2015 AUDI A4 ESP

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-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi­
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
must come on and stay on, whenever the
ignition is switched on.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­ ed on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 136, Safety
belts,
c::> page 144, Airbag system and
c::> page 165, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger's seat can be locked with the con­ vertible locking retractor to properly secure
child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
Child Safety 175
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for their age and weight.
A WARNING
=
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a child restraint.
-If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen- ger airbag inflates. .,_ •
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-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air­
bag System. The heavier weight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­ ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible lock ing
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path¢.&,_.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
Child Safety 177
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-
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(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed 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
s t alled. The upho lstery would a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tethe r
s tr ap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come with a tether. Please read and h eed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determ ine how to
p roperly install the tethe r.
A WARNING
-
A ch ild i n a rearward-facing child safety
s ea t insta lled on the front passenger sea t
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the chi ld
sa fety seat or infa nt carrier w it h great
force and wi ll smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-fac ing c hild restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
sea t and regis ter a heavier we igh t in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ie r
we ight registe red ca n make the system
wor k as th ough an adul t were on t he seat
and dep loy the A dvanced Airbag when i t
must be supp ressed ca using serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward facing
child safety seat o n the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im-
Child Sa fet y 183
mediately insta ll th e rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your authorized Audi dealer .
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about child restraint se lection, in­
stallation and use:
NH TSA advises that the best chi ld safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that you w ill use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U .S National Highway Traffi c Safety Admin ­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -3 27- 42 36 (TIY: 1-800 -42 4-9153)
www.n htsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (2 02) 662- 0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSafe U .S .A
T el.: (8 00) 7 45-SAF E (English)
T el.: (8 00) 747 -SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information C entr e
Tel.: 1 -800 -333-0371 or c all
1-6 13-99 8-8616 if yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsa fety/
menu .htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
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186 Intelligent technology
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
smal l.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces eng ine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the d rive powe r to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
a ll-wheel drive* . This function is not avai lab le
at higher speeds.
I n extreme cases , EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from ove rheating . EDL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by
changing the steering torque.
In vehicles with dynam ic steeri ng*, ESC also
he lps to stabilize the stee ring in critical s itua­
tions.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
The electronic interaxle d ifferential lock (front
wheel drive) or the select ive wheel torque
con trol ( all wheel d rive) oper ates when driving
through curves . The front whee l on the inside
of the cu rve or both whee ls on the inside of
the curve are b raked se lectively as needed.
This a llows more prec ise driving in c urves. The
applicable system may not activate when driv­ ing i n wet or snowy conditions.
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems can­
not overcome the laws of physics. This is
especially important on slippery o r wet
roads . If the systems begin acting to sta·
b iliz e your veh icle, you s hou ld immed i­
a tely c ha n ge your speed to match the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let
the increased safety provided by these
systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing
so will increase the risk of a loss of vehi­
cle control, collision and serious personal
inj uries.
-Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and weather conditions. The risk of los­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
d riving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. The ESC a nd its integrated sys­
tems canno t always p reven t collisions -
there is still a risk of acc idents!
- Always accelera te wi th spe cial care on
even, smooth s urfaces 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 red uce the risk of loss of ve­
h icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR only work cor rectly when
all four wheels are equipped with identi­
cal tires. D ifferent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power .
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator light
DJ or ml (USA
mode ls)l iiJ (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction<=>
page 18,
<=>page 19 .

