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U.S. Federal Standard if a child with elec
trical capac itance greater than the com
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restrained in one of the for
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which your vehicle was certi
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rea r seat
area than in the front seating posit ion .
- For their own safety, all children, espe
cially 12 years and younger, sho uld al
ways ride in the back p roperly rest rained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng
e r's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enough.
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant rest raint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up
righ t, wearing your sa fety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle h as been certified to meet the " low r isk" re
q ui rements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of i n
j ury through interaction with the front airbag
A irbag system 15 1
that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for in fants 12 months o ld and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
c> page 173, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified . For a listing of the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com
p lia nce w it h t he US Safety Standa rd
c>page 173,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas
senge r seat that has an e lec trica l capa ci
tance t hat is more than the tota l electrical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle was certified), the front airbag
on the passenger side may or may not de
ploy.
The
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electron ic cont ro l unit detects a to
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen
ger seat that requi res the front a irbag to be
turned off. If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on, the front airbag on
the passenger side has not been turned off by
the contro l unit and can deploy if the control
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi
tions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll>
•
•
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,...., ..,., ,....,
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave
hicle
¢ page 136, Safety belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 171, Important things to
know.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
T he Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example , by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list
ed in the Standard .
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe
cially those 12 years and younger, should al
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place fo r a child in a for
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
Child Safety 173
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system in the
front passenger seat cushion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a child in a child re
straint system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system
registers the changes that result in an electri
cal field when a child, a child restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capacitance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the child restraint system resting on the seat . The measured capacitance
of a child restraint system varies depending
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
The electrical capacitance of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U.S.National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the relevant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System control unit together with the capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
old child. When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system with the data
stored in the electronic control unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in excep
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, ca refully read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air-
bags and heed all of the applicable ..,.
•
•
198 Intelligent technology
Winter tires
When dr iv ing in the w inter, your ve hicl e w ith
a ll-whee l drive has an advantage,
even with
regular ti res . In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (o r all-sea
son t ires) for improved driveability and brak
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
whe els .
See also c:> page 264, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire cha ins are mandatory on certa in
roads, th is normally a lso applies to vehicles
with a ll-wheel drive
c:> page 265, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheel s/tir es
Vehicles w ith all-wheel drive must a lways
have tires of the same size . Also avoid tires
with d ifferent tread depths. For details see
page
c:> page 257, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driv ing?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear
ance to be used as an off-road ve hicle . It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un
even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
c:> page 201.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf
fic conditions . Do not let the ext ra safety
afforded by all-wheel dr ive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Alt hough the all-whee l dr ive is
very ef
fec tive, a lways remember that b raking
c ap aci ty is limited by tire traction. Yo u
sho uld the re fo re not dr ive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road su rfaces.
- O n wet road s urfa ces, be c areful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
cou ld begin to sli de on top of the water
(aq uaplaning) . If this sho uld occ ur, you
will have no warn ing from a sudden in
crease in engine speed as with a front
w heel d rive vehicle. A lways drive at
speeds w hich are suited to the road con
ditions -risk of c rash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system
is not driven for a long period of t ime, t he bat
te ry is discharged by idling current consume rs
(e .g. immobili ze r). In certa in circumstan ces it
ca n res ult in the re be ing insu ffic ien t energy
available to start the eng ine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cl e ha ndles the dist rib ution o f electr ica l ene r
gy. Start ing abili ty is m arke dly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Bas ica lly, energy management consists of
battery diagnosis , idling current manage
ment
and dynamic energy management .
Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the batte ry. Sensors determine
batte ry voltage, batt ery cu rr e nt and battery
tempe ratu re. This de termines the cur ren t
sta te o f cha rge and t he power o f th e battery.
Idling current management
Idli ng cur rent management reduces energy
consumpt ion while the vehicle is standing .
With the ig nition sw itched off, it controls the
energy supp ly to the variou s ele ctri ca l compo
nen ts. Da ta from ba ttery d iagnos is is co nsid
ered.
Depend ing on the batte ry's state of cha rge,
i ndivid ual con sume rs are g radually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge o f the battery
and th us main tain starting capabi lity.
