2017 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

Intelligent Technology Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road ho lding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of skid­
ding and loss of vehicle control. It works only
when the engine is runn ing . ESC detects certain
d ifficult driving situat ions, including when the
vehicle is beginn ing to spin (yaw) out of control
and helps you to get the veh icle back under con­
tro l by selectively braking the wheels , and/or re­
ducing engine powe r and provid ing steering as­
sistance to help ho ld the veh icle on the driver 's
intended course. The indicator light
bJ in the in­
strument cluster blinks when ESC is taking action
to help you contro l th e vehicl e.
The follow ing systems a re integr ated in the ESC:
Anti -lock braking system (ABS )
ABS preve nts the wheels from lock ing up when
b raking . The ve hicle can still be stee red even dur­
in g ha rd brak ing . Apply steady pressure to the
b rake pedal. Do not p ump the pedal. A pu lsing in
the brake pedal indicates tha t the system is help ­
ing you to brake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist sys tem can dec rease braking dis­
tance .
It increases brak ing power when the d rive r
pr esses the brake pedal q uickly in eme rge ncy sit ­
uations . You m ust press and hold the b rake pedal
unti l the situation is over . In vehicles with adap ­
tive cruise control* , the brake assist system is
mo re sensitive if the distance det ected to the ve­
h icle ahead is too small.
Anti -slip regulation (ASR)
ASR red uces eng ine power when the drive wheels
begin to spin and adapts the force to the road
conditions. This makes it easier to start, acceler­
ate and dr ive up h ills.
gi Electronic differential lock (EDL ) ...... N
~ The ED L br ak es w heels that a re spi nnin g and
8 trans fers the drive power to the othe r drive LL 00
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whee l or wheels if the vehicle is equ ipped with
all-wheel drive*. This function is not avai lable at
highe r speeds.
In extreme cases , EDL automat ic all y swi tches off
to help keep t he b rake on the braked wheel from
overheating . EDL will switch on again automati­
ca lly when cond itions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
T he ES C helps to s tabilize the vehicle by changing
the s teering torque.
In veh icles with dynamic steer ing*, ESC a lso
helps to stab ilize the steer ing in crit ica l sit ua­
tions.
Electronic interaxle differenti al lock */
selective wheel torque control*
T he elect ronic inte raxle d iffere ntial lo ck (front
whee l dr ive) o r the sele ct ive whee l torque co ntro l
(a ll w heel d rive) operates when driving thro ugh
cu rves. The front wheel on the inside of the curve
o r both wheels on the inside of the curve are
braked selectively as needed. This allows more
precise driving in curves . The applicab le system
may not activate when driving in wet or snowy
condit ions .
A WARNING
--The ESC and i ts integrated systems ca nnot
overcome the laws of physics. This is espe­
cially importa nt on slippery or wet roads. If
the systems begin act ing to sta biliz e your
veh icle, you shou ld immedi ate ly change
your speed to match the road and traffic conditions. Do not let the increased safety
provided by these systems tempt yo u to
take risks. Doing so will increase the risk of
a loss of vehicle control, collision and seri­
ous personal injur ies .
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions . The risk of losing con ­
trol of the vehicle increases when driv ing
too fast, especially through curves and o n
slippe ry o r wet roads , and whe n driving too
close to ve hicl es up ahea d. The ESC and its
integ ra t ed systems cannot always preven t
collis ions -the re is s till a risk o f accidents!
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-Always acce le rate with special care on even,
smoot h surfaces such as those that are wet
o r covered with ice and s now. The dr ive
wheels can s pin even with these ass istance
systems that cannot always h elp to reduce
t h e risk of loss of v ehicle con trol. t
ir es. Diff eren t tire si zes c an lead to a red uc­
t ion in en gine power .
- Y ou may hear noises whe n the sys tem s de­
sc ribe d are working .
{D) Tips
-ABS and ASR on ly work co rrectly whe n all
fo ur whee ls are e quipped w ith ide ntica l
Switching on/off
£SC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig . 163 Versio n A: lower cente r co nso le,~ OFF button Fig. 164 Version B : upper center co nso le, ~ OFF button
T he ESC is des igned to function in leve ls. Depe nd­
i ng on t he level th at i s sele cted, the s tabili zation
f unc tion of the E SC is limited or sw itched off. The
amo unt of stabi liza tio n con trol will d iffer de ­
pendi ng on the level. -
Roc king the ve hicle to free it w hen i t is stuck
- Dr iving in d eep snow or o n loose g ro und
- Dr iving with snow chains
Th e fo llo wing s itu ations are ex cep tion s where i t
may be usef ul to sw itch on s po rt mo de to allow
the wheels to spin:
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off
Behavior
T he ESC and ASR stabiliza -
The sta bilization funct ion is
tion f unct io ns are limite d not available
¢ &
. ES C and
¢ &. . ASR are switched off.
