Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 121, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults their
muscles and bones are not fully developed . In
many respects children are at greater risk of seri
ous injury in crashes than adults .
Because children's bod ies are not fully developed,
they requ ire restraint systems especially de
signed fo r their size, weight, and body structure.
Many countries and all states of the United
States and prov inces of Canada have laws requi r
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children.
I n a frontal crash at a speed o f 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 -po und
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the
child would sudden ly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg). Under these conditions, only an appro
priate ch ild restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury. Child restraints must be
used properly to be effective . Used improperly,
they can increase the risk of serious injury in an
accident.
Consult the ch ild safety seat manufacturer's in
structions to be sure the seat is right for your
child's size¢
page 153, Important safety in
structions for using child safety seats.
Please be
sure to read and heed all of the important infor
mation and WARN INGS about child sa fety, Ad
vanced Airbags, and the installation of child re
straints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat. Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
150
information in this owner 's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small chi ldren .
&_ WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
m ust be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained chi ld could be injured by striking
the interior or by be ing ejected from the ve
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestra ined or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
-A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating posit ions
provides the highest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acci
dent situations.
&_ WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be serious ly
injured and can be killed if the front airbag in
f lates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest or
door .
-Always install rearward-facing child safety seats on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
Smart Technology
Smart Technology Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
Event Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data Re
corder (EDR) . The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa
tions, such as an airbag deployment or hitting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand
ing how a vehicle 's systems performed . The EDR
is designed to record data related to vehicle dy
namics and safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less . The EDR in this
veh icle is designed to record such data as:
- How various systems in your vehicle were oper
at ing;
- Whe ther or not the driver and passenger safety
belts were buckled/fastened;
- How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
- How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better understand
ing of the circumstances in which crashes and in
juries occur. NOT E: EDR data are recorded by your
vehicle only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal data (e.g .,
name, gender , age, and crash location) are re
corded. However, other part ies, such as law en
forcement, could combine the EDR data with the
type of personally identify ing data routinely ac
qui red during a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equip
ment is requ ired, and access to the vehicle or the
E DR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manu
facturer, other parties, such as law enforcement,
that have the specia l equipment , can read the in
formation if they have access to the vehicle or the E DR.
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down
loading of data stored by EDRs installed in a vehi
cle for the express purpose of retrieving data af-
168
ter an accident or crash event without the own
er's consent.
Audi will not access the EDR and/or similar data
o r g ive it to others -
- unless the veh icle owner (or lessee if the veh i
cle has been leased) agrees; or
- upon the official request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court of law or a govern-
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit through the judicial
discovery process .
- Audi may also use the data for research about
veh icle operation and safety performance or
provide the data to a third party for research
purposes without identifying the spec ific vehi
cle or information about the ident ity of its own
er or lessee and only after the recorded vehicle
data has been accessed.
Vehicle control modules
Your vehicle is also equipped with a number of
electronic control modules for var ious vehicle
systems, such as engine management, emission
control, airbags, and safety belts .
These electronic control modules record data dur ing norma l vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained technicians for diagnostic and
repair purposes. The recording capabil ity of these
modules is lim ited to data (no sound is recorded).
Only a small amount of data is actua lly recorded
over a very limited period of time, or stored when
a system fau lt is detected by a contro l modu le.
Some of the data stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, or braking, as well as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a crash. Stored data can also only be read and
down loaded w ith specia l equipment that is di
rectly connected to the vehicle.
(D Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi con
nect . Your use of certain Audi connect fea
tures requires wireless serv ices that are p ro
v ided by a third party wireless telecommuni
cations provider . For details regarding how in
formation obtained through Audi connect is
collected, processed, transmitted, used, and ..,..
