Operating noi se
Noises may occur when braki ng depend ing on the
speed, braking force and outside cond itions s uch
as temperature and humidity.
Due to the na ture of t he mate ria ls used in ce ram
ic bra ke rotors*, noises m ay become mo re appa
ren t at low speeds.
Effect of wat er and road salt
In ce rtain situat ions, for example after driving
through water, in heavy ra in, afte r ove rnig ht con
densat ion or after washing your car, the braking
effe ct can be red uced by moisture or ice on the
b rake rotors and brake pads. The brakes must be
dried first w ith a few careful brake applications .
At highe r speeds and with t he windsh ie ld wipers
turned o n, the bra ke pads p ress against the bra ke
rotors for a short amount of time . This occ urs at
regular intervals without the driver noticing and
provides for better bra ke response time under
wet conditions.
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is dr iven on a salt-covered road
and the brakes are not used. L ikewise, you clean
off accumu lated salt coat ing from brake discs
and pads with a few cautious applications of the
brake
c::> ,& .
Due to their sur face characteristics, ceramic
brake rotors* absorb mo isture in such condit ions.
This can cause a temporary reduction in braking
force compared to dry brakes. You can compen
sate for this by pressing the brake peda l harder.
Cor rosion
There may be a tendency for dirt to b uild up on
the brake pads and corros ion to form on the discs
if the car is not driven regularly or only for short
tr ips with little use of the brakes.
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if corro
sion has formed on the discs, it is adv isable to
clean off the pads and discs by brak ing firmly a
few t imes from a moderately high speed
c::> ,& .
Sma rt Technology
Faults in the brake system
If you s hou ld notice a sudden increase in br ake
peda l travel, then one of the two bra ke circu its
may have fai led
c::> ,& .
Low brake fluid level
Malfunctions ca n occu r in the brake system if the
brake fluid level is too low . T he brake flu id leve l
is monitored elect ronically.
Brake boost er
The brake booster works w ith vacuum pressure
wh ich is created only when the engine is runn ing
c::> ,& .
Brake lining wear status
Brake lining wear may be checked by visua l in
spect ion of the cond ition of the brake pads
t hr ough the openings in the wheel. If necessary,
the wheel may be removed for t his inspection
c::> page 259, Replacing wheels .
.8_ WARNING
-New b rake p ads don't h ave the bes t stop
p ing power an d must be "broken-in" during
the initial 250 miles (400 km) . The break-in
pe riod can be considerably longer for
veh icles with ceramic brake rotors*. You can
compensate for this by pressing the brake
pedal more firmly. This also applies late r
when new pads are installed.
- You shou ld perform braking maneuvers for
the purpose of cleaning the brake system only i f road co ndit ions pe rmit . Other road
users m ust not be put at r is k -you may
cause an ac cident!
- Before descending a steep g rade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gear o r lower dr iving range. Do not r ide the
b ra kes or hold the pe dal down too long or
too often. This cou ld cause the b rakes to ge t
hot and dimin ish b raking effic iency .
- Do not " ride the bra kes" by rest ing you r foot
on the pedal when you do no t intend to
brake. This may cause the brakes to over
heat, premature wear and increased stop
p ing distance.
193
Index
Auto Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Automatic belt retractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Automatic climate control Air vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Automatic recirculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Automatic climate control system synchroni zing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Automatic post-collision braking system . . 191
Automatic transm ission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Automatic transmission (tiptronic) Emergency mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Kick-down .. .. .. ................. ... 115
Manual shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Parking lock emergency release . .. .. .. . 117
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Automatic wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Auto Safety Hotline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Average consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Average speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
B
Battery
Charge level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
E nergy management 195
Important warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Replacing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Working on the battery ........ .... .. . 231
Before driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Blended gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Blower (automatic climate control) . . . . . . . . 78
Booster seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Brake fluid
Changing the brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Checking the brake fluid level . . . . . . . . . . 230
Brake system
Anti-lock brak ing system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Brake assist system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Brake booster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re
placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
286
Brake light defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Brake power assist un it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Electromechanical parking brake . . . . . . . . 83
Warning/indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Worn brake pads symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
braking guard Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Break -in period
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Breaking in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
New tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Bulbs 270
C
California Proposition 65 Warning . . . . . . . 221
Battery specific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
AdBlue . .. .... .. .. .. ...... ......... 216
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Carbon parts Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208, 209
Car carrier Transporting your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Cargo area
refer to Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . 135
Catalytic converter 197
Center armrest
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Emergency locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Changi ng engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Checking Engine coolant level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 7
Child restraints Danger of using child restraints in the front
seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Where can I get additional information about child restraints and their use? . . . . 186
Child restraint system anchors . . . . . . . . . . 180