
Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
Audi adaptive cruise
control and braking
guard
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
The adaptive cruise contro l system assists the
driver by regulating vehicle speed and helping to
maintain a set distance to the veh icle ahead ,
within the limits of the system. If the system de
tects a moving vehicle up ahead, adaptive cruise
control can brake and then accelerate your vehi
cle. This helps to make driving more comfortable
on long highway stretches.
The braking guard system can warn you about an
impending collision and initiate braking maneu
vers
c::> page 112.
Adaptive cruise control and braking guard have
technical limitations that you must know, so
please read th is section carefully, understand
how the system works and use them properly at
all times.
General information
General information
Applies to veh icles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 116 Front of t he veh icle: Posit ion of radar sensor
The area that contains the radar sensor
c::> fig . 116 must never be covered by st ickers or
other objects or obstructed with dirt, insects,
snow or ice that w ill interfere w ith the adaptive
cruise control system and braking guard. For in
formation on cleaning, refer to
c::> page 207. The
same appl ies for any modifications made in the
front area .
106
The function of the adaptive cruise control sys
tem and braking guard is limited under some
condit ions:
- Objects can only be detected when they are
within sensor range
<:!) page 108, fig . 119.
-The system has a limited ability to detect ob
jects that are a short distance ahead, off to the
side of your vehicle or moving into your lane.
- Some k inds of veh icles are hard to detect; for
example motorcycles, veh icles with high
ground clearance or overhanging loads may be
detected when it is too late or they may not be
detected at all.
- When driving through curves ¢
page 107.
- Stationary objects i::!) page 107.
& WARNING
-Always pay attention to traffic when adaptive
cruise control is switched on and braking
guard is active. As the driver, you are still re
sponsible for starting and for maintaining
speed and distance to other objects . Braking
guard is used to assist you . The driver must
a lways take action to avoid a collision . The
driver is always responsible fo r braking at the
correct time.
- Improper use of adaptive cruise contro l can
cause collisions, other accidents and serious
personal injury.
- Never let the comfort and convenience that
adapt ive cr uise control and braking guard
offe r dist ract you from the need to be alert
to traffic cond itions and the need to remain
in full control of your ve hicle at all times,
- Always remember that the adaptive cruise
control and braking guard have limits -they
will not slow the vehicle down or maintain
the set distance when you dr ive towards an
obstacle or something on or near the road
that is not moving, such as vehicles stopped
in a traff ic jam, a stalled or disab led veh icle.
If registered by the radar sensor, veh icles o r
obstacles that are not moving can trigger a
coll ision warning and if confirmed by the
video camera, an acute collision warning. ..,

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Audi ada pti ve c ruise contr ol and br akin g gu ard
-For safety reasons, do not use adapt ive
cruise contro l when driv ing on roads with
many curves, when the road surface is in
poor condit ion and/or in bad weather (such
as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydroplan
ing) . Us ing the system under these condi
t ions could result in a collision .
- Switch adaptive cruise contro l off tempora
rily when driving in turn ing lanes, on ex
pressway exits or in const ruc tion zones. This
preven ts the vehicle from accelerating to
the set speed when in these situat ions .
- T he adapt ive cr uise con trol system will no t
br ake by i tself if you pu t your foot on the ac
celerator peda l. Doing so can override the
speed and distance regulation.
- Whe n approaching stat ionary obje cts such
as stopped traffic, adapt ive cruise control
will not respo nd and braking guard will have
limited function .
- The adaptive cruise control system and
brak ing guard do not react to peop le, ani
ma ls, objects crossing the road or oncom ing
objects.
- The function of the radar sensor can be af
fected by reflective objects such as guard
rai ls, t he entrance to a tunnel, heavy rain or
ice.
- Never follow a veh icle so closely that you
cannot stop your vehicle safely . The adap
t ive cr uise control cannot slow or brake the
vehicle safely when you follow another veh i
cle too close ly. Always remember th at the
au tom atic b raking function ca nnot br ing the
vehicle to a sudden or emergency stop un
der these conditions .
