ASR is
c:, A . and ASR are sw itched off. available agai n.
Operation Press t he I~ OFF I button Pre ss and h old t he I~ OFFI Press t he i.i, OF FI bu tton
briefly. bu
tton longer than 3 sec -
aga in .
o nd s.
Indicator II turns on. II an d II turn on . II turns off or fl and II
lights tur n off.
Driv er mes· Stabilization control Stabilization control Stabilization control
sages (
ESC) : Sport . Warning! (ESC): off . Warning! Re- (ESC) : On
Restricted stability stricted stability
allroad: ESC level s
Offroad mode on Offroad mode off
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabilization funct ions T he full stab ilizat ion function of the ESC
are limited
c:> A .
Operation Press the I~ OFFI bu tton.
Indicator II tur ns on.
light s
D river mes- Stabilization control (ESC ): Offroad.
sages Warning! Rest
ricted stability
It is on ly possible to t urn off the AS R up to 30
mph (SO km/h) f or veh icles with front whee l
drive. At about
45 mph (70 km/h) it a utomat 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 .
A WARNING
-
Yo u should o nly sw itch sport mode/off ­
r oa d m ode on or swi tch E SC/A SR off if your
d rivi ng abili ties a nd ro ad con ditio ns per­
m it .
- T he stabili zation fu nction is limited
w he n sp ort m od e/off road mode is
switched on . The driving w heels could
s p in and t he vehicle c ould swerve, es pe­
c ia lly on s lick or slipp ery roa d sur faces .
- all road: Yo u should o nly sw itc h off roa d
mode on when driving offroad .
- S edan: There is no vehicle sta biliz atio n
w hen ESC/AS R are switched off . and ASR
is availab le aga in.
Press t he
I~ OFF I button again .
II turns off.
Stabilization control (ESC ): On
(D Tips
ESC/ASR cannot be switched off o r sp o rt
mode/offroad mode ca nnot be switched
on when adaptive cruise control * is switch­
ed o n.
Braking
What affects braking effic iency?
New brake pads
D uring the first 250 mi les (4 00 km), new
brake pads do not possess the ir full brak ing
effect, they have t o be "broken in" first
c:> A .
You can compensate for this slightly reduce d
braking powe r by pushing har der on the brake
p edal. Avo id heavy b ra ki ng loa ds dur ing t he
break-i n pe riod.
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190 Intelligent technology
Operating conditions and d riving hab it s
The brakes on today 's automob iles are st ill
subject to wear, depending largely on operat ­
ing conditions and driving habits
c::> ,& . On
vehicles that are either driven mostly in stop­
and-go city traffic or are driven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
W arranty & M ainte nance booklet . Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result
in reduced b rake pe rformance.
On steep slopes, you should use the brak ing
effect of the eng ine . This way, you prevent un ­
necessa ry wear on the brake system. If you
must use you r brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuously . P u mp the b rakes at inter­
va ls.
Operating nois e
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, braking force and outside condi­
tions such as temperature and humidity .
Effect of w ater and ro ad sa lt
In certain situat ions, for example after driving
through wate r, in heavy ra in, after overn ight
condensation or after washing your car, the brak ing effect can be reduced by moistu re or
i ce on the bra ke roto rs and b rake pads . The
b rakes must be dried fi rst with a few ca ref ul
brake app lications .
At h igher speeds and with the w indshie ld w ip­
e rs turned on, the brake pads press agains t
the bra ke rotors for a short amount of time.
This occurs a t 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 driven 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 caut ious ap ­
plications of the brake
c::> ,& .
Cor rosion
There may be a tendency for dirt to bui ld up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on the d
iscs if the car is not driven regu larly or
o n Ly for short trips with litt le use of the
brakes.
If t he brakes a re not used frequently, o r if cor­
r os ion has formed on the discs, it is adv isable
to clean off the pads and discs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately h igh
speed
c::> .&. .
Fault s in the brak e syst em
If you shou ld notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
circuits may have fai led
c::> .& .
Low br ake fluid lev el
Malfunctions ca n occu r in the b ra ke system if
t h e b rake fluid level is too low. The brake flu id
l evel is monitored electronica lly.
Brake booster
The brake booster inc reases the pressure that
you generate with the b rake peda l. It works
o n ly when the engine is runn ing
.c::> .&
Brake lining wear status
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in­
spect io n of the condition of the brake pads
th rough the open ings in the wheel. If neces­
sary, the wheel may be removed fo r thi s i n­
spe ct ion
c::> page 255, Changing a wheel.
.&, WARNING
- New b rake pads don' t have the bes t stop­
ping power and m ust be "bro ken -in" dur ­
ing the initial 100 to 150 miles (150 to
200 kilometers) of normal c ity driving.
You can compensate for this by pressing the brake pedal more firmly. Th is also
applies later when new pads are instal­
led.
- You shou ld perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit.
Othe r road use rs must no t 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
gear or lower dr iving range. Do not ride
~