Smart Technolog y
-Manua l retraction: At speeds up to about
10 mph (20 km/h) , retract the rear spoiler by
pressing and holding the switch. At speeds be
tween 10 mph (20 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h), retract the rear spoiler by tapping
on the switch
Ind icat or light
- Rear sp oile r: sy st em m alfu ncti on
The rear spoiler may not have extended due to a
malfunct ion . This cou ld change the vehicle's driv
ing characteristics at high speeds . Do not drive at
speeds above 85 mph (140 km/h) . Drive to the
nearest authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility to have the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
Dr iv ing at higher speeds w ithout the rear
spoiler deployed can impa ir handling charac
teristics, mak ing the veh icle harder to co ntrol.
- Always make sure that the spoiler is de-
ployed when driving at speeds over 85 mph
(140 km/h) . If the rear spoiler warn ing/ indi
c ator light in t he instrument cluster comes
on, the rear spoi ler may not have deployed .
- Never dr ive at speeds highe r than 85 mph
(140 km/ h) if the spoiler is not deployed.
Have the spo iler inspected as soon as possi
ble by an author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied
workshop.
- Always obey speed limi ts and o ther traffic
laws .
A WARNING ,.__.__
Improper ope ration of the rear spoiler can
cause crushing injuries .
- Always make sure that nobody, espec ia lly
children, is in the way when the rear spo iler
is deployed or retracted .
(D Note
Never push the vehicle or apply fo rce to the
rea r spo ile r - i t cou ld be damaged.
(D Tips
Clean the spo ile r compartment every 2 to 3
months. The spoiler compartment m ust al-
172
-
ways be free of ice, snow, leaves or other de bris .
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new brake
pads do not possess their full braking e ffect, they
have to be "broken in" first¢.&. . The break -in pe
riod can be considerably longe r for vehicles with
ceramic brake rotors*. You can compensate for
th is slightly reduced braking power by pushing
harder on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy braking
loads during the b reak-in period.
Op era ting condition s and dri ving h abit s
The brakes on today's automobiles are still sub
j ect to wear, depending largely on operating con
dit ions and driving habits ¢.&, . On vehicles that
are either dr iven most ly in stop-and-go city traf
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be
checked by yo ur autho rized Aud i dealer more of
ten than specified in the
Warranty & Mainte·
nan ce bookl et.
Fail ure to have you r brake pads
i nspected c an resu lt in red uced b rake pe rform
ance.
On steep slopes, you shou ld use the braking ef
fect of the engine. This way, you prevent unnec
essary wear on the bra ke system. If yo u must use
you r brakes, do not hold the brakes down contin
u ously. Pump the brakes at intervals .
Operating noise
Noises may occur when brakin g depending on the
speed, braking force and ou ts ide cond itions su ch
as tempera ture and hum idity.
Due to the nature of the materials used in ceram
i c bra ke roto rs*, noises may become mo re appa
r ent at low speeds.
Effect of water and road salt
In certa in situations, for examp le after driv ing
through water, in heavy rain, after overnight con
densation or after washing your car , the braking
effect can be redu ced by moistu re or ice on the
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Smart Technolog y
-If y ou dama ge the front spo iler, or if you in
sta ll a di fferent spoile r, be sure the air flow
to the front brakes is not obstructed . Other
wise the brake system co uld overheat reduc
ing the effectiveness o f the enti re brake sys
tem .
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair the
braking capab ility r esult ing in a n increased
stopp ing distance. Avoid driving the veh icle
and have it towed to the nearest au thorized
Audi de aler or qualified workshop.
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop with the
engine shut off .
-If the brake booster is not work ing, the
brake pedal must be pressed considerably
harder to make up for the lack of booste r as
sistance .
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps the
driver when steering .
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and me ss a ges
• Steering defe cti ve! Do not dri ve vehicle!
If th is indicator light tu rns on and stays on and
this message appears, the power steering may
have fa iled .
D o
n ot co ntinue driving. See yo ur authorized
Audi dealer or a qua lified repair fac ility for assis
tance.
l;r-ij Dynamic steering : System fault! You can
c on tinu e drivin g
If the indicator light tu rns on and the message
appears, the steer ing may be more difficult to
move or mo re sensitive than usual. The steer ing
wheel may a lso be at an ang le when dr iv ing
straight.
