light AUDI A7 2012 Owners Manual

~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm)
<=> page 174.
~ If the c hild safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether a nchors
<=> page 180.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restra int if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) .
Todd lers and c hildren who are older than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be properly restra ined in a ch ild safety
seat ce rtified fo r the ir size and weight
<=> fig. 152 and <=>fig . 153.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fro nt seat a potentially dangerous place for a
ch ild to r ide . T he fro nt seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forwa rd -fac ing child safe­
ty seat. It is a very dangero us place for an in ­
fant or a larger child in a rearward -fac ing seat .
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat!
If a child s afety sea t is used o n the rear ben ch ,
espec ia lly w ith LA TCH universal anchorages,
the unused safety belts must be secured so
that the child in the chi ld restraint cannot
reach them.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
w rong chi ld safety seat or improper ly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
c o llision or othe r eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly injured or eve n killed when an a ir­
b ag in flates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat w ill be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front ai rbag in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
Child Sa fet y 1 71
-The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the back rest, center
arm res t, door or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
c e s and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n and stay on, im­
medi ately ins ta ll t he rear-fa cing ch ild
safety sea t in a re ar se ating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler.
- Always rea d an d heed al l WAR NIN GS
wheneve r using a child restraine d in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 128, Safety
belts, ¢ page 137, Airbag system
and
¢ page 163, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circ umstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat, the child's safe­
ty and we ll- being req uire that the follow­
ing spec ial precautions be ta ken:
- Ma ke sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed a nd c ert ified by its man u­
facturer fo r use on a fro nt seat wi th a
passe nger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
st ructions p rov ided with the ch ild safety
se at o r infa nt c arr ier .
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmos t position of the p assen­
ger seat's fo re and aft adjustment range,
an d as far away from the airbag as possi ­
ble before installing the ch ild restraint.
- Always ma ke s ure that nothing prevents
the front passenger 's seat from being
moved to the rea rmost position in its
fore and aft ad justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright pos ition. •
•
-

172 Child Safety
-Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con­ nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga­
rette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice or power inverter). These may influ­
ence the electrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection
system and can also fly around in an acci­
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
8_ WARNING
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower universal anchorages or
with the standard safety belt on the rear
seat may play with unused rear seat safety
belts and become entangled resulting in
serious personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly routing them
-
around the head restraint for the seating
position where the child restraint is in­
stalled.
- Never activate the switchable locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts around the head restraints.
-A child restrained in the child safety seat on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockable safe­
ty belts.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs . (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 154 Rea r seat : child p roperly rest rained in a boos ­
te r se at
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg) . Booster seats raise these chil­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. Always position the shoulder portion of the
safety belt midway over the child's shoulder .
If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly .

174 Child Saf ety
the head restraint again immediately
once the child seat is removed. Dr iving
without head restraints or with head re­
straints that are not properly adjusted
increases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck
injury dramat ica lly .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
-Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
<=> page 149, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=> page 128, Safety
belts, <=> page 137, Airbag system
and
<=> page 163, Important things to know.
_&, WARNING
A child in a booster seat installed with the
standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled resulting in serious per­
sonal injury and even death. -
Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly rout ing them
around the head restraint for the seat ing
position where the child restraint is in­
stalled.
- Never activate the switchable lock ing re ­
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertib le locking ret ractor for child restraints.
T he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving . A chi ld safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, should always r ide in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for the ir age and size .
_&, WARNING
Improperly installed ch ild safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is lo cked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locked safety belt re -
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat ..,.

in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a col lision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to which the center rear safety
belt" is attached is secure ly latched
whenever the rear center safety belt is
being used to secure a ch ild restra int.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the ch ild and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­ rest and will strike parts of the veh icle
in ter ior. The child c an be serio usly in­
jured or killed .
- Never install rea r-facing ch ild safety
sea ts or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A ch ild will be seriously in ­
jured and can be k illed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats or in­
fant carr iers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­ ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the ch ild.
- It is safer to install a forward-fac ing
child safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
r::;, page 163 . Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
r::;, page 139, Child restraints on the fron t
seat -some important things to know.
WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
Child Sa fet y 175
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forwa rd or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks descr ibed
<::;, page 149, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not s tay on
whenever the ignit ion is swi tched on.
- Imp roper installation of ch ild restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
preven t them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even ki ll the
child.
-Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur­
er's instructions p rov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- After checking to make sure that the child restraint is properly insta lled, make
certa in that the ch ild restraint is correct­
ly recognized by the capac itive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal a irbag status .
A WARNING
Forward-facing child rest raints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacture r fo r use on a front seat
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re­
straint up, against o r very near the in­
s trumen t panel. •
•

176 Child Safety
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re- straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path
¢ A -
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight .
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.,. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re- tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
-

180 Child Safety
and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re­
straint systems
c:> page 163, Child Safe­
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 159 Te the r ancho rs: recess fl aps be hind the rear
sea tback s
The tether anchors for the rear seating posi­
tions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow shelf
c:> fig. 159
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
special anchorage points in the vehicle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve­
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S .
federal regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash . -
Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage .
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 160 T eth er st rap: prop er rou ting and mounting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
stra int manufacturer's instructions.

