suspension AUDI A3 2011 Owner´s Manual

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Switching the system off
Temporary deactivation
- Press the brake pedal, or
- Keep the clutch pedal pressed down
longer, or
Press the lever into position
0 (not clicked into place)
=:> page 110, fig. 110, or
- Drive for longer than 5 minutes at more than 5 mph
(10 km/h) above the stored speed.
Switching off completely
- Press lever into position@ (clicked into place), or
- Switch the ignition off.
The system retains the saved speed if you deac tivate the cruise
control temporarily. To resume the saved speed, release the brake or
clutch pedal and pull the lever to position
(D.
Switching the ignition off erases the saved speed.
& WARNING
You should only return to the saved speed if it is not too fast for
the current traffic conditions -risk of an accident! •
Appli es to veh icles : wi th m agne tic rid e
Audi magnetic ride
Damping can be adjusted to the driver's preference and it
adapts automatically to the current driving situation .
l !. a J
Fig. 112 Center
console: Switch for
Audi magnetic ride
-Press the switch=:> fig . 112 to turn sport setting on or off .
Audi magnet ic r ide is an electronically controlled damping system .
Thi s chassis system assists the drive r by adapting to the particular
sit uat ion through impercept ible control processes. The
damping
prov ides individual modulation of damping forces . For example, with
damping characteristics set to provide greater comfort , damping is
set somewhat harder for a brief period only as required, when
rounding a curve and when braking.
Standard setting
Select the standard setting if you prefer a suspension setting empha­
si zi ng comfort.
Sport setting
Select the spor t set ting if you pre fer a spor ty suspension set ting. The
LED in the switch comes on to ind icate sport setting. ..,.

........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nued)
• Always make sure that the side a irbag can inflate without
interference :
- Never in stall seat covers or replacement uphol stery over the
front seatbacks that have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use addit ional se at cushions that cover the areas
where the side ai rbags inflate.
- Damage to the or iginal seat covers or to the seam in the area
of the side airbag module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an author ized Audi dealer.
• The airbag system can be activated only on ce. After an airbag
has inflated, it must be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technician who has the techni cal information, t raining
and special equipment necessary.
• The airbag sy stem can be deploy ed only once. After an airbag
has been dep loyed , it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved e specially for your Audi model
version. Replacement of complete airbag systems or a irbag
components must be performed by qualified workshops onl y.
Make sure that any airbag service action is entered in your Audi
Warranty
& Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG REPLACEMENT
RECORD .a
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the ve hicle's suspension system can change the way that
t he A dvan ced Airbag Sys tem pe rfo rms in a crash . For examp le, using
tire -rim combinations not approved by Audi, lower ing t he veh icle,
c hang ing the st iffness o f th e suspens ion, including the sp rings,
suspension str uts , shoc k absorbers etc . ca n change the forces tha t
are meas ured by the a irbag sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes ca n, for examp le, increase the force levels measured by the senso
rs and make the airbag system deploy in
c ra shes in w hich i t wo uld not deploy if the ch an g es h ad not b een
made . Other ki nds of changes may reduce the force levels meas ured
by the sensors an d prevent the airbag from dep loying when it should .
Th e sensors in t he safety bel t buckle for the drive r and fro nt
passenger seat tell the e lectronic control mo dule if the sa fety belt is
la tch ed o r not. If the safety belt is being u sed, t he fron t airbag w ill
dep loy at a sl ightly h igher rate of vehicle deceleration than if the
s afety belt is not be ing use d. T herefo re, in a pa rticular collis io n, it is
possible that an a irbag w ill not deploy at a seati ng position where the
sa fety belt is being used but w ill inflate at the posit ion where the
safety belt is not be ing used . It is importa nt that nothi ng inte rfere
w ith the safety belt buck les so that t he sensors can send the co rrect
info rmation abou t safety b elt use to t he electron ic co ntro l unit .
& WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's suspension including use of unapproved
tire-rim combinations can change Advanced Airbag performance and increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash .
• Never install suspension components that do not have the
same performance characteristics as the components originally
installed on your vehicle.
• Never use tire-rim combinations that have not been approved
by Audi.
& WARNING
Item s stored between the safety belt buckle and the center
console can cause the sensors in the buckle to send the wrong
information to the electroni c control module and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from work ing properly.
• Always make sure that nothing can interfere with the safety
belt buckles and that they are not obstructed . ..,

