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-Open all air outlets in the instrument pan
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed.
& WARNING -
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the power top and the rear lid are se
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk of
injury when the vehicle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended espe
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug
gage compartment and close the rear lid be
coming trapped and unable to get out. Be
ing trapped in a veh icle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi
cle.
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve
hicle's seating positions.
(!) Tips
- Air c irculation helps to reduce window fog
ging . Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.
- The t ire pressure must correspond to the
l oad. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo
cated on the driver's side B-pillar. The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capacity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the t ime it was man
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap
ter
c> page 214.
Driving safety
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
c> page 130, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the veh icle will
become heavy missiles th at can cause serious in
jury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary w ith vehicle speed and the we ight of the
item . Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
we ight of the item. This means that the we ight
of the item would sudden ly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment cou ld cause in a col
lision like this .
& WARNING
----
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail during hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan
gerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from flying forward as dangerous
missi les into the passenger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
131
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Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
9 page 125,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 126,
.,. Wear safety belts properly ¢ page 137,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
¢ page 165.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal collisions¢
page 125, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 53.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
¢page 165.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au
thori zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im
mediately after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move
ment . Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will
II>
143
Airbag system
-Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o 'clock and 3 :00 o'clock po
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind
shield; never place them over or near or at
tach them to the area marked ,.AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in
jury in a collision, especially when the air bags inflate .
148
-Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud
den maneuver . Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be ing too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the .,low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S . Fed
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac
itance greater than the combined capaci
tance of a typical one-year old infant re
strained in one of the forward facing or rear
ward-facing child seats with which your ve
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ..,.
Airbag system
electrical capacitance of the person occupying
the front passenger seat . Always make sure that
the safety belt for the front passenger seat is
properly fastened.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show
the status of the front seat passenger's frontal
Advanced Airbag a few seconds after the igni
tion is switched on and the airbag indicator
light goes off . The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capaci tance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restra ints listed in Fed
era l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi
cle was certified; For a lis ting of the child re
strain ts that were used to certify you r vehi cle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 167.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front pas
senger seat, or
- a rearward -facing child restraint has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been instal
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the electrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year
o ld infant and one of the rearward -facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward -fac ing c hild restraint on the front pas-
156
senger seat, the safest place fo r a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po
s itions on the rear seat
¢ page 144, Child re
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 165, Child safe ty .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
o n. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on all the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and re insta ll the child restrain t. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly instal
led and that the safety belt for the front pas
senger seat has been correct ly routed through
the child restraint as described in the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retrac
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled t ight.
- make sure that no e lectrica l device (such as a
laptop, CD player, e lectronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for chi ld seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can inte rfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion . .,..
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Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c:> page 136, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel
oped, they require restraint systems especially
designed for their size, weight , and body struc
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-3 5 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . This means the weight of the
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident .
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young
er must always ride in the back seat proper ly re
strained for their age and size. If you must install
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
c:>page 144. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air
bags provide in some kinds of crashes.
For more information please see information
provided by the:
Child safety
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc .gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
yo ur child's size
c:> page 169, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion, we cannot re
peat it all he re . We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans
porting children on the front passenger seat.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
--Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
rest rained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
- A suitable child restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the h ighest degree of protection
for infants and small children in most acci
dent situat ions .
165
Checking and Filling
"'Never put too much motor oil in your engine
¢ page 193 , Checking the engin e oil lev el and
adding oil.
"'Never try to push- or tow-star t your vehicle.
The catalytic converter is an efficient "clean-up"
device built into the exhaust system of the v ehi
cle. The catalytic converter burns many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas before they are re
leased into the atmosphere .
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically im
portant for the life of the catalytic converter and
proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
The temperature of the exhaust system is
high, both when driving and after stopping
the engine.
-
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once they
have become hot . This could result in burns .
