2014 AUDI S4 tow

154 Airbag sys te m
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the veh icle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing mat and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r­
bag System under the passenger seat
cou ld be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
erly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately reg iste ring the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­ ing properly .
-If you must use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the chi ld re- straint manufacturer's instructions
re­
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be s ure to read the impor ­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit . The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal Moto r Veh icle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know. ...,.

180 Child Safety
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into the retractor .
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt buck­
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le .
.. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position.
Always let the safety belt retract completely into its stowed position. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea­
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convertible locking retractor for
child restraints while the vehicle is mov­
ing. You would not be restrained and
could be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 167. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.

182 Child Safet y
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 167 Lower a nch orages, covers marke d
Fig. 168 Rear sea ts: towe r an ch orage b racke t locat io n s
Lowe r ancho rages
The lower anchorage atta chment points are
located on the rear end of the rear seatback.
Remove the covers¢
fig. 167 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible
¢ fig . 168 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle 's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachment and m inim ize the possibili­
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All chi ld restraints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1 , 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach­ ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH lower anchorages. Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the low­
e r anchorage attachments can still be instal- led in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts
.
A WARNING
-Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac­
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re­
straints manufacturer's instructions for
proper installation of the child restraint
an d prope r use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the
LATCH lower ancho­
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARN INGS
¢page 167,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
F ig. 169 Lower anc ho rages : proper mount ing
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in the upright posit ion and securely
latched in place .
"' Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spr ing catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connec to rs lock into place ¢
fig. 169. ..,.

186 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), ins talled by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict 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.
A ltho ugh yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir 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 ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of ve hicle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
o ut of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
whee ls, and/or reducing eng ine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle o n the dr iver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
J.i) in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is ta king action to help yo u
control the veh icle.
ESC has limitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It will not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
F or example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
s lush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle be cause con­
tact with the pavement has been in terrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult 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 condit ions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattent io n. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehi cle under con ­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.

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!
-
•
•

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: .,..

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns.
Trailer towin g 201
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trai ler has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the lo ad in the tra iler is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 20 2.
Engine cooling system
Towing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard ­
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•

202 Trailer towing
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac ­
turers' specifications.
Lights
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before driving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and trailer lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety chains are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
chains, make sure they will not drag on the road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
vehicles.
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early.
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control. A "balanced" rig is easier
to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the circumstances. Whenever possi­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
when going downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefully . If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
in the instrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi.
-