Operation Press the I.$ OFF I b utton P re ss and hol d the l.$ OF FI
briefly . button longer than 3 sec-
onds .
Indicator II turns on. Iii and lf111•)H turn on.
lights
Driver mes- Stabilization control (ESC ): Stabilization control (ESC ):
sages Sport. Warning! Restricted off . Warning! Restricted
stab ility stability
168
Sport mode off or
ESC /ASR on
T he f ull stabilization func -
tion of the ESC an d ASR is
avai lab le aga in.
Press the I.$ OFF I but ton
a g ai n.
II turns off or II and
lf11ft)H turn off .
Stabilization control
(ESC ): On
N N ><'. 00

It is only possible to turn off the ASR up to 30
mph (SO km/h) for vehicles with front wheel
drive. At about 45 mph (70 km/h) it automatical­
ly turns on again. It is possible to turn off the
ASR at any speed for vehicles w ith all whee l
drive .
A WARNING
You should only switch sport mode on o r
switch ESC/ASR
off if your driving abilities
and road conditions permi t.
- The s tabilization function is limited when
sport mode is sw itched on. The driving
w heel s co uld spi n and the vehicle cou ld
swerve, es peci ally on s lick o r slip pery road
s u rfaces.
- T here is no vehicle st abiliz ation when ESC/
ASR a re swi tched of f.
{D) Tips
ESC/ASR cannot be sw itched off or sport
mode can not be switched on when c ruise con­
t rol or adaptive c ruise contro l* is switched on .
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
Event Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped wi th an Event Data Re­
corde r (E DR). The main purpose of an EDR is to
reco rd, in ce rtain c rash o r ne ar cras h-like sit ua ­
tions, such as an a irbag deployment or hitting a
road obstacle , data that will assis t in understand ­
ing how a vehicle's systems performed. The EDR
is designed to record data re lated to veh icle dy­
namics and safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this
vehicle is designed to record such data as:
- How vario us systems in you r vehicle were oper­
at ing;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety
gi belts were buckled/fastened; ......
~ - How fa r (if at all) the driver was depressing the
N ~ acce le rato r and/o r bra ke peda l; and,
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- How fast the vehicle was traveling.
T hese data can help p rovide a bette r understand­
i ng of the circumst ances in w hich cras hes and in­
ju ries occu r. NOTE: EDR data ar e recorded by your
vehicle on ly if a non -trivial crash s ituation occurs;
no data are reco rded by the ED R under norma l
driv ing cond itions and no persona l data (e .g .,
name, gender, age, and crash location) are re ­
corded. However, other parties, such as law en­
forcement, could comb ine the EDR data with the
type of personally identify ing data rout inely ac­
quired d uring a c rash investigation .
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equ ip­
ment is required, and access to the vehicle or the
E DR is needed . In addition to the ve hicle manu­
factu rer, other part ies, such as law e nfo rcement,
t h at have the special equipment, can rea d the in ­
f o rmat io n if they have a ccess to the vehicle or the
ED R.
Some sta te laws restrict the retrieval o r down­
l oad ing of data sto red by ED Rs ins talled in a veh i­
cl e for the exp ress p urpose of re triev ing da ta af­
ter an acci dent or crash event without the own­
er 's consent .
Audi will not a ccess the EDR and/or sim ila r data
o r g ive it to o thers -
- unless the veh icle owne r (or lessee if the vehi­
cle has been leased) ag rees; o r
- upon the official request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court of law or a govern-
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit through the jud ic ia l
discovery process.
-Aud i may a lso use the data fo r research abo ut
veh icle operation and safety perfo rmance or
prov ide the data to a third party for research
purposes witho ut ide ntify ing the specific veh i­
cle or i nfo rmat ion about the ident ity of its own­
er or lessee and only afte r th e re co rded veh icle
d ata has been a ccessed.
Vehicle control modules
You r vehicle is also equ ipped w ith a number of
electronic cont rol modules for various vehicle
systems, such as e ngine ma nagement, em iss ion
c o ntro l, airbags , a nd safety be lts . .,,.