Driving and environment
New brake pads have to be "burnished in" before they have optimal
grab ~& .
Dur ing the break-in period, you should avoid putting severe loads on
the bra kes. Severe loads incl ude, for example, sudden hard braking,
in part icu lar at very high speeds or, for examp le, on mountain passes .
& WARNING
Until they develop th e ma ximum "bite " for b est stopp ing pow er,
the surfaces on new brake pads require some "breaking-in" during
the in itial 100 to 150 mile s (150 to 200 kilometers ) of normal
city dr iving. You can compensate for this by p ress ing the brake
pedal more firml y. Thi s applies whenever n ew pads are in stalled .•
Driving through water on roads
---
N ote the following to avoid vehicle damage when driving through
water, fo r example on flooded roads:
• Th e wate r mus t not be any higher th an the bottom of the ve hicl e
body.
• Do not dr ive faster t han wal king speed.
& WARNING
After driving through water, mud , slush, etc ., th e brak es may be
slow to take effect because of wet brake rotors and pads . Dry the
brakes first by braking carefully to restore the full braking effect .
0 Note
Vehicle components such as the engine, transmission, suspension or
electrical system can be severely damaged by driving thro ugh water.
W Tips
• Check t he dept h of the wa ter before dr iv in g thro ugh it.
• Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse or sw itch the engine off
when driving through wate r.
• Keep in m ind t hat on coming vehicles may cre ate w aves t hat raise
the water level and make it too deep for your vehicle to drive thro ugh
safe ly.
• Avoid dr iv in g through sa lt water because it can cause corros ion. •
Catalytic converter
It is very important that y our emiss ion con trol system
(ca talyti c converte r) is func tioning pr operly to ensure
that your vehicle is running i n an environm entally sou nd
manner.
- Always use lead-fre e gasoline => page 219, "Fu el supply".
- Never run the ta nk down a ll the way to empty .
- Never p ut too much mo tor o il in your engine=>
pag e 232,
"Adding engine oil~" -
- Neve r try to pu sh- or tow-start you r vehicle.
T he catalytic converter is an efficient "clean- up" device b uilt into the
exhaust system of the veh icle. The cata lytic converter b urns many of
t he poll uta nts in the e xhaust g as before they are released in to the
atmosphe re.
Th e ex clusive use o f unleaded fuel is c ritic ally impor tant for the life of
the cata lytic converte r and proper f unction ing of the engi ne. ..,

lffll __ T_ i_ r _e _s_ a_n_ d_ w_ h_ e_e_ l_ s _______________________________________________ _
Tire service Life
The servi ce life of tires depends on a lot of different
things including proper installation and balancing,
correct tir e pressure and driving style.
(r
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Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
Fig. 173 Tire tread:
t rea d w ear in di cato rs
(TW I)
Fig . 174 Rotati ng
tires f or m ore e ven
w ea r
The original t ires o n your veh icle have 1/16 inch ( 1.6 mm) h igh "wear
ind icators"~ fig. 173 running across the tread . Depending on the
ma ke, there w ill be six to eight of them even Ly placed around the ti re.
Marks on the t ire sidewall (for examp le "TWI " or other symbols) indi­
cate the positions of the tread wea r indicators . Worn t ires must be
replaced. Differe nt figu res may apply in other countries ~ & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wea r and can cause sudden
tire blow-o ut. Fo r th is reason, tire pressu re must be checked at least
once a month~
page 252.
Driv ing style
Driving fast aro und curves, heavy accele ration and hard b raking
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires o n your ve hicle to have the same se rvice life, we
recommend that the fron t and rear t ires are rot ated according to the
tire manufact urer's suggested tire rotat ion intervals . Please
remember the fo llow ing :
• Tir e ro tat ion inte rvals may d iffe r from the vehicle serv ice intervals
out lined in your Warranty
& Maintenance Booklet.
• The longer one tire is used in one locat ion on the vehicle, the more
it wears at certain points; therefore, we recommend that you follow
the t ire manufacture r's sugges ted tire rotation interva ls .
• Vehicles with front-whee l drive experience more tread wea r on the
front wheels compa red to a ll-wheel dr ive (quattro ®).
• Please ro ta te tires as shown~
page 256, fig. 174.
• Extra care must be taken when rotating direction -specific t ires
~ page 279 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, var ious si tuatio ns
dur ing everyday driving can cause them to become unbalanced,
resu lting in v ibr ations yo u can us ua lly fee l throug h the stee rin g
w heel.
Unbalanced whee ls mus t be rebalanced to avoid excessive wea r on
steeri ng, suspension and tires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
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