
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to
offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
cle where
even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
Fig . 107 Driver is properly restrained in a sudden b rak
i ng maneuve r.
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles . By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy
over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable " and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron tal collision, safety belts can also substantial
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long tr ip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
Safety belts 103
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
tal airbags to do the ir job in a collision . For
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in mos t countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed . Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air
bags are not activated in all frontal coll isions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body .
"' Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in th is chapter.
"'Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING ~
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving
off and make sure all pas
sengers are properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned correctly on
the body .

Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 112 Location of dri ver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 113 Location of front passe nger's ai rb ag : in the in
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub¢
fig. 112 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢fig. 113. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
Airbag system 113
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
A WARNING ,.;;
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
hicle is properly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pecially infants and small children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other condit ions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- For its own safety, a child should always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size.
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
Ill>

-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floor in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electron ic control
un it
¢ page 119 .
Alw ays rem emb er: Please be sure to read the
important information in the sections that
follow and be sure to heed all of the WARN
INGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irb ag or too close to it when it in
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 109 .
.&_ WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front a irbag when a rearward-fac ing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso l u te ly guarantee that deployment is im
poss ible in a ll conceivable situations that
may happen d uring the useful life of your
vehicle.
A irbag system 11 5
-The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, doo r, or
roof.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
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 have
the airbag sys tem inspected by your Audi
dea ler.
.&_ WARNING
I f, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward -facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the
time wheneve r the ig nit ion is swit ched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenge r seat in yo ur vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it . These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack ets, and more. The funct ion of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
electronic control unit when the ignition is on .
The cont rol unit monitors the Advanced A ir
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l igh t on when a malfunct ion in the system
•
•

-Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace
ment upho lstery ove r the front seat
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use add itiona l seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate .
- Damage to the o rigina l seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air
bag module must always be repa ired
immediate ly by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an author ized Audi
dealer or qualif ied technic ian who has
the techn ica l information, tra ining and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an a irbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced w ith new replace
ment parts designed and approved espe
c ially for your Aud i model version. Re
placeme nt of complete ai rbag systems
or airbag componen ts m ust be per
f ormed by qualified workshops only.
Make su re that any airbag service act ion
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE
MENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the a lternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech
nic circuit interrupter.
- Wo rk on the pyrote chnic cir cu it inter
rupter must on ly be per formed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!
- If the veh icle or the ci rcuit interrupter
is sc rapped, all applicable safety pre
cautions must be followed .
Airbag system 123
@:) For the sake of the environment
Un deployed airbag modules and p reten
sione rs might be classified as Perchlorate
Materia l -special handling may apply, see
www. dtsc. ca.gov/hazard o u swa ste/ per-
ch lo rate. When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety be lts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicab le laws and regu la
tions mus t be obse rved. Your authori zed
A udi dealer is familia r wi th these require
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service fo r you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Chang ing the veh icle's suspens io n system can
c h ange the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem perfo rms in a crash. For examp le, using
tir e-rim combi nat ions not approved by A udi,
l ower ing the veh icle, chang ing the st iffness of
the suspens ion, including the spr ings, suspen
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic contro l
u nit. Some suspension changes can, for exam
ple, i ncrease the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in c rashes in which it wou ld not deploy if the
c h anges had not been made. Other kinds of
c h anges may reduce the fo rce leve ls meas
ur ed by the sensors and preven t the airbag
from dep loying when i t should.
T he sensors in the safety be lt b uck le for the
d rive r and fr on t p assenger seat te ll the e lec
tron ic cont ro l modu le if the s afety be lt is
l atche d or no t. If the safety be lt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high er rate of veh icle deceleration t han i f th e safe
ty belt is not be ing used. Therefore, in a par
ticular coll is ion, it is possible t hat an airbag
will not deploy at a seat ing pos ition where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w il l inflate at the
pos ition wher e th e safety be lt is not be ing
u sed. It is impo rtant that noth ing in terfere
Ill>
•
•

142 Intelligent technology
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 fo r the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "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.
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 normal 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 pe riod 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
skidd ing and loss of vehicle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, 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 assistance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
G) 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 wi ll 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 wou ld 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 difficult driving situations as at lower
speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road , traffic §&and weather conditions. ESC
cannot override the vehicle's physical limits,
increase the available traction, or keep a vehi
cle on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention . Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con
t rol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing 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.
ESC includes and/or works togethe r with the
anti- lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys-
tem and anti-slip regu lation (ASR). ESC is .,..

