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Brake lining w ear sta tus
Brake lining we ar may be che cked by visual in
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces
sary, the wheel may be remove d for this in
spection
c> page 244, Changing a wheel.
.&_ WARNING
- New brake pads do n't have the best sto p
ping power and must be "broken-in" dur
ing the init ial 100 to 1 50 m iles (150 to
200 k ilometers) of normal city driving.
T he break-in period can be considerably
longer for veh icles with ceram ic br ake ro
tors*. You can compensate for this by pressing the brake pedal more firmly.
T his also applies later when new pads are
installed .
- You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system on ly if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too ofte n. This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and d imin ish b raking
efficiency.
- Do not "r ide the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not inte nd
t o brake. Th is may cause the b rakes to
overheat, prema ture wear and inc reased
stopping distance .
- Under certa in climat ic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa
ter, driving in heavy rain or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat ings will be cleaned off after a few ca re
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing fo r an extended pe riod of time on
salt-covered roads w ithout using you r
Intellig ent technolog y 175
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler , be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct
ed. Otherw ise the brake system could
overheat reducing t he effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one b rake circuit will impa ir
the braking capab ility result ing in an in
creased s topping distance. Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near
est a utho rized Audi dea le r or q ualified
workshop.
- Never let the vehi cle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the b ra ke booste r is no t working, the
brake peda l must be p ressed considera
b ly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance .
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steer ing adapts electronically based on
t he ve hicl e speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defect ive! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or a qualified repair facility for as
s istance.
E!'Y D ynamic stee ring: System fault! You can
continue dri ving
If the indica tor ligh t turns on and the mes-
sage appears, the stee ring may be more diffi
cu lt to move o r more sensit ive than usual. The ..,.
•
•
176 Intellig ent technolog y
steering wheel may also be at an angle when
driving straig ht.
Drive s low ly to your author ized Audi dealer or
q ua lified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
l ;:r- ij Dyn am ic s te ering : initi alizing
If th is driver message appears and the ind ica
tor light is flashing on the instrument panel ,
dynam ic steering* is be ing reinitialized. After
start ing the engine, the steer ing whee l w ill
move slightly . Re-in itia lizat ion m igh t be nec
essary if the steering wheel was moved hard
to the left and right while the vehicle was not moving. The disp lay goes out as soon as i niti
alization is complete .
.&_ WARNING
Have the dynamic steering* system mal
function repaired as soon as poss ible by an
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop -risk of accident!
(D Tips
- If the . or@ indicator light only stays
on for a short t ime, you may continue
driving .
- The dynamic steering* stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction .
- For additional informat ion on dynamic
steering*, refer to
c::> page 102 .
Driving with your
quattro
-
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv
en.
General information
W ith all-whee l drive , power is distributed to
a ll four w heels . This happens automatically
depending on your dr iving sty le and the road
conditions at the t ime. See a lso
c::> page 171.
A center different ial d istr ibutes the dr iv ing
power var iably to the front and rear axle.
It
wo rks together wi th se lective wheel torque control, which activates when driving thro
ugh
c u rves
c::> page 172. With the sport differen
t ia l*, power distr ibut ion to the rear wheels is
variable and can be adjusted w ith drive se lect
c::> page 102.
The all-whee l drive concept is designed for
high eng ine power. Your veh icle is except ion
ally powerful and has excellent driving charac
teristics both under normal driv ing cond itions
and on snow and ice . Always read and follow
safety precaut ions
c::> ,& .
Winter tir es
When d riving in the winter, yo ur vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even with regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea
son tires) for improved dr iveability and brak
ing : these tires must be mounted on
a ll four
wh eels.
See also c::> page 236, Winter tires.
Tire ch ains
Where tire chains are mandatory on cer tain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive c::> page 23 7, Snow
chains .
Replacing whee ls / tire s
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same s ize . A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths. For deta ils see
page
c::> page 230, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road dr iving ?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear
ance to be used as an off -road vehicle. It is
therefore best to avoid roug h tracks a nd un
even terra in as much as poss ib le . Also refer to
c::> page 179.