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in areas
where the hot exhaust system may come in
contact with dry grass, brush , fuel spill or
other material which can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust mani
fold, exhaust pipes, catalytic converter or heat shields. During driving, the substance
used for undercoating could overheat and
cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already seriously degrade
the performance of the catalytic converter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
¢page 193.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The engine could mis
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into the
exhaust system and this could cause the
catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not switch off the ignition while the vehi
cle is moving.
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle un
der these conditions, as otherwise fuel can reach the catalytic converter. This could re-
188
sult in overheating of the converter, requir
ing its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and
in accordance with the service recommen
dations in your Warranty
& Maintenance
booklet.
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as im
proper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the emission control system
and could lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is op
erating properly, the exhaust gas can have a
sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under some op
erating states. This depends on the sulfur
content of the fuel being used. Using a differ
ent brand of fuel may help, or filling the tank
with lead-free super grade gasoline.
Engine compartment
Working in the engine compartment
Special care is required if you are working in the
engine compartment
For work in the engine compartment, such as
checking and filling fluids, there is a risk of in
jury, scalding, accidents, and burns. For this
reason, follow all the following listed warnings
and general safety precautions. The engine
compartment is a dangerous area.
£:=? &. -
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injuries, complete the
following steps before opening the hood:
- Turn the engine off.
- Switch the ignition off.
- Set the parking brake.
- Place the selector lever in the P position .
- Let the engine cool down .
- Never open the hood when you see that
steam or coolant drips from the engine
compartment- there is a danger of burns!
Wait until no steam or coolant flows out .
-
Tires and wheels
"' Check and cor rect the seating of the snow
c h ains if necessa ry after dr iving a few feet. Fo l
l ow the instructions from the manufacturer .
"' Note the maximum permitted speed when d riv
i ng with snow chains. Do not exceed 30 mp h
(SO km/h) .
Snow chains not only improve the
driving in win
ter road conditions, but also the
broking .
Use of snow cha ins is o nly pe rmitted with certain
rim/t ire combinations due to tec hnical reasons .
C hec k with an authorized A udi dealer o r autho r
i z ed Audi Service Fac ility to see if yo u may use
snow cha ins.
Use
fine-mesh snow chains . They must not add
mo re t han 0.53 inch (13.5 mm) in height, includ
i n g the chain loc k.
You must remove the c hains when d riving on
roads that are
free of snow . W hen roads a re free
of snow, snow c hains ca n impair handling and
damage the ti res, and the chai ns w ill quickly be
destroyed.
A WARNINC
Us ing inco rrect snow c hains or insta lling snow
c hai ns inco rre ctl y can resul t in loss o f vehicle
c o ntro l, w hich incr ease s th e ris k of an a cci
d ent .
(D Note
Snow chains can damage th e rims/wheel cov
ers* i f the cha ins come in to d irect contact
w it h t hem. R emove the w heel c overs* first .
U se coat ed sn ow cha ins.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Au di is fac to ry-equipped wi th low aspec t ra
tio tires . These ti res have been tho roughly tested
a nd been se lected specifically fo r yo ur model fo r
their supe rb per fo rmance, road feel and handling
un der a variety of driving conditions . As k yo ur au
thor ized Audi dealer for mo re details.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is i ndicated by
a numeral of
55 or less in t he tire's size designa
tion. The nume ra l rep resents the rat io of the
tire's sidewall he ight i n relat io n to its tread width
220
exp ressed in perce nta ge . Conventiona l tir es h ave
a height/width ratio of 60 or more.
The performance of low-aspect -ratio tires is par
ticularly sensitive to improper inflation pres
sure. It is therefore important that low aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure
and that the inflation pressure is regularly
checked and maintained. Tire pressures should
be checked at least once a month and always
before a long trip
r=> pog e 214.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more eas i
l y by impact with potho les, curbs, gullies or
r idges on the road, particularly if the tire is un
der inflated .
