
102 Safet y belt s
Remember too, that airbags wi ll deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protect ion in those accidents in
which airbag s are not suppo sed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
cle where even more severe o r fatal inju ries
can occu r.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not tru e!
Fig . 10 5 Driver is properl y re strain ed in a sudd en br ak
ing man euve r.
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety be lts help to keep passengers
in their seats , g radually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
preven t the uncontro lled moveme nt that can
cause serious injur ies . In additio n, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
ve hicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
g ive them the benefit of being s lowed down
more gently or "softly" t hrough t he "give" in
the safety belts , crush zones and other safety
fe atures engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorb ing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "to lerable" and less
likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a fron tal collision , safety belts can also subs tan tial
ly reduce the risk of injury in other k inds of
crashes . So, whether you' re on a long tr ip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle u
p and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tist ics show that veh icle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
tal airbags to do the ir job i n a collision . Fo r
t hi s reason, wea ring a safety belt is legally re
quired in mos t countr ies includi ng m uch of
t h e Un ited States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped wi th a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety be lts prov id
ed. Front ai rbags , fo r example , a re activated
only in some front al collisions. The fron t air
bags are not act ivated in a ll frontal coll is ions,
in side and rear co llisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not eno ugh deceleration
through impact to the front of the veh icle.
The same goes for the other a irbag systems in
your Aud i. So, always wear yo ur safety belt
and make su re everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrai ned!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
" Always wear safety belts as illust rated and
descr ibed in th is chapte r.
" Ma ke su re that yo ur safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
-
Not wear ing safety be lts or wearing them
i mproperly i ncreases the r is k of se rious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work on ly when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correct ly
befo re driving off and make sure all pas
sengers are properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be pos itioned c orrectly on
the body .

112 Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig . 110 Locat ion of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 111 Locatio n of front passenger 's ai rbag: in t he in·
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec·
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing
wheel hub ¢
fig. 110 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢
fig . 111. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed information abo
ut airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protect ion.
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that eve rybody in your ve
h icle is p roperly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pec ially infants and sma ll children, w ill re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
l ed by be ing too close to the airbag when
i t inflates .
- Al tho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva
b le situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S . Federal Standa rd if a child
that is heav ie r th an the typical one-year
old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
and the other condi tions for a irbag de
p loyment are met .
- F or its own safe ty, a child sho uld always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size .
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United ..,_

114 Airbag sys te m
- a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright with
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floor in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of in jury through interaction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those cr ashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it
Q page 118 .
Always rem ember : Please be sure to read the
impor tant informa tion in the sections tha t
follow and be sure to heed all of the WARN
INGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the r isk of injury when an airbag
inf lates , a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it whe n it in
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
Q page 108.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front a irbag when a rearward -fac ing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso l u te ly guarantee that deployment is im
poss ible in a ll conce ivable situations th at
may happen d uring the useful life of your
vehicle. -
The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, door, or
roof.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on have
the airbag system inspecte d by your Audi
dealer.
A WARNING
--=
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you m ust
i nstall a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward- facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
wit h a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing chi ld re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int . The
backrest must be ad justed to an up right
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on a nd stays o n all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenge r seat in yo ur vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it . These parts i nclude the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack ets, and more. The funct ion of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the electron ic control unit when the ignition is on .
The cont rol unit monito rs the Advanced A ir
bag System and turns the airbag indicato r
li ght on w hen a malfun ct io n in t he system

122 Airbag sys te m
- Never modify t he front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body .
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace
ment upholstery ove r the front seat
backs that have not been spec ifi cally
approved by A udi.
- Never use add itiona l seat cushions that
cover the areas whe re the side airbags
inflate .
- D amage to the o rigina l seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only once . Afte r an airbag has inf lated, it
must be replaced by an author ized Audi
dealer or qualified technic ian who has
the techn ica l information, tra ining and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an a irbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced w ith new replace
ment parts designed and approved espe
cially for your Aud i model version. Re
placement of complete a irbag systems
or airbag componen ts must be per
formed by qualified workshops only .
Make sure that any airbag service act ion
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE
MENT RECORD.
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the a lternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech
nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic cir cuit inter
rupter must on ly be performed by a
qua lified dealer - risk of an accident !
- If the vehicle or the c ircuit interrupter
is sc rapped, all applicable safety pre
cautions must be followed.
{® For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten
s ioners might be classif ied as Perchlorate
Materia l -special handling may app ly, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per
ch lorate . When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modu les
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scra pped, all applicab le laws and regu la
tions must be obse rved. Your authorized
A udi dealer is familia r with these require
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service fo r you .
· Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Chang ing the veh icle's suspens io n system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem perfo rms in a c rash. For examp le, using
t ir e- rim combinat ions not approved by A udi ,
lower ing the veh icle, c hanging the st iffness of
the suspens ion, including the spr ings, suspen
sio n struts, shock absorbers etc . can change
the forces that ar e measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic contro l
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
senso rs and make the airbag system deploy in
c rashes in which it wou ld no t deploy if the
c h anges had not been made. Other kinds of
c h anges may reduce the fo rce leve ls meas
u red by the sensors and p reven t the airbag
from dep loying when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ
i ng use of unapproved tire-rim combina
tions can change Advanced Airbag per
fo rmance and increase the r isk of serious
personal injury in a crash .
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characterist ics as the components origi
na lly installed on your vehicle .
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have no t been approved by Audi.