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Intelligent Technology
These electronic control modules record data
dur ing normal vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained technicians for diagnostic and
repair purposes. The recording capability of these
modules is l imited to data (no sound is record­
ed). Only a small amount of data is actually re ­
corded over a very limited per iod of time, or stor­
ed when a system fau lt is detected by a control
mod ule. Some of the data stored may re late to
ve hicl e speed, dire ct ion, or brak ing, as well as re­
stra int system use and performance in the event
of a crash. Stored data can also only be read and
downloaded with special equipment that is di­ rectly connected to the veh icle.
@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi con­
nect. Your use of certain Audi connect fea­
tures requires wireless services that are pro­
vided by a third party wire less te lecommuni­
cations provider. For detai ls regarding how in­
formation obtained through Audi connect is collected, processed, t ransmitted, used, and
shared, please see your contract with the
w ireless te lecommunica tions p rovider and the
"About Aud i connec t" tab in your vehi cle's
M M I:
!MENUI b utton> Audi connect > About
Audi conne ct.
Braking
What affects broking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the fi rs t 250 miles (400 km), new b rake
pads do not possess the ir full braking effect, they
have to be "broken in" first ¢.& . You can com­
pensate for this s light ly reduced bra king power
by pushing harde r on the brake pedal. Avoid
heavy braking loads during the break-in period .
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles a re st ill s ub­
ject to wea r, depending la rgely on ope rating con ­
ditions and driving habits¢.&, . On vehicles that
are either dr iven most ly in stop-and-go city traf ­
f ic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be
checked by your authorized Aud i dea ler more of­
ten than specified in the
War ranty & Mainte-
170
nance booklet . Failure to have your brake pads
inspected can result in reduced brake perform ­
ance.
On steep slopes, you should use the bra king ef ­
fect o f the engine. This way, you prevent unnec­
essary wear on the brake system. If you must use
your brakes, do not ho ld the brakes down contin ­
uously. Pump the brakes at intervals.
Ope rating nois e
Noises may occu r when braking depen ding on the
speed, braking force and outside conditions such
as temperature and h umidity.
Effect of water and road salt
In certain si tuations, for examp le after d riving
t hr ough water, in heavy rain, after over nigh t con­
densa tion or after washing your car, the brak ing
effect can be reduced by moisture or ice on the
brake rotors and brake pads . The brakes must be
dried f irst with a few careful brake app lications.
At higher speeds and w ith the windshield wipe rs
turned on, the brake pads press against the brake rotors for a short amount of time . This occurs at
regu lar intervals without the dr iver not icing and
provides for better brake response t ime under
wet cond itions .
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a salt-covered road
and the brakes are not used. Likewise, you clean
off accumulated salt coating from brake discs
and pads with a few caut ious applications of the
brake ¢.& .
Corrosion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up on
the brake pads and corrosion to form on the discs
i f the car is not driven regularly or only for short
trips with little use of the brakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if corro ­
s io n has formed on the discs, it is advisable to
clean off the pads and discs by braking firmly a
few times from a moderately high speed ¢ .& .

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Fa ults in the brake system
If yo u should notice a sudden increase i n brake
pedal travel, then one of the two brake circuits
may have failed
¢ .&. .
Low brake fluid level
Malf unct ions can occur in the bra ke system if the
b rake fl uid leve l is too low. The brake fluid level
i s monitored e lectronica lly .
Bra ke booste r
The brake booster increases the pressure that
you generate with the brake pedal.
It works on ly
when the engine is run ning
.¢ .&.
Bra ke lining we ar status
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the open ings in the wheel. If necessary,
the wheel may be removed for this inspection
¢ page 228, Replacing wheels.
A WARNING
- New bra ke pads don't have the best stop­
ping power and must be "bro ken- in" dur ing
the init ia l 250 m iles (400 kilometers). Yo u
can compensate for th is by press ing the
brake pedal more firmly. This a lso applies
later when new pads are installed.
- Yo u should perfo rm braking maneuvers for
the p urpose of clean ing the brake system
only if road conditions permit. Other road
users must not be put at risk -you may
cause an accident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift t ransm iss ion into a lower
gear or lowe r driving range. Do not ride the
brakes or hold the pedal down too long or
too often. This could ca use the brakes to get
hot and diminish brak ing efficie ncy.
- Do not "r ide t he b rakes" by resting your foot
on the pe dal when yo u do not inten d to
bra ke. This may cause the bra kes to over­
heat, premat ure wear and increased stop ­
ping distance.
