
The adjustment depends on the driving mode se
l ected, steering movements, the driver's brak ing
and accelerat ion, and as the road su rface, vehicle
speed and load.
The vehicle ground clearance depends on the mode se lected and the speed . When you are in
the
auto , the highway setting is act ivated when
you dr ive above 75 mph (120 km/h) for more
than 30 seconds. The g round clearance is in
creased automat ica lly if the speed drops below
44 mph (70 km/h) for more than 120 seconds .
Steering
The power steering adapts. Ind irect steering that
moves easily as in comfort mode is especially
sui ted to long drives on a h ighway. The Dynamic
mode provides sporty, direct steering .
Applie s to: vehicles with dynamic steering
The steering ratio changes based on vehicle
speed in order to maintain optimum steering ef
fort for the dr iver at a ll times. This sets the steer
i ng to be less sensit ive at higher speeds in order
to p rovide imp roved vehicle contro l. At reduced
speeds, steer ing is mo re direct in order to keep
t he s teering effo rt as m inima l as poss ib le when
t he dr iver is maneuvering the vehicle . At low and
ave rage speeds, dynamic steering* additionally
p rovides more responsive stee ring performance.
Sport differential *
As a component of the all wheel d rive system
(quattro)
<=? page 124 , the sport diffe rential dis
tr ib utes the dr iv ing power to the rear ax le de
pending on the situation. The distribution o f
power varies from balanced (comfort) to sporty
(dynamic) depending on the selected mode . The
goa l is a high leve l of agility and ab ility to accel
erate on curves. The ve hicle is very respons ive to
steer ing.
Cornering light*
The cornering light adapts the high beams to the
direction of the curve depending on the speed.
The pivot ing action and the light ing also adapt to
~ t he mode . .... N
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Adaptive cruise control*
T he behavio r whe n accelerating ca n be adjusted
from comfortable to sporty, depending on the
drive select mode. Adaptive cruise control also
responds to the driving behavior of the vehicle
ahead in a more conservative or sporty manner.
Engine sound *
The eng ine sound adapts to the c urren t mode
and can be subtle to sporty.
(D Note
Applies to: vehicles with adaptive ai r suspension
- Make sure there is enough clearance above
and be low the vehicle when parking. The
height of the vehicle (gro und clearance) can
change once it is parked due to temperature
fluctuations, changes to the load conditions
and changes to the dr iving modes .
- When transporting the vehicle on a car car
r ie r, train, ship or by other means, o nly tie
the vehicle down at the run ning s urface of
the t ires , which is the outer c ircumference.
Se cur ing the vehicle at the axle compo
nents, sus pen sion str uts o r towing eyes is
no t perm itted because the pressure in the
air suspens ion struts can change d uring
transport . The vehicle may not be secured
sufficiently if th is happens .
(D Tips
-In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the auto and
dynamic modes.
- The S selector lever position automatica lly
engages if the dynamic mode is selected.
- Applies to: vehicles with dynamic steering:
operating noise is heard when starting or
stopping the engine. Th is does not ind icate
a problem.
105

