Airbag system
the circumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors in
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc. ¢
page 148, How side curtain air
bags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas
senger in position in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec
tion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wear ing it prope rly. Thi s is another reason
why you should always wear your safety belts,
not just because the law requires you to do so
¢ page 120, General information.
It is important to remember that while the side
curta in air bag system is designed to help red uce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example, swe lling, bruising, and minor abra
sions can a lso be associated with these airbags.
Remember too, these a irbags w ill dep loy only
once and only in certa in kinds of acc idents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protect ion.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The electronic control modu le and external side
impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and rear side w indows
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electronica lly to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is turned off,
-in sid e collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
148
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers.
& WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position¢
page 53,
Seats and storage.
- If the airbag indicator light¢ page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer.
It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re
strained .
E
Fig. 140 Illustra tion of princ ip le: Inflated side curtain a ir
bags on the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc
cupant and the w indows on the side of the veh i
cle that is struck in a side collision¢
fig. 140.
When the system is triggered, the side curta in
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate w ithin the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force.
The side curtain airbag cou ld injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple
mental s ide curtain airbag inflates. This applies
especially to children
¢ page 150. .,,.
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.. Pull straps tight following the child restraint
manufacturer 's instruct ions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following the
ch ild restra int manufacturer's instruct ions .
.. Depress the spring catches to re lease the an
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages.
Remembe r: Use tether st raps to help keep the
child res traint firmly in p lace .
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATC H system can in
crease the risk of serious perso nal injury and
death in an acc ident .
- These anchors were developed only for chi ld
safety seats using the "LATCH" system .
- Never a ttac h other child safety seats, belts
o r other ob jects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hea r a click when
latch ing the seat in p lace . If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
forward and h it the interior of the veh icle,
or be ejected from the ve hicle.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restrai nts will
increase the risk of injury in an accident.
- Always follow the child restraint system manufacturer 's instructions for proper in
sta llation of the child restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety belts in your ve
hicle.
- Always read and heed the important infor
mation and WARNI NGS about c hild safety
and t he insta llati on of chi ld restraint sys
tems~
page 150, Child safety.
Chil d sa fe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 150 Tet her an ch o rs : r ecess flaps beh in d th e rear sea t
back s
The tether anchors for the rear seating positions
are located in recesses in the rear window shelf
~ fig . 150 .
A tether is a stra igh t or V-shaped strap that at
t a ches the top p art of a chil d restra int to speci al
anchorage points in the vehicle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restrain t in a cra sh,
in o rder to help reduce the risk of head i njury that
cou ld be caused by strik ing the veh icle inter ior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af
te r September 1, 1999, a re req uired by U.S. fed
eral regula tions to comp ly w ith child head move
ment performance requirements . These new per
formance requirements make a tether necessary on most new child safety seats.
A WARNING
- -
Improper installation of child restra ints w ill
i nc rease the r isk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you
i n te nd to insta ll in you r A udi.
- Improper use of child rest raint anchors ( in
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision . T he anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor
rectly fitted child rest raints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems on
one LATCH low er a nchor point .
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage.
165
Smart Technolog y
(D Tips
-But even energy management cannot neg
ate the limits of physics. Consider that the power and life of a battery are limited.
- If starting ability is threatened, the indica
tor light (•)appears
Qpage 16.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining start
ing capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the co ld time of
year . Ab undant electrical energy is required, but
only a little is generated. It is also critical if the
engine is not runn ing and electrical components
are turned on. In this instance energy is being
consumed but none is being generated.
It is in precisely these situat ions that you wi ll no
tice energy management actively regulating the
d istr ibut io n of energy.
Vehicle s tand s for an exte nded p eriod
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks, e lectrica l components are
gradually cut back or switched off. This reduces
energy consumption and maintains starting ca
pability over a longer period. Some of the con
ven ience funct ions may not operate, such as the
interior lights or the powe r seat adjustment. The
conven ience functions will be ava ilable again
when you sw itch on the ign it io n and start the en
g ine.
With th e engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with the
engine turned off or use other MMI funct ions,
the battery is being discha rged .
If starting capability is jeopardized due to energy
consumption, a message appears in the MMI dis p lay . The message ind icates that the system will
be sw itched off automat ica lly in a moment. If
you wish to cont inue using the functions , you
have to start the engine .
176 With the en
gine running
Although elec trical energy is generated when the
vehicle is being d riven, the battery can become
discharged . This happens mostly when litt le en
ergy is being generated and a great deal con
sumed and the battery's state of charge is not
optimal.