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being d riven, dynamic en
ergy ma nagement distr ib utes the energy ge n
era ted a ccord ing to t he needs of the indivi du-
al components .
It regula tes consumption, so
t h at more electrical energy is not being used ..,.
242 Tires and whee ls
Recommended inflation Sidewall
pressu re
means that portion of a tire be -
see
c:::> page 240, Cold tire infla-tween the tread and bead.
tion pressure.
Spe ed rating (letter code )
Reinforced tire
means the speed at which a tire
means a tire design to operate
is designed to be driven for ex-
at higher loads and at higher tended periods of time. The rat-
inflation pressures than the ings range from 93 mph (150
corresponding standard t ire .
km/h) to 186 mph (298 km/h)
Reinforced tires may be identi -
c:::> page 260. You may not find
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
this information on all tires be-
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
cause it is not required by law.
Rim The speed rating letter code,
means a meta l support for a where applicable
, is molded on
tire or a tire and tube assembly the tire sidewall and indicates
upon which the tire beads are the
maximum pe rmissible road
seated . speeds
c:::> A in Winter tires on
Rim diameter
page 264.
means
nominal diameter of the
Tire pressure monitoring
system
bead seat. If yo u change your
means a system that detects
wheel size, you will have to pur-
chase new tires to ma tch the when one or more of a vehicle's
new rim diameter . tires a
re underinflated and illu-
Rim size designation
m inates a low tire pressure
warning telltale.
means rim diameter and width.
Tread
Rim width
means that portion of a tire
means nominal distance be-
that comes into contact with
tween rim flanges. the road.
...
Tires and wheels 245
Tire pressure generally refers to tant things you can do to help •
the amount of air in a tire that avoid sudden tire failure. Un-• '
it needs it to do its job and derinflated tires are a major
safely carry the combined load cause of sudden tire failure. of the entire vehicle and its con- Keeping tires at the right pres-
tents. Tire pressure is measured sure is also important for safe
in kilopascals (kPa), the inter- and responsive vehicle han-
national measuring unit and in dling, traction, braking and
pounds per square inch (PSI) . load carrying.
Tire pressures
Tire pressure is based in part on are particularly important
the vehicle's design and load when the vehicle is being driv-
limit - the greatest amount of en at higher speeds, and then
weight that the vehicle can car -especially when heavily loaded
ry safely and the tire size. The even within the permissible
proper tire pressure is frequent-load-carrying capacities ap-
ly referred to as the "recom-proved for your vehicle.
mended cold tire inflation pres-The recommended tire pres-
sure ." Air in the tires expands
sures for your Audi depend on
when the tire heats up because the kind of tires on your vehicle
of internal friction when it flex- and the number of passengers
es in use. The tire pressure is and/or amount of luggage you
higher when the tire has will be transporting.
warmed up than when it is The tire pressure label is locat-
"cold. " It is the inflation pres-
ed on the driver's side B-pillar.
sure in a "cold" tire that counts.
Therefore, you should never let The tire pressure label lists the
recommended cold tire infla-
air out of a warm tire to match
"cold tire inflation pressure" tion pressures for the vehicle at
its maximum capacity weight
recommendations. The tires
would then be underinflated and tires that were on your ve
-
and could fail suddenly. hicle at the time it was manu-
M factured
. N
0
Maintaining proper tire pres-<.J 'SI: ,...., \!)
sure is one of the most impor-1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
246 Tires and wheel s
If you wish to improve comfort See the illustration ¢ fig. 195
when operating the vehicle at for the locati on of the labe l on
normal load (up to 3 occu -driver's side B -pillar (color of
pants), you can adjust tire the actual label and exact loca-
pressures to those specified tion on the vehic le will vary
for normal vehicle load. Before slight ly) .
operat ing the vehicle at maxi -Note that the following table is
mum load , you must increase accurate at the time of going to
the ti re pressu res to those press and is subject to change .
specified for maximum vehicle In the event of discrepancies,
load¢&. the tire pressure labe l is locat-
Bear in mind that the tire pres- ed on the driver's side 8-pi llar
sure monitoring system can on -always takes precedence .
ly monitor the tire pressures The table below lists the rec-
you have stored . The system
ommended cold tire inflation
does not recogn ize the load
pressures for the Audi model
condition of your vehic le.
covered by your Owner's Litera-
T he effectiveness of the tire ture at the vehicle's capacity
pressure monitoring system weight and the tire sizes instal -
will be impaired if you store led on the respective mode ls as
normal load pressures but then original equipment, or as a fac-
operate the vehicle at its maxi- tory option.