th e brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too ofte n. This cou ld cause the
brakes t o get hot and dimi nish b raking
efficiency .
- Do not "r ide t he b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do n ot intend
t o brake . Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certa in climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving i n heavy rai n or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effe ct iveness of the
brakes can be re duced. In winter, ice can
acc umulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few care­
ful brake app lications.
- Driv ing for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads w ithout using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads w ith a few caref ul
brake applicat io ns.
- If you damage the front spo iler, or if you
install a diff ere nt spoiler, be sure the air
flow to t he front b ra kes is not obstr uct­
ed . Otherwise the br ake sys tem co uld
overheat red ucing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake sys tem.
- F ailure of one br ake circui t will im pair
the brakin g capability res ulting in an in­
creased stop ping distance . Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to t he near­
est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not work ing, the
brake pedal must be pressed considera­
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Int ellig ent technolog y 191
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
t he driver when steering.
Power steer ing adap ts electronically based on
t he ve hicl e spee d.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defect ive! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and t his message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or a qualified repair facility for as­
s istance.
':rij Dynamic steering: Sy stem fault! You can
continue dr iving
If the indic ator ligh t turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cu lt to move o r more sensitive tha n usual. The
steering wheel may a lso be at an ang le when
driv ing straight.
Drive slowly to your a uth orized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lf u nction
corrected.
(;rij Dynamic ste ering : initializing
If this drive r message appea rs and the indica­
tor light is flas hing on the instrument panel,
dynam ic steer ing* i s being rein itia lized. After
sta rting the engine, the stee ring w heel will
move s light ly . Re- initializa tion might be nec ­
essary if the stee ring wheel was moved hard
to the left and right whi le the vehicle was not
moving. The display goes out as soon as initi­
alization is complete .
A WARNING
-Have the dy namic stee ring* system mal­
f u nction repa ired as soon as possible by an
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop - risk of acc ident!
-
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•

192 Intelligent technology
(D Tips
-If the . or 'Tj indicator light only stays
on for a short time, you may continue
driving.
- The dynamic steering* stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction.
- For additional information on dynamic
steering*, refer to
c:> page 113.
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to vehicles: with a ll-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time . See also
c:> page 186.
A center differential distributes the driving
power variably to the front and rear axle .
It
works together with selective wheel torque
control , which activates when driving through
curves
c:> page 187. With the sport differen­
tial*, power distribution to the rear wheels is
variable and can be adjusted with drive select
c:>page 113.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
high engine power . Your vehicle is exception­
ally powerful and has excellent driving charac­
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precautions
c:> & .
Winter tires
When driving in the winter , your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels .
See also c:> page 246, Winter tires .
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive
c:> page 247, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always have tires of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see
page
c:> page 242, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle.
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un­ even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
c:> page 195.
A WARNING
-
Always adjust your driving to road and traf-
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by tire traction . You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning). If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in­ crease in engine speed as with a front­
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds which 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 period of time , the bat­
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e.g. immobilizer). In ce rtain c ircumstances it
can result in there being insuff icient ene rgy
avai lab le to start the engine .
Intell igent energy management in your vehi­
cle hand les the d istribution of electrical ener­
gy. Starting ab il ity is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended.
Basically, energy management consists of
batt ery di agno sis, idlin g current man ag e­
m ent
and dyn ami c en ergy m anage ment .
Batter y diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery . Sensors determ ine
battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This dete rm ines the current
state of charge and the powe r of the battery.
Idling curr ent man agement
Idling current management reduces ene rgy
consumption while the vehicle is stand ing .
W ith the ignition switched off, it cont ro ls the
energy supply to the va rious electr ical compo ­
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
i nd ividua l consumers are gradual ly t urned off
to prevent excess ive d ischarge of the bat tery
and thus maintain starting capability .
Dynamic en ergy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en­
e rgy management dist ributes the energy gen­
e rated according to the needs of the individu­
a l components.
It reg ulates cons umption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
Int ellig ent technolog y 193
than is being generated and ensures an opti ­
mal state of charge for the battery.
(0 Tips
- But even energy management canno t
negate the limits of physics . Consider
that the power and life of a battery are
limited .
- If starting ability is threatened, the indi­
cator light (•)
;:i ppears ~ page 17.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
T he bat tery is severe ly taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Ab undant electrical energy is re­
quired, but on ly a little is generated .
It is also
critica l if the engine is not running and electri­
ca l components are turned on . In this in­
stance energy is be ing consumed but none is
being generated .
It is in precisely these situations that you will
notice energy management active ly regulat­
ing the d istribution of energy.
V ehicle stand s for an ex tend ed peri od
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, e lectrica l compo­
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and ma in­
ta ins start ing capability over a longer period .
Some of the convenience functions may not
operate, such as the interior l ights or the
power seat adjustme nt. The convenience
funct ions w ill be available again when you
swi tch on the ignition and sta rt the eng ine .
With the eng in e turn ed off
If you listen to the radio, for example, w ith
the engine tu rned off or use other MMI func­
tions, the battery is be ing d ischarged.
If starting capability is jeopardized due to en ­
ergy consumption, the following warning ap- pears in the MM I display: ..,.
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•