In orde r to min imize the occur rence of impact
damage to the tires of you r vehicle, we recom
mend that you observe the following preca u
tions:
- Always ma intain recommended inflation pres
sures. Check you r tir e pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add a ir if necessa
ry.
- Dr ive ca refully on roads w it h potholes, deep
gu llies o r ridges . Th e impac t from dr iv ing
t hroug h or over such o bstacl es ca n da mage
your tire s. I mpac t w ith a curb may also cau se
d am age to yo ur ti re s.
- After any impac t, imme diate ly inspect you r
t ire s or h ave them inspe cted by t he nea rest a u
t hori ze d Audi d ealer. Repl ace a dama ged t ire as
soon as possible.
- Ins pect your tir es eve ry 2,00 0 m iles (3,0 00 k m)
for dama ge and wear. Dam age is no t always
easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of a ir and
unde rinflation, w hich coul d event ua lly cause
tire fa ilure. If yo u be lieve that a tire may have
been damaged, replace the tire as soon as pos
sible .
- These tires may wear mo re quick ly than others.
- Please also remember that, while t hese tires
delive r responsive hand ling, they may ride less
comfortably and make mo re noise than other
choices. ""
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Indicat or lights
IE -Loss of pressure in at least one ti re c::> ,& .
Check the tires and replace or repair if necessary.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires. Then
store the tire pressures in the MMI
<=:>page 223.
mm (T ire Pressure Monitoring System) Tire
press ure: System malfuncti on!.
Ifm appears
after switching the ignition on or whi le driving
and the
IE indicator light in the instrument clus
ter blinks for approximately one minute and then
stays on, there is system malfunction . Try to
store the correct tire pressures
c::> page 223 . If
the indicator light does not turn off or turns on
again after a short period of time, drive to an au
thor ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
Faci lity immediately to have the malfunction cor
rected.
A WARNING
- If the tire pressure warning light IE in the
instrument cluster turns on, the pressure in
one or more tires is too low . Reduce the ve
hicle speed immediately and avo id any hard
steering or braking maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible, check the tire and inflate the
t ire to the correct pressure, which is speci
fied on the tire pressure label on the veh icle
<=:> page 214. Driving w ith a t ire with low
pressure c auses the t ire to overheat and can
result in failure of the tire . Low pressure can
also have a negative effect on the driving
and braking behavior of the vehicle .
- T he driver is responsib le for maintaining the
correct tire pressures . You must check the
tire pressures regularly .
- Under certain conditions (such as a sporty
driv ing style, winter conditions or unpaved
roads), the pressure monitor indicator may
be delayed.
- Do not use run-flat tires on your vehicle . Us
ing them when not permitted can lead to
vehicle damage or accidents .
(D Tips
-The tire pressure monitoring system can al
so stop working when there is an ESC mal
function.
Tir es and wheel s
- Us ing snow chains may result in a system
ma lfunction.
- The tires with the identification "AO" or
"RO"
c::> page 211 have been matched with
your Audi tire pressure monitoring system .
We recommend that you use these tires.
- The tire pressure monitoring system can on
ly monitor the tire pressure of the driving
tires. Check the tire pressure of the spare
wheel in the luggage compartment so that if necessary it is ready for use.
Storing tire pressures
App lies to : vehicles wi th Tir e Pressure Mo nito rin g Sys te m in
dic ator
A change in tire pressur e or a change in tires
must be stored in the syst em .
The tire press ure is stored in the MM I.
.,. Make sure before storing that the t ire pressures
of all four tires meet the specified values and
are adap ted to the load. O therwise the system
could malfunction
c::> page 214.
.. Switch on the ignition.
.,. Select: the I MENU I button> Ca r> Sys tem s*
con trol button > S er vice & control > Tire pre s
s u re m on itor > Stor e tire pressu re > Yes , sto re
no w.
(D Tips
Do not store the tire pressures if snow chains
are installed. Otherw ise the system could
malfunction.
223