- T o preven t unintended operation, always
switch adaptive cruise co ntro l off w hen it is
not being used .
(D Note
The sensor can be disp laced by im pacts o r
d amage to the bumper, whee l housing and
underbody. That cou ld affect the adaptive
cru ise control system and braking guard.
Have your a uthorized Audi dea ler or author
ized Audi Service Fac ility check their function.
In curves
App lies to vehicles: with A udi adapt ive cr uise control
Fig. 117 Ex amp le : d ri ving int o a c urve
When driving into a curve¢ fig. 117 and out of a
curve, the adapt ive cruise control may react to a
vehicle in the next lane and apply the brakes . Yo u
can override or prevent the b raking by press ing
the accelerator pedal b riefly.
Stationary objects
Applies to vehicles: wit h Audi adaptive c ruise control
Fi g. 1 18 Example: object c hang ing lanes a nd st ationary
ob ject
The adaptive cruise control system only reacts to
objects that are moving or that the system has
already detected as moving. For example, if ave
hicle @, which has already been detected by the
adaptive cruise control, turns or changes lanes
and another stat ionary vehicle @ is located in
front of that vehicle, the system will not react to
t h e stationary veh icle.
107

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
Audi adaptive cruise
control
Description
A pplies to veh icles: with Audi adaptive cruise co ntrol
F ig. 119 Detection range
What can adaptive cruise control do?
The adaptive cruise control works in conjunct ion
with a radar sensor installed in the front of the
veh icle¢
page 106, fig. 116, which is subject to
designated system limits
¢page 108. Stationary
objects a re disregarded.
On open roads with no traffic, adaptive cru ise
control works like a regular cruise control sys
tem. The stored speed is ma inta ined. When ap
proaching a moving vehicle detected up ahead,
the adaptive cruise control system automatically
slows down to match that vehicle's speed and
then maintains the distance that the driver previ
ously stored. As soon as the system does not de
tect a vehicle up ahead, adaptive cruise control accelerates back up to the stored speed.
Which functions can be controlled?
When you switch adaptive cruise control on, you
can set the current speed as the "control speed"
¢ page 108, Switching on and off.
When driving, you can stop cruise control
¢
page 110 or change the speed ¢ page 109 at
any time.
You can also set the distance to the object ahead
and set the adaptive cruise control driving pro
gram
¢page 110.
108
Switch ing on and off
App lies to vehicles: wit h Audi ada ptive cruise control
Fig. 120 Selector lever: switch ing on/o ff
Fig. 121 Instrument cl uster: adapt ive c ruise control
You can set any speed between 20 mph and
95 mph (30 and 150 km/h) .
Indicator lamps and messages in the instrument cluster display inform you about the current sys
tem status and settings .
Switching adaptive cruise control on
.,. Pull the lever toward you into position (D
¢ fig. 120. ACC: Standby appears in the instru
ment cluster display.
Setting the speed and activating regulation
.,. To set the current speed, press the ISETI button
¢
fig. 120. The set speed is shown in the tach
ometer @and is also shown briefly in the dis
play @¢
fig. 121 .
Switching adaptive cruise control off
.,. Push the lever away from you into position @
until it clicks into place. The message ACC: Off
appears. Iii>

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Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
@ Indicator lights
Ill-Adaptive cru ise control is switched on. No
vehicles are detected up ahead. The stored speed
is maintained.
• -A moving vehicle is detected up ahead. The
adaptive cruise control system regulates the
speed and distance to the moving vehicle ahead
and accelerates/brakes automatically.
• -When automatic braking is not ab le to keep
enough distance to a previously detected moving
vehicle up ahead, you must take control and
brake
~ page 111, Request for driver interven
tion.