- Under certa in climatic and operating condi­
tio ns such as passing thro ugh water, driving
in heavy rain or after washing the vehicle,
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the effectiveness o f the brakes can be re­
duced. In winter, ice can accum ulate on the
brake pads, lin ings, d iscs and drums . Care­
fu lly apply brakes for a test . Brakes will dry
and ice coat ings will be cleaned off after a
few ca refu l brake applications .
- Driving for an extended period of t ime on
salt-covered roads without usi ng your
b rakes can also affect braking eff iciency.
Clea n off acc umul ated salt coat ing from
b rake discs an d pa ds w ith a few careful
b rake appli cat ions .
- I f you d amage the front spoile r, or if you in­
s t all a different spoiler, be s ure the a ir flow
to the front brakes is not obstruc ted. Other­
wise the brake system could overheat reduc­ ing the effectiveness of t he ent ire bra ke sys­
tem.
- Fai lure of one brake circuit w ill impa ir the
braking capability resulting in an increased
stopping distance . Avoid driving the vehicle
and have it towed to the nearest authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with the
engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed cons iderab ly
ha rder to make up fo r the lack of booste r
assis tance .
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps the
driver when steering.
Power steer ing adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defe ctive! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicato r light turns on and stays on and
t hi s message appears, the powe r steering may
have failed.
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Do not contin ue driving . See yo ur authori zed
Aud i dea ler or a qua lified repair facility for assis­
tance.
'I@ Dynamic steering : Sy stem fault! You can
cont inue d riv ing
If the indi cator lig ht t urns on and the message
appears, the steering m ay be more difficul t to
move or mo re sensit ive than usual. The steering
wheel may also be at an angle when dr iving
straight .
Dr ive s low ly to your author ized A udi dealer or
qu alified wor kshop to have the ma lfunction co r­
rected .
l;:r-ij Dynamic steering : initializing
If th is driver message appears and the ind icator
light is flas hing on the instrument panel, dynam­
ic stee ring* is be ing rein itia lized . Afte r start ing
the engine , the steer ing wheel will move s light ly.
Re-i nitializ ation m igh t b e necessa ry if the s teer­
i n g wheel was moved hard to the left and r igh t
while the veh icle was not moving. The disp lay
goes out as soon as initia lization is complete.
A WARNING
Have the dynamic steering* system malfunc­
tion repaired as soon as possible by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop -
r isk of accident!
(D Tips
- If the . or l;pij indicator light only stays on
fo r a short time, you may continue driving.
- The dynamic steering* stability systems are
not available in the event of a system mal­
funct ion.
- Fo r additional informat ion on dynamic
steering*, refer to
¢ page 101.
172
-
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to : vehicles wit h all -w hee l drive
With all-wheel drive , all four wheels ore driven .
General information
With a ll-wheel d rive, power is distrib uted to a ll
fo ur wheels. Th is happens automat ica lly depend­
i ng on your driving style and the road conditions
at the t ime . See also
¢ page 167.
A center d ifferential distributes the driving powe r
variably to the front and rear axle. It works to­
gether w ith select ive whee l torque contro l, wh ic h
activates when d rivi ng through curves
¢ page 167. With the spor t different ial*, power
dist ribution to the rear wheels is var iable and can
be adjusted wi th d rive select ¢
page 101 .
The all-whee l dr ive concept is designed for hig h
engine powe r. Your vehicle is except ionally pow­
e rfu l an d has excellent driving cha racteristics
bot h unde r no rmal d riving condi tions and o n
snow and i ce. A lways read and follow safety pre­
ca utions
~ ..&. .
Winter tires
When dr iving in the winter, yo ur vehicle with all­
whee l dr ive has a n advantage, even with regu la r
t ir es. In w inte r road cond it ions i t may be advisa­
ble to mo unt win ter tires (o r all-se ason tires) for
i mproved driveability an d braking: these ti res
must be mo unted on
all four whee ls. See also
¢ page 2 22, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire ch ains are mandatory on certain
r oads, t his normally also applies to vehicles wi th
a ll- wheel drive ¢
page 222, Snow chains .
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-w heel d rive mus t always have
ti res of the same size. Also avoid tires with diffe r­
en t tread dep ths. Fo r d eta ils see page
¢ page 21 4, New tires or wheels. liJJ>

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Off-Road driving?
Your Aud i does not have enough g ro und clear­
ance to be used as an off -road vehicle. It is there ­
fore best to avoid roug h tracks and uneven ter­
rain as much as possible. A lso refer to
¢ page 175.
_&. WARNING
Always adjust you r driving to road and t raff ic
conditions. Do not let the extra safety afford­
ed by all-wheel drive tempt you into tak ing
extra risks.