Drive s low ly to your author ized Audi dealer or
qua lified wor kshop to have the malfunction cor
rected.
174
':r-ij Dynamic stee ring: initializing
If this drive r message appears and the indicator
li gh t is flashing on the instr ument pane l, dynam
i c s teer ing* is being rein itia lized. After sta rting
the engine, the steering wheel w ill move slightly.
Re-initialization might be necessary if the steer
i ng whee l was moved hard to the left and right
while the vehicle was not moving. The display goes out as soon as initialization is comp lete.
A WARNING
H ave the dynamic steering* system malfunc
tion repaired as soon as possible by an author ized A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop -risk
of accident!
@ Tips
- If the . or ':rfl indicator light only stays on
for a sho rt time, you may cont inue driving.
- The dynamic steering* stab ility systems are
not availab le in the event of a system mal
function.
- For add itiona l information on dynamic
steering*, refer to~ page 101.
Driving with your quattro
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driven .
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to all
four wheels . This happens automatically depend
i ng on your driving style and the road conditions
at the t ime . See also ~ page 169.
A center d ifferential distributes the driving power
variably to the front and rear axle. It works to
gether w ith select ive whee l torque control, which
activates w hen d rivi ng throug h curves
~ page 170 . With the spo rt diffe rential*, power
dist ribution to the rear wheels is variab le and can
be adjusted with drive select~ page 101.
The all-whee l dr ive concept is des igned for hig h
engine power . Yo ur vehicle is exceptiona lly pow
e rfu l and has excellen t drivi ng cha racte rist ics
both unde r normal d riving condi tions and o n
snow and ice . Always read and follow sa fe ty pre-
ca utions ~& .
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-Have your veh icle maintained properly and
in accordance with the service recommen
dations in your Warranty
& Maintenance
book let.
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as im
proper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the emission control system and could lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is op
erating properly, the exhaust gas can have a
sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under some op
erating states. This depends on the sulfur
content of the fuel being used . Using a differ
ent brand of fuel may help, or filling the tank
w ith lead-free super grade gasoline.
Shutting down vehicle
If you wou ld like your vehicle to remain inopera
tive for a longer period of time, contact an Audi
or other specialized dealer. T hey can advise you
on necessary precautions e.g. corrosion preven
tion, maintenance and storage. Pay attention to
additional information concerning the battery. Refer to
c:;, page 196.
Economical and environ
mentally-friendly driving
General
Your personal style of driving will determine the
economy of your vehicle, as well as exhaust and
noise levels.
Fu el economy, environmental impact , and wear
on your engine, brakes and tires largely depend
on three factors:
- your personal driving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitations
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your fue l
consumption by 10-15 percent. This sect ion will
give you some tips on how you can help the envi
ronment and your pocketbook .
Driving and the environment
(D Tips
The consumption estimates as published by
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
and Transport Canada may not correspond to
your actual consumption on the road, which
will vary depending upon vehicle load and
speed, road and weather conditions, tr ip
l ength, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating .
.. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking .
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating. If you anticipate what is going to happen next, you will need to brake less and , thus, accel
erate less. Let the veh icle coast whenever possi
ble -for example when you see that the next traf
fic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and im
proves your mileage .
.. Try and keep well below your car's maximum
speed.
Acce lerating gently reduces fue l consumption,
engine wear, and does not disturb the environ
ment .
Fuel consumpt ion, exhaust emiss ions and engine
noise increase disproportionately at high speeds.
If you drive at approximate ly three quarters of
top speed, fue l consump tion will be reduced by
one half. Never drive faster than the posted
speed l imit and weather cond itions permit .
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up fuel.
.. Shut the eng ine off when you are not driving
the vehicle.
.. Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the en-
gine run at idle .
