2015 AUDI TT ROADSTER tow

116 Airbag sys te m
res traints or occupants on the fr ont pas­
senger seat and prevent the sid e airbag
in t he seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on t he front passenger
seat . The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately reg istering the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­ ing properly .
- If you mus t use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re ­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certa in that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
st raint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat .
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, have the
airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags s upplement the protection of ­
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a w ide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions . Be sure to read the impo r­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS i n this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety be lt preten­
sione rs depend on t he dece le rat ion meas ured
by the c rash senso rs and regis tered by the
e lectronic control un it . Crash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle o r object involved
in the crash. When the e
lectronic contro l unit registe rs a
low severity cras h and the safety belt is being
u sed, the airbag will not dep loy.
If the sa fety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat­ er t ime in t he crash sequence.
If the electron ic contro l unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air­
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re ­
gardless of whether the safety belt is be ing
u sed or not . In higher sever ity c rashes as reg­
i ste red by the elec tronic con tro l un it, bo th the
first and se con d stages dep loy almost at the
same t ime.
On the passeng er side, rega rdless of safety
belt use, t he a irbag w ill be tu rned off if the
we ight on the passenger seat is less th an the
amount programmed in the e lectronic control
u nit . The front airbag on the passenge r side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe ­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
yo u when the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenge r side has been turned off
¢ page 109, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of in ju ry when an a irba g
inflates , always wear safety be lts p roperly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forw ard ,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut o f position in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive se rious injuries and
could even be killed if you a re up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
f lates - even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 108.

and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Always be especially caref ul if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on . If the PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
c ome on and stay on have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immediately by your Audi
dealer .
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
A lways heed the child sa fety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a chi ld re­
straint in your vehicle . To activate the conver­
tible locking ret ractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat.
.,. Slow ly pull the be lt
all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the chi ld re­
stra int be lt path
c:> &_ .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Gu ide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the chi ld
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt . You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertib le locking retractor is now act ivated.
Child Sa fet y 139
.,. Make sure that the red release button is fac ­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled qui ck ly.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2 . S cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child res traint o r an im­
properly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during norma l driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a chi ld is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright pos ition. Otherw ise, the seat­
back with the ch ild safety seat attached
to it could fly forward in the event of an accident or other emergency situation .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­ hicle is being used
c:> page 129. Special
precautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:> page 109, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
, retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back in to
the retractor.
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt buck ­
le . The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le .
.,. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position . •
•

140 Child Saf ety
Always let the safety belt retract complete ly
into its stowed pos ition . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convert ible lock ing retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
If the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently , the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea­
ture .
If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter a nd u ncomfortab le to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly insta lled child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfaste n the sa fe ty belt to deac ti­
va te the convert ible lo ck ing retractor fo r
child restraints while the veh icle is mov ­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave ­
hicle is being used ¢page 129. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 109, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
.
There are a number of sources of additional
information abou t ch ild restrai nt select ion, in­
stallat io n and use:
NH TSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits i n your
ve hicle, and that you w ill use correctly and
consistently .
Try before you buy!
U.S Nation al Highway Traffic Safet y Admin­
i s trat ion
Te l.: 1-888-327 -4236 ( TTY : 1-800-424-9 153)
www .nhtsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
T el.: (202) 662-0600
www.safek ids.o rg
Safet y BeltSafe U .S.A
T el.: (800) 745 -SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanis h)
www.ca rseat.org
Transport Can ada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 (800) 333 -037 1 or call
1 (613) 998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa
area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

A WARNING
-You should perform brak ing maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road cond it ions permit .
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
yo u may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transm iss ion into a lowe r
gear or lowe r driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often . This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake . Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing throug h wa­
ter, driving in heavy rai n or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, lini ngs,
discs and d rums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test . B rakes wi ll dry and ice coat­
ings wi ll be cleaned
off after a few ca re ­
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing for an ex tended pe riod of time on
salt -covered roa ds without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean
off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few cautious
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
overheat reducing the eff ectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one bra ke c ircuit will impair
the brak ing capability resulting in an in­
cr eased stopp ing distan ce. Avoid dr iv ing
the ve hicle and have it towed to the near­
est Aud i dea le r or q ualified workshop .
- Never le t the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shu t off.
Int ellig ent technolog y 145
-If the brake booster is not working, the
brake peda l must be pressed considera­
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The ele ctro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
The degree of power assist is electronically
matched to veh icle speed.
The powe r steering system assists the driver
so that he can steer the vehicle with reduced
physical effort.
Power steer ing will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
A WARNING
If the system develops a problem, you
must seek qualified professiona l assis­
tance.
(D Note
-
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser­
votronic
will still function like a conven­
tiona l powe r steering system, providing a
constant steering support force tha t is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed.
This is most noticeable when t urning the
steering wheel at low speeds (for example
when parking), - more effort w ill be re­
quired than usual.
- Be aware of the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer­
ing force accordingly.
- Have the problem checked and set right
by an authori zed Aud i dea ler as soon as
possible.
- If a steering malfunction occurs, th is is
signa led w ith the
ls4 or .• indicator
lights and a warn ing tone, see. •
•