-Although the all-whee l dr ive is very effec­
t ive, a lways remember that bra king capac ity
is limited by tire traction . Yo u should there­
fore not d rive a t exc ess ive speeds on icy or
slippery road su rfaces.
- On wet ro ad surfaces, be caref ul not to drive
too f ast be cause the fro nt wheels co uld be­
gin to slide on top of the w ater ( aquaplan ­
ing). If this sho uld o ccu r, you w ill have no
warning from a sud den increase in eng ine
speed as with a front-whee l dr ive vehicle .
Always drive at speeds wh ich are su ited to
the road cond it ions -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution of
electrical energy and thus optimizes the availa­
bility of electrical energy for s tarting the engine.
If a veh icle wit h a conventional energy system is
not driven for a long per iod of t ime, the battery is
d ischa rged by idling current consumers (e.g. im­
mo bilizer). In cert ain cir cums tan ces it c an result
i n there be ing insuff ic ient ene rgy available to
start the engine.
I ntell igen t energy management in your veh icle
h andles the distr ib ution of ele ct ric al ene rgy.
S tarting ab ility is mar ked ly imp roved an d the l ife
of the batte ry is extended.
B asically, e nergy management consis ts of
bat­
tery diagno sis, idling curr ent management
and
dynamic energy management .
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Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnos is con tinuously dete rmi nes the
state o f the bat tery . Sensors determine battery
vo ltage, battery c urrent and batte ry tempera­
tu re. This determines t he current state of charge
and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
Id ling cur rent management reduces ene rgy con­
s u mption whi le the vehicle is standing . With the
ignition switched off, it contro ls the energy sup­
ply to the vario us electrical components . Data
from battery d iagnosis is cons idered.
Depend ing on the ba ttery's s tate of charge, indi ­
vidual consumers are gradually turned off to pre­
vent excess ive discharge of t he battery and thus
mainta in starting capab ility.
Dynamic energy management
While t he vehi cle is being d riven, dynami c energy
management dis trib utes the energy generate d
according to the needs of the individual compo­
nents. It regulates consumption, so that more
electrical e nergy is not being used than is being
generated and ensures an opt imal state of
charge for the battery .
(i) Tips
-But even ene rgy management cannot neg­
ate the lim its of physics. Consider that the
powe r and life of a battery are lim ited.
- If starting ab ility is threatened, the indica ­
to r li ght (•) appears¢
page 14.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining start­
ing capability.
The battery is severe ly taxed in short-distance
driv ing, in city traffic and dur ing the cold time of
year. Abundant e lectrica l energy is required, but
o n ly a little is generated. It is also c ritical if the
engi ne is not running and electrical components
are tu rned on . In this instance energy is being
co nsumed bu t no ne is being ge nerated. .,,.
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It is in precisely these situations that yo u will no ­
tice energy management active ly regulating the
d istr ibut ion of energy.
Vehicle stands for an e xtended period
If you do not drive you r ve hicle over a period of
seve ral days or weeks, elec trical components are
g radually cut back or switched off . This reduces
energy cons umption and ma intains starting ca­
pability over a longer period. Some of the con­
ven ience funct ions may not operate, such as the
interior lights or the power seat adjustment. T he
conven ience functions will be available again
when yo u switch on t he ign it io n and start the en­
g ine .
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with the
engine turned off o r use other MMI fu nctions,
the battery is being discharged .
If start ing capability is jeopardized due to energy
consumption, a message appears in the M MI dis­
p lay. The message indicates that the system will
be sw itched off automatically in a moment. If
you wish to cont inue using t he functions, you
have to start the engine.
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is generated when the
veh icle is being driven, t he battery can become
d ischa rged. This happens most ly when l ittle en ­
ergy is be ing generated and a g reat deal con­
sumed and t he battery's state of cha rge is not
opti mal.
To br ing the energy ba lance back into equ ilibri­
um, consume rs which req uire especially la rge
amo unts of energy a re tempora rily cut bac k or
sw itche d off. Hea ting systems i n par tic ul ar r e­
qu ire a gre at deal of energy. If you not ice, for ex ­
ample , that the heated seats* or the heated rear
window are not heating, they have been tempo ­
rari ly cu t back or switched off . These systems will
be ava ilab le aga in as soon as the energy balance
has been restored .
You will a lso notice that engine idle speed has
been inc reased slightly. This is normal and not a
cause for conce rn. By increasing eng ine idle
174
speed the a ddi tional energy required is genera t­
ed and the battery is charged.