2019 AUDI A4 traction control

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Driving

Drivermessages
Appliesto:allroad
Thereisonlyonerightwaytodriveindifficult
conditions:slowlyandwithcaution!
Observethefollowingwhendrivingonunpaved
roads:
>Onlydriveinterrainthatissuitablefortheve-
hicleandyourdrivingability.Nevertakeanyun-
necessaryrisks!
>Driveslowlyandcarefully.
>Payattentiontothegroundclearanceofyour
vehicle.
>Activatetheoffroadmodeasneeded
>page139.
>»Usethehilldescentassistwhendrivingdown
steephills>page140.
Difficultterrain
Whendrivinginunfamiliarareasandoffroad,
driveslowlyandkeeponthewatchforunexpect-
edobstacles(such aspotholes,rocks,tree
stumps,etc.).
Topreventthevehiclefrombottomingoutandto
reducetheriskofunderbodydamage,youshould
driveacrossunevengroundononlyonesideof
thevehiclesothatonlytwoofyourwheelscross
theunevenarea,insteadofdrivingacrossthe
centeroftheunevenareawithallfourwheels.
Drivequicklythroughsandyor marshyoff-road
sectionsand donotstop,ifatallpossible.
Drivingthroughwater
Alsoreadtheinformationfoundin>page76.
Automatictransmission
Introduction
Appliesto:vehicleswithautomatictransmission
Theautomatictransmissioniscontrolledelec-
tronically.Thetransmissionshiftsupordownau-
tomaticallydependingonwhichdriveprogramis
selected.
Whenamoderatedrivingstyleisused,the
transmissionselectsthemosteconomicaldriving
mode.ThetransmissionupshiftsatalowerRPM

anddownshiftsatahigherRPMtoimprovefuel
efficiency.
Thetransmissionswitchestoasportymodeafter
akick-downor whenthedriverusesasportydriv-
ingstylecharacterizedbyquickacceleratorpedal
movements,heavyacceleration,frequent
changesinspeed,andtravelingatthemaximum
speed.
Ifdesired,thedrivercanalsoselectthegears
manually(tiptronicmode)>page88.
Stronictransmission
TheStronicisadual-clutchtransmission.Power
istransferredusingtwoclutchesthatworkinde-
pendentlyfromoneanother.Theyreplacethe
torqueconverterusedinconventionalautomatic
transmissionsandallowthevehicletoaccelerate
withoutanoticeableinterruptionintraction.
tiptronictransmission
Inthetiptronictransmission,poweristransfer-
redbyatorqueconverter.
Selectingaselectorleverposition
Appliesto:vehicleswithautomatictransmission
©xSg
=
=oa

Fig.90Centerconsole:selectorlever
Thecurrentselectorleverpositionisshownnext
totheselectorlever>fig.90.Thecurrentselec-
torleverpositionisalsoshownintheinstrument
clusterdisplay.
>Youmayneedtoreleasetheselectorleverlock
dependingonwhichselectorleverpositionis
selectedandwhichoneyouwouldliketoselect.
>Todothis,pressthereleasebutton@onthe
selectorlever>fig.90.
8s
>

IntelligentTechnology

Appliesto:allroad










Youshouldonlyswitchsportmode/offroad
modeonorswitchESC/ASRoffifyourdriving
abilitiesandroadconditionspermit.
—Thestabilizationfunctionislimitedwhen
sportmode/offroadmodeisswitchedon.
Thedrivingwheelscouldspinandthevehi-
clecouldswerve,especiallyonslickorslip-
peryroadsurfaces.
—Thereisnovehiclestabilizationwhen
ESC/ASRareswitchedoff.
Hilldescentassist
Appliesto:allroad

Hilldescentassistmakesitpossibletodrive
downahillataconstantspeed.
a
Q
gz
=& a

Fig.146Centerconsole:hilldescentassistbutton

>Toswitchhilldescentassiston,presstheL@
button.TheLEDinthebuttonwillturnon.
>»Pressthebuttonagaintoswitchitoff.The LED
inthe buttonturnsoff.

