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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.
Airbag system 161
-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
•
•
162 Airbag system
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts wit h pretens ioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Aud i dea ler is familiar wit h these requ ire
ments and we recommend that you have
your dea le r perfo rm this se rv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen
sion st ruts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and se nt to the electron ic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam
p le, increase the force levels meas ured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ured by the sensors and prevent the a irbag
from deploying when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ
ing use of unapproved tire -rim combina
tions can change Advan ced A irbag per
formance and increase the risk of serio us
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance character istics as the components origi
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinatio ns that
have not been approved by A udi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
F ig . 1 61 Driver's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the ins trumen t
pane l underneath t he steering wheel
¢ fig. 161, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan
el underneat h the glove compartment.
T he knee airbag offe rs additional p rotection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up
per and lower th igh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
If t he front airbags dep loy , the knee ai rbags
also dep loy in frontal coll isions when the de
ployment threshold stored in the contro l unit
is met
<=> page 155, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addition to their norma l safety function,
safety belts help keep the dr iver or front pas
senger in position in a fronta l collision so that
the a irbags can provide supplemental protec
t ion .
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc
cupant restra int system in your vehicle. Al
ways remember that the a irbag system can
o nly help to protect you if you are weari ng
your safety belt and wea ring i t properly. This
is why you should always wear your safety
belt, not just beca use the law requi res you to
do so
r::!;>page 136, General notes . ..,.
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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 ..,.
•
•
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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom
municat ions provider. For details regard
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
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 veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in
dicator light
m 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
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 193
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations 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 conditions . ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle under con
trol and on the road during extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di
rect ion. 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 together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake ass ist sys
tem, ant i-slip regu lation (ASR), electron ic dif
ferential lock (EDL), dynam ic steer ing* and
El ectronic interax le differentia l lock* /selective
whee l to rque control*. ESC is switched on a ll
the time. In ce rtain sit uat io ns when yo u need
less traction, you can sw itch off ASR by press
ing the b utton
[fil ¢ page 195, fig. 178. Be
s u re to switch ASR on again when you no lon
ger need less traction .
Anti-lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locki ng up
when b raking. The vehicle can st ill be stee red
even during hard braking . App ly steady pres
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake a ssis t sy ste m
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance . It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the situation is over. In .,,.
•
•
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes a lone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Air suspension*
When driving with a trai ler, activate the trailer
mode of the air suspension. Switch the air
suspension trailer mode on when you are tow
ing a trailer. This will limit the regulation by
the air suspension while driving. Select in the
MMI:
! CARI function button> (C ar) * systems
control button > Vehicle settings > Air susp.:
towing > On .
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem
perature can increase if you drive on long in
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds . Re
duce your speed immed iately if the LEDs in
the top pa rt of the display turn on.
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 16 .
A WARNING
Anyone no t properly restrained in a mov
ing veh icle is at a much greater ris k in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when tow ing
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
d ifferent weight distribution . Safety, perform
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
M N turning, stopping and backing up in an area 0
~ away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
~ have become comp lete ly fam iliar with the way 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Trailer towing 207
your vehicle-trai ler combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer generally req uires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trai ler.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer , you wi ll need a larger than normal
turning rad ius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac
ce lerate as fast as you norma lly would be
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang
ing lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load ¢
page 292.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol lowing:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake .
.,. Have someone p lace chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels.
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.,. Turn the wheels towards the curb.
.,. Apply the parking brake .
.,. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When re starting after parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.,. Start the engine.
•
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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.
...
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
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