switched on all the time. In certain situations
when you need less traction, you can switch
off ESC by pressing the button
lru. Be sure to
switch ESC on again when you no longer need
less traction.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking . The vehicle can still be steered
even during hard braking . Apply steady pres
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking
d istance. It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer
gency si tuations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over .
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-wheel 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 brake on the braked wheel
from overheating. EDL w ill switch on again au
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
..&, WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR and EDL cannot overcome
th e laws of physics. This is especially im
portant on slippery or wet roads.
If the
systems begin acting to stabilize your ve
hicle, you should immediately change
your speed to match the road and traffic
condit ions. Do not let the increased safe
ty provided by these systems tempt you
Intelligent technology 143
to take risks. Doing so will increase the
risk of a lo ss of vehicle control, co llision
and serious personal injuries.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, especially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when driving too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys
tem, EDL and ASR cannot prevent colli
sions.
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al
ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve
hicle control.
@ Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correct ly when
all four whee ls are equipped with identi
cal tires. D ifferent tire si zes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are working.
- If the ind icator lightD] orE (USA
models)/ [iJ (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction¢
page 18,
¢ page 18.
Switching on and off
ESC turns on au tomatically when you start
the engine.
Fig . 123 Ce nter conso le: ESC OFF butto n

158 Vehicle care and cleaning
Component Situation Solution
T ex tile s,
Stains adhering to Vacuum cleaner
Vin yl, the surface
Alcan ta ra Water -based stains Absorbent cloth and mild soap solutiona>
such as coffee, tea,
blood, etc.
O il-based stains Apply a mild soap solutiona>, blot away the d issolved oil
such as oil, make- or dye, treat afte rward w ith water, if necessary
up, etc.
Special stains such Special stain remover, b lot with absorbent material,
as ballpoint pen, treat afterward with mild soap solutiona>, if necessary
na il polish, latex
pa int, shoe po lish,
etc.
Natu ral leather Fresh stains Cotton cloth with a mild soap solutiona>
Wate r-based stains Fresh s tains: absorbent cloth
such as coffee, tea, Dr ied stains: sta in remover sui table for leather
blood, etc.
Oi l-based stains Fresh stains: absorbent cloth and sta in remover suitable
such as oil, make- for leather
up, etc. dried stains: Oil cleaning spray
Special stains such Stain remover suitable for leather
as ballpo int pen,
na il polish, latex
pa int, shoe polish,
etc.
Care Regular
ly apply condit ion ing c ream that protec ts from
light a nd penetrates into the materia l. Use specially-col-
ored conditioning cream, if necessary.
Carbon part s Dirty Clean tlhe same way as plastic parts
a) Mi ld soap solut ion : maximum two tablespoons neut ra l soap in a lite r of wate r
& WARNING
The windshie ld may not be treated with
water -repe lling windshield coating agents .
Unfavorab le conditions such as wetness,
darkness, or low sun can result in in
creased glare. W iper blade chatter is a lso
possible .
(V Note
- Headlights /tail lights
- Never clean headlights or tail lights
w it h a dry cloth or sponge. -
Do not us e any cleaning product that
contains alcohol, because they could
cause cracks to form.
-Wheels
- Never use any paint polish or other
abrasive mater ials.
- Damage to the protective layer on the
rims such as stone chips or scratc hes
must be repa ired immediately.
- Power top
-Remove bird droppings immediately.
- Never use gasoline, stain remover, ben-
zene, paint thinner or other so lvents to
remove .

Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always r ead and heed all WARN
ING S
~ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 165.
.. Read the brake flu id level from the brake
fluid reservoir
9 page 167, fig. 130 . The
brake f lu id leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The brake f luid reservoir is located behind the
rear partition of the engine compartment on
the left side
9 page 167.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be
l ow the "M IN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi
cator light (U .S . mode ls:
1111 , Canadian
models: .) will come on ¢
page 14 . Do not
continue to operate the vehicle. The complete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali
f ied fac ility and the cause corrected . If the
b rake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate . Co ntact an au
thor ized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid abso rbs moistu re from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
hi gh, cor ros ion in the b rake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of t he
b ra ke fluid w ill also decrease considerab ly and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e very two year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r ca n be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that yo u
h ave the brake fl uid changed by you r autho r
i zed
Audi dealer . Your deale r has the correct
Checkin g and fillin g 175
tools, the right brake fl uid and t he know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can res ult from o ld or inap
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only b rake fluid th at mee ts SA E
spe cificat ion
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Mo to r Ve hicl e Standard 1 16.
Always check with yo ur authorized Au di
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The cor rect type of
brake f luid is also ind icated on the
brake f luid reservoir .
- The bra ke fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes ca n cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long. This can se riously affect the effi
c iency of the b rakes as well as your
safety , T his could result in an accide nt.
(!) Note
Brake fluid will damage the pai nt of your
vehicle.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the nec essary expertise, we
r ecommend that yo u have th e brake flu id
c hanged by you r aut ho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Your vehicle is equipped with a specia l bat
tery, an
ACM battery. This battery is located
in the luggage compartment and must be re
placed with an origina l equipment batte ry .
Un der normal ope rat ing condit io ns, t he bat-
te ry is
maintenanc e-free . .,.
•
•