...
mum load¢&.
Tires and wheels 24 7
Model/ Tire designation Tire pressure
• Engine
normal load condition full load condition
•
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI
kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A6: 225/55 Rl 7 97H
32 220 29 200 35 240
38 260 2.0 liter All Season
4-cylinder 245/45 Rl8 lOOH XL
All Season
33 230 32 220 35 240 38 260
255/40 Rl9 lOOH XL
33 230 32
220
35 240
38 260 All Season
255/40 Rl9 lOOY XL
32 220 32 220 33 230 36 250 High Performance
255/35 R20 97Y XL
35 240 32 220 38 260 41 280 High Performance
A6: 225/55 Rl 7 97H
35 240
32 220 38 260 41
280 3.0 liter All Season
6-cylinder
245/45 Rl8 lOOH XL
All Season
35 240 32 220 38 260 41 280
255/40 Rl9 lOOH XL
35 240
32 220
38 260
41 280 All Season
255/40 Rl9 lOOY XL
36 250 33 230 39 270
42
290
High Performance
255/35 R20 97Y XL
39 270 36 250 44 300 46 320 High Performance
S6: 255/40 Rl9 lOOY XL
39 270
35 240 42 290 44
300 4.0 liter High Performance
a-cylinder 255/35 R20 97Y XL
High Performance
44 300 39 270 46
320 48
330
XL= reinforced or extra load tire . It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the tire size information on the ve-
spare wheel is located on a la- hicle label is the same as the
bel on the driver's side B-pillar. size of the tires on the vehicle.
Because technical changes may This is especially important if
the vehicle belongs to someone
be made to vehicle equipment
during the model year, always else or you bought the vehicle
with different rims/tires or you
compare the tire size designa-
M
tion on the tire pressure label bought the vehicle as a previ-N
0 <.J ously owned vehicle. ... 'SI: on your vehicle with the tires on ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., your vehicle. Make sure that the 1.1'1 ,....,
256 Tires a nd whee ls
Driving style - Extra care must be ta ken when
Driving fast around curves , rotat
ing direction-specific
heavy acceleration and hard tires
¢
page 2 77.
b raking increase tire wear.
Wheel balancing
Rotating tires for more even
The wheels on new vehicles are
wear ba lanced. However, various sit-
For all four tires on your vehicle uations during everyday driving
to have the same service life, can cause them to become un-
we recommend that the front balanced, resulting in vibra-
and rear tires are rotated ac -tions you can usually feel
cording to the tire manufactur- through the steering wheel.
er's suggested tire rotation in- Unbalanced wheels must be re-
tervals . Please remember the
balanced to avoid excessive
following: wear on steering, suspension
-T ire rotation intervals may dif -and tires. A wheel must also be
fer from the vehicle service in· rebalanced when a new tire is
tervals outlined in your War- insta
lled.
ranty
& Maintenance booklet . Incorrect wheel alignment
-The longer one tire is used in
Incorrect wheel alignment can
one location on the vehicle,
cause excessive tire wear, im-
the more it wears at certain
pairing the safety of the vehi-
points; therefore, we recom-
cle. If tires show excessive
mend that you follow the tire
wear, have the wheel alignment
manufacturer's suggested tire
checked by an authorized Audi
rotation intervals.
dealer or qualified workshop.
-Vehicles with front-wheel
dr ive experience more t read
All-wheel drive
wear on the front wheels com-
Vehicles with quattro must al-
pared to all-wheel drive (quat- ways have tires of the same
tro) .
size, construction and tread
-Please rotate tires as shown type. For details see
¢
fig . 198. ¢page 197. ...