wheel AUDI R8 SPYDER 2015 Owner's Manual

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also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in roll­
overs .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbag s wi ll deploy on ly once,
and on ly in cer tain kinds of collisions. Your safety
b e lts a re a lways there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 95.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will in cr ease the risk
o f persona l injury in a coll is ion .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches ( 25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 in ches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipmen t may be
available to help yo u reach the peda ls and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much higher.
- Yo u will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
i=> page 98, Safety belts.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­
properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats properly. If ch ildren are not
properly restrained, they may be severely in­
jured or killed when an airbag inflates .
- Never r ide with the backrest recl ined .
- Always s it as far as possib le from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
-
Airbag syste m
c::> page 87, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­ bag du ring bra king or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become p rojectiles and cause in ju ry when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irb ags th at have deployed i n a crash mus t be
r eplaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
p roved by Aud i and installed by a tr ained
technician who has the necessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know
"' Be sure to read the important information and
head the WARNINGS for important details
about c hildren and Advanced Airbags
c::>page 122.
The airbag on the passenger s ide makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous p lace for a child to
r ide. The front seat is not the safest p lace for a
c hi ld in a forwa rd-fac ing c hild safety seat.
It can
be a ve ry dangero us p lace for an infant or a c hild
in a rearward-facing seat.
T he