194 Intelligent technology
Plea se start the engin e soon or th e system
w ill be tu rned off.
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automa tic ally after 3 m inu tes. If
you wish to continue using the functions , you
have to start the engine .
With the engine running
Although electrical e nergy is generated when
the vehicle is be ing driven , the battery can be­
come d ischarged. This happens most ly when
little energy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery 's state of
charge is not optimal.
To br ing the energy balance back into equili­
brium, consumers which require especia lly
large amounts of energy are temporarily c ut
back or switched off. Heating systems in par·
ticular requ ire a great deal of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they have been temporar ily cut back or switched
off. These systems will be ava ilable again as
soon as the energy ba lance has been restored.
You will also notice that engine idle speed has been increased slightly . This is norma l and not
a cause fo r concern . By increas ing engine idle
speed the add itiona l ene rgy required is gener­
ated and the batte ry is charged.

Driving and
environment
The first 1
1000
miles
(11500 km) and
afterwards
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) .
For the first 600 mile s (1,000
kilometers ):
.,. Do not use full throttle.
.,. Do not drive at engine speeds that are more
than 2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM .
From 600 to 1,000 mile s (1 ,000 to
1,500 kilometers ):
.. Speeds can gradually be increased to the
maximum perm iss ible road or eng ine speed .
During and after br eak-in period
.. Do not rev the engine up to h igh speeds
when it is cold. Th is applies whether the
transmission is in N (Neutral) or in gear.
After the break- in peri od
.. Do not exceed max imum eng ine speed un­
der any circumstances .
.. Upshift into the next higher gear before
reaching the red area at the end of the tach­
ometer scale c.>page 10.
During the first few hours of driving, the en­
g ine's internal friction is higher than later
when all the moving parts have been broken
in . How well this break -in process is done de ­
pends to a considerable extent on the way the
ve hicl e is driven du ring the first 1,000 miles
(1,500 kilome ters).
(D Note
Extremely h igh engine speeds are auto­
mat ica lly reduc ed. However, t hese rpm
lim its are programmed for a n engine well
r u n- in, not a new engine.
Driving and environment 195
@) For the sake of the environment
Do not drive with unnecessarily high en­
g ine speeds -upshifting ear ly saves f uel,
reduces noise and protects the environ­
ment.
New tires
If your vehicle is running on new tires, drive
very carefully for the first 350 miles (500 ki lo­
meters) after fitting.
.&, WARNING
N ew tires tend to be sl ippery and mus t al­
so be "b roken -in" . Be sure to remember
this dur ing the f irst 350 m iles (500 kilo­
meters) . Brake gently . Avoid fo llowing
closely behind other vehicles or other sit­
uations that m ight require sudden, hard
b raking .
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are d rivi ng on poo r roads, or over
cu rbs, steep ramps, etc., make certa in that
low- ly in g parts s uch as spo ile rs and ex ha ust
system parts do not bottom o ut and get dam ­
aged.
Th is is espec ially true for veh icles with low­
s lung chassis (spo rts chas sis)* and fully load ­
ed vehicles.
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid ve hicle damage
when driving through water, for e xamp le on
flooded roads:
- The wa ter must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body .
- Do not dr ive faster than walk ing speed .
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•

196 Driving and en vironm ent
8_ WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc ., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads . Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
store the full braking effect.
(D Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through wate r.
@ Tips
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it .
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switc h the engine off when driving
t hr ough water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep fo r you r vehi­
cle to dr ive through safely.
-
- Avoid dr iving thro ugh salt water because
i t can ca use corrosion.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic conv ert er) is function ­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in on env ironm entally sound manner.
,,. Always use lead-free gaso line Q page 209,
Fuel supply .
,,. Never run the tank down a ll th e way to emp ­
ty.
,,. Never put too much moto r oil in your engine
Q page 219, "t':::r. Adding engine oil .
,,. Never try to push -or tow -start your ve hicle .
T he cata lytic converter is an eff ic ient "clean­
up" device built in to the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The catalytic converter burns
many of the polluta nts in the exhaust gas be ­
fore they are released into the atmosphe re . The exclus
ive use of unleaded f uel is critica lly
important for the life of the catalytic conv ert­
er and p roper funct ion ing of the eng ine .
A WARNING
=
-The temperature of the exhaust system
is high, both when driving and after stop­
p ing the eng ine .
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once
they have become hot. This could result
in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle i n
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in co ntact with dry grass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire .
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
r u stp roofing on or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, cataly tic con­
ver ter or he at s hields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used fo r undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
CI) Note
- Be aware tha t just o ne tank filling with
leaded fu el w ill alre ady ser io usly de ­
grade the performance of the cata lytic
converter .
- Do not exceed the cor rect engine oil level
Q poge 219.
-Do not drive until the fuel t ank becomes
comple tely empty . The engine cou ld mis ­
fire . Unburned fuel could also get into
the exhaust system and th is co uld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignition while the ve­
hicle is mov ing.
- Do not contin ue to ope rate your veh icle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalyt ic converter. Th is
co uld result in overheating of the con­
verter, requir ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis -
sion Control System: .,..