
CD
CD
.... N ,-... N ..... 0 0 C<'. 00
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi
cle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver 's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in
f late only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de
cele rat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts . Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re
s tra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe
ty belt and wear ing it prope rly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uires yo u to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low r is k" requi re
ments fo r 3 and 6 ye ar-old children o n the pas
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter
action with the front a irbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition , the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requi rements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 170, Child restraints and Advanced Air
bags.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear
facing or forward -fac ing infant restra ints listed
Airb ag sys tem
in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
veh icle was certif ied. For a List ing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 170,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in the
con trol un it is detected on the front passenger
seat .
When a person is detected on the front passen ger seat, weighing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about
1 year old restra ined in one
of the rear-facing or forward -fac ing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may o r may not de
ploy .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detects a tota l
weight on the fron t passenger sea t th at req uires
the front a irbag to be turned off . If the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
condit io ns stored in its memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PAS SEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
For example , the ai rb ag may deploy if :
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
¢ page 170),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l wi ll come on and stay on .
T he front airbag on the passenger s ide m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if: ..,.
153

CD
CD
.... N ,-... N ..... 0 0 C<'. 00
passenger seat is checked by the electronic con
tro l unit when the ignition is on . The control unit
monitors the Advanced A irbag System and turns
the airbag indicator light on when a malfunct ion
in the system components is detected. The func
tion of the airbag indicator l ight is descr ibed in
greater detai l below . Because the front passen
ge r seat conta ins important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to p re
ve nt i t from being damaged. Damage to the seat
may prevent the Advanced Airbag for the fron t
passenger seat from doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System a bout the severity of the crash.
- An e lectronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit a lso "de
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ioners
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control
valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and contro l
valve inside the instrument pa nel for
the front passenger.
- A weig ht-sensing mat under the upho lstery
padd ing of the front passenge r seat cushion
t h at meas ures the total weight on the seat. The
i nforma tion registered is sent continuously to
the e lectron ic cont rol unit to reg ulate dep loy
ment o f the front Adv a need A irbag on the pas
senger side .
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
¢ page 158.
-A senso r in eac h front sea t registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument pane l. The infor
mation reg istered is sent contin uously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adva need A irbags.
Airb ag sys tem
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 159, fig . 167 and te lls yo u when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the we igh t registered by the weight -sens
ing mat help the contro l unit "decide" whethe r
t he front airbag fo r th e fron t passe nger seat
should be tu rned off o r not ¢
page 149, Child
restrain ts on the front seat -some impor tant
things to know.
- A sensor in the s afety be lt latch for the drive r
an d for the front seat passenger that senses
whether tha t safety be lt is la tched o r not and
transmits this information to the e lectronic
control un it.
A WARNING ,-
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre-
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced A irbag System from f unct ion ing
properly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and p roper ly trai ned
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or d river
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove parts from the
seat or disco nnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
p lace them on the seat . If the weight-sens
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work p roper ly .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob
jects on the passenge r seat . S uch items can
increase t he weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and s end the wro ng in
formation to the a irbag con trol u nit.
- Never store i tems unde r the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
un der the pas senger se at could be
~
155

Airbag syste m
-Never h old things i n your hands or on your
lap whe n the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat. Objects could move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
ca use serious personal injury if the a irbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy o r bulky objects) on
the doors, over or nea r the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a c rash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front a ir
bag dur ing braking or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing p roblems for people w ith a
his to ry of asthma or o ther b reathing condi
tions .
- T o reduce the risk of brea thing problems,
those w ith asthma or o ther respiratory con
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or o pening win
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eat ing.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .
158
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
~i (USA models} / !f (Canada models}
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced A irbag System ( including the e lec
tronic control unit, sensor circuits and system
wiring) is monitored continuously to make sure
that it is functioning properly whenever the igni
tion is o n. Each time you turn on the ignit io n, the
airbag monitoring ind icator light
II (USA mod
e ls)
!E,I (Canada models) w ill come on for a few
seconds (self diag nostics).
The s ystem must be inspected when the
indicator light
fl ( USA models) tE,I
(Canada models ):
- does no t come on when the igni tion is sw itched
on,
- does no t go out a few se co nds afte r yo u have
sw itched on the igni tion, or
- comes on while driv ing.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
i ndicator light will come on to serve as a constant
r eminder to have the system inspected immedi
ate ly.
If a ma lfunction occurs that turns the front air
bag on the passenge r side off, the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay o n
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
A n a ir bag system t hat is not functioning prop
e rly cannot provide sup plemental pro te ct ion
in a fronta l crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light¢ page 13
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup posed to, or will not inflate when it should.

