190 Child Safe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 176 Tethe r ancho rs: recess flaps behind the rear
seatbacks
The tether anchors for the rear seating posi
tions are located in recesses i n the rear win
dow shelf ~ fig.
176
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for·
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to help reduce the r isk of head
in ju ry that could be ca used by striking the ve
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U .S .
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requ irements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
stra int you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in ·
jury in a co llision. Th e anchors are de·
sign ed to withstand only those loads im
posed by cor rect ly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mou nt two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchor po int. -
Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attac h any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rea r seating position and
have the airbag system inspe cted by your
Aud i dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 177 Tet her strap: proper rou ting and mounting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to t he child re
s traint manufacturer's instructions.
.,. Guide the upper te ther s trap
under the rear
head restra int ~ fig.
177 (ra ise the head re
stra int if necessary) .
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
.,. Pull on the tethe r strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child res traint manufa cturer's instructions. .,.
Rele as ing the teth er str ap
"' Loosen the tension following the child re
stra int manufacturer's instructions .
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
I f you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in
stalled . The upholstery would a lso be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint sys
tems come with a tether. Please read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determ ine how to
properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenge r seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fron t airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflat ing airbag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w ith g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Child Sa fet y 191
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additiona l
information abo ut child restraint se lection, in
stallation and use :
NH TSA advises t hat the bes t ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National High way Traffic Safet y Admin
istration
T el.: 1 -888 -3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www. n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Sa fety Belt Saf e U.S. A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat .org
Transpo rt Canada Information C entr e
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll
1-6 13-998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa a rea
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsafety/
menu.htm
Audi Cu stomer R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
•
192 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to veh icles: with Audi pre se nse
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help pro
tect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The functions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*: the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap.
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the deploy
ment time is adapted in
Dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the
limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al
so calculated . If the system senses an immi
nent collision the following functions can be
tr iggered :
- Braking guard c::>poge
90
-Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav -
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli
hood of a rear-end collision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated.
If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered:
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
_& WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks. This will increase
the r isk of a collis ion and serious personal
in juries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob
jects. This increases the risk of a colli
s10n.
-Aud i pre sense does not detect people or
an im als or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path c::> page
84.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray
and reflections from guard rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.
194 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), installed by some manu
facturers fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
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 lthough 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, eng ine function, 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 over a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l unit. 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 with 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 vehicle 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)
out of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing eng ine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle on the dr iver's intended course. The in
dicator light
G) in the inst rument cluster
blinks when ESC is ta king action to help you
control the veh icle.
ESC has limitations.
It is importa nt to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It wi ll not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
For 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,
slush 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 because 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 available tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattent ion. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road during ex treme 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.
196 Intelligent technology
@ Tips
-ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identi
ca l tires. Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduct ion in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are working.
Switching on and off
- If the indicator light DJ or til] (USA
mode ls)/ [I] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
¢ page 20 ,
¢ page 19.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig. 178 Ce nter co ns ole, f). O FF bu tton
ESC levels
Sport mode on
The following situations are exceptions where
it may be usefu l to switch on sport mode to
allow the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it i s st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose g round
- Driving with snow chains
Sport mode off
Beha vio r
The ESC a nd ASR stabilization fun ct ions The fu ll stabilization function o f the ESC
are limited ¢.&, .
Op eration Pr ess the 1.$ O FFI button .
Indicato r I) turns on.
lights
Driv er mes- Stabiliza tion control (ESC ): Sport
sage s Warning! R educed stability
,8. WARNING
You should only switch sport mode on if
your driving abilities and road cond itions
permit.
- The stabilization function is limited
when sport mode is sw itched on. The
dr iv ing whee ls could spin and the vehicle
cou ld swe rve, especially on slick or slip
pery road surfaces .
{D) Tips
Sport mode cannot be switched on when
adapt ive cr uise control* is switched on.
-
and ASR is availab le again .
Press the
1 .$ O FF I button again.
fl tu rns off.
Stabilization c ontrol (ESC ): On
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Operating conditions and driving habits
The bra kes on today's automobiles a re still
s u bje ct to wear, depending largely on ope rat
i ng conditions and driving hab its
¢ A . On
vehicles that are either driven most ly in stop
and-go city traff ic or are driven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author
ized Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet . Failure .,,_
198 Intelligent technology
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few caref ul
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct ed . Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in creased stopp ing distan ce. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle a nd have it towed to t he near
est Aud i dea ler o r qualified workshop.
- Never let the vehicle rol l to a stop w ith
the engine shu t 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
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Ind icator light s and m essages
• Steerin g defecti ve! Stop the vehicle
If th is indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, t he power steering
may have fa iled.
