2015 AUDI Q5 ABS

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Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an in­
cline, do the following:
11-Keep the switch pulled and depress the acceler­
ator. The park ing brake stays applied and pre­
vents the vehicle from roll ing backward .
11-You can release the switch once you are sure
th at you a re developing enough dr iving force at
the whee ls by depressing the a cce le rato r.
Depending on the weight of the r ig (veh icle and
trai ler) and the severity of the inc line, you may
r oll bac kwards as you sta rt . Yo u can prevent roll­
in g ba ckwards by ho ld in g the pa rking brake
sw itch pulled o ut and accelera ting - just as you
wo uld when sta rting on a hill with a conventiona l
hand brake .
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake system
fails or locks .
11-In a n eme rgency, pull the sw itch and conti nue
to pull it to slow your vehi cle down wi th the
parking brake .
11-As soon as you release the switch or acce le rate,
the braking process stops.
If yo u pull the sw itch and hold it above a speed of
about S mph (8 km/h), t he emergency braking
f u nction is init iated . The veh icle is braked at all
four whee ls by activating the hydra ulic brake sys­
t em. The brake performance is simi lar to making
an emergency stop¢.&. .
In o rder not to activate the emergency brak ing by
mistake, an audible warning tone (b uzzer)
sounds w hen the sw itch is p ulled. As soon as t he
sw itch is released, or the accelerator peda l is de­
p ressed, emergency brak ing stops.
A WARNING
Emergency b raking should on ly b e used i n an
eme rgency, when the normal foot brake has
f ail ed or the br ake pedal is obstruc ted. Using
t he par king brake to pe rform emergency brak­
ing w ill slow your vehicle down as if you had
made a fu ll brake a pplicat ion . The laws of
Dri ving
physics cannot be suspended even with ESC
and its associated components (ABS, ASR,
EDS). In corners and when road or weather
c o nditions are bad, a f ull brake application
can cause the vehicle to skid o r th e rear end to
b reak away -risking an accid ent .
Driver messages in the instrument cluster
Caution: Vehicle parked too steep
T h is message appears w hen t he pa rking brake is
applied on an in cli ne that exceeds about 30% .
In this case the braking power of the park ing
brake may
not be adequat e to prevent the veh i­
cle from rolling unintentionally .
Press brake pedal to release parking brake
This dr iver message appears when the sw itch to
release the parking bra ke was pressed. The par k­
ing brake can only be released if you step on the
brake pedal and at the same t ime press t he
switch or you automat ica lly release the parki ng
brake with the starti ng assist ¢
page 90.
fpjj Parking brake malfunction!
This dr iver message appears together w ith the
yellow
rm symbol whe n there is a parking brake
malfu nction .
Start/Stop system
Description
Applies to veh icles: w ith Start -Stop -System
T he Sta rt-Stop -System can help increase fuel
economy and reduce CO2 emissions.
In the Star t-Stop -mode, the engine shu ts o ff au­
tomatica lly when the vehicle is stoppe d, such as
at a t raffic lig ht. The ignition remains sw itche d
on during this stop phase. The engine w ill be au­
tomat ica lly restarted when needed.
The last S tart -Stop -System sett ing (on/off using
t h e b utton
10 ~1) will be restored w hen the ig ni­
t ion is turned on. The LED in the
l(A) ~I b utton turns
on when the Start-Stop-System is sw itched off
manua lly.
91