146 Intellig ent technolog y
-If the power steering system should fail,
or if the eng ine is not running (for exam­
ple, while being towed), yo u wi ll st ill be
able to steer the veh icle. However, more
effort will be requ ired to do so .
- If the power steering system is not func­
tioning properly, contact your authorized
Audi dealer immediately .
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to vehicles: with all-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
General information
W ith all-whee l drive , power is distributed to
a ll four wheels . This happens automa tica lly
depending on your dr iv ing sty le and the road
conditions at the time. See also ~
page 141.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
high engine powe r. You r vehicle is exception­
ally powerful and has ex ce ll ent dr iving charac ­
teristics bot h under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and fo llow
safety precautions ¢
.&..
Winter ti re s
When dr iving in the w inte r, your ve hicle w ith
a ll-wheel d rive has an advantage, even with
regular tires . In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tir es) for improv ed driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
a ll fo ur
wheels . See also ¢ page 195, Win ter tires.
Snow cha in s
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain roads, this normally a lso applies to vehicles
with a ll-wheel drive¢
page 196, Snow
chains.
Replacing whe els /t ires
Vehicles wit h all-wheel drive mus t always
have tires of the same size . Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see page
q page 191, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving ?
Your Aud i does no t have enough g round clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle. It is
therefore bes t to avoid rough tracks and un­
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
¢ page 150 .
A WARNING
-Always ad just your dr iv ing to road and traf-
f ic 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 t raction . You
should therefore not d rive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
d rive too fast because the front whee ls
could begin to slide o n top of the water
(aquaplan ing). If th is should occur, yo u
will have no warning from a s udden in ­
crease in eng ine speed as wit h a front ­
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
d itions. -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 conventional energy system
is not driven for a long per iod of t ime, the bat­
te ry is discharged by idling cur rent consume rs
(e .g. immobili zer) . In cert ain circumstances it
can resu lt in the re being insufficient energy
available to start the eng ine.
Intelligent energy management in you r vehi­
cle h andles the dis trib ution of e lectr ica l ene r­
gy. Start ing ability is ma rkedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended . .,._

150 Driving and en vironm ent
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are driving on poor roads, or over
curbs, steep ramps, etc ., make certain that
low-lying parts such as spoilers and exhaust
system parts do not bottom out and get dam­
aged.
This is especially true for vehicles with low­
slung chassis (sports chassis) and fully loaded
vehicles .
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- T he water must not be any highe r tha n the
bottom of the vehi cle body.
- Do no t drive faster than wa lking speed.
_& WARNING
After d riving through water, m ud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because o f wet brake ro tors and pads . Dry
the brakes fi rst by braking carefully to re­
store the full braking effect.
(]) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys ­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Check the depth o f the water before driv ­
ing through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switch the engine
off when driving
through water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may c reate waves that raise the water
l evel and make it too deep for your vehi­
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid driving thro ugh salt water because
it can ca use corrosion.
-
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic converter) is function­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner.
.. Always use lead-free gasoline¢ page 160,
Fuel supply .
.. Never run the tank down all the way to emp­
ty.
.. Never put too much moto r o il in yo ur eng ine
¢ page 169, Adding engine oil ~-
.. Never try to push- or tow-st art you r vehicle.
The catalytic co nverter is an efficient "clean­
u p" dev ice built into the exhaust system of
t h e vehi cle. The cata lytic conve rter bu rns
many of the pollutan ts in the exha ust gas be ­
f ore they are re leased into the atmosphere.
T he exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
impor tant for the life of the catalyt ic convert­
er and prope r funct ion ing of the engi ne.
A WARNING
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exha ust system may
come in contact with dry g rass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire.
- Do not app ly additiona l undercoating or
r u stproofing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con­
verter or heat sh ields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used fo r undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already ser iously de-
grade the performance of the catalytic
converte r.
- Do not exceed the correct engi ne oil level
¢page 169.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty . The engine co uld mis-
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into ..,.

Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively
high on short trips.
11-Try to avoid driving short distances with a
cold eng ine.
The engine and catalyt ic converte r have to
reac h their optimal
operating temperature to
reduce fuel consumption and noxious emis­
sions effective ly .
- Just after starting, a co ld eng ine in a mid­
s iz e car burns the fuel at a poor rate of 6-8
miles per gallon (30-40 l/l00km). Half a
mile dow n the road, the m ileage improves
to 12 MPG (20 l/100 km) .
It will take the
engine no less than
two and a half mil es
(4 km) of d riving to warm up to its proper
oper ating tempe ra tu re and ope ra te at an
eco nomic mileage. This explains why taking
the car for shor t tr ips is a rather wastef ul
convenience.
- T he
outside temperature is also cr it ica l in
t hi s re gard . You r car cons umes more fuel in
the winter than in t he summer .
Trailer towing
General information
Your Audi TT Roadster is not designed to tow
a trailer.
Towing a tra iler with yo ur Audi TI Roadster is
n ot recommended and can cause damage to
the car . Damaged caused by towing a trailer is
n ot covered by your Aud i War ranty .
Driving and environment 153
•
•

Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal­
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth­
er things that you plan to trans­
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be overloaded.
Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi­
cle's placard (tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 184,
fig . 136 .
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle .
3 . Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers from
"XXX" kilo ­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 184 , fig. 136.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci­
ty. For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
Tires and wheels
and there will be five 150 lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca­ pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-7 50
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5 . Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle .
That weight may not safely exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step
4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
,...Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 191 , fig. 140) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
189
•
•
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