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-Press the accelerator pedal carefully when
accelerating on smooth, slippery surfaces
such as ice and snow. The drive wheels can
spin even when these control systems are
installed and this can affect driving stability
and increase the risk of a collision .
(D Tips
-The ABS and ASR only function correctly
when all four wheels have a similar wear
Switching on and off
Intelligent Technology
condition. Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems de
scribed are working .
- When installing roof rack systems on the
roof rail, the ESC uses sensors to adapt it
self to a different center of grav ity.
ESC turns on automa tically when you s tar t t he engine .
Fig. 146 Cen ter console w it h the "'°" butto n
The following examples are unusual situations
where it may mak e sense to switch offroad mod e
on to allow the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
- Dr iving on rough terrain when much of the car's
weight is lifted off the wheels (axle articula
tion)
- Dr iving downhill wh ile braking on loose ground
The ESC is designed to function in levels. Depend
ing on the level selected , the ESC stabilization
function is limited or switched off. The amount of
stabilization control will differ depending on the
level. For your safety, switch the offroad mode off in
advance.
ESC
levels
Offroad mode on ESC/ASRoff Offroad mode off or
ESC /ASRon
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza- The stabilization function is The full stabilization func-
tion functions are limited not available
¢ &. ESC and
tion of the ESC and ASR is
q _& . ASR a re switched off. avai lable again .
Operating Press the !-P- ,., 1 button brief-
Press and hold the !-P- "' I but- Press the IE m l button again.
Ly .
ton longer than three sec-
onds .
Indicator II turns on . II and !:f.'iit•)H turn on. II turns off or II and
lights !:f.'iit•Ui turn off.
Messages Stabilization control
(ESC): Stabilization control (ESC): Stabilization control (ESC):
offroad. Warning! Reduced off. Warning!
Restricted
on
stability stability
143
Driving safety
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on th e driv
er's side B-pillar. Exceeding permissible
weight standards can cause the vehicle to
slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driving
<=) page 252.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous 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 drive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the sunroof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the sunroof* and the rear lid are se
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk of
injury when the vehicle is not being used .
- After closing the rear lid , always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
258
-Never leave your vehicle unattended espe
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.
@ Note
If you are transporting large items with the
backrest folded down*, you should remove
the Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE)* and its
holder* to avoid damage.
© Tips
-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 label 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 341 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartmen t is equipped with four
t ie-downs to secure luggage and o ther i tems.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
Qpage 257, L oading 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 ene rgy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Vehicle speed is the mos t significant fac tor . ..,.
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30 mph (48 km/ h), the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
(4. 5 k g) object are abo ut 20 times the no rma l
weight of the item. Th is means that the weight
of t he item would suddenly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imagi ne the injuries
that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing free ly throug h
the passenge r compart men t could ca use in a col
lision like this.
_& WARNING
-
W eak , da maged or improper stra ps us ed to
s e cu re i te m s to t ie-downs can fail during hard
brak in g or i n a co llision and cau se seriou s per
sonal injury .
- Alw ays use su it a ble mounting str aps and
prope rly secure item s to the tie-downs in
t h e lu gg age compartment t o help prevent
items from s hifting or f lying fo rwa rd as dan
gerous missiles.
- When th e rea r seat backrest is folde d down,
always use su itab le mounting stra ps an d
prope rly secure items t o th e tie -d owns in
t he l ugg age compartmen t to he lp pre ven t
it em s from flyi ng fo rw ar d as dang erou s
mi ssiles into t he pass eng er com partment .
- N ev er attac h a chi ld saf ety se at t ether s trap
t o a tie-do wn.
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-
Driving safety
tion, and if it find s 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 .
To contact the NHTSA, you may either call:
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or
1-800-424-9393
or you may write to: NHTSA
U .S. Department of Transporta
tion
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E .
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
You can al so obtain other infor
mation about motor vehicle safe
ty from :
http: / /www.safercar.gov
Applicable to Canada
If you live in Canada and you be
lieve that your vehicle has a de-
fect that could cause a crash, in
jury or death, you should immedi ately inform Transport Canada, Defect Investigations and Recalls . ..,.
259
Safe ty belts
passenge rs, a lways correct ly wear safety
belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that comes on could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 223 Unbe lted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 22 4 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical princip les are simple . Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy which var
ies with vehicle speed and body we ight . Engi
neers call this energy "kinet ic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Veh icle speed is the most signific ant fac tor .
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of th is veh icle are not us
i n g safety bel ts
¢fig. 223, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the ve hicle was moving j ust
262
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall ¢
fig. 224.
The same principles apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l collision . Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) o r more . At g reater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to their vehicle . In a frontal collision
they will also keep mov ing forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
i n a ll kinds of accide nts and co llisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 225 A drive r not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
F ig . 22 6 A rear passe nger not wea ring a safety belt w ill fly
forwa rd and strike the driver
Unbelted occ upants a re not ab le to res ist the tre-
mendous forces of impac t by holdi ng tight o r
llll-
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¢page 291.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equ ipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll chil
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
ways 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 place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
safety seat . It can be a very dange rous place for
a n in fant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le at the time your veh icle was man ufactu red.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
p loyment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light in the
headliner tells you when the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side has been turned off by
the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u turn on the ignition, the
PAS SEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
the front passenger seat is not occupied
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
pacitive passenger detection system for the
front passenger seat equals the comb ined ca
pacitance of an infant up to about one year of
age and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve hi
cle was certified. Fo r a listing of the child re
straints that were used to ce rtify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 293.
Airbag syste m
- PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
there is a small chi ld or child restraint on the
front passenger seat
- PASSENGER AIR BAG ON@ will come on if the
front passenger seat is occupied by an adu lt as
registered by the capacitive passenger detec
tion system ¢
page 281, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
The PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical
1 year-old in
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restra ints listed in Federal Motor Ve
hicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 with wh ich
t h e Advanced Airbag System in you r vehicle was
ce rtified.
If the total electr ical capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is mo re than that of a
typ ica l 1 yea r-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sm all adul t, the front airbag on the passen
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
not come on, the fro nt airbag on the passenge r
side has not been t urned off by the e lectronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor
ed in its memory.
For example , th e ai rb ag ma y deplo y if:
- a small c hild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whethe r the child is in one of t he
child sa fe ty seats listed¢
page 293), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenge r a irbag is tu rned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on in
t h e headliner a nd stays o n.
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requ ires t he a irbag to meet the " low
r isk" deployment cr ite ria to redu ce the r isk of in
j u ry throug h interact ion w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in t hose crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in ..,.
271
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seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways 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 properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uir es yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rt ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire
ments fo r 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the d rive r
side . The low r is k dep loymen t cr iteria are intend
ed to he lp reduce t he ris k of injury through inter
action with the front airbag that can occ ur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to t urn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
<=:>
page 293, 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
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the c hild
r estra in ts tha t were used to certify your ve hi
cl e's comp lian ce wi th t he US S afety St andard
<=:>
page 293,
- When a person is de te cte d on the fron t passen
ger sea t th at has an electr ica l capaci tance t hat
is mo re t han t he tota l electrical capac itance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rea r-facing or forward-facing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your ve hicle was certified), the front
Airbag syste m
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ligh t comes on
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detec ts a t otal
electrica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned
off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned
off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses a n impact
t h at meets the cond it ions stored in its memory .
If the total electr ica l capacitance reg istered on
the front passenger seat is more t han that of a
typ ical 1 year-old , but less than the weight of a
small ad ult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light does not come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if :
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of t he
child safety seats listed<=:>
page 293),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r ai rbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light in the head
liner w ill come on and stay on.
If the front passenge r airbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requi res t he airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp reduce the r is k
of i njury through interaction with the a irbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic co ntro l unit .
<=:>page 281
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for ch ildre n is properly restra ined o n the back
seat . Please be s ure to read the impo rtant in for
mation in the sect ions that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WAR NIN GS.
_&. WARNING
To redu ce th e r is k of injury when an air bag in -
fl ates, always wea r sa fe ty be lts properly . ...,
275
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ed by your Audi dealer immediately.
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
should NOT come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adu lt is sitting in a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat. If the
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light comes on and stays on while
driving, under these circumstances, make sure
that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
ho ld ing on to the passenger assist handle
above t he front passenger door o r supporting
the ir we ight on the arm rest,
- the safety be lt is be ing properly wo rn and that
the re is not a lot of slack i n the safe ty belt web
bing,
- the re are no aftermar ket seat covers or cush
ions or other things (s uch as blankets) on the
front passenge r seat tha t migh t cau se the ca
pacit ive passenger detection system to miscal
cu late electrical capacitance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need A irbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
blinks for about 5 seconds to catch the driv
er's attention. If this happens, always stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
steps described above.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not go
off when an adult who is not
very sma ll is sitting on the front passenger
Airbag syste m
seat a fter tak ing the steps described above,
make sure the adu lt is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi
tions. Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer before trans
port ing anyone on the front passenge r seat.
A WARNING
-
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental prote ct ion
i n a front al cra sh.
- I f the ai rbag ind icator light
~page 25
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspe cted immedia tely 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.
A WARNING
,= -
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
chi ld restraint, or in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ially 12 years and
younge r, always ride on the back sea t prop
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize.
- Always install fo rwa rd or rea r-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat - even with an
Advan ced Airb ag Sys tem.
- I f you must install a rea rwa rd-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
c a use of ex cep tional cir cums tan ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in
spected by your authorized Aud i dea ler.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward- facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft ad justmen t range, as far away
from the a irbag as poss ible. The back res t
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
283
Airb ag syste m
by being pushed into you as the airbag in
flates.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupho lders, telephone
brackets, or even large, bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passen
gers to travel in this position.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks* only for
lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere w ith side airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side a irbag mod ule m ust always
be repa ired immed iate ly by an authorized
Audi dealer .
-If children are seated imp roperly, their risk
of injury increases in the case of an acc ident
¢ page 291, Child safety.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag system in any way.
- In a side collision, side a irbags w il l not func
t ion properly if sensors cannot correct ly
measure increasing air pressure ins ide the
doors when air escapes through larger, un
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive with inter ior door tr im panels
removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re
moved from the inside door panel and the
open ings they leave have not been proper
ly closed.
288
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers or
other equipment is installed in the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dea ler or qualified work
shop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbags can provide supplemen
tal protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 239 S id e curt ain airbags, driver's side: locatio n
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the inter ior
above the front and rear side win
dows
¢ fig. 239.
The side curtain airbags contain features that
provide ejection mitigation to help prevent vehi
cle occupants or parts of their bodies from being
completely or part ially ejected from the vehicle
i nterior i n certa in side impacts and veh icle roll
overs .
The side curtain airbag system supplements the
safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso in a
s ide collision . The side curtain airbag inflates in
s ide impacts and on ly when the veh icle accelera
tion registered by the control unit is high enough. If this rate is be low the reference va lue
programmed into the contro l unit, the side cur
tain airbag will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the ..,.