~ Guide the upper tether strap und er the rear
head restraint ¢
fig. 160 (raise the head re­
stra int if necessary).
~ Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the tethe r anchorage .
~ Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
~ Tighten the tether strap firmly following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions .
Rele asing the tether str ap
~ Loosen the tension following the ch ild re ­
stra int manufacturer 's instructions .
~ Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage.
{[) Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days , th is co uld leave a mar k on the up­
holstery on the seat c ushion and bac krest
in the area whe re the tether st rap was in­
stalled. The upholstery wo uld a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward -facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear-facing child res traint sys­
tems come with a tether . P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to properly insta ll th e tether .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w it h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, or door .
Child Safet y 181
-If you must insta ll a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rear seating position and
h ave the airbag system i nspe cted by yo ur
Aud i dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
The re a re a number of sources of add itiona l
information about child rest raint se lection , in ­
stalla tion and use:
NH TSA advises that the best child safety seat
i s the one that fits your ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle , and that you will use correct ly and
consistently .
T ry before you buy !
U.S Na tional Highway Traffic Safety Admin ­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -327 -4236 (TI Y: 1-800 -424 -9153)
www .nhtsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www .safek ids .org
Safet y BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE ( English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www .carseat .org
T ransport Can ada Info rmation Cent re
Tel.: 1 (800) 333-0371 or call
1 (613) 998-8616 if you are in the Ot tawa
area
www .tc.gc.ca/roadsafety
Audi Custome r CARE
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
•

182 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
Applies to vehicles: with Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help pro­
tect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The functions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking): the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli­
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* : the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap .
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig­
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the deploy­
ment time is adapted in dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli ­
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al­
so calculated . If the system senses an immi­
nent collision the follow ing functions can be
tr iggered:
- Audi braking guard
c::> page 85
- Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli­
hood of a rear-end collision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated. If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered:
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear .
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail­
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
_& WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks . This will increase
the risk of a coll is ion and serious personal
in juries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­ jects. This increases the risk of a colli­
sion.
-Aud i pre sense does not detect people or
an im als or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path
c::> page 79.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray
and reflections from gua rd rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi­
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac­
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au­
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.

184 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), ins talled by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A ltho ugh yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESP detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) o ut of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under contro l by se lectively braking the
whee ls, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle o n the dr ive r's intended cou rse. The in­
dicato r light
G] in the instrument cluste r
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the veh icle.
ESP has l imitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It will not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
F or example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
s lush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle be cause con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot a lways deal as effectively
with difficult driv ing situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departu re is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESP improves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehi cle under con ­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .

186 Intelligent technology
@ Tips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped w ith identi­
ca l tires. Different tire si zes can lead to a
reduct ion in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems described are working.
- If the indicato r light
DJ or m!l:?J (USA
models) ;fil (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction¢
page 18,
¢ page 18.
Switching on and off
ESP turns on automa tic ally when you start
t he engine.
F ig . 16 1 Cen te r con sol e w it h ESP OF F but ton
Switching sport mode on
Press the I~ OF F I button c::> fig . 161 . The ac­
tions taken by the ESP system to stabilize the
ve hicl e are lim ited. In vehicles with front
wheel dr ive, the anti -s lip reg ulation (ASR) is
lim ited . In vehicles with a ll-wheel drive, the
ASR is switched off. The
fl ESP indicator light
turns on and the message
C a ution! Limited
stabil ity ! ¢ A appears in the driver informa­
tion system display.
The fo llowing examples are un usu al situa­
tions wher e it may make sense to switch sport
mode on in order to a llow the whee ls to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle back and forth when it is
stuck
- Driv ing in deep s now or on loose ground
- Driving with s now cha ins
Switching sport mode off
Press the 1.$ O FF I button again. The I indica­
tor light t urns off and the message
Stability
program on appears in the driver information
system display .
A WARNING
-
-Drive whee ls can spin and you can lose
control of the vehicle more easily when
ASR and ESP are in sport mode, especial­
ly when the road is slippe ry .
- Sw itch to sport mode only whe n your
driving skills, traffic and weather condi ­
tions perm it.
@ Tips
- You cannot switch sport mode on when
adaptive cru ise contro l* is working .
-
- If the rear spoi ler system malfunct ions,
sport mode may not switc h on or it may
switch off agai n automatically .
Rear spoiler
The rear spoiler improves vehicle handling
and enhances driver control.
Fig . 162 Center co n so le: Sw it c h for rea r s poile r
The rea r spoi le r deploys and retracts. Spoiler
operation can be se t fo r automat ic or ma nual
operation.
Automatic mode (normal operation)
- Au tomatic deployment : At a speed of about
8 0 mph (130 km/h), the rea r spo ile r deploys
au tomatically.
- Automati c retr act ion: When speed drops be­
low abou t 50 mph (80 km/h), the rear spoil-
er retracts a utomat ica lly. ..,.