Hybrid
St art-Stop function
The combust ion engine is operated only as need­
ed . Genera lly, the combustion engine turns
off
when the vehicle is stationary and the high volt­
age battery powers the electrical vehicle sys­
tems .
The purpose o f automatica lly shutting the com­
bustion engine
off in hybrid drive mode is to save
fue l. All of the important vehicle systems, such
as steering, brakes and the A/C system, contin ue
to remain active. In some cases, systems may re­
qu ire the combustion engine to continue running
when the vehicle is stationary. When driv ing in
congested traffic for long periods of t i me, the
combustion engine will cycle on when the veh icle
is stationa ry to keep the h igh voltage battery
charged .
Gliding
If the gas pedal is not pressed and the D position
is selected, the combustion engine rema ins
turned
off up to speeds of approximate ly 99 mph
(160 km/h). Dr iving conse rvative ly like this can
r educe fue l consumpt ion.
Energy recovery (recup eration )
When braking, the e lectr ic motor will act as a
generator creating electric energy that is then
s to red in the h igh voltage batte ry. This also oc­
curs when the ve hicle is coas ting or dr iv ing down­
hi ll. The combust ion engine is automatically
turned
off in t his case.
Tips for Driving Efficiently with your Hybrid
Applies to veh icles: w ith hybrid drive
Driving situa- Conditions
tions
- Shift into the D pos ition .
Starting from a -
Release the brake pedal.
stop -
Only press mode rate ly on the ac-
celer ator peda l.
102
The vehicle is braked with the electric motor by
applying early and even press ure to t he brakes
and us ing short pedal movements¢
page 99,
fig. 110@. By do ing th is, a large amount of the
k inet ic energy is recovered and may be stored as
electric energy in the high voltage batte ry. Dur ­
i ng heavy braking, the convent ional brakes are al­
so act ivated
¢ page 99, fig . 110 @.
The energy recovery is shown in the MMI display
¢page 105 .
Automatic start of the combu stion engine
Various operating conditions cause the combus ­
tion eng ine to start a utomatica lly :
- T he high vo ltage battery charge leve l is low.
- T he temperature of the combustion engi ne is
low.
- Th e temperature of the cataly tic converte r is
low.
- T he power output needed for the A/C system is
high.
- T he veh icle speed is high .
- The vehicle acceleration is h igh .
- The incline is steep.
- High charge level for the high voltage battery
when coasting. In this case, the hig h voltage
battery cannot absorb any more ene rgy and so
the electric motor cannot s low down the veh i­
cle. The combustion engine tur ns on (eng ine
brake) . In this situation the high voltage bat­
tery will show a Max cha rge.
Vehicle behavior
In the D posit io n, the hybrid system adapts
to the driving s ituat ion by automatically
sw itch ing between the combust io n engine
a nd e lectr ic dr ive types or by combini ng
them.

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-Always put objects, for examp le, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage c ompart­
ment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage com­
partment us ing the tie-down eye lets and
suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles. To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to ser ious personal injury:
- Always keep in m ind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- Always distribute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the G ross Ax le Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
doo r jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to s lide and
hand le different ly.
- Please observe information on safe driving
r=>page 135.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driv ing.
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitt ing completely into the luggage a rea be­
cause the rea r lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must drive w ith the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close a ll windows,
- Close the Panoramic sliding sunroof*,
- Open al l air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Sw itch off the air recircu lation,
- Set the fresh ai r fan to the h ighest speed.
Dr ivin g s afet y
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all windows,
the Panoramic sliding sunroof * and the rear
lid are securely closed and locked to reduce
the r is k of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is p roperly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended espe­
cially with the rea r lid left open . A child
could crawl into the ve hicle through the lug­
g age compartmen t and clo se the re ar lid be­
coming trapped and unable to get out. Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
pe rsonal injury .
- Never let children play in or around the vehi ­
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compa rtment . Vehicle occupants must al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve­
hicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circul ation helps to reduce window fog­
ging . Stale ai r escapes to the outs ide
through vents in the t rim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure m ust correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The t ire p ress ure label is lo­
cated on the dr iver's side B-pillar. The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
t ire inflation pressures fo r the veh icle at its
maximum ca pac ity weight and the tires that
we re on your vehicle at the t ime it was man­
ufac tured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load condi tions, please see chap­
ter
r=> page 246.
Tie-downs
The luggage compar tment is equipped wi th four
tie-downs to se cure luggage and other items .
Use the t ie-downs to secu re your cargo prope rly
r=> page 140, Loading the luggage compar tment. lliJ,
141

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- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 155 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 156 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simp le. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy wh ich var­
ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most signif icant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to SO km/
h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts¢
fig. 155, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 156.
Safety belts
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a frontal collision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher .
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and co llisions.
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 157 A driver no t wearing a safety belt is violen tly
thrown forward
Fig. 158 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the dr iver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, ..,_
145