140
OffroadmodeonESC/ASRoffOffroadmodeoffor
ESC/ASRon
BehaviorThe ESC andASRstabiliza-|Thestabilizationfunctionis|Thefullstabilizationfunc-
tionfunctionsarelimitednotavailable>A\.ESCand__|tionoftheESCandASRis
DSA.ASRareswitchedoff.available again.
Operating|Pressthe|#°*]buttonbriefly.|Pressandholdthe||but-|Pressthe|#°"|buttonagain.
tonlongerthanthreesec-
onds.
IndicatorEgiturnson.ElandSaturnon.Eaiturnsoffor[gjand
lightsEaturnoff.
Messages|Stabilizationcontrol(ESC):|Stabilizationcontrol(ESC):|Stabilizationcontrol(ESC):
offroad.Warning!Reduced|off.Warning!Restrictedon
stability stability
AWARNINGHilldescentassistbrakesallfourwheelsauto-
maticallyinordertolimitspeedwhendrivingei-
therforwardorreverseonhillswithagradefrom
approximately6to60%.Thewheelswillnotlock
upbecausetheABSremainsactivated.Invehi-
cleswithamanualtransmission,thehillholdas-
sistadjuststothespecifiedspeedso thattheen-
gineisnot brakedbelowitsidlespeed.
Whenhilldescentassistison,thespeedyourve-
hiclewastravelingwhenitentered thehillis
maintained.Itisonlypossible toswitchonthe
assistwhendrivingslowerthan37mph(60
km/h).Theassistbeginsshortlyafteryoustart
drivingandcontinuesuptoapproximately
19mph(30km/h).Invehicleswithamanual
transmission,regulationbelowapproximately6
mph(9km/h)isonlypossibleiftheclutchpedal
ispressedorifthegearshiftisintheneutralposi-
tion.Iftheclutchpedalisreleasedwhenagearis
engagedbelowapproximately6mph(9km/h),
the regulatedspeedwillincrease.Thedrivercan
increaseordecreasethevehiclespeedwithin
theselimitsbypressingtheacceleratororbrake
pedal.
However,theremustbeenoughtraction.Hillde-
scentassistcannotfunctionasexpected,iffor
examplethehillisicyorifthesurfaceisloose
SA.
Activeregulationofaspeeduptoapproximately
19mph(30km/h)issignaledintheinstrument
clusterby anindicatorlightZBTheindicator
lightturnsoninthereadymode.

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IntelligentTechnology

—Foradditionalinformationondynamic
steering,see>page126.
Allwheeldrive(quattro)
Appliesto:vehicleswithallwheeldrive
Theall-wheeldrivesystemdistributesthedriving
powervariablytothefrontandrear axle toim-
provethedrivingcharacteristics.Itworkstogeth-
erwithselectivewheeltorquecontrol,whichcan
activatewhendrivingthroughcurves
=>page138.
Appliesto:vehicleswithquattroultra:Ifthedriv-
ingsituationdoesnotrequireallwheeldrive,
thentherearsectionofthedrivetrainwilldecou-
pletosavefuel.Thesystemconstantlydeter-
minesandanticipatesifallwheeldriveisneeded.
Thisallowsthereardrivetraintorecoupleshortly
beforeitisneeded.
Theallwheeldriveconceptisdesignedforhigh
enginepower.Yourvehicleisexceptionallypow-
erfulandhasexcellentdrivingcharacteristics
bothundernormaldrivingconditionsandon
snowandice.Alwaysreadandfollowsafetypre-
cautions>A\.

ZAWARNING
—Eveninvehicleswithallwheeldrive,you
shouldadaptyourdrivingstyletothecur-
rentroadandtrafficconditionstoreduce
theriskofanaccident.
— Thebrakingabilityofyourvehicleislimited
tothetractionofthewheels.Inthisway,it
isnotdifferentfromatwowheeldrivevehi-
cle.Donotdrivetoofastbecausethisin-
creasestheriskofanaccident.
—Notethatonwetstreets,thefrontwheels
can“hydroplane’”ifdrivingatspeedsthat
aretoohigh.Unlikefrontwheeldrivevehi-
cles,theengineRPMdoesnotincreasesud-
denlywhenthevehiclebeginshydroplaning.
Adaptyourspeedtotheroadconditionsto
reducetheriskofanaccident.