.&_ WARNING
A lways adj ust yo ur dr iv ing to road and t ra f
f ic conditions . Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
-Although the a ll-wheel d rive is very ef
fective, always remember that braking
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pressure relie f valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca lding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- T urn off the engine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Tu rn the cap slowly and very ca refully
in a counte r-clockw ise d irection while
applying light, downward p ress ure on
the top of the cap.
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en
g ine coolant can catch f ire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and we ll
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
Q) Note
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l
ant to your veh icle's engine coolant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adverse
l y affect the function and performance of
you r cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Wa rra nty.
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l
ant w ill be forced ou t through the pres
su re re lief va lve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, t he cor rect ratio between wate r
and an tifreeze<=> page 201 must be re
stored as soon as possib le .
Checkin g and fillin g 203
'
@) For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant sho uld not be reused. A l
ways d ispose of used coolant while observ
i ng a ll environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
T he radiator fan is dr iven by the engine via the
V-belt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan according to the temperature of the coolant.
An a uxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and othe r vehicle ope rat ing cond it ions.
After yo u switch the eng ine off, the aux iliary
f an can continue running for up to 10 m inutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself<=>.&. , if
- t he temperatu re of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build -up from the engine in
the engine compa rtment, or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
=
- To reduce the risk of personal inju ry nev-
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is tempe rat ure
contro lled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan switches on a u
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coo lant temper
ature drops.
•
•
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@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the pr oblem of proper d isposa l
of brake flu id as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ives we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by an authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop . The elec
trolyte leve l should also be checked each time
the battery is charged c>
page 207.
Have the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . You are well adv ised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
battery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec
tr ica l system for safety reasons c>
.&. in Re
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 144.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu
lators, for example) are lost if the battery ter
m inals a re d isconnected. These func tions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry term inals a re
connected agai n. T o prevent this, the bat tery
should only be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec tric al system when absolu tely necessa ry
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive you r vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical compo
nen ts are gr adually cut b ack o r swi tched off .
This redu ces energy cons umption and main
tains starting capab ility over a longer per io d
c> page 177.
Some o f the conven ience f unctions m ay not
ope rate, su ch as the in ter ior lig hts or t he
Checkin g and fillin g 205
power seat adjus tment. The convenience
funct io ns w ill be available again when yo u
turn o n the ign ition and start the engine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the w inte r mon ths, bat tery capa city
tends to dec rease as tempera tures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed wh ile
starting, and the headlights, rear window de
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary powe r consumpt ion, pa r
ticular ly in city traffic or when traveling only
sho rt distances. Let yo ur authorized A udi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before w inter sets inc>
page 207. A well
charged battery will not on ly prevent starti ng
problems w hen the weather is cold, but w ill
also last longer.
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery s hou ld be removed and
stored where it will not freeze . This will
p revent it from be ing damaged and having
to be repla ced.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the bat tery.
The battery is located in the luggage compar t
ment under the floor . B efo re you che ck any
thi ng in the luggage compartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
c> ,&. .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work
i ng on the veh icle batte ry or t he vehicle e lec
t rical sys tem to p reven t inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM· BO LS and safety precautions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye protection.
•
•
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Bead
means the part of the tire that
is made of steel wires, wrapped
or reinforced by ply cords and
that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the
bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom
mended by the vehicle manu
facturer for a tire of a designat
ed size that has not been driven
for more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before
the tire pressure is measured or
adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor
vehicle with standard equip
ment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, oil, and cool
ant, air conditioning and addi
tional weight of optional equip
ment.
Tires and wheels 213
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire. Extra load tires may be identi
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-carrying capaci
ty of a single axle system,
measured at the tire-ground in
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the maximum total
loaded weight of the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two
adjacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that
a tire is rated to carry for a giv
en inflation pressure. You may
not find this information on all
tires because it is not required by law.
•
•
'
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If you wish to improve comfort
when operating the vehicle at
normal load (up to 2 occu
pants), you can adjust tire
pressures to those specified
for normal vehicle load. Before
operating the vehicle at maxi mum load, you must increase
the tire pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle
load
c> .&. .
