2018 AUDI A5 COUPE ESP

Driving sa fe ty
Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safe ty first!
The individua l safety features of your vehicle can
work together as a system to help protect you
and your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if they
are not always correctly adjusted and correctly
used .
This chapter contains important informat ion,
tips, instruct ions and warn ings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar­
ized here what you need to know about safety
be lts , a ir bags, child restra ints as well as child
safety. Yo ur sa fe ty is for us
priority number 1 . Al­
ways observe the information and wa rnings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The informa tion in this section applies to all
model ve rsions of your vehicle . Some of the fea­
tures described in th is sections may be standard
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equ ipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in th is
manual. It is in your inte rest and i n the in­
te res t of your passengers .
- Always keep all of the Owner 's L iterature
man uals in yo ur Audi when you lend o r sell
yo ur vehicle so that this importan t info rma­
t ion w ill always be availab le to the dr iver
and passenge rs.
- Alw ays keep t he Owner 's L ite ra tu re han dy
so that you can find i t easi ly if yo u have
questions .
258
· Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.. Make sure that a ll lights and signals are operat­
ing correctly .
.. Make sure tha t the tire pressure is correct .
.. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good vis ibility to the outs ide .
.,. Sec ure all luggage and othe r items ca refully
¢ page 263 .
.,. Mak e sure tha t noth ing ca n interfere with the
pedals .
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height.
.. Applies to: adjustable head restraints: Instruct
passengers to adjust the head restraints ac­
cording to the ir height .
.. Make sure to use the rig ht child restraint cor­
rectly to protect chi ldren
~ page 302, Child
safety.
.,. Si t properly in yo ur seat a nd make su re t hat
your passengers do the same ¢
page 71, Front
seats.
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly . Al­
so instruct your passenge rs to fasten thei r sa fe­
ty belts properly ¢
page 268.
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 concentra te on the road withou t being dis­
tracted.
The driver is responsib le for the sa fety of the ve­
hicle and a ll of its occupants . If your ability to
drive is impa ired, safety risks for everybody in the
vehicle increase and you a lso become a hazard to
everyone else on the road ¢
,&.. There fore:
.. Do not let yourse lf be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
.. NEVER dr ive whe n your driving ab ility is im -
paired (by med ications, alcohol, drugs, e tc.) .
..,.

Driving sa fe ty
-Never attempt to adjust head restraint
wh ile driving. If you have dr iven
off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to adjust the head restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
¢ page 302.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or deat h. Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im­
proper seating positions reduce the effect iveness
of safety belts and w ill even increase the r isk of
i njur y and dea th by moving the safety be lt to crit­
ical areas of the body. Impro per sea ting posit ions
a lso increase the risk of ser ious injury and dea th
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seat ing position. A driver
is responsib le for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children. Therefore :
~ Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos ition when the vehicle is being used
c> .&, .
The fo llowing bulletins list only some sample po ­
sitions that will increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death. Our hope is that these examp les will
make you more aware of seating posit ions that
are dangerous.
The ref ore, when ever th e vehicle i s moving:
- never stand up in the ve hicle
- never s tand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- never r ide with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on t he seats
- never lean up against the instrument pane l
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never le an out the w indow
- never put yo ur feet out the window
262
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- neve r rest your feet on the seat c ushion or back
o f the seat
- neve r ride in the footwell
- neve r ride in the ca rgo area
A WARNING
I mp roper seating positions inc re ase the risk
of ser iou s personal inju ry and de ath whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
s tay in a proper sea ting posit ion and are
pro perly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used .
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
A lways make sure that the knee airbag can in­
flate w ithout interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can inc rease the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the ai rbag dep loys o r by being pushed in­
to you as the airbag dep loys.
- No persons (ch ild ren) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat . If the airbag deploys, this can res ult in
serio us or fat al injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried i n
the footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's seat. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for examp le) can hamper or prevent
proper dep loyment of the airbag . Sma ll ob­
jects can be thrown thro ugh the vehicle if
the airbag deploys and injure you or your passengers.

Driving sa fe ty
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift s udden ly, changing vehicle handling charac­
ter istics . Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal in jury in a sudden vehicle
ma­
neuver or in a coll is ion.
.,. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com­
partment .
.,. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as low and as far for­
ward as possible
c> fig . 230 .
.,. Secure luggage us ing the tie-downs provided
¢ page 79 .
.,. Make su re that the rea r seatbac k is securely
latched in place .
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or othe r items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per­
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury :
- Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
- Always sec ure objects in the luggage com­
partment using the tie-down eyelets and
s u itable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles . To he lp reduce the r isk of a loss
of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal i njury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects, that a change i n the center of
grav ity can also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- Always distr ibute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as poss ible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
o r the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the
front end of the driver's door. Exceeding permissible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to s lide and handle diffe rently .
264
-Please observe info rmation on safe driving
¢page 258 .
A WARNING
To he lp prevent po isonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must dr ive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning :
- C lose all windows,
- Close the s unroof*,
- Close the power top*,
- Open all a ir outlets in the instrument pan -
el,
- Switch off the air reci rculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed.
A WARNING
-
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the sunroof*, the power top * and the
rear lid are securely closed and locked to re­
duce the risk of in jury when the veh icle is not
being used.
-After clos ing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked .
- Never leave your veh icle unattended espe ­
cially wi th the rear lid left ope n. A child
could crawl into th e vehicle th rough the lug­
gage compa rtment and close the rea r lid be­
comi ng trapped and u nable to ge t out. Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to ser ious
pe rsonal inj ury.
- Never let c hild ren p lay in o r around the vehi­
cle.
- Never let passenge rs ride in the luggage
comp artment. Vehicle occu pants mus t
al­
ways be proper ly restrained in one of the ve ­
hicle's seat ing pos itions.
(D Tips
- Air circu lation helps t o reduce w indow fog­
ging . Stale air escapes to the o uts ide

through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to keep these slots free and open .
- The t ire pressure must correspond to the
l oad . The tire pressure labe l lists the recom­
mended 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 manufactured. For recommend­
ed tire pressures for normal load condi­
tions, please see chapter
q page 3 52.
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
q page 263, 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 . Veh icle speed is the most s ignificant 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 . Th is means that the weight
of the item wo uld suddenly be abo ut
200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing free ly through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision l ike this .
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail d uring hard
brak ing or in a collision and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always use su itab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shift ing or fly ing fo rwa rd as dan­
gerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down, always use su itab le mount ing straps and
prope rly secure items to t he tie-downs in
the luggage compartmen t to help p reve nt
-
Dr iving safety
items from flying forward as dangerous
miss iles into the passenger compartment .
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Active rollover protection system
Function
Applies to: veh icles w ith power top
The rollover protection system protects vehicle
occupants in the event of a rollover .
Fig. 231 Rear seats : rollbar deployment range
Fig. 232 Rear seats : deployed rollbar
The active rollover protection system consists of:
- two rollbars
- t he safe ty belts with bel t tensione rs
- the wi ndshield frame
- the rollover senso rs
The active rollover protection system provides additional safety in the event of a rollover. With­
i n milliseconds, sensors deploy two rollbars lo ­
cated behind the head restra ints in the rear seats
¢ fig . 232. 11iJJ,
265

Driving safety
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect front and rear pas­
sengers in the event of a rollover.
The rollover protection system functions when
the power top is both open and closed.
A WARNING
-
- Do not use the area behind the rear seat
head restraints
c::> fig. 231 as a seat or stor­
age area. This is the area where the rollbars deploy. If the rollover protection system is
triggered, objects placed there can be pro ­
pelled through the vehicle and make it more
difficult for the rollbars to deploy . This
in­
creases the risk for serious or life-threaten­
ing injuries.
- Do not remove the head restraints. Driving
with the head restraints removed or adjust­
ed incorrectly increases the risk of serious
injury.
When is rollover protection deployed?
A ppl ies to: ve hicles w ith power to p
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or roll­
over .
Depending on the collision, sensors throughout
the vehicle and the control module trigger the rollover system to deploy.
For safety reasons, rollover protection also
de ­
ploys during front , side and rear collisions above
a certain level of severity.
A WARNING
- The rollover protection system can only pro­
vide protection for one collision.
If the roll­
over protection was triggered, have it re­
placed immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility.
- Modifying the rollover protection system or individual components is not permitted.
- Work on the rollover protection system
should only be performed by an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty. Otherwise the system may not function
correctly in a collision or it could deploy
un­
expectedly .
266
(D Note
-Every repair procedure on the rollover pro­
tection system must be performed by an au ­
thori zed Audi dealer or authori zed Audi
Service Facility, that will perform work ac­
cording to Audi factory specifications . Incor ­
rect repairs may impair the functionality
and may void the vehicle's operating
li­
cense .
- The respective safety precautions must be
followed when disposing of individual com­ ponents from the system or the entire vehi­
cle. An authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility is familiar with these
specifications and the procedures can be
handled there.
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
remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America, Inc.
..,.