188 Intelligent technology
allroad: ESC level s
Offroad mode on Offroad mode off
Behavio r
The ESC and ASR stabilization functions The fu ll stabilization f unction of the ESC
are limited ¢& .
Op eration Press the I.a OFFI button .
Indicato r II turns on.
light s
Driver me s- Stabilization control (ESC) : Offroad .
s age s Warning! R est rict ed stabilit y
It is only possib le to turn off the ASR up to 30
mph (SO km/h) for veh icles with front whee l
d rive. At about 45 mph ( 70 km/h) it a utomat i­
cally turns on aga in . It is possib le to turn off
the ASR at any speed for vehicles with all
wheel drive.
A WARNING
You should only switch sport mode/off­
road mode on o r switch ESC/ASR off if your
driving abilities and road cond itions per­
m it .
- The stabilization function is limited
when sport mode/offroad mode is switched on. The d riving wheels could
spin and the vehicle could swerve, espe­
ci ally on s lick o r sli ppery ro ad sur faces.
- all road: You should o nly sw itch off road
mode on when driving offroad.
- Sedan: Th ere is no vehicl e stabiliza tion
w hen ESC/AS R are switched off .
(D Tips
ESC/ASR cannot be sw itched off or sport
mode/offroad mode cannot be switched
on when cru ise control or adapt ive cru ise
contro l* is sw itched on .
Braking
What affec ts braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km) , new
b rake pads do not possess their fu ll braking
effect, they have to be "broke n in" first ¢,& .
You can compensate fo r th is sligh tly redu ced and ASR is availab
le agai n.
Press t he
I.a OFF I button aga in.
II turns off.
Stabil izati on c ontrol (ESC ): On
braking powe r by p ushing harder on the bra ke
peda l. Avoi d heavy bra king lo ads dur ing the
break -in pe riod.
Operating conditions and driving habits
T he brakes o n today 's automobiles a re still
s u bject to wear, depe nding largely on ope rat­
i ng condi tions and driving habi ts¢ ,&. On
vehicles that are ei ther dr iven most ly in stop­
and -go city traffic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dea ler mo re often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet . Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result in reduced brake performance .
On steep slopes, you sho uld use the braking
effect of the engine . This way, you prevent un ­
necessary wear on the brake system . If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down cont inuous ly. Pump the brakes at inter­
vals.
Operating noi se
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, brak ing force and outside cond i­
t ions such as temperature and humidity.
Effect of water and road salt
In certain situations, for examp le afte r driving
t hr ough water, in heavy rain, after overnight
condensation or after wash ing your car, the
braking effect can be reduced by moisture o r
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads. The
brakes must be dr ied first wi th a few ca reful
brake applicat io ns.
At higher speeds and with the windsh ield wip-
ers turned on, the brake pads press against
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the brake rotors for a short amount of time.
This occurs at regular intervals without the
driver noticing and provides for better brake response time under wet condit ions.
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 cautious ap­
plications of the brake
i:> ,& .
Co rrosion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven regularly or
only for short trips with little use of the
brakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor­ rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean
off the pads and discs by brak ing
firmly a few times from a moderately high
speed
i:> ,& .
Fa ult s in the brake system
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal travel, then one of the two brake
circu its may have failed
i:> ,& .
Low brak e flu id l eve l
Malfunctions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fluid level is too low. The brake fluid
leve l is monitored electronically .
Brake boo ste r
The brake boos ter increases the press ure that
you generate with the brake pedal. It works
only when the engine is running
. ¢ .&
Brake lining w ear statu s
Brake lining wea r may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condi tion of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces ­
sary, the whee l may be removed for this in­
spection
c> page 263, Changing a wheel .
Intellig ent technolog y 189
A WARNING
-New brake pads don't have the best stop­
ping power and must be "b roken -in" dur­
ing the initial 100 to 150 miles (150 to
200 kilometers) of normal c ity dr iving .
You can compensate for this by pressing the brake pedal more firmly. This also
applies la ter when new pads are instal­
led.
- You should per form braking m aneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit .
Other road users must not be p ut at risk -
you may ca use an accident!
- Before descend ing a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gea r or lower dr iving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often . Th is could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by rest ing your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to b rake. This may cause the brakes to
overheat, p remature wear and increased
s topping distance .
- Unde r ce rtain climatic and ope rat ing
conditions such as passing thro ugh wa ­
ter, dr iv ing in heavy rain o r after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumu late on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully app ly brakes
for a test. Brakes w ill dry and ice coat­
ings w ill be cleaned
off after a few care­
fu l brake applicat ions .
- Driving for an extended period of time o n
salt-cove red roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency .
C lean
off accum ulated salt coa ting from
br ak e disc s and pad s wi th a few ca re ful
bra ke applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if yo u
install a diffe rent spoiler, be s ure the ai r
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed . Otherw ise the bra ke system could •
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192 Intelligent technology
to prevent excessive disc harge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability.
Dynamic en ergy management
While the vehicle is be ing dr iven , dynamic en­
e rgy management distributes the energy gen­
erated accordi ng to the needs of the individu­
a l components . It reg ulates cons umption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti ­
mal state of charge for the battery.
@ Tips
- But even energy management cannot
negate the limits o f physics. Consider
that the power and life of a battery are li mited .
- If starting ab ility is threatened, the indi­
cator light(•) appears ¢
page 16.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capabili ty.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
d riving, in city traffic and during the co ld time
of year. Abundant e lectr ica l energy is re ­
qu ired, but only a little is generated. It is also
cr itical if the engine is not run ning and electri­
cal components a re turned on . In th is in ­
stance energy is being consumed but none is be ing generated.
It is in precisely these situations that you w ill
notice energy management actively regulat ­
ing the distr ib ution of energy.
Vehicle stands for an extended period If yo u do not drive your vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, electrical compo­
nents are gradually cut back o r switched off .
This reduces energy cons umption and mai n­
tains sta rting capab ility over a longer period .
Some of t he conve nien ce f unctions may no t
ope rate, su ch as the in ter io r l ights o r the
power seat ad justment. The convenience
f u nctions will be avai lable again when you
switch on the ignition and start the engine . With the engine turned off
If you
listen to the radio, for examp le, w ith
t h e engine t urned off or use other M MI func ­
tions, the battery is being discharged .
If s tarti ng capab il ity is jeopardi zed d ue to en­
ergy consumptio n, the following warning ap­
pears in the MM I display:
Pl ea se start the engine soon or the syst em
will be turned off .
The warning indicates that the system will be
tu rned off automatically after 3 minutes . If
you w ish to continue using the funct ions, yo u
have to sta rt the eng ine .
With the engine running
Althoug h electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being dr iven, the battery can be ­
come discharged. This happe ns mostly when
li ttle energy is being ge ne rated and a g reat
deal consumed and t he ba ttery's state of
c harge is no t opt imal.
To b ring the energy bala nce back into equ ili­
br ium, consumers wh ich requ ire espec ially
lar ge amounts of ene rgy a re temporar ily cut
ba ck or sw itched off. Heat ing systems in p ar­
t icu lar require a great deal of energy . If you
notice, for examp le, that the heated seats * or
the heated rear window are not heating, they
have been temporarily cut back or switched
off . These systems w ill be available again as
soon as the e nergy balance has been restored.
You w ill also notice that engine id le speed has
been increased slightly . T hi s is normal and not
a cause for concern. By increasing engine id le
speed the additional energy required is ge ner ­
ated and the battery is charged .

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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 193
@) 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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