<( co .... N r--N .... 0 ,.__
> co
-In some situations, the system may not
function or its function may be limited. For
example:
- If vehicles are approach ing or being left
behind very quickly. The display may not
turn on in time.
- In poor weather conditions such as heavy
rain, snow or heavy mist.
- On very wide lanes, in tight curves, or if
there is a rise in the road surface. Vehicles
in the adjacent lane may not be detected
because they are outside of the sensor
range.
- Audi side assist cannot detect all vehicles
under all conditions, which can increase the
risk of accidents.
- Please note that side assist only displays ap
proaching vehicles or vehicles in your blind
spot if your vehicle is traveling at least
19 mph (30 km/h).
- In certain situations, the system may not
work or its function may be limited. For ex ample:
- The display may not turn on at the right
time if veh icles are approaching or passing
very quickly.
- In poor weather conditions, such as heavy
rain, snow or fog.
- In very wide lanes, in tight curves or when
there are slopes in the roadway, vehicles
in the neighboring lanes may not be de
tected because they are outside of the
sensor range.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the system. Have
an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility check their function.
(D Tips
-If the window glass in the driver's door or
front passenger's door has been tinted, the
display in the exterior mirror may be misin
terpreted.
Assist
- For an explanation on conformity with the
FCC regulations in the United States and the
Industry Canada regulations, refer to
¢ page 256.
Switching on and off
Applies to : vehicles with Aud i s ide ass ist
The system and be switched on and off in the
MMI*.
.. Select: the I MENU I button> Car> Systems*
control button > Driver assistance> Audi side
assist .
With Off, the system is switched off.
An activated system will signal every time the ig
nition is switched on by turning the displays in
the exterior mirrors on briefly .
Adjusting the display brightness
Applies to: vehicles with Aud i s ide assist
The display brightness can be adjusted in the
MM!*.
.. Select: the I MENU I button >C ar> Systems*
control button > Driver assistance > Aud i side
assist .
The display brightness adjusts automatically to
the brightness of the surroundings, both in the
information and in the warning stage. In very
dark or very bright surroundings, the display is
already set to the minimum or max imum level by
the automatic adjustment . In such cases, you
may not ice no change when adjust ing the bright
ness , or the change may only be noticeable once
the surround ings change .
Adjust the br ightness to a level where the display
in the information stage will not disrupt your
view forward. If you change the brightness, the
display in the exterior m irror will briefly show the
brightness level in the information stage. The
brightness of the warning stage is linked to the
brightness in the information stage and is adjust
ed along with the information stage adjustment.
(D Tips
- Side assist is not active while you are mak
ing the adjustment.
105
Intelligent Technology
With the engine running
A lthough electrical energy is generated whi le
driving, the battery can drain . This can happen
when little energy is generated, and much is used
and the charge leve l of the battery is not optima l.
To restore the balance o f energy, components
that requ ire large amounts o f energy are tempo
rari ly scaled back o r switched off . Heating sys
tems in particu lar require a great deal of energy.
If you notice, for example, that the seat heating*
or rear window defroster is not working, then it has bee n temporarily reduced or switched off.
These systems are available again as soon as the
energy supp ly has been restored.
In addition, you may notice that the idle speed
has slightly increased. T hat is norma l and no
cause for concern. Due to the increased idling
speed, the add itiona l requ ired e ne rgy w ill be
generated and the battery w ill be cha rged.
Notice about data recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and vehicle control modules
E vent Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped wi th an Event Da ta Re
corde r (EDR) . The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash o r near crash-like situa
tions, such as an a irbag deployment or h itting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand
ing how a veh icle's systems performed . The EDR
is designed to record data related to veh icle dy
namics and safe ty systems for a sho rt pe riod of
time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this
veh icle is designed to reco rd s uch data as:
- How various systems in your vehicle were oper
at ing;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts we re buckled/fastened;
- How far ( if at all) the driver was depress ing the
acce lerator and/or brake peda l; and,
- How fast the ve hicle was trave ling.
These data can help provide a better understand ing of the circ umstances in which crashes and in
juries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your veh icle only if a non-trivia l crash situat ion occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under norma l
122
driving cond itions and no personal data (e .g .,
name, gender, age, and crash location) are re
corded. However, other parties, such as law en
fo rcement, co uld comb ine the EDR data with the
type of persona lly identifying data rout inely ac
quired du ring a crash investigation .
To read data recorded by an EDR, spec ial eq uip
ment is required, and access to the vehicle or the
EDR is needed. In addition to the ve hicle manu
facturer, other part ies, such as law enforcement,
t h at have the spec ial eq uipment, can read the in
fo rmat io n if they have access to the vehicle or the
EDR .
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or down
l oad ing of data stored by ED Rs ins talled in a ve hi
cle for the exp ress p urpose of ret riev ing data af
te r an accident or c rash event withou t the own
e r's consent.
Audi will not access the EDR and/or simi la r data
or g ive i t to others -
- unless the ve hicle owner (or lessee if the vehi
cle has been leased) agrees; o r
- upon the offic ial request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court o f law or a govern -
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit thro ugh the judicia l
discovery process.
- Audi may a lso use the data for research about
veh icle operation and safety perfo rmance or
prov ide the data to a third party for research
purposes without identify ing the specific vehi
cle or information about the ident ity of its own
er or lessee and only afte r the recorded vehicle
data has been accessed.
Vehicle control modules
You r vehicle is also eq uipped with a number of
electronic control modules for various vehicle
systems, such as e ngine management, em iss ion
contro l, airbags, and safety be lts.