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 141
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
B.J 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
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficu lt driving situations as at lower
speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic §&and weather conditions. ESC
cannot override the vehicle's physical limits,
increase the available traction, or keep a vehi
cle on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by usin g the driver's steering inputs 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 includes and/or works together with the
anti- lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys -
tem and anti-slip regu lation (ASR). ESC is
Ill>
•
•

142 Intelligent technology
switched on all the time. In certain situations
when you need less traction, you can switch
off ESC by pressing the button
l!l . Be sure to
switch ESC on again when you no longer need
less traction.
Anti -toc k brak ing system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from lock ing up
when braking . The vehicle can still be steered
even during hard brak ing . Apply steady pres
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal ind icates that
the system is he lp ing you to brake the vehicle .
Brake assist sy stem
The brake assist system can decrease braking
d istance. It increases braking power when the
driver presse s the brake pedal quickly in emer
gency si tuations. You must press and hold the
brake peda l until the situation is over .
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, accelerate and drive up hills.
E lectronic differential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-wheel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h) .
In extreme cases, EDL a utomatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL will switch on aga in au
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR and ED L can not ove rcome
t h e laws of phy sics. This is espe cial ly im
por tant on slip pery or wet ro ads .
If th e
sys tems begin a ct in g to stab ilize your ve
hicle, you shou ld imme diately change
yo ur speed to match the road and traffic
condit ions. Do not let the inc reased safe
ty provided by these systems tempt you to take risks. Do
ing so w ill increase the
risk of a loss of veh icle control, co llision
and serious pe rsonal injuries .
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los
ing control of t he vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
wh en dr iv ing too clos e to vehicl es u p
ahead. ESC, A BS, the brake ass ist sys
tem, ED L and ASR cannot p reven t coll i
si ons .
- Always acceler ate wi th sp ecial c are on
even, smoo th s urfaces such as those th at
are wet or covered with ice and snow .
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve
h icle co ntrol.
(D Tips
- ABS an d ASR only wo rk correct ly when
all four whee ls are equipped with identi
cal tires . D ifferent tire si zes can lead to a
reduction in engine powe r.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator light Ii) or II (USA
mode ls)/ Ei] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
¢ page 18,
¢ page 17.
Switching on and off
£SC turns on automatically when you start
the engine.
Fig . 12 1 Ce nte r conso le: ESC OFF b utto n

Vehicl e ca re a nd cl eanin g 157
Component Situation Solution
•
Sa fe ty be lt s Dirty Mild soap solutional, allow to dry before letting
• them retract
Tex til es, Stains adhering to the sur- Vacuum cleaner
Vinyl , face
Alcanta ra Water-based stains such Absorbent cloth and mild soap solutional
as coffee, tea, blood, etc.
Oil-based stains such as Apply a mild soap solutional, blot away the dis-
oil, make-up, etc. solved oil or dye, treat afterward with water, if nee-
essary
Specia l sta ins such as ball- Special stain remover, blot with absorbent materi-
point pen, nai l polish, la- al, treat afterward w ith m ild soap solutional, if
tex paint, shoe polish, etc.
necessary
Natura l lea ther Fresh stains Cotton cloth with a m ild soap solutional
Water-based stains such Fresh stains: absorbent cloth
as coffee, tea, blood, etc. Dried stains: sta in remover suitable for leather
O il-based stains such as Fresh stains: absorbent cloth and stain remover
oi l, make-up, etc. suitable for leather
dr ied stains: Oil clean ing spray
Special stains such as ball- Stain remover suitable for leather
point pen, nail polish, la-
tex pa int, shoe pol ish, etc .
Care Regularly
apply conditioning cream that protects
from light and penetrates into the material. Use specially-colored conditioning cream, if necessary.
Carbon part s Dirty Clean the same way as plastic parts
al Mild soap solution: maximum two tablespoons neut ral soap in a lit er of water
A WARNING
The windshie ld may not be treated with
water-repelling windshie ld coating agents.
Unfavorable conditions such as wetness,
darkness, or low sun can result in in
creased glare. W iper blade chatter is also
possible.
(D Note
- Headl ights /ta il li ghts
- Never clean headlights or tail lights
w ith a dry cloth or sponge.
- Do not use any cleaning p roduct that
contains a lcohol, because they could
cause cracks to form.
-W heels
- Neve r use any pa int polish or other
abrasive mater ials.
- Damage to the protective layer on the rims such as stone chips or sc ratches
must be repa ired immediately.
- Po wer top
- Remove bird droppings immediately.
- Never use gasoline, stain remover, ben-
zene, paint thinner or other so lvents to
remove.
- W ind ow s
-Remove snow and ice on windows and
exterior mirrors with a plastic scraper.
To avoid scratches, move the scrape r
only in one d irect ion and not back and
forth.

17 4 Che cking and filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig . 133 Engine compa rtment: cove r on the brake fluid
reservo ir
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
a lw ays read and h eed all WA RN
ING S ¢&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 164.
,.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir¢
page 166, fig . 128. T he
brake flu id leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The brake flu id rese rvo ir is located behind the
rear part ition of the eng ine compartment o n
the left side ¢
page 166.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the b rake pads . This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably be
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi
cator light (U.S. models: . , Canadian mod
e ls: . ) w ill come on
¢page 14. Do not con
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized A udi dealer or other quali
fied facility and the cause corrected.
If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
indicator light w ill illuminate. Contact an au
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediatel y.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the
brake flu id will also decrease conside rably and
decrease braking pe rformance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
eve ry two y ears. Always use new brake flu id
which conforms to Federal Motor Veh icle
Standard "F MVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be diff icult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author
ized
Audi dealer . Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fl uid and the know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor
ed only in the closed original container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap
propriate brake flu id. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only brake f luid that meets SA E
specifica tion
J 1 7 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicl e Standard 1 16.
Always check with yo ur authorized Aud i
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
l ong. This can seriously affect the effi
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This cou ld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle .