e-tron
e-tron Plug-in hybrid drive
Introduction
Applies to: vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive
General information
The plug- in hybrid drive is a drive concept that al
lows you to choose between driving w ith the elec
tr ic moto r, with the gaso lin e eng ine o r us ing a
comb inat io n of both.
All work done on the high-voltage system must
only be performed by certif ied h igh-voltage tech
n icians at autho rized Aud i dea le rs or authorized
Aud i Serv ice Facilities in accordance with A udi
gu idelines.
The high-voltage system is composed of the fol low ing high-voltage components: the h igh -volt
age battery, the powe r electron ics, the e lectr ic
motor, the high-voltage A/C compressor, the
high-vo ltage heater, the charging system and
charging port as well as the orange high -vo ltage
wiring.
The pedal referred to in this sect ion of the Own
er's Manua l is t he equivalent of the acce lerator
pedal (gas peda l) in a standard vehicle.
High-voltage battery
The high -voltage battery is located on the veh icle
underbody in front of t he rear ax le and does not
require any maintenance from t he d river. Addi
tional information about the high-vo ltage bat
tery can be found
under ¢ page 106.
A WARNING
The voltage in the h igh-vo ltage system is life
threaten ing. Touching a damaged high-volt
age component can result in a fatal e lectr ic
shock. The components in the high-voltage
system are ma rked w ith a warning label wh ich
wa rns against t he h igh-vo ltage.
- The voltage level in the high-voltage system
is still dangerous and potent ially life-threat
ening when t he ignit ion is switched off.
- Never perform work on orange high-voltage
cables or on high-voltage components. Only
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authorized repair facilities that are certified may perform work on the high-vo ltage sys
tem.
- Never damage, alter or remove the orange
high-voltage cable or disconnect it from the
high-voltage system.
- Never perform any work using cutting, shap ing or sharp-edged too ls or heat sources
near the h igh-vo ltage system and hig h-volt
age cables .
- Aud i regulat ions must be followed during
all work performed on the high-voltage sys
tem and h igh-vo ltage components .
- When working on t he h igh-voltage system
and h igh-voltage compone nts, make sure
the remote cont rol key is kept far enough
away from the vehicle so that there is no
r is k of t he ignit io n be ing inadve rtent ly
sw itched on.
- Gases t hat escape from the high-vo ltage
b attery can be poisono us or flammab le.
- Damage to the h igh-voltage battery could
cause t he hi gh-vo ltage battery to lea k im
mediately or in the fut ure, and poisono us or
flammab le gases co uld escape . Do not in
ha le the gases!
- Do not expose yourse lf to any leaking fluids
and do not come into contact with them .
- The h igh -voltage battery e lec troly te flui d is
caustic. If electro lyte fluid comes into con
tact with the skin, flus h the affected area
for at least 15 minutes with clean water.
Then wash the affected area with soap.
H ave the affected area examined by a med i
cal professional.
- In the event of a technica l emergency, in
form the responders that the vehicle is
equ ipped with a high-voltage battery.
A WARNING
Neve r leave the vehicle unattended when in
drive ready mode
¢ page 94 with a gea r en
gaged . T he veh icle can start mov ing ("creep
i ng") even if the gaso line engine is swi tched
off, since the e lectr ic motor is still ope ra ting.
This may ca use coll is ions and severe or fata l
-
LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the fun ction of
the Advanced Airbag System : the
El ligh t and
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side curta in airbags with ejec tion
m it iga tion feat ures ( incl udi ng t he e lectro nic con
tro l unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored co nti nu ously to ma ke sure that they
are funct ion ing prope rly whenever the ignition is
on. Every t ime yo u turn on the ignition, the air
bag system ind icator
light E,lwill come on for a
few seconds (function check).
The system mu st be inspected when the
indicator light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile driving.
If an airbag sys tem malf unct ion is de tected, the
indicator light w ill come on to serve as a co nstant
rem inder to have the system inspected immedi
ately .
If a mal function occurs t hat turns the front air
bag on the passenger si de
off, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignit io n is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop
er ly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 26
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the sys te m inspect ed immed iate ly by yo ur
au tho riz ed Au di dealer.
It is possible that
t h e air bag will in flate w hen it i s n ot su p
p osed to, o r will not infla te whe n it s hou ld.
Airbag system
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fi g. 239 Center con so le : p asse nger a irbag off wa rning
light
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht is loc ated in
t h e cente r of the instrume nt
panel ¢ fig. 239.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill come o n
and st ay on to te ll yo u when the front Adv anced
Airbag on the passenger sid e has bee n turned o ff
by the e lec tronic contro l unit. If the b ulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light bur ns o ut, the
airbag indicato r light
El will come on to signal a
malfunction in the Advanced A irbag System. Al
t h ough the burned-out bu lb w ill not change the
way the front passenger's fronta l airbag works, it
will no longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light to ma ke sure that the a irbag
o n/off status is cor rec t for the oc cupan t on the
front pas senge r seat. Have the air bag system in
spe cted imme dia tely by your au thori zed A udi
dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switches the front seat passenger 's fron
t al Advanced Airbag on and
off, detects a
change i n the status of the front passenger
seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stops blinking, always ma ke sure that the a irbag
status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
l ight is p roper for the age, si ze and
ele ctri cal c ap aci tance of the pe rso n oc cupying
t h e front passenger sea t. A lways make s ure that
the safety be lt fo r the front passe nger seat is
prope rly faste ned.
..,.
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