CD
CD
.... N ,-... N .... 0 0 C<'. 00
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(0 Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system and prevent that system from working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the airbag units.
Airbag system
-For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel, front seats or electrical system (in
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technician who has the technical
information, training and special equipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially for
your Audi model version. Replacement of complete airbag systems or airbag components must be performed by qualified work-
shops only. Make sure that any airbag
Ill-
161

CD
CD
.... N ,-... N ..... 0 0 C<'. 00
A WARNING
Child ren on the front seat of any car even w ith
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously
injured and can be killed if the front airbag in
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po
sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restraint .
- Always ma ke sure that the safety bel t upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
Ch ild safety
-Always make sure that the PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
@ Tips
A lways replace child restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not v is ible could cause
i t to fai l in another collision situat ion.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd (FMVSS)
208, as we ll as Canada Moto r Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
T he Advanced A irbag system in you r vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require
ments fo r 3- and 6-year old ch ildren on the pas
senger side and sma ll adu lts on the driver side.
T he low risk deployment criter ia are intended to
reduce the risk of injury t hrough interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates . In addition, the
system has been cert ified to comply with the
"supp ression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front a irbag fo r infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas
senger seat in c hild rest raints t hat are lis ted in
the Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an Ad
vanced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, especially
those 12 yea rs and younger, should a lways ride
in the back seat proper ly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentially dangerous p lace for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place fo r an infant or a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
169

Intelligent Technology
Intelligent Technology
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
The Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) reinfor
ces driver safety . It reduces the risk of slipping
and improves driving stability. ESC detects crit i
cal s ituations such as the vehicle oversteering
and understeering or the wheels sp inning. The
veh icle is stab ilized by applying the brakes or re
ducing engine torque . Once t he ESC is active, the
indicator light
Ji) blinks in t he instrument clus
ter.
The fo llow ing systems are integrated in the ESC :
Ant i-loc k brake system (ABS)
ABS preve nts the wheels from locking up when
braking. The veh icle can still be steered even dur
ing hard brak ing. Apply steady pressure to the
brake pedal. Do not pump t he pedal. A pulsing in
the brake pedal indicates that the system is help
i n g you to brake the vehicle .
Br ake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing dis
tance . It increases braking power when the driver
presses the brake pedal quick ly in emergency sit
uations . You must press and hold the b rake pedal
until the situa tion is over. In vehicles w it h adap
tive c ruise contro l* , the brake assist system is
mo re sensit ive if the di stance de te cte d to the ve
h icle ahead is too small.
Anti -slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces eng ine power when the drive wheels
begin to spin and adapts t he force to the road
conditions . This makes it easie r to sta rt, acceler
ate and dr ive up h ills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The EDL brakes w heels that a re spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other whee ls .
This f unction is not avai lab le at higher speeds.
In extreme cases, EDL automatically switches off
to help keep the brake on the braked wheel from
186
overheating . EDL will sw itch on again automati
ca lly when conditions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC he lps to s tabilize the vehicle by chang ing
t h e s teer ing torque.
On vehicles with dynam ic steeri ng*, ESC helps
stab ilize the steer ing in crit ica l sit uat io ns.
Selective wheel torque control
Se lective wheel torque cont rol is used when driv
i ng on curves. The front whee l on the inside of
the curve or both wheels on the inside of the cu rve are braked se lectively as needed. This al
l ows mo re precise dr iving in c urves . The applica
ble system may not ac tiv ate when d riving in wet
o r snowy cond it ions.
_&. WARNING
- The ESC and i ts in teg ra ted systems can not
overcome the laws of physics . This is espe
cially important on slippery or wet roads. If
the systems begin act ing to stab ilize your
veh icle, you should immediately change
your speed to match the road and traffic conditions. Do not let the increased safety
provided by t hese systems tempt yo u to
take risks. Doing so will i ncrease the r isk of
a loss of vehicle con trol, collisi on and se ri
ous person al injur ies.
- Always a dapt your speed to road, traffic and
weather condi tions. The risk of los ing c on
t rol of the vehicle in creases w hen driving
too fast, es pecially through curves and on
slippe ry or wet roads, and when driving too
close to ve hicles up ahead. The ESC and its
integ rated systems cannot always prevent
col lisions - there is still a risk of accidents!
- Always accelerate w ith special care on even,
smooth su rfaces s uch as those that are wet
or covered wit h ice and snow. The drive
wheels can spin even w it h these assistance
sys tems t hat cannot a lways help to reduce
t he risk of loss of vehicle co ntro l.

