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Driving with your
quattro
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv
en .
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time . See also ¢
page 187.
A center differential distributes the driving
power variably to the front and rear axle. It
works together with selective wheel torque
control, which activates when driving through
curves ¢
page 188 . With the sport d ifferen
tial*, power distribution to the rear wheels is
va riable and can be adjusted with drive select
¢page 96.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
hi gh engine power. Your vehicle is exception
ally powerful and has exce llent dr iving charac
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and
ice. Always read and follow
safety precautions ¢.& .
Winter tires
When driving in the w inter , your ve hicle 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 t ires) for improved driveability and brak
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels. See also ¢ page 252, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally a lso applies to vehicles
with a ll-wheel drive¢
page 253, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles w ith all-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see
page ¢
page 245, New tires and replacing
~ tires and wheels . 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Intelligent technology 193
Off•Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough g round clear
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle.
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un
even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
¢page 197.
A WARNING
Always adjust your dr iv ing to road and traf
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning) . If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in
crease in engine speed as with a front
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con
ditions - risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system
is not driven for a long period of tim e, the bat
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e.g . immobilizer). In certain circumstances it
can resu lt in there being insufficient energy
available to start the eng ine.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle handles the distribution of e lectrica l ene r
gy. Starting ability is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
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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 a service fa
cility . The electrolyte level shou ld also be
checked each time the battery is charged
¢ page 223.
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
b attery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec
tr ica l system for safety reasons¢.&.
in Re
pair, core and disposal of the airbags on
page 155.
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
¢
page 193. Some of the co nvenience func
tions may not operate, s uch as the inte rior
lights or power seat adjustme nt. The conven-
Checkin g and fillin g 221
ience funct ions w ill be available again when
yo u sw itch on the ign ition and start the en
gine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the w inte r mon ths, bat tery ca pa city
tends to decrease 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 mo re often.
Avoid unnecess ary powe r consumpt ion, pa r
ticu lar ly in city traffic o r 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 in¢
page 223 . A well
charged battery will no t on ly prevent star tin g
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 freez e. This will
p reve nt it from be ing dam aged and having
to be repl aced .
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
¢ .&, .
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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224 Check ing and filling
cracked an d weake ned when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a we ll ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame or elec
trical spark . Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is exp losive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables
wh ile the charger is operating .
- Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe
tent technician w ith the proper equip
ment .
- Battery acid that may spill d uring charg
ing should be washed off w it h a solution
of warm water and ba kin g soda to neu
t rali ze the acid.
~ Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam
age sensitive ele ct ronic components, such
as co ntrol units, relays, rad io, etc. , a s we ll
as th e batte ry charge r.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery.
I ntell igent energy manag ement in your veh i
cle is respo nsible for d ist ribu ting the e lectr i
cal energy throughou t you r vehi cle
~ page 193. The inte lligen t energy m anage
ment system w ill keep the engine batte ry
charged better than vehicles w it h out t his sys
tem . T o make sure the additional e lectrical en
ergy is available once again after you have
changed t he battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and manu
facture only (the same as those ins talled at
the t ime your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations a re listed o n the battery hous ing. You r
author ized de aler m ust code the b attery in
the ene rgy management system to enable yo u
to use the energy managemen t fu nctions co r
rectly after replac ing the battery. T
he new battery must have the same capacity,
vo ltage ( 12-volts) , amperage , construction
and plug sea ling .
When ins tall ing t he battery, make su re the ig
nition and a ll elect rical consume rs are switch
ed off .
(D Note
M ake sure the ven tilat ion hose on the side
of the ba ttery is connecte d, otherwise
fumes or batte ry acid can lea k out .
@ For the sake of the environment
B ecause o f the p rob lem of p roper disposal
of a battery, we recommen d your author
i zed Audi dea ler chan ge the battery for
you . Batteries contain sul fur ic acid and
l ead and must a lways be disposed of p rop
e rly in compliance with all environmental
regulations . Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mprope rly is very dange rous to th e envi
r o nment.
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
Fi g. 19 4 En gin e co mpa rt m en t: cove r on t he w inds hield
a n d head ligh t* was her fl ui d reservo ir
T he washer fluid co ntai ner is mar ked w it h t he
symbol$ on its cap
~ fig. 194, ~page 213,
fig . 188.
.,. Before you chec k any thing in the engine
comp artment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ~ A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 211 .
.,. Lift the fi ller cap tongue to add washer flu -
id. You can f ill the container to the top. ..,.
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Emergency situations
General
This chapter i s intended for trained emer
gency crews and working personnel who have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
(D Note
Ve hicles w ith an au tomatic tra nsmission
cannot be started by pus hing o r tow ing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi
cle.
If the engine shou ld fail to start because of a
discha rged o r wea k battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery o f
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en
g ine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently la rge
c ross section to carry the starter c urrent safe
l y. Refer to the man ufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated te rm i
na l clamps wh ic h are d istinctly marked:
plus(+) cable i n mos t cases co lore d red
minu s(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s contain e lec tricity, ac id, an d gas.
A ny of these can cause ve ry ser io us or fatal
inju ry. Follow the instructions below f or
safe han dling of your veh icle's b attery .
- Alway s shield you r eyes and avoid lean
ing over the bat te ry whenever possib le.
- A dis ch arged battery c an free ze at tem
peratures ju st be low 32 °F ( 0 °C ). Befo re
Emergency situations 273
connecting a jumpe r cab le, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery c omp lete ly, ot h
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Fl ush any contacted area with
wate r immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies genera te exp losive gas
es. Keep spar ks, flame and lighted c iga
rettes away from batte ries.
- Do not try to jump start any ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booste r batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery sho uld not be
lowe r tha n that of the discharged bat
tery . U se of batte rie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or substantially diffe rent "Ah" rat ing
may c au se an exp losion and persona l in
JU ry.
- N ever cha rge a fro zen battery. Gas trap
pe d in the ice may cause a n ex plosion.
- Never cha rge or use a batte ry tha t h as
been fr ozen. T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of b atter ies of differe nt voltage or
sub stant ia lly diffe ren t ca pa city (Ah) ra t
i ng may c ause an ex plosion an d injury .
Th e capac ity (Ah) of the booster bat tery
should not be lower than that of the dis
charged batte ry .
- Before you chec k any thing in the engine
compa rtment, always read and hee d all
WARNINGS
¢page 211.
(D Note
-App lyin g a higher vo ltage booster ba t
t ery w ill cause expens ive damage to se n
sit ive e lectronic com ponents, such as
cont ro l units, relays, rad io, etc.
- The re must be no electrical contact be
tween the vehicles as ot herwise c urrent
co uld a lready start to f low as soon as the
p o sit ive(+) term inals a re connected. ..,. •
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