These elect ronic contro l modules record data
dur ing norma l vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained techn ic ians for d iagnost ic and
r epa ir purposes. The recording capab ility of these
modules is lim ited to data (no sound is record
ed). Only a sma ll am ount of data is actually
Driving sa fe ty
Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instruct ions and warn ings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others. We have summar ized here what you need to know about safety
be lts, a irbags, child restra ints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1 . Al
ways observe the i nfo rmation and wa rn ings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information i n this section applies to all
model versions of yo ur vehicle . Some of the fea
tures descr ibed in t his sections may be s tanda rd
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others . If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in
structions and heed the WARNINGS in th is
Manual.
It is in your interest and in the in
te rest of your passengers.
- Always keep the comp lete Owner's Litera
ture in your A udi when you lend or se ll your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the d river and
passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner 's literature handy so
that you can find it easily i f you have ques
t ions.
- Always adjust your speed to the wea ther
t raff ic and conditions. Follow the speed lim
its.
- Always dr ive in such a way that you can s top
yo ur vehicle safely.
- Always adjust your speed to the genera l
flow of traffic. Follow the speed l imits.
124
· Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re
straint system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit
uations.
You r safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance . Advances in tech
no logy have made a va riety of features available
to help red uce the risk of inj ury in an accident.
The following is a lis t of jus t a few of the safe ty
fea tures in yo ur Audi :
- sophisticated safety be lts fo r drive r and all pas-
senge r seat ing pos itions,
- safety belt pretensioners,
- safety bel t force lim ite rs fo r the front seats,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats*
- side airbags in the front seats,
- special LATCH anchorages fo r child res trai nts,
- head rest raints fo r each seati ng position,
- adjustab le steering column.
- pre sense bas ic * (preventative passenger pro-
tect ion)
These ind iv idual safety features, can work to
gether as a system to he lp protect you and your
passengers i n a wide range of acc idents. These
fea tures cannot wo rk as a system if they are not
always correctly adjusted and cor rect ly used.
Safet y is e verybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers,
be fo re dri ving always:
.. Make sure that a ll lights and signals a re operat
ing correctly.
.. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
.. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good vis ibility to the outs ide .
.. Secu re all luggage and other items carefully
,=;,page 58, ,=;,page 57 . .,.
-Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas
senger's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen ger's knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas
senger seat properly.
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly.
-Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in
crease the risk of injury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
c> page 165. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
c> page 143.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve
hicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect
;;§ seating position in the event of a sudden braking
..... N
" N ..... 0 r--. > 00
maneuver or an accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow
ing:
Driving safety
.,. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
c>page 127.
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c> page 138.
.,. Make sure that children are always properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and ager:!;>
page 165.
A WARNING
-
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety belts are properly posi
tioned on the body and securely latched. By not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger in
creases the risk of personal injury from im
properly positioned safety belts!
- For adjustable head restraints: always ad
just the head restraint properly so that it
can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
App lies to: vehicles with adjusta ble head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an impor
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
Fig. 121 Head restraint: viewed from the front
127
Driving sa fe ty
The head restraints must be correc tly adjusted to
achieve the best protection .
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as poss ible with the top of your head.
If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this position as
poss ib le
~ fig . 121.
.,. If there is a passenger on the rear center seat
ing pos it ion, slide the center head restra int up
ward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
c::> page 55.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints.
Dr iv ing without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not proper ly adjusted in
creases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck injury
dramatically. To help reduce the r is k of injury:
- Always dr ive with the head restraints in
place and properly ad justed .
- Every person in the vehicle must have a properly adjusted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
prope rly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restra int so the uppe r edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of you r head.
If that is no t possib le, t ry to adjust the head
restra int so th at it is as close to th is position
as possib le. Move the head restraint so that
it is as close to the back of the hea d as pos
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
whi le driving. If you have dr iven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at
tempting to ad just the head restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a chi ld restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
c::> page 165.
128
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated .
Improper seating positions can cause ser ious in
jury or death . Safety be lts ca n only work when
they are properly positioned on t he body . Im
prope r seat ing pos itions red uce the effectiveness
of safety bel ts a nd will even increase t he risk of
i njury and deat h by mov ing the safety bel t to cr it
ic al areas of the body. Improper seating positions
a lso increase the risk of se rio us in jury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occ upant
who is not in the proper seating posit ion. A dr iver
i s responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and espec ially for children. Therefore :
.,. Never allow anyone to assume an incor rect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
Q A .
The following bulletins list on ly some samp le po
s itions that will increase the r isk of serious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
a re dangerous .
Therefore, whene ver the vehicl e is m oving:
-never stand up in the vehicle
- neve r stand on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w it h the seatback recl ined
- never l ie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- neve r put your feet o ut the window
- neve r put your feet on the instr ument panel
- neve r res t your feet on the seat c ushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
Driving safety
-Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving . Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus ing a loss of veh icle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart
ment.
Fig. 122 Safe load positio nin g: place heavy objects as low
and as far forward as possible (example).
N ;;:; 0
> ill
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac
teristics . Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden vehicle ma
neuver or in a collision.
.,. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com
partment .
.,. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as far forward as
possible .
.,. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
~ page 58.
.,. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place .
130
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle caus ing serious per
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart
ment.
-Always secure objects in the luggage com
partment using the tie-down hooks and
suitable straps .
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle handles. To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in m ind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Veh icle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible we ight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and
handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driving
~page 124.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed.
- If you absolutely must dr ive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power top,
<( co .... N ,.__
N .... 0 ,.__
> co
-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
Safety belts
_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be fore driving off and make sure all passen
gers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never
remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts
over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hard
ware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter
fere with correct positioning of belts and re
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci
dent . Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
138
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al
so be inspected.
- Never
remove, modify , disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func
tion of the inertia reel¢
table Internal
cleaning on page 226.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 133 Be lt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper
ly¢
page 53, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt
q ,&. .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig. 133.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle. .,,._