a,
a,
..... (',J r-(',J ..... 0 0
0:
co
@ Tips
-ABS and AS R on ly work correctly when a ll
fo ur whee ls are e quipped w ith identical
tires. Different tire sizes can lead to a reduc
tion in eng ine power.
Switching on/off
Intelligent Technology
- You may hear noises when the sy stems de
scribed a re worki ng .
- Whe n in st alling a factory -s up plied roo f ra ck
system o n the roof ra iling, the ESC wi ll
adapt itself to a different center of grav ity .
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig . 184 Versio n A: Lower cente r console,~ OFF button
The follow ing s ituations ar e except ions where i t
may be usef ul to sw itch on offroad mode to allow
the w heels to sp in:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driv ing i n deep snow or on loose ground
Offroad mode on
Fig. 185 Version B : Upper center console,~ OFF butto n
-Dr iv ing with snow chains
- Dr iv ing down hill while braking on loose g round
- Dr iving on rough terra in when much of t he car's
weight is lifted off the wheels (axle artic ula
t ion)
Offroad mode off
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabilization functions The fu ll stabilization function of the ESC
are limited
¢ ,&. .
Operation Press the 1.$ OFF I button.
Indicator Ii) tu rns on.
lights
Driver mes- St abilization control (ESC ): Offroad.
sages Warning! Restricted stability
A WARNING
- Yo u should only sw itch offroad mode o n if
yo ur dr iv ing abilit ies a nd road cond it io ns
permit.
- The stabilization function is limited when
offroad mo de is switched on. The dr iving
w he els co uld s pin and the v eh icle cou ld
swe rve, es peci ally on s lick or slipp ery roa d
s ur fac es. and ASR
is ava ilable again.
P ress the
I!.! OFFI but ton again.
II turns off.
Stabilization control (ESC ): On
(D Tips
Offroad mode cannot be switched on whe n
adaptive c ruise contro l* is switched on.
187

Inte llig ent Techn olo gy
Hill descent assist
The hill descent assist makes it possible to drive
down an incline at a constant speed .
~~,·~ ('l)ofF ___ P..1 --- fl~ IIL..~
---
Fig. 186 Top of the center conso le: hill descent assist but
ton
Fig. 187 Display: hill descent assist
.. Press the~ button in the center console
¢ fig . 186 or on the shift gate . The button will
illuminate .
" Press the button again to switch it off. The di-
ode in the button will go out .
H ill descent ass ist brakes all four wheels auto
matically in order to limit speed when driving ei
ther forwa rd o r reverse on hills with a grade up to
approx imately 50%.
When the hill descent assist is on, the current
driving speed, when your vehicle entered the in
cline is maintained.
It is only possible to switch
on the assist when driving slower than 37 mph
(60 km/h). The assist works between app roxi
mately 2 and 19 mph (4 and 30 km/h) . The driver
can increase or decrease the vehicle speed within
these limits by depressing the accelerator or
brake pedal In addition, vehicle steerability is in
creased due to the braking distribution when
driving in reverse .
18 8
There must be however sufficient ground adhe
sion . The hill descent assist can
no t do its job if
the incline is icy or if the incl ine ground is loose
¢ &.
The system does not work at speeds between 19
and 37 mph (30 and 60 km/h). The system is
then in the ready-mode. The diode in the button
will come on . The system automatically sw itched
off when you drive faster than 37 mph (60 km/ h) . The diode will go out in this case .
Active control at a specific speed up to approxi
mately 19 mph (30 km/h) will appear in the in
strument cluster display
c:> fig. 187 . Two dashes
" •• " w ill appear in the ready mode .
Hill descent assist is automatically activated un
der the following conditions:
- the diode in the button ill uminates,
- veh icle speed is below approximately 19 mph
(30 km/h)
- the incl ine is 10%.
& WARNING
- Always adapt your speed to the weather,
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let the
increased safety provided tempt you into
taking risks.
-
-The hill descent assist system cannot over
come the laws of phys ics. Your driving style
must always be adapted to the current road
and traffic conditions.
- The hill descent assist may not be ab le to
hold your vehicle at a constant speed under
all cond itions wh ile driving on an incline (for
example if ground under the vehicle is
loose).
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
E ven t Data R eco rde r
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 .,,_