© Display
If adaptive cruise control is not shown in the dis
play, you can call it up with the
I RESETI button
¢page 20.
Based on the symbols in the display, you can de
termine if the system is maintaining a distance to
the vehicle ahead and what that distance is.
No vehicle -No vehicle ahead was detected.
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected.
Red vehicle -Prompt for the dr iver to take action
¢page 111.
Both arrows on the scale © indicate the distance
to the vehicle ahead . No arrow appears when the
vehicle is on an open road and there is no object
ahead . If an object is detected ahead, the arrow
moves on the scale .
The green zone on the scale shows the stored dis
tance. For information on changing the stored
distance, refer to
¢page 110. If the distance se
lected is too close or may soon become too close,
the arrows move into the red zone on the scale.
A WARNING
Improper use of the adaptive cruise control
can cause collis ions, other acc idents and seri
ous personal injur ies.
- Pressing the
!SET ! button when driving at
speeds below 20 mph (30 km/h), will auto
matically accelerate the vehicle to 20 mph (30
km/h), which is the minimum speed
that can be set.
(D Tips
- If you switch the ignition or the adaptive
cruise control off, the set speed is erased
from the system memory.
- Th e Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) is
automatically turned on when the adaptive
cruise control is turned on . You cannot
switch the ESC into offroad mode while the
adaptive cru ise control is turned on
¢page 191.
Changing the speed
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adapt ive cru ise control
0
f
•
0
Fig. 122 Selector lever: ch an gin g the speed
.,. To increase or reduce the speed in increments,
tap the lever up or down.
" To increase or reduce the speed quickly,
hold
the lever up or down until the red LED @ reach
es the des ired speed c::>
page 108, fig. 121 .
Following any changes, the new stored speed will
be displayed br iefly in the display @c::>
page 108,
fig. 121 .
109

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
Interrupting cruise control
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
Fig. 123 Selector leve r
Requirement: adaptive cruise control must be
switched on
c:> fig . 123 (D.
Overriding cruise control
• To accelerate manually , press the accelerator
pedal. The message
ACC: override appears .
• To resume adaptive cruise control, remove your
foot from the gas pedal. The system re turns
again to the speed that was saved before .
• You can
save a new speed at any time by press
ing the
IS ETI button c:> fig. 123 .
Canceling cruise control while driving
• Move the lever into position @. The message
ACC: Standby appears. Or
• press the brake pedal.
• To resume the stored speed, move the lever in
to position
@.
.,&. WARNING
Never resum e the stored speed if the speed is
too high for prevailing road, traffic or weather
conditions.
110
Setting the distance
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 124 Se lector leve r: setting the distance
• Tap the switch to display the current set dis
tance
c:> fig . 124 .
• To increase or reduce the distance by incre
ments, tap the switch again to the left or right.
The distance between the two veh icles will
change in the instrument cluster display .
When approaching a moving vehicle up ahead,
the adapt ive cruise control system b rakes to
match that object's speed and then maintains
the stored distance.
If the vehicle ahead acceler
ates, adaptive cruise control will also accelerate
up to the stored speed .
The higher the speed, the greater the distance in
yards (meters)
c:> &. . The Distance 3 setting is
recommended.
The distances provided are spec ified values . De
pending on the driving situation and the how the
vehicle ahead is driving, the actua l distance may
be more or less than these target distances .
The var ious symbo ls for the time increments ap
pear briefly in the information line @
c:>page 108, fig . 121 when yo u change the set
tings.
c::::, _c::::, ___ Distance 1 : This setting cor responds
to a distance of 92 feet/28 meters when travel
in g at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a time interval of 1
second .
c::::, __ c::::, __ Distanc e 2: This setting corresponds
to a distance of 118 feet/36 meters when travel
in g at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a time interval of
1.3 seconds .

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Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
~--- ~-Di stance 3: This setting corresponds
to a distance of 164 feet/SO meters when travel
ing at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a time interval of
1.8 seconds.