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179
Driving and th e environment
It makes sense to shut off the engine in traffic
jams, when waiting for trains to pass at rai lroad
crossings, or at traff ic lights that have long waits
on red. Turning the eng ine off for just 30-40 sec
onds saves more fuel than is burned starting the
engine again .
It takes a long time for the engine to warm up
fully when it is running at idle. However, wear
and nox ious em issions are especially h igh when
the engine is warm ing up. So you should dr ive
away as soon as you start the engine and avoid running at high rpms while the engine is still
warming up.
{[) Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended after
starting. If warning lights should come on to
indicate improper operation, they would go
unheeded. Extended id ling a lso produces
heat, wh ich co uld resu lt in overheating or ot h
er damage to the vehicle or other property .
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot
of fuel.
~ Have you r vehicle se rv iced at regular i nte rva ls.
By having your vehicle regularly serviced by an
author ized Audi dealer helps to ensure that it
r u ns p roperly and economically. The condition of
your veh icle not only affe cts its safety and ability
to hold its va lue, i t also affects
fue l con sump
tion.
Ch eck your oil each tim e you fill your tank .
The amount of oil used is related to engine load
and speed .
It is normal for the oil consumption of a new en
g ine to reach its lowest value after a certain mile
age has been driven.
You must drive yo ur vehicle about 3,000 miles
(5,000 ki lometers) before you can properly as
sess o il consumption .
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and engine
output .
180
(D Note
-Have your veh icle ma intained properly and
in accordance with the service recommenda
tions in your Warranty
& Maintenance book
let. Lack of proper maintenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the emission control system and cou ld lead to damage .
- Do not alter or remove any component of the Emission Control System unless ap
proved by the manufacturer.
- Do not alter or remove any device, such as
heat shields, sw itches, ignit ion wires,
valves, which a re des igned to p rotect your
vehicle's Emission Control System and other
impo rtant vehicle components.
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively high
on short trips.
~ Tr y to avoid dr iv ing sho rt distances w ith a co ld
eng ine .
The eng ine and cata lytic converter have to reach
their opt imal
op erat ing temperature to reduce
fuel consumpt io n and noxious em issions effec
tive ly.
Just after starting, a co ld eng ine in a mid -s ize car
o nly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 m iles per
gallon (30-40 l/100 km). After about a half a
mile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg ( 20 l/100
k m). After about
2.5 mi les ( 4 km) , the eng ine is
at i ts p roper operating tempera ture and fuel
economy has reached a normal level. So you can
see that yo u should avo id short trips whenever
poss ib le.
The
outside temperature is also cr itical in th is re
gard. Your car cons umes more fuel in the winter
than in the summer.
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specially conditioned water and the manufactur
er's glycol-basedcoolant additive Gl3 antifreeze
with anticorrosion add itives (50% for USA mod
els ; 60% for Canadian models) . This mixture both
assures the necessary frost protection and pro
tects metal components in the engine's cooling
system from corrosion and scaling . It also raises
the boiling point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration of the coolant in
the summer by adding pla in water .
The propor
ti on of coolant additive mu st be at least 50 %
but n ot more than 60 °/o
to maintain antifreeze
p rotec tion and cooling efficiency . If the coolan t
frost protection is too low, the coolant cou ld
freeze and damage the vehicle heating and en
gine cooling system.
F or year-round driving, antifreeze is added at the
factory for temperatures dow n to:
- - 31 °F (-35 °C) USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada .
If you m ust add coolant, use a m ixture of water
and coolant additive. Mixing the coolant additive
with distilled water is recommended.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment, always read and heed all WARN
INGS
~ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 187.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in your
vehicle is suffic ient to meet the climate con
dit ions . This is especially important if you
l ive in a region where the winter is ex treme-
l y co ld. I f necessary, increase the proport ion
of coo lant add itive to 60%.
- When adding coolant addit ive to your cool
ing system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant addi
tive Gl2 ++ or Gl3 for your vehicle. This
coola nt add itive is ava ilable at authorized
Audi dea lers. Other types of ant ifreeze can
significant ly reduce corrosion protection .