Do
not cont inue driving . See you r autho rized
Aud i dealer or other qualified repa ir facility
fo r assistance.
l~ ij Ste ering: Sy stem malfunction ! You m ay
cont inue dri ving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi
cult to move or more sens itive than usual.
Drive s low ly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qua lified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
(D Tips
If the . or
£'I' ij indicator light on ly stays
on for a short t ime, yo u may continue dr iv
i ng.
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to vehicles: wit h all-w hee l drive
With a/I-wheel drive, all four wheels ore driv
en.
General information
With all Wheel Drive, power is distributed to all four wheels. This happens automatically
depend ing on your driving style and the road
condit ions at the time. See also ¢
page 194.
With the sport diffe rent ia l*, power distribu
t ion to the rear wheels is variable and can be
adjusted with Audi drive select*¢
page 100.
Always read and follow safety precautions
¢ &.
Winter tires
When dr iving in the win ter, yo ur vehicle wi th
all-wheel drive has an advantage, eve n 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 fou r
w heel s.
See also¢ page 255, Winter tires .
Tire chain s
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain roads, this norma lly also app lies to ve hicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 256, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheel s/tire s
Vehicles with a ll-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For detai ls see
page ¢
page 251, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off -Road dr iving?
Your Audi does not have enough gro und clea r-
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle .
It is jll,,
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un
even terrain as much as possible . Also refer to
<=:> page 203.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel dr ive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel dr ive is very ef
fective, a lways remember that braking
capacity is limited by t ire traction . Yo u
should therefore not dr ive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road su rfaces.
- On wet road su rfaces, be careful not to
dr ive too fast because t he fro nt wheels
c ou ld beg in to s lide on top of the wa ter
(aq uaplaning). If this sho uld occ ur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in
crease in engine speed as with a front
wheel drive vehicle. A lways drive at
speeds wh ich 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 optimi zes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine .
If a veh icle wit h a conventional energy system
i s not d riven for a lo ng pe riod o f time, the bat
tery is discha rged by idling cu rrent co nsu mers
(e .g. immobilizer) . In ce rtain c ircumstances it
can result in there being insufficient ene rgy
avai lab le to start the engine .
I n tell igen t energy m anagemen t in your veh i
cle hand les the d istribu tion of electrical ener
gy . Starting ab ility is marked ly imp roved and
the life of the battery is extended.
B asically , energy management consists o f
battery diagnos is , idling current manage
ment
and dynamic ene rgy man agement.
Int ellig ent technolog y 199
Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously de termines
the state of the battery . Sensors de termine
batte ry voltage, battery current and battery
temperature . This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
Idling curren t management reduces energy
consumption while the vehi cle is standing.
With the ignition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrica l compo
nents. Data from battery diagnos is is cons id
ered .
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
i ndivid ua l cons umers are g radually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability .
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en
ergy ma nagement distrib utes the energy ge n
erated accord ing to the needs of the individ u
al components . It regulates consum ption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti
mal state of cha rge for the battery .
(D Tips
-But even ene rgy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
t hat the powe r and life of a battery are
limited .
- If start ing ability is threatened , the indi
cator light (•) appears
c::> page 17 .
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driv ing, in city traff ic and during the cold time
of year . Abundant electrical energy is re -
quired, but on ly a little is generated . It is also ..,. •
•
200 Intelligent technology
critical if the engine is not running and electri
cal components are turned on. In this in
stance energy is being consumed but none is
being generated.
It is in precisely these situations that you wi ll
notice energy management actively regulat
ing the distribut ion of energy .
Vehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a pe riod
of severa l days or weeks, electrical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off.
This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capab ility over a longer period.
Some of the conven ience functions may not
operate, such as the inter ior lights or the
power seat adjustment. The conven ience
functions will be available again when you
switch on the ignition and start the engine.
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with
the eng ine turned off or use other MMI func
tions, the battery is being discharged .
If starting capability is jeopardized due to en
ergy consumption, the following warning ap
pears in the MMI display:
Please start the engine soon or the system
will be turned off.
The warning indicates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 minutes. If
you wish to continue using the functions, you
have to start the engine.
With the engine running
Although elect rical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be
come discharged. This happens most ly when
little energy is being generated and a great
dea l consumed and the battery 's state of
charge is not optimal.
To bring the energy balance back into equili
brium, consumers which require especia lly
large amounts of energy are temporarily cut
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 temporarily cut back or switched
off. These systems will be available again as
soon as the energy balance has been restored.
You will also notice that engine id le speed has
been increased slightly. Th is is normal and not
a cause for concern. By increasing engine idle
speed the additional energy required is gener
ated and the battery is charged.