T o bring the energy ba lance back into equilibri
u m, consumers whic h req uire especially large
amounts of energy are temporari ly cut back or
switched off. Heating systems in part icular re
quire a great deal of energy. If you notice, for ex
ample, that the heated seats* o r the heated rear
window are not heating, they have been tempo
r ari ly cut back o r switched off . Th ese systems w ill
be ava ilable again as soon as the ene rgy ba lance
has been res tored.
You w ill also notice that engine id le speed has
been increased slightly . Thi s is normal and not a
ca use for concer n. By increasing eng ine idle
speed the addi tional energy required is gene rated
and the battery is charged.
Care and cleaning
General information
Regular, proper care helps to maintain your vehi
cle's value. It can a lso be a req uirement when
submitting warranty claims for corrosion damage
and paint defects on the body.
The necessary care products can be obtained
from your a uthorized Audi dea ler . Read and fol
l ow the instructions for use on the packaging .
A WARNING
- Using cleaning and care products incorrectly
can be dangerous to your health.
- Always store cleaning and care products out of reach of children to reduce the r isk of po i
soning .
@) For the sake of the environment
-Preferably use environmentally-friendly
products when b uying cleaning agents.
- Do not dispose of leftover cleaning and care
products with h ousehold tras h.
Car washes
The longer that deposits remain on the vehicle ,
the more the s urface may be damaged . H igh
temperatures s uch as those caused by s unlight
increase the damaging effect.
Before washing, rinse off heavy deposits with
p lenty of water.
S tu bbor n depos its s uch a s bird dropp ings o r tree
sap are best removed w ith plenty of wa ter and a
microfiber cloth .
A lso, was h the unde rs ide of your vehi cle once
ro ad salt s tops be ing use d fo r t he season .
Pressure washers
When washing your ve hicles w ith a pressure
washer, always follow the operating instructions p rov ided with t he p ress ure washer. This is espe-
"' "' cially importan t in reg ard to the p ress ure and 0::
~ sp ray ing dist ance. Do not aim the spray direc tly
~ at seals on side windows, doors, the hood, the 1.1"1
~ rear lid or the sunroof * or at tires, rubber hoses, ,....,
Care and cleaning
insulat ing mater ia l, sensors * or camera lenses *.
Keep a distance of at least 16 inches (40 cm) .
D o no t remove snow and ice with a pressu re
washe r.
Never use rotary nozzles or high pressure noz
zles.
The water temperature must not be above 140 °F
(60 °C) .
Automat ic car washes
Sp ray off the ve hicle before washing .
Make sure tha t the w indows and roo f* are close d
and the windshield wipers are off . Follow inst ruc
tions from the car wash operator, especially if
there are accessor ies attached to your vehicle.
If possible, use car washes th at do not h ave
brushes.
Only use car washes whe re the vehicle rem ains
stationa ry and the w ashing eq uipmen t moves
aro und the veh icle when w ash ing and dry ing . Car
washes that move the vehicle thro ugh the car
wash using a c hain are n ot recommende d.
Washing by hand
Clean the ve hicl e s tarting fro m the top and work
i ng down using a soft sponge or cleaning b rush .
U se solven t-free cleani ng p ro du cts .
Washing vehicles with matte finish paint by
hand
To avoid d amaging the paint whe n was hing, first
r emove dus t and la rge particles from yo ur vehi
cle . Insects, g rease s pots and finge rprints are
best removed with a spec ial cleaner for matte
finish paint.
Apply t he p rod uct us ing a micro fiber cloth . To
avoi d damaging the paint surface, do not use too
much pressure.
Rinse the ve hicl e thoro ughly with water. Then
clean usi ng a neutra l shampoo and a soft mic ro
fi ber cloth .
Rinse the ve hicle thoro ughly again and le t it air
dry. Remove any wate r residue using a s ham my. .,.
181
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. ..,..
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Winter ope rati on
During the winter months, battery capacity tends
to decrease as temperatures drop. This is because
more power is also cons umed w hile starting, and
the headlights, rear window defogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, particu l arly in city traffic or when traveling only short
distances. Let your authorized Audi dea ler check
the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter sets inc:>
page 198. A well charged battery will
not only prevent starting problems when the
weather is cold, but will also last longer .
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the ve
hicle battery should be removed and stored
where it will not freeze. This will prevent it
from being damaged and having to be re
placed.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor. Before you check anything
in the luggage compa rtme nt,
re ad and heed all
WARN ING S
c:> .&_.
Always heed the saf ety warn ing s, when work ing
on the vehicle battery or the veh icle electrical
system to prevent injury.
The following WARNIN GS are v ery i mport ant
when working on the battery:
Alw ays heed the follow ing W ARNING SYM-
BOLS and safety pr ecaution s when work ing on
th e batt ery .
®
Alw ay s we ar eye p rotectio n.
A
Batter y acid conta in s s ulfu ric acid . Al-
ways wear gl oves and e ye prote cti on.
