2015 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK steering wheel

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Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag sys tem are installed at
many different pla ces on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part o f an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis ­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
lute the env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
o r the instr ument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
su rfaces covering the airbag uni ts .
- For cleaning the ho rn pad or ins trumen t
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain water . Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the stee ring wheel, instru­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessa ry.
- For any wor k on the ai rbag system, we
st rongly recommend that you see you r
au thori zed Aud i dealer o r qualified wo rk­
s hop.
A irbag system 15 5
-Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholste ry over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
i nfla te.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the si de a ir­
bag module mus t always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy on ly once.
After an ai rbag has been deployed, it
m ust be replaced with new replacement
parts des igned and app roved espec ially
for your Aud i model version. Replace­
ment of complete airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qua lified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag servi ce action is ente red in
your Aud i Warran ty
& M aintenance book­
le t under
AIRBAG REP LAC EMENT RE­
CORD .
-For safety re aso ns in severe a cci den ts,
the alte rnator and starter a re sepa rated
from the veh icle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Work on the pyrotechnic ci rcuit inte r­
r upter m ust only be pe rformed by a
qualified te chnicians who have t he ex­
per ien ce, info rmation an d speci al tool s
ne cessary to perform the work sa fely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
i s scr apped, all applicable saf ety pre­
cautions must be fo llowe d.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten­
sione rs might be classified as Per chlorate
Ma teri al - specia l h and ling may apply, see
•
•

156 Airbag system
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your 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 Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­ ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi­
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig. 163 Driver 's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
¢ fig. 163, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan­
el underneath the glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met
<=> page 149, More important things to
know about front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in position in a frontal collision so that
the airbags can provide supplemental protec­
tion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is why you should always wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requires you to
do so
¢ page 130 , General notes. ..,.

158 Airbag system
Fully inflated airbags in combination w ith
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's fo rward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemen tal res traints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
justing their seat positions, it is impor­ tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- T he risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy.
-Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag deploys or by being pushed
into you as the airbag
deploys .
- Never let anybody, especially children
o r anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air­ bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~ page 165, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 165 Sid e air bag locat io n in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
¢ fig . 165 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags installed for the fron t seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be .,_

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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom­
municat ions provider. For details regard­
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom ­
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in­
dicator light
m in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in­
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 187
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather condit ions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle unde r con­
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inp uts to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di ­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switc hed on all the time . In certain sit­
uat ions when you need less traction, yo u can
switch off ASR by pressing the button
[&I
c::> page 189, fig. 180. Be sure to switch ASR
o n again when you no longer need less t rac ­
t ion.
The following systems are integrated in the
ESC:
Anti-lock bra king sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
whe n brak ing. The vehicle can sti ll be stee red
even dur ing hard braking. App ly steady pres­
s u re to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake as sist sy stem
The brake assist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases brak ing power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over. In
vehicles with adapt ive c ruise control*, the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
•
•

188 Intelligent technology
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerat e and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive powe r to the o ther wheels.
This function is not availab le at higher speeds.
I n extreme cases , ED L automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from ove rheating. EDL wi ll sw itch on aga in au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
norma l.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by
changing the steering to rque.
In vehicles with dynam ic steering*, ESC also
he lps to stabilize the stee ring in critical s itua­
tions.
Selective wheel torque control
Selective wheel torque control is used when
driving on curves . The front wheel on the in­
side of the curve o r both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selective ly as needed.
This a llows more prec ise driving in curves. The
appl icable system may no t activ ate when driv­
ing in wet or snowy condi tions .
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems can­
not overcome the lim its posed by natural
physical laws. This is especia lly impor- tant on slippery or wet roads
. If the sys­
tems beg in acting to stabilize your vehi­
cle, you should immediately change your
speed to match the road and traffic con­
ditions . Do not let the increased safety
provided by these systems tempt you to
take risks. Do ing so will increase the risk
of a loss of veh icle contro l, collision and
serio us pe rsonal inj uries.
- Always ad apt your speed to road, traffic
a nd wea ther conditions. The risk of los­
ing con trol of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, especially through
curves and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . The ESC and its integrated sys­
tems cannot a lways prevent collisions -
there is still a risk of acc idents!
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth su rfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistan ce sys tems that cannot al­
ways he lp to re duce the risk of loss of ve­
h icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR o nly wo rk correctly when
all four wheel s are equipped with identi­
c al tires . D iffe ren t tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator lig ht
BJ or rJlll (USA
mode ls)/ l§J (Can ada models) appears,
t here may be a malfunction ¢
page 18,
r:!>page 18.