Check in g and Fillin g
The resulting corrosion can cause a loss o f
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of rad iator leak sealant
to your vehicle's engine coolant . Adding ra
diator repair fluid may adverse ly affect the
function and performance of your cooling
system and could result in damage not cov
ered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty .
Checking the engine coolant level and
adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Fig . 1 64 Engine compartment: Cover on the coo lant ex
pans io n tank
Fig . 1 65 Engin e compa rtment: mark in gs in t he coo lant ex
pan sion tank
Before you check anything in the engine compart
ment,
a lwa ys read and heed all WARNINGS
~ A in Working in the engine compartment on
page 187.
The "MIN" und "MAX" markings are found on the
bi-level d isc in the interior of the coo lant expan
s ion tank~
fig. 165 .
.,. Park yo ur vehicle on a level su rface.
.,. Turn off the ignition.
.,. Let the engine cool down.
193
Checking and F ill in g
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir. If the
water content in the brake fluid is too high, cor
rosion in the brake system may result after a peri
od of time. The boiling point of the brake fluid
will also dec rease conside rably and dec rease
b ra ki ng perfo rman ce.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ve ry
two y ear s.
Always use new b rake fluid wh ic h con
forms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle Standard " FMVSS
1 16 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach,
therefo re , we recommend that yo u have the
b rake fluid changed by your authori zed
Audi
dealer . Your dealer has the cor re ct too ls , the
righ t brake fluid an d the know-how to do t his for
you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is po isonous. It must be stored
only in the closed orig inal container out of
the reach of children!
- Brake fai lure can result from old o r inappro
pr iate bra ke fluid . Observe these p recau
t ions:
- Use on ly bra ke fluid t hat meets SA E speci
fication
J 17 03 and confo rms to Fede ral
M otor Vehicle S tand ard 116 . Always check
wit h your author ized Audi dea ler to make
sure yo u are using the correct brake f lui d.
The cor rect type of b rake fluid is a lso indi
cated on the bra ke fluid reservo ir.
- The brake fluid m ust be new. Heavy use of
the bra kes can cause a va por l ock if the
brake fluid is left in the system too long.
This ca n ser iously affect the effic iency of
the brakes as we ll as your safety . This
co uld res ult in an accident.
@ Note
Brake f lu id will damage the paint of y our vehi
cle.
196
® For the sake of the environment
Because of t he prob lem of prope r disposal of
brake fluid as well as the special tools re
q uired and the necessary expert ise, we rec
ommend that yo u have the brake f lu id
changed by your autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the battery
i n your A ud i does not need any maintenance .
With
high outside temperatures or long dai ly
drives we recommend that you have the e lectro
l yte level checked by an aut horized Aud i dea ler or
qualified workshop . The e lectrolyte leve l should
also be chec ked each time the batte ry is cha rged
¢ page 198.
Have the battery checked when you take your ve
hicle i n for service . You are well adv ised to re
place a battery that is older than 5 years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the bat
tery is disco nnected from the ve hicle elect rical
system for safety reasons
¢ A in Repair , care
and disposal of the airbags on page 141 .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power window reg ula
tors, for example) are lost if the battery te rm i
nals are d isconnected . These funct ions have to be
r elearned after the battery t ermina ls are con
nected again . To prevent t his, the battery sho uld
o nl y be disconnected from the ve hicle e lectr ica l
system when absolute ly necessary fo r rep airs.
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive your vehicle ove r a period of
several days or weeks, electrical components are gradua lly cut back or sw itched off . T his reduces
energy cons umption and mainta ins start ing ca
pabili ty ove r a longer period¢
page 175.
Some of the convenience funct ions may not ope r
ate, such as the inter ior lights or the power s eat
adjus tment . The conve nien ce f unct io ns w ill be
ava ila ble again when you tu rn on the ig nition an d
star t the eng ine. ..,..