Checking and Fillin g
@
No
- sp ark s
- fl ame s
- smoking .
~
When a battery is charged, it produ ce s
. hydrogen ga s which is e xplo sive and
could cause p ersonal in jury.
®
Alw ay s ke ep the b attery well out of r each
of child ren .
_& WARNING
--
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electr ica l system, there is the risk of injury,
accident and even f ire. Read and heed the fol
low ing WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat
tery ac id or any lead particles get on your
skin or clothing. Shield you r eyes . Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury.
- Battery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns .
- Always wear g loves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because acid could leak
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or on your skin, immediate ly rinse with cold wa
ter for several minutes and get medical at
tent ion.
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid, seek
medica l attent ion immed iate ly.
- Do not expose the battery to an open flame,
electric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke .
- Do not interchange the positive and nega-
tive cables .
- When working on the battery, be s ure not to
short-circuit the terminals wi th tools or oth
er metal objects . This would cause the bat
tery to heat up very quickly, which could lead to damage or exp losion and personal
injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy
drogen gas which is explos ive and could
cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
197
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Fu se pa nel @ (black )
No. Consumer
1 Dynamic steering
2 Electron ic Stabilization Control (module)
A/C system pressure sensor, electrome-
chanical parking brake, HomeLink, auto-
3 mat
ic dimming interior rear view mirror,
air quality/outside air sensor, Electron ic
Stabilization Control (button)
s Sound actuator
6 Headlight range control/headl
ight (corner-
ing light)
7 Headlight (cornering light)
Control modu les (electromechanical park-
8 ing brake, shock absorber, q uattro sport),
DCDC converte r
9 Adaptive
cruise control
10 Shift gate/clutch sensor
11 Side assist
1 2 Headlight range cont ro l, parking system
13 Airbag
14 Rear
wiper (a llroad)
15 Auxiliary fuse (instrument panel)
16 Auxiliary
fuse termina l 15 (engine area)
Fuse p anel @ (brown )
No. C onsumer
2 Brake light sensor
3 Fuel pump
4 Clutch sensor
5
Left seat heating with/without seat venti-
lation
6 Electronic Stabilization Control (electric)
7 Ho rn
8
Front left door (window regulator, central
locking, mirror, switch, lighting)
9 Windshield wiper motor
10 Electronic Stabilization Control (valves) Fu
ses a nd bulb s
No. Consumer
Two-door mode ls: rear left window regula-
11 tor; Four-door
models: rear left door (win-
dow regulator, central locking, switch,
light ing)
12 Rain and l
ight sensor
Fuse panel © (r e d )
No . Con sumer
3 Lumbar support
4 Dynamic steering
5 Inter
ior l ight ing (Cabriolet)
6 Windshie
ld washer system, headlight
washer system
7 Vehicle electrica l system control module 1
8 Vehicle electr ica l system control module 1
9 Left rear
window regulator motor (Ca brio-
let)/su nroof
10 Vehicle electr ica l system co ntrol module 1
11 Right rear
window regulator (Cabriolet)/
sun shade motor
12 Anti-theft
alarm warning system
Right cockpit fuse assignment
Fig. 185 Right cockpit: fu se panel with plastic cl ip
225
Fuses and bulbs
Fuse panel @ (black )
No. Consumer
5 Steering col
umn switch module
7 Term inal 15 d iagnost ic connector
8 Gateway (Databus diagnostic interface)
9 Supplementary heater
Fuse panel@ (brown )
No. Consumer
1 CD/ DVD p laye r
2 Wi-Fi
3 M
MI/Radio
4 Instrument cluster
5
Gateway (ins trument cluster co ntrol mod-
ule)
6 Ignition lock
7 Ligh t swi tch
8 Climate control system blower
9 Steering col umn lock
10 Climate contro l system
1 1 Te
rm inal 30 d iagnost ic connector
12 Steer ing column sw itch module
226
Right luggage compartment fuse
assignment
Fig. 186 Right lu ggage compartment: f use pane l w it h
plast ic clip
Fuse panel @ (black )
No . Consumer
2 Rea r window heater (Cabriole t)
3 Power top latch (Cabriolet)
4 Power top hyd raulics (Cabr io let)
Fuse panel @ (black)
No . Consumer
Luggage compartment lid con trol mo dule
1 (all road)/Powe r top cont ro l modu le (Cab-
r iolet)
2 Retractable rear
spoiler
(RS 5 Coupe)
5 Elec tromechan ica l pa rking brake
6 Electronic damping control
7 Elec tromech anica l par king brake
8 Rear exterior lig hti ng
9 qu attro sport
10 Rear exter ior lighting
1 1 Cent
ral locking
12 Term inal 30