Sportdifferential
Appliesto:vehicleswithsportdifferential
Thesportdifferentialdistributesthedrivepower
totherearaxlebasedonthesituation.Thegoal
isahighlevelofagilityandabilitytoaccelerate
oncurves.Thevehicleisveryresponsivetosteer-
ing.ThesettingsdependontheselectedAudi
driveselect*mode.
Energymanagement
Yourvehicleisequippedwithanintelligentener-
gymanagementsystemfordistributingelectrici-
ty.Thissignificantlyimprovesthestartingability
andincreasesthevehiclebatterylife.
@)Tips
—Ifyoudriveshortdistancesfrequently,the
vehiclebatterymaynotchargeenough
whiledriving.Asaresult,conveniencefunc-
tionsforelectricalequipmentmaybetem-
porarilyunavailable.
—Thevehiclebatterywillgraduallydrainif
the
vehicleisnotdrivenforlongperiodsof
time,orifelectricalequipmentisused
whentheengineisnotrunning.Toensure
thatthevehiclecanstillbestarted,the
electricalequipmentwillbelimitedor
switchedoff.
Noticeaboutdata
recordedbytheEvent
DataRecorderand
vehiclecontrolmodules
EventDataRecorder
Thisvehicleisequippedwithan Event DataRe-
corder(EDR).ThemainpurposeofanEDRisto
record,incertaincrashornearcrash-likesitua-
tions,suchasanairbagdeploymentorhittinga
roadobstacle,datathatwillassistinunderstand-
inghowavehicle'ssystemsperformed.TheEDR
isdesignedto recorddatarelatedtovehicledy-
namics andsafetysystemsforashortperiodof
time,typically30secondsorless.TheEDRinthis
vehicleisdesignedtorecordsuchdataas:>
143

Wheels

treadpattern),summertiresprovidelesstraction
oniceandsnow.
>Usewintertiresonallfourwheels.
>Onlyusewintertiresthatareapprovedforyour
vehicle.
>Pleasenotethatthemaximumpermitted
speedmaybe lowerwithwintertires>A\in
Generalinformationonpage322.Anauthor-
izedAudidealerorauthorizedAudiServiceFa-
cilitycan informyouaboutthemaximumper-
mittedspeedforyourtires.
>Checkthetirepressureafterinstallingwheels
=>page332.
Theeffectivenessofwintertiresisreducedgreat-
lywhenthetreadisworndowntoadepthof
0.16in(4mm).Thecharacteristicsofwintertires
alsodecreasegreatlyasthetireages,regardless
oftheremainingtread.
@Forthesakeoftheenvironment
Reinstallsummertiresattheappropriate
time,becausetheyprovidebetterhandling
whenroadsarefreeofsnowandice.Summer
tirescauselessroadnoise,tirewear,andfuel
consumption.
@Tips
Youcanalsouseallseasontiresinsteadof
wintertires.Pleasenotethatinsomecoun-
trieswherewintertiresare required,onlywin-
tertireswiththe-4\symbolmaybepermit-
ted.
Snowchainsimprovebothdrivingandbrakingin
winterroadconditions.
>Onlyinstallsnowchainsonthefrontwheels.
>Checkandcorrecttheseatingofthesnow
chainsafterdrivingafewfeet,ifnecessary.Fol-
lowtheinstructionsfromthemanufacturer.
>Notethemaximumspeedof30mph
(50 km/h).Observethelocalregulations.
Useofsnowchainsisonlypermittedwithcertain
rim/tirecombinationsduetotechnicalreasons.
CheckwithanauthorizedAudidealerorauthor-
338
izedAudiServiceFacilitytoseeifyoumayuse
snowchains.
Usefine-meshsnowchains.Theymustnotadd
morethan 0.53in(13.5mm)inheight,including
thechainlock.
Youmustremovethesnowchainsonroadswith-
outsnow.Otherwise,youcouldimpairdriving
abilityanddamagethetires.

