156 Airbag system
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or pol lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot de
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop. -
Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace
ment upholstery over the front seat
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy only once.
After an airbag has been deployed, it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially
for your Audi model version. Replace
ment of complete airbag systems or air
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE
CORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified technicians who have the ex perience, information and special tools
necessary to perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre
cautions must be followed.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
can reach the catalytic converter . This
could result in overheating of the con
verter, requ iring its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System :
- Have your veh icle ma inta ined properly
and in accordance with the service rec
ommendations in your Wa rranty
&
Ma intenance booklet.
- Lac k of proper maintenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impa ir
t he funct ion of the emission control
system and cou ld lead to damage.
@) For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Cont ro l System is
operating properly, t he exhaus t gas can
have a s ulfu r-like exhaust gas smell unde r
some operating states. This depends on
the s ulfur content of the fue l being used .
Using a different brand of fuel may help,
or filling the tank w ith lead-free super
grade gasoline.
Placing your vehicle
out of service.
I f you wou ld like to take your vehicle out of
service for a longer t ime, contact your aut hor
iz ed A udi dealer or qualified repair facility .
They will advise you o f important meas ures,
such as cor rosion protection, maintenance
and storage procedures. Also follow the infor
mat ion about the battery¢
page 220.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle , as well as ex
haust and noise levels.
F ue l economy, environmental impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and t ires largely
depend on three factors:
Dri ving and the en vironm ent 195
-your personal d riving s tyle
- operati ng conditions
- technical limitat io ns
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive econom ically , yo u can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 10-15 percent . This sec
tion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your po cketbook.
(D Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRO NM EN TAL PROT ECTI ON AG ENC Y
( E PA) and Transpo rt Canada may no t cor re
spond to your actual consump tion on the
r oad, which will va ry depending upon vehi
cle load and speed, road and weather con
ditions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac
celerating.
.. Avo id u nnecessary accelerating and brak ing.
Vehicles use the mos t fu e l when they are ac
ce lerating. If you anticipate what is going to
happe n next, you will need to brake less and,
th us, acce lerate less. Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible -for examp le when you see
that the next traff ic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and
improves your mileage.
.. Try and keep well below your car's maximum
speed.
Acce le rat ing gently re duces fue l cons ump
tion, eng ine wear, and does not disturb the
environment .
Fuel consumpt ion, exhaust em iss ions an d en
gine noise inc rease disproportionate ly at high
speeds . If you drive at approximately three
quarte rs of top speed, fuel consumption wi ll
be reduced by one ha lf. Never drive faster
IJ,-
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Battery charging (Ma ximum charging rate
o f 30 am ps/ 14.8 volt s)
When charging at
low voltages (e.g . with a
tri ckle ch arg er), the batte ry cables do not
have to be d isconnected first. The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is also not
necessary to disconnect the cables.
F ast charging th e battery (charging rate
a bo ve 14 .8 volt s)
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
volts to charge your ve hicle 's battery .
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous .
- Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charge r manu
fact urer when charging your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery . It may ex
plode because of gas t rapped in the ice .
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which we re fro
zen . The batte ry housing may have
cr acked and weakened whe n the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a we ll ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame o r ele c
trical spark. Do not smoke. Hydroge n gas
generated by the battery is exp losive.
- T o redu ce the danger o f explosion , never
conne ct or disconnect cha rger cables
wh ile the charger is operating .
- F ast charg ing a battery i s dangerous and
sho uld on ly be attempted by a compe
tent technician with the proper eq uip
me nt.
- Battery acid that may spill during charg
ing should be washed off with a so lution
of warm water and ba king soda to neu
tralize the acid.
Checking and Fillin g 223
@ Note
Neve r use a fast charger as a booster to
start the eng ine . This w ill seriously dam
age sens itive e lectronic components, such
as contro l units, relays, radio, etc., as well
as the batte ry charger .
Battery replacement
The new ba ttery mus t hove the some specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery .
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle is responsible for distributing the electri
ca l ene rgy throughout your vehicle
~ page 190 . The intelligent energy manage
ment system will keep the engine battery
c h arged better than vehicles without this sys
tem. To make sure the addition al ele ctri cal e n
ergy is ava ilab le once again after yo u have
changed the batte ry, we recommend that you
insta ll batteries of the same type an d manu
facture on ly (the same as those insta lled at
the time your veh icle was delivered) . Specif i
cations are listed on the battery housing. Your
authorized dea ler must code the battery in
the ene rgy management system to enab le you
to use the ene rgy management functions cor
re ct ly afte r repla cing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity,
vo ltage ( 12-volts) , amperage, construction
and plug sea ling .
When install ing the battery, make sure the ig
nition and a ll electrical consumers are switch
ed off .
~ Note
Make sure the ventilat ion hose on the side
of the battery is con nected, otherwise
fumes o r batte ry acid can lea k out.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
i zed Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and ..,.
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278 Index
How many airbags does my vehicle have?
How often should I check my tire pres-148
sures? .. .. .... ............. ...... . 232
How safety belt pretensioners work .... 137
Hydroplaning .............. ... .... . 236
I
Ignition
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
switching on and off (with button) ... .. 73
Ignition key safety interlock . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Ignition lock
mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
Immobiliz er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Important things to do before driving .. 121
Improperly worn safety belts . . . . . . . . . . 13 7
Indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
Infant seats .............. .... .... . 172
Installing child safety seats
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
177
Insta lling the upper tether strap on the
anchorage ..... ........... .... .... .
183
Instrument cluster ......... ...... .. .. 10
Instruments ................. ..... .. 10
Adjusting the lighting ........... ... . 45
Interior lighting ..................... 45
Intermittent (windshield wipers) ... .... 46
]
Jump-starting 259
Jump er cables ... .......... .. .. .. .. . 260
K
Key ......... ........ ........ ....... 31
Checking the number ................ 31
Driver messages (mechanical ignition
key) ..... .. ................ ..... ..
75
Dr iver messages (with convenience key). 75
Key not recognized ......... ... .... .. 75
Key replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Replacing the battery ....... .. .. .. .. 33
un locki ng/locking . . . . . . . . . . . 33, 34, 35
Key recognition
automatic climate control system ... ..
66
Manual climate contro l system . . . . . . . . 65
Kick-down
Automatic transmission
110
Kn ee air bags ................... .... 157
Description .. .. .. ............. .. .. 157
How they work .................... 158
Important safety instructions ........ 159
L
Lane assist
refer to Active lane assist ........ ... . 94
LATCH ........ .... ............... . 180
Description .... .. .. .............. . 181
Installing a child restraint ........... 182
Location ......................... 181
Mounting and releasing the anchorage
hook ..... .... .. .. .............. .
182
Launch Control-Program (automatic trans-
m1ss1on) ....... .. .. ........... ....
111
Leather care/clean ing ................ 204
Leaving home ..... .................. 44
LED headlights
All-weather lights ..................
42
Lifting jack . .. .. .. ................. 251
Lifting vehicle .................. .... 263
Light
adaptive light .. .................. ..
42
Adjust ing automatic headlights ....... 44
Coming/Leaving home .............. . 44
Fog lights/rear fog light(s) ........... 42
Headlight flasher ................... 44
Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42, 44
Highway light .... ................ ..
43
Low beams ..................... ... 42
Parking light .......................
42
Switching daytime running lights on and
off ........... .. .. .............. .. 44
Light/rain sensor
Head lights ....................... . 42
Indicator light .....................
25
Intermittent (windshield wipers) ...... 46
Lighting
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
Lights
Ambient lighting ...................
45
Headlight range control system ... ... . 42
Interior/reading . ...................
45