192 Intelligent technology
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climatic and operating
condit ions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy ra in or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice ca n
accumulate on the brake pads, linings ,
discs and d rums . Carefully apply brakes
for a test . B rakes wi ll dry a nd ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few c are­
f ul brake app lications .
- Dr iv ing fo r an ex tende d pe riod of time on
salt-covere d roads w ithout us ing yo ur
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
bra ke discs and pads w ith a few caref ul
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­ ed. Otherwise the brake system could
over heat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system .
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability res ulting in an in­
creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to t he near­
est Aud i dea le r o r q ualified w ork sho p.
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the e ngine shu t off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be p ressed conside ra­
bly harder to make up for the la ck of
booster assistance.
Electromechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electromechanical power assist helps the
driver when steering .
Power stee ring adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steer ing defective! Stop the vehicle
If this indicato r light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have failed.
Do
not con tinue dr iv ing . See your author ized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
for assistance .
l;r-ij Steering: System fault You can continue
driving
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs, the stee ring may be more diffi­
cul t to move o r more sensi tive th an usua l. The
steering wheel may a lso be at an ang le when
driving straight .
Drive slowly to you r authorized Aud i dea le r o r
qualified wo rks hop to have the ma lf u nct ion
corre cted.
l;r,ij Dynamic steering: Initializing
If this driver message appears and t he indica­
tor light is f lashing on the instrument panel,
dynam ic steer ing* is being rei nitia lized. Afte r
sta rting the engine, the stee ring wheel will
move s ligh tly. Re- ini tiali zation mig ht be ne c­
e ssa ry if the stee ring wheel was moved h ard
to the left an d right wh ile the vehicle was not
moving . The display goes out as soon as initi ­
alization is complete.
D rive slowly to you r aut horized Audi de aler or
qualified wo rkshop to have the ma lf u nct ion
corrected.
A WARNING
Have t he dynamic stee ring * system mal ­
f u nction repa ired as soon as possib le by an
a uthorized Audi dealer or qua lified wor k­
shop - risk of accident !
(D Tips
If the . or@ indicator light on ly stays
on for a short time, yo u may continue driv­
i ng.
- The dynamic steering * sta bility systems
are not avai lab le in the event of a system
ma lf u nction.
- For add itiona l information on dynamic
steering *, refer t o
c> page 96.

228 Tires and wheels
-If you notice unusual vibra­
tion or if the vehicle pulls to
one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is
safe to do so and check the
wheels and tires for dam­
age.
0 Note
-Please note that summer and winter tires are de­
signed for the conditions
that are typical in those sea­
sons. Audi recommends us­
ing winter tires during the
winter months. Low tem­ peratures significantly de­
crease the elasticity of
summer tires, which affects
traction and braking ability. If summer tires are used
in
very cold temperatures, cracks can form on the tread
bars, resulting in perma­
nent tire damage that can
cause loud driving noise and
unbalanced tires. Audi is not
responsible for this type of
damage.
-Burnished, polished or chromed rims must not be used in winter road condi­
tions. The surface of the
rims does not have suffi­
cient corrosion protection
for this and could be perma­
nently damaged by road salt
or similar substances.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­ matic transmission, power
steering, power brakes, power
windows, power seats , radio,
and heater, to the extent that
these items are available as fac­
tory-installed equipment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent.
Numbers of 55 or lower indi­
cate a low sidewall for im­
proved steering response and
better overall handling on dry
pavement.
...

244 Tires and whee ls
Driving style -Extra care must be taken when
Driving fast around curves, rotating direction-specific
heavy acceleration and hard tires
¢
page 268.
braking increase tire wear. Wheel balancing
Rotating tires for more even
The wheels on new vehicles are
wear ba lanced. However, various sit-
For all four tires on your vehicle uations during everyday driving
to have the same service life, can cause them to become un-
we recommend that the front balanced, resulting in vibra-
and rear tires are rotated ac -tions you can usually feel
cording to the tire manufactur- through the steering wheel.
er's suggested tire rotation in- Unbalanced wheels must be re-
tervals . Please remember the
balanced to avoid excessive
following: wear on steering, suspension
-T ire rotation intervals may dif -and tires. A wheel must also be
fer from the vehicle service in· rebalanced when a new tire is
tervals outlined in your War- insta
lled .
ranty
& Maintenance booklet . Incorrect wheel alignment
-The longer one tire is used in
Incorrect wheel alignment can
one location on the vehic le,
cause excessive ti re wear, im-
the more it wears at certain
pairing the safety of the vehi-
points; t herefore, we recom-
cle . If tires show excessive
mend that you fo llow the tire
wear, have the wheel alignment
manufacturer's suggested tire
checked by an authorized Audi
rotation intervals.
dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
-Vehicles with front-wheel
dr ive experience more t read
All-wheel drive
wear on the front wheels com-
Vehicles with quattro must al -
pared to all-wheel drive (quat- ways have tires of the same
tro) .
size, construction and tread
-Please rotate tires as shown type. For details see
¢
fig . 198. ¢page 193. ...