Z\WARNING
Usingincorrectsnowchainsorinstallingsnow
chainsincorrectlycanresultinlossofvehicle
control,whichincreasestheriskofanacci-
dent.
C)Note
Snowchainscandamagetherimsandwheel
covers*ifthechainscomeintodirectcontact
withthem.Removethewheelcovers*first.
Usecoatedsnowchains.
G)Tips
Whenusingsnowchains,itmaybeadvisable
tolimittheESC>page139.
Low-profiletires
Appliesto:vehicleswithlow-profiletires

Comparedtoothertire/rimcombinations,low-
profiletiresofferawidertreadsurfaceanda
largerrimdiameterwithshortertiresidewalls.
Thisresultsinanagiledrivingstyle.However,it
mayreducethelevelofcomfortandincrease
roadnoisewhendrivingonroadsinpoorcondi-
tion.
Low-profiletirescanbecomedamagedmore
quicklythanstandardtireswhendrivingover
largebumps,potholes,manholecovers,and
curbs.Therefore,itisparticularlyimportantto
maintainthecorrecttirepressure>page332.
Toreducetheriskofdamagetothetiresand
rims, driveverycarefullyonpoorroads.
Checkyourwheelsregularlyevery2,000mi
(3,000km)fordamage.Forexample,checkfor
bulges/cracksonthetiresordeformations/cracks
ontherims.

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Wheels

Afteraheavyimpactordamage,havethetires
andrimsinspectedorreplacedimmediatelyby
anauthorizedAudidealerorauthorizedAudi
ServiceFacility.
Low-profiletirescanwearoutfasterthanstand-
ardtires.
Uniformtirequalitygrading
—Treadwear
—TractionAAABC
—TemperatureABC
Qualitygradescanbefoundwhereapplicableon
thetiresidewallbetweentreadshoulderand
maximumsectionwidth>page323,fig.262.
Forexample:Treadwear200,TractionAA,Tem-
peratureA.
AllpassengercartiresmustconformtoFederal
SafetyRequirementsinadditiontothesegrades.
Treadwear
Thetreadweargradeisacomparativerating
basedonthewearrateofthetirewhentested
undercontrolledconditionsonaspecifiedgov-
ernmenttestcourse.
Forexample,a tiregraded150wouldwearone
andonehalf(11/2)timesaswellonthegovern-
mentcourseasa tiregraded100.
Therelativeperformanceoftiresdependsupon
theactualconditionsoftheiruse,however,and
maydepartsignificantlyfromthenormdueto
variationsindrivinghabits,servicepracticesand
differencesinroadcharacteristicsandclimate.
Traction
Thetractiongrades,fromhighestto lowest, are
AA,A,BandC.Thosegradesrepresentthetire's
abilitytostoponwetpavementasmeasuredun-
dercontrolledconditionsonspecifiedgovern-
menttestsurfacesofasphaltandconcrete.Atire
markedCmayhavepoortractionperformance
SA.
Temperature
ThetemperaturegradesareA(thehighest),B,
andC,representingthetire'sresistancetothe
generationofheatanditsabilitytodissipate
heatwhentestedundercontrolledconditionson
aspecifiedindoorlaboratorytestwheel.
Sustainedhightemperaturecancausethemate-
rialofthetiretodegenerateandreducetirelife,
andexcessivetemperaturecanleadtosudden
tirefailure>A\.
ThegradeCcorrespondstoalevelofperform-
ancewhichallpassengercartiresmustmeetun-
der theFederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard
No.109.GradesBandArepresenthigher levels
ofperformanceonthelaboratorytestwheelthan
theminimumrequiredbylaw.

Z\WARNING
Thetractiongradeassignedtothistireis
basedonstraight-aheadbrakingtraction
tests,anddoesnotincludeacceleration,cor-
nering,hydroplaningorpeaktractioncharac-
teristics.

Z\WARNING
Thetemperaturegradeforthistireisestab-
lishedforatirethatisproperlyinflatedand
notoverloaded.Excessivespeed,underinfla-
tion,orexcessiveloading,eitherseparatelyor
incombination,can cause heatbuildupand
possibletirefailure.

Z\WARNING
Temperaturegradesapplytotiresthatare
properlyinflatedandnotoverorunderinflat-
ed.

Tirepressuremonitoring
system
(1)Generalnotes
Eachtire,includingthespare(ifprovided),
should becheckedmonthlywhencoldandinflat-
edtotheinflationpressurerecommendedbythe
vehiclemanufactureronthevehicleplacardor
tireinflationpressurelabel.(Ifyourvehiclehas
tiresofadifferentsizethanthesizeindicatedon>
339