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly .
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protect ion and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrectly wear safety be lts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must a lso use safety belts.
L ik e all vehicle occ upants, they are mo re
likely to be serio usly injured i f they do not
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -thro ughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Applies to: Coupe/Cab riolet: Your Audi has a to­
tal of four seating positions: two in the front and
two in the rear. Each seat ing position has a safety
belt .
App lies to: Sportback: Your Audi has a total of
five seating positions: two in the front and three
in the rear . Each seating posit ion has a safety
belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser io us personal
injury and dea th.
268
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt. It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety be lt over a
child sitting on your lap .
- Never let more people r ide in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint .
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fi g. 233 Safety belt warn ing lig ht in th e in st rument clus ­
ter -enlarged
Befor e dri ving off , alway s:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly .
"' 0 ..:, .. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear the ir safety belts .
.. Protect children with a ch ild restraint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
l ights up when the ig nition is switched on as a re­
minder to fasten t he safety be lts . In addition,
you w ill hea r a wa rning tone for a ce rtain per iod
of time.
Fasten your saf ety b elt and make sure that your
pas sengers al so prop erly put on th eir safety
belts.

Convertibl e lo ck ing r etr actor
Every safety be lt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important information about this feature
c::;,page 313.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c::;, page 2 73,
Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly pos itioned on the body.
-Always make sure that the rear seat back­ rest to wh ich the center rear safety belt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rea r center safety belt is being used.
If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur ­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
-Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buck le wi ll reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are secur ing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
c::;, page 315 .
Safety bel ts
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 24 1 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size.
-be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
-he ight-adjustable fron t seats.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
-The shou lder belt should l ie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snugly
c::;, fig. 241. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and neve r over the abdomen. Make s ure
the belt lies flat and
snug~ fig. 241. Pull on
the bel t to tig hte n if necessary.
-A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
inj uries by shifting its position on your body
from the stro ng bones to mo re vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause se rious inj ury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
o ther important informat ion
c::;, page 271.
273

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 \0
3 a,
on the body ¢.&. in Safety belt position on
page 273.
.,. Push the loop-a round fitt ings up ¢ fig. 244 @,
or
.,. squeeze together the @ button, and push the
loop-around f ittings
do wn@ .
... Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is proper ly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important
i nformat ion ¢ page 271 .
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly posi tioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to crit ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions also increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and str ikes an
oc cupant who is not in the correct seating posi ­
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of a ll
vehicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
.,. Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the veh icle whi le traveling
¢ .&_ .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occupants
are correctly restra ined and stay in a correct
S afet y be lts
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
i nformat ion ¢ page 271 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Re ver sible safety belt pr etension ers
The following fu nctions a re available when safety
belts w ith reversib le safety belt tensioners are
fastened:
- In certain driving situations, the safety belts may tighten w it h a reversible tensioning func­
tion
¢ page 125.
- The safety belts may also tighten with this re-
versible tens ion ing funct ion in m ino r collisions .
Pyr otechnic s afety belt p reten sioners
Seat belts with pyrotechnic safety be lt preten­
s ioners are tensioned automatically in severe col­
lis ions, depending on the circumstances . This
helps to reduce the forward motion of the occu­
pants .
A WARNING
-It is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incor rec tly.
- Any wo rk on the tens ioner system or remov­
al and installation of system components
for o ther repairs m ust be performed by a
qualified workshop.
- The pyro technic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced .
(D Tips
-A fine dus t is re leased when the pyro technic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is nor­
ma l and is not caused by a fire in the veh i­
cle .
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualified
275