~ ---- ~ Distance 4: This setting corresponds
to a distance of 210 feet/64 meters when travel
ing at 62 mph (100 km/h), or a time interval of
2 .3 seconds.
A WARNING
Following other vehicles too closely increases
the risk of collisions and ser ious personal in
jury.
- Setting short distances to the traffic ahead
reduces the time and distance available to
br ing your vehicle to a safe stop and makes
it even more necessary to pay close atten
tion to traffic.
- Always obey applicable traffic laws, use
good judgment, and select a safe following
distance for the traffic, road and weather
conditions.
¢j) Tips
- Distance 3
is set automatically each time
you switch the ignition on.
- Your standard sett ings are automat ically
stored and assigned to the remot e control
k ey be ing used
<=> page 36.
Setting the driving program
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Depending on the selected dr iv in g program and
d istance, driving behavior when accelerating w ill
vary from dynamic to comfortable.
Setting the driving program for vehicles
without Audi drive select*
~ In the radio/MM!*, select: !CARI funct ion but
ton >
adaptive cruise control > Driving pro
gram > Comfort, Standard or Dynamic .
Or
~ Select: ICARI function button> Car systems*
contro l button > Driver ass ist > Adaptive cruise
control > Driving program > Comfort, Stand
ard or Dynamic . Setting the driving mode for vehicles with
Audi drive select*
Refer to c!:>poge 120 .
(D Tips
Your settings are automatically stored and as
s ig ned to the remote control key being used
c!:> page 36.
Request for driver intervention
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 125 Instrument cluster: req uest for driver interven
tion
In certain situations, the system will prompt you
to take action . This could happen, for example, if
braking by the adaptive cruise control system is
not enoug h to maintain enough distance to the
vehicle ahead.
The instrument cluster w ill warn you about the
dange r
c!:>fig . 125:
-A red vehicle is pictured in the display.
- The text
DISTANCE! appears in the status bar.
- The red indicator light . blinks.
- I n addition, a warning tone sounds.
111

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
Audi braking guard
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
Fig. 126 In strument cluste r: appro ach warning
Braking guard uses a radar sensor. It also func
tions within the limits of the system when adap
tive cruise control is switched off .
What can braking guard do?
When detected in time, the system can assess
situations when a veh icle ahead brakes suddenly
or if your own vehicle i s traveling at a high speed
and approaching a vehicle up ahead that is mov
ing more slowly . Braking guard does not react if
it cannot detect the situat ion.
The system advises you of variou s situations:
- The
distance warning is given if you are too
close to the vehicle ahead for a long time. If the
vehicle ahead brakes sharply, you will not be
able to avoid a collision. The indic ator light .
in the display comes on.
- The
approach warning is given when a detected
vehicle up ahead in your lane is moving much
more slowly than you are or if it brakes sharply .
When this warning is given, it may only be pos
s ib le to avo id a collision by swerving or braking
sharply. The indicator light . and indicator in
the display will warn you about the danger
¢fig. 126. You will also hear an acoustic signal.
If you do not react fast enough or do not react at
a ll to the situation, braking guard will intervene
by braking and the message
Braking guard: Acti
vated
will appear.
l) Thi s is no t a vail able in som e coun trie s.
112
- If a collision is imminent, the system will first
provid e an
acute warning by briefly and sharply
app ly ing the b rakes.
- If you do not react to the acute warning, brak
ing guard can brake within the limits of the sys
tem . This reduces the vehicle speed in the event
of a collision.
- At speeds under 20 mph (30 km/h), the system
can initiate a comp lete deceleration shortly be
fore a collision ll.
- If the braking gua rd senses that you are not
braking hard enough when a collision is immi
nent, it can increase the braking force.
Which functions can be controlled?
You can switch braking guard and the distance/
approach warning on or off in the radio/MM
I*
¢ page 113 , Settings in the radio/MM!* .