Bear in mind that the tire pres
sure monitoring system* can
only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recognize the load
condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire p ressure monitoring system*
will be impaired if you store normal load pressures but then
operate the vehicle at its maxi
mum load
c> .&. .
Model Tire designation
Engine
RS 5 Cabriolet: 265/35 Rl9 98V XL
4.2
liter High Performance
a-cylinder
275/30 R20 97V XL
High Performance
Tires and wheels 219
See the illustration c> fig. 182
for the location of the label on driver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual label and exact loca
tion on the vehicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following table is
accurate at the time of going to
press and is subject to change.
In the event of discrepancies,
the tire pressure label is locat ed on the driver's side B-pillar
always takes precedence.
The table below lists the rec ommended cold tire inflation pressures for the Audi model
covered by your Owner's Litera
ture at the vehicle's capacity
weight and the tire sizes instal
led on the respective models as
original equipment , or as a fac
tory option.
Tire pressure
normal load condition full load condition (up to 2 occupants)
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
41 280 38 2 60 45 310 44 300
41 280
38 2
60 4 5 310 44 30 0
•
•
'
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xi, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
Tires and wheels 223
were on your vehicle at the changing a wheel or replacing •
time it was manufactured. For wheels you have to adjust the • '
recommended tire pressures tire pressures on all wheels. In
for normal load conditions, addition, you must then initial-
please see chapter ize the new tire pressures in the
9page 217. tire pressure monitoring sys-
-Turn the valve stem cap coun- tern*
9 page 239.
ter-clockwise to remove it
_&. WARNING
from the tire valve.
Incorrect tire pressures and/
-Place the air pressure gauge or underinflation can lead
on the valve. sudden tire failure, loss of
-The tire pressures should only control, collision, serious per-
be checked and adjusted when sonal injury or even death.
the tires are cold. The slightly -When the
[IJ warning sym-
raised pressures of warm tires bol appears in the instru-
must not be reduced. ment cluster, stop and in-
-Adjust the tire pressure to the spect the tires.
load you are carrying. -Incorrect tire pressure and/
-Reinstall the valve stem cap or underinflation can cause
on the valve. increased tire wear and can
When should I check the tire affect the handling of the
pressure? vehicle and stopping ability.
The correct tire pressure is es- -Incorrect tire pressures
pecially important at high and/or underinflation can
speeds . The pressure should also lead to sudden tire fail-
therefore be checked at least ure, including a blowout
once a month and always be -and sudden deflation, caus-
fore starting a journey. ing loss of vehicle control.
When should I adjust the
-The driver is responsible for
the correct tire pressures for
tire pressures?
M all tires on the vehicle. The N
er Adjust the tire pressure to the u..
applicable pressure values ... co ,....,
load you are carrying. After \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
236 Tires and wheels
@ For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accord
ance with the local require
ment s.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- T raction
AA A B C
- T emperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shou lder
and max imum sect ion width
¢ page 230,
fig. 186.
For example: Tread wear 200, Tract ion AA ,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course .
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and one half (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relat ive performance of t ires depends
upon the actua l conditions of their use, how
ever, and may depart significantly from the norm due to var iations in dr iving habits, serv
ice practices and differences in road character
istics and climate .
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the
tire's abil ity to stop on wet pavement as
measured under controlled cond itions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete . A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance ¢&,. .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and C, representing the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to dissi
pate heat when tested under controlled condi
tions on a specified indoor laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate and red uce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure
¢ &,..
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform
ance which all passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stand
ard No. 109. Grades Band A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the minimum required by law .
A WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction
characteristics.
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is es
tablished for a tire that is properly inflated
and not overloaded. Excessive speed, un
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separately or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire failure.
Winter tires -
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice . At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires .
In some heavy snow areas, local governments
may require true winter or "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread . These tires should
only be used in pairs and be installed on all
four wheels. Make sure you purchase snow
tires that are the same size and construction
type as the other tires on your vehicle. .,.