Safety belts
instrument panel, windshield, o r whatever else is
in the way~
fig. 157 . This impact with the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just before
the crash .
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection . A irbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in orde r to min imize the risk of severe in­
jury o r death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety be lts are always there to of ­
fer protection in those accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
ready deployed . Unbelted occupan ts can also be
thrown out of the vehicle where even mo re severe
or fata l injur ies can occur .
It is also important fo r the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbe lted passengers
i n t he rear seats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
~ fig . 158. In a frontal coll ision they wi ll be
thrown forward violent ly, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
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!
F ig . 1 59 Driver is co rr ect ly re st rained in a sudden b rak ing
m ane uver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap-
146
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the u ncontrolled movement that ca n cause seri­
ous injuries . In addition, safety be lts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the veh icle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "softly" through the "give" in the safety
belts , cru sh zones and other safety features eng i­
neered into today 's veh icles . By "absorbing" the
k inetic ene rgy 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 frontal
collision , safety be lts can also substantially re ­
duce the r isk of injury in other kinds of crashes .
So, whether you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
the cor ner store, always bu ckle up and make sure
others do , too. Ac ciden t sta tis tics show that veh i­
cle occupants properly wearing sa fety belts have
a lower risk of be ing injured and a much better
chance of surviv ing an accident. Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ab ility of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wear ing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most 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 provided. Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal coll is ions . The front airbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal col lisions, in s ide and rear co l­
li sions, in ro ll overs o r in cases whe re there is not
enough deceleration th ro ugh impac t to the front
of the vehicle . T he same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
proper ly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safe ty belts must always be correctly positioned
acros s the strongest bones of your body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter .
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged .

Airb ag syst em
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants .
Fig. 165 Location of driver airbag : in steering whee l
Fig. 166 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru­
ment panel
Your vehicle is equ ipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicab le at the time your veh i­
cle was manufactured. The safety belts for the
seats have "pretensioners" that help to take s lack
out of the belt system . The pretensioners are also
activated by the electronic control unit for the
airbag system .
The front safety belts a lso have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing wheel
hub ¢
fig. 165 and the airbag for the front pas ­
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig. 166. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
156
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation 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 infants and small children .
,&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental p rotection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety be lts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
prope rly restrained.
,&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ild ren, will rece ive
serious i njur ies and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a sma ll child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that dep loyment un­
der these special condit ions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U .S. Federal Standard if a chi ld that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that ch ildren
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position .
- F or their own safety, all ch ildren, especially
12 years and younger, sho uld a lways ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size .
-

Airbag syste m
-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright with
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 req uires the airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag .
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined in the electron ic control unit . ¢ page
162
Alw ays re member: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat . Please be sure to read the important infor ­
mat ion in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in­
fla tes, always wear safety belts proper ly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rward, s it­
t ing s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher .
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag ¢page
152.
_& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward -facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in al l con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the usef ul life o f your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier wi th great force and
158
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must insta ll a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your au thorized Aud i dealer .
_& WARNING
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must in­
stall a forwa rd-facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-facing sea t
has been des igned and certif ied by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan ­
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of ve ry impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System in it. These pa rts include the we ight ­
sensing mat, senso rs, w iring, bracke ts, and more.
The function of the system in the front passenge r
seat is checked by the e lectronic control unit
when the ignition is on. The control unit mon itors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag i ndicator light on when a malfunct io n in the sys­
tem components is detected. The function of the
a irbag indicator light is described in greate r

Airb ag syst em
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers m ight be classified as Perchlorate Mater ia l
-special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including a irbag modules safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
app licab le laws and regu lations must be ob­
served. Your authori zed A udi dealer is fami lia r
w ith these requirements and we recommend
that you have yo ur dealer perform this service
for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle 's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For example, using t ire-rim
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicl e, chang ing the stiffness of the suspension,
including the spr ings, suspension s truts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control un it. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force leve ls meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in c rashes in which it wo uld not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and preve nt the airbag from deploy­
i n g when i t should .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's s uspension including
use of unapproved ti re -rim comb inations can
change Advanced A irbag pe rformance and in ­
crease t he risk of serious persona l injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac­
teristics as the components or iginally insta l­
led on your veh icle .
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have
not been approved by Audi .
166
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety be lt b uckle
and the center console can cause the sensors i n the buckle to send the wrong informat ion
to the electronic control module a nd prevent
the Adva nced Airbag System from wor king
properly .
- Always ma ke sure that nothing can interfere
w it h the safe ty belt bu ckles an d that they
are no t obstr ucted.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
F ig. 169 S ide ai rbag locat io n in th e dr ive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
fron t seat backrests ~
fig. 169 and the rear back­
res t* fa cing the doors. They are identified by the
word "AIRBA G".
The side airbag sy stem bas ically consi st s of :
-the electron ic control module and external side
impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the s ides of the front
backrests and the two airbags* located in the
rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter.
The airbag system is monitored e lectronically to
make certain that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the air­
bag system indicator light w ill come on for a few
seconds (self d iagnost ics) .
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