A WARNING
Lack of attent ion can cause collisions, other
accidents and ser ious personal injuries . The
braking guard is an assist system and cannot
prevent a collision by itself . The driver must
always intervene. The driver is always respon
sible for braking at the correct time .
- Always pay close attention to traffic, even
when the braking guard is switched on. Be
ready to intervene and be ready to take
complete control whenever necessary. Al
ways keep the safe and legal distance be
tween your vehicle and vehicles up ahead .
- Braking guard works within limits and will
not respond outside the system limits, for
examp le when approach ing a stopped vehi
cle or stationary obstacle (end of a traffic
jam or vehicle that has broken down in traf
fic) .
- Always remember that the radar sensor for
the braking guard works only within defined
detection and range limits that may prevent
the proper detection of other vehicles.
- The radar sensor's function and range can
be reduced by rain, snow and heavy spray.
Moving vehicles up ahead may not be
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promptly detected or may not be detected
at all.
- Reflective surfaces including crash barriers
or tunnel entrances may impair the function
of the radar sensor.
(D Tips
- You can cancel the braking that is initiated
by the system by braking yourse lf, by accel
erating noticeably or by swerving.
- Braking guard error messages
¢page 113 .
-Keep in mind that braking guard can brake
unexpected ly. Always secure any cargo or
objects that you are transporting to reduce
the risk of damage or injury.
Settings in the radio/MMI*
App lies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise co ntro l
... Se lect : I CARI funct ion button > Au di bra king
guard .
Or
... Select:
~ I C~ A~ R~ I funct ion button > Car sy stem s*
contro l bu tton > Driv er a ssis t> A udi br aking
g uard .
S ystem -
Switch braking guard On and Off. When
you switch the ig nition on, the message
Brak ing
guard: Off
appears if the system is switched off .
Early warning -The distance and approach warn
ings in the display can be switched
On /Off .
{D) Tips
-Your settings are automatically stored and
ass igned to the remote control key being
used at the times the sett ings are made
¢ page 36.
-If you restrict the ESC, the braking guard al
so switches itse lf off ¢
page 191.
-Switch braking guard off when you are load
i ng the veh icle onto a vehicle carr ier, train,
sh ip or other type of transportation . This
can p revent undesired warnings from the
braking gua rd system.
Messages
App lies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
Braking guard : Off
This driver message appears if the system is
turned off via the radio/MM I *. Otherwise, if the
system is turned off, the information appears ev
ery time shortly after the start of the trip.
The driver message a lso appears if the system is
not availab le due to a malfunction or if the ESC is
not switched on
¢ page 191 . If th is is the case,
the system w ill not provide warnings about a
poss ible coll is ion.
B rak ing guard : Activated
T h is dr iver message appears if sharp b rake pres
s ur e was applied due to an acute warning.
•••
Three white dots appear if a setting cannot be se
lected w ith the operating lever . For example, this
happens if you want to ra ise/lower the speed
even though the re was no p reviously saved
speed.
A CC : Sensor bloc ked
This message appears if the sensor v iew is ob
structed, for examp le by leaves, snow, heavy
spray or dirt. Clean the sensor¢
page 106,
fig. 116.
ACC: Unavailable
The driver mess age appears if, for examp le, the
brake tempera ture is too high. The adaptive
cruise contro l is temporarily unavailable. A chime
sounds as a reminder .
ACC: Not available
The driver message appears if there is a malfunc
t ion. The adaptive cruise control tu rns off. A
c hi me so unds as a reminde r. Have the system
c hec ked by an author ized Audi dealer or au thor
ized Audi Service Facility .
Shift lever position!
The driver message appears if the selector lever
is shifted to the N pos ition . The adapt ive cru ise
control is not available wh ile in this position .
Stabilization cont rol (ESC)
T his message appears if the E lectronic Stabi liza
t ion Control (ESC) is taking action to stabi lize the ..,.
113