Parking systems
Parking systems
General information
Applies to: vehicles with parking system plus/rearview cam
era/peripheral camera
Depending on your vehicle's equipment , various
parking aids will help you when parking and ma
neuvering.
The
parking system plus assists you when park
ing by audibly and visually indicating objects de
tected
in front of and behind the vehicle
¢page 109.
The
rearview camera shows the area behind the
vehicle in the Infotainment system display. This
display assists you when you are cross or parallel parking
¢ page 110. The parking system plus
functions are also available
¢ page 109.
The
peripheral cameras assist you with parking
and maneuvering. You are aided by various cam
eras depending on the vehicle equipment level
¢ page 113. The parking system plus functions
are also available
¢ page 109.
A WARNING
-Always look for traffic and check the area
around your vehicle by looking at it directly
as well. The parking system cannot replace
the driver's attention. The driver is always responsible when entering or leaving a park
ing space and during similar maneuvers.
- Please note that some surfaces, such as
clothing, are not detected by the system .
-
-Sensors and cameras have blind spots in
which people and objects cannot be detect ed . Be especially cautious of small children
and animals.
- The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the radiator grille, bumper,
wheel housing and the underbody . The park
ing system may be impaired as a result.
Have an authorized Audi dealer or author
ized Audi Service Facility check their func
tion .
- Make sure the sensors are not obstructed by stickers, deposits or other materials. If they
are, the sensor function could be impaired.
108
For additional information on cleaning, see
¢page 231.
(D Note
-Some objects are not detected or displayed
by the system under certain circumstances:
- Objects such as barrier chains, trailer draw
bars, vertical poles or fences
- Objects above the sensors such as wall ex
tensions
- Objects with certain surfaces or structures
such as chain link fences or powder snow
- If you continue driving closer to a low ob
ject, it may disappear from the sensor range. Note that you will no longer be
warned about th is obstacle .
- Keep enough distance from the curb to re
duce the risk of damage to the rims .
(D Tips
-The system may provide a warning even
though there are no obstacles in the cover
age area in some situations, such as :
- certa in road surfaces or when there is tall
grass.
- external ultrasonic sources such as from
cleaning vehicles .
- in heavy rain, snow, or thick vehicle ex
haust.
- We recommend that you practice parking in
a traffic-free location or parking lot to be
come familiar with the system . When doing
this, there should be good light and weath
er conditions.
- You can change the volume and pitch of the
signals as well as the display
¢ page 118.
- Please refer to the instructions for towing a
trailer located in
¢page 118.
- What appears in the infotainment d isplay is
somewhat time-delayed.
- Th e sensors must be kept clean and free of
snow and ice for park aid to operate .

Intelligent Technology
I n addition, you may notice that the idle speed
has slightly increased . That is norma l and no
cause for conce rn. By increasing the idling speed,
the additional req uired energy will be generated
and the vehicle battery will be charged.
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
E v ent Dat a Reco rd er
This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data Re
corder (EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa
tions, such as an a irbag deployment or h itting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand
i n g how a veh icle's sys tems performed . The EDR
is designed to record data re lated to veh icle dy
namics and s afety systems for a sho rt pe riod of
t ime, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in th is
vehicle is designed to record s uch data as :
- How various systems in you r vehicle were oper
at ing ;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety
belts we re buck led/fastened ;
- How far ( if at all) the drive r was depressing t he
acce le ra to r and/o r brake peda l; and,
- How fast the veh icle was trave ling .
These data can help prov ide a better understand
ing of the circumstances in which crashes and in
juries occur . NOTE : EDR data are recorded by your
veh icle only if a non-trivial crash situat ion occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under norma l
d riving conditions and no pe rsonal data (e .g.,
name, gende r, age , and crash location) are re
corded . Howeve r, other pa rties , such as law en
forcement, cou ld combine the EDR data w ith the
type of personally identifying data routine ly ac
qu ired dur ing a crash invest igat ion.
To read data recorded by an EDR, specia l equip
ment is required, and access to the veh icle or the
EDR is needed. In addit ion to the vehicle manu
facturer, other parties, suc h as law enforcement,
that have the specia l equipment, can read the in-
126
format ion if they have a ccess to the vehicle or the
EDR .
Some sta te la ws rest ric t the retrieval or down
l oad ing of data s tored by E D Rs ins talled in a veh i
cle for the exp ress p urpose of retrieving data af
ter an accident or crash event without the own er 's consent.
Audi will not access the E DR and/or simi la r data
or give it to others -
- unless the ve hicle owne r (o r lessee if the vehi
cle has been le ased) ag rees; o r
- upon the offic ial 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 icia l
discovery process .
- Aud i may also use the data for research about
veh icle operation and safety performance or
prov ide the data to a th ird party for research
purposes w itho ut identify ing the specific vehi
cle or info rmation about the ident ity of its own
er or lessee and only afte r the reco rded vehicle
data has been accessed .
Vehicle control modules
Your vehicle is also equ ipped w ith a number of
electronic cont rol modules for va rious vehicle
systems, such as engine management, em iss ion
con tro l, airbags, and safety be lts.
These elect ronic contro l modules record data
duri ng norma l vehicle operation t hat may be
needed by tra ined techn ic ians for d iagnost ic and
r epa ir purposes. The recording cap ab ili ty o f these
modules is lim ited to data (no sound is record
ed). Only a sma ll amount of data is actually re
corded over a very limited period of time, or stor
ed when a system fault is detected by a contro l
module . Some of the data stored may relate to
vehicle speed, d irection, or braking, as well as re
straint system use and performance in the eve nt
of a crash . Stored data can also on ly be read and
downloaded w it h specia l equipment t hat is di
r ectly connec ted to the vehicle.

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.. Make sure to use the right chi ld restraint cor
rectly to protect children
~ page 171 , Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page SO, Seats
and storage .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly . Al
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe
ty be lts properly ¢
page 139 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver's abili
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve
h icle and all of its occupants. If you r ability to
d rive is impaired, safety risks for eve rybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road ¢A -Therefore :
.. Do not let you rself be dist racted by passengers
or by us ing a cellular te lephone .
.. NEVER dr ive when your dr iv ing ability is im
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traff ic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather cond itions.
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two ho urs at a stretch .
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres
s ur e o r when you are st ressed.
_& WARNING
Impaired dr iv ing safe ty inc reases the risk of
ser ious personal inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
.
Dr iving safety
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving .
F ig. 140 Correct seat ing pos it io n
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver 's seat to the fo llowing
pos ition:
.. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keep ing your knee(s) slightly bent¢&. -
.,. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contac t wi th it when you dr ive .
.. Adj ust the steer ing wheel so that there is a d is
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the steering whee l and your breast bone¢
fig. 140.
If not poss ible, see your author ized A udi deal
ership about adapt ive equipment.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
.,. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
.. For adjustab le head rest raints: Adjust the head
rest raint so the upper edge is as even as possi
b le with the top of your head. If that is not pos
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this posit ion as possible. Move the
head restraint so that it is as close to the back
of t he head as possible.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
Qpage 142. ..,.
129

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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 vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve
hicle's seating positions.
-Air circulation 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 tire pressure must correspond to the
load. 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 time it was man
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap
ter
c:> page 221.
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 134, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in
jury . Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight 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
weight of the item. This means that the weight
Driving safety
of the item would suddenly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col
lision like this.
A 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
missiles into the passenger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in
form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com
plaints, it may open an investiga
tion, and if it finds that a safety
defects exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and ""'
135

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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 129,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
9page 50,
.,. Wear safety belts properly 9 page 141,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
9 page 171.
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
o page 129, Correct
passenger seating positions.
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
opageSO.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
9page 171.
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>
147

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 .
152
-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
the front passenger seat . Always make sure that
the safety belt for the front passenger seat is
proper ly 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 capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i
cle was certified; For a list ing of the child re
straints that were used to certif y you r vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 173.
-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 insta lled on the front pas
senger seat, o r
- a rearward-facing child res traint has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rw ar d-fa cing child restraint has bee n ins tal
led on the front passenge r seat,
- and if the electrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typica l 1 year
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with 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 ch ild restraint on the front pas
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
160
kind of child restraint is at one o f th e seating po
sitions on the rear seat¢
page 148, Child re
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 171, Child safety.
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
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on a ll the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly insta l
led and that the safety belt for the front pas
senge r seat has been corre ctly routed through
the child restraint as described in the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible lock ing retrac
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no e lectrica l device (suc h as a
laptop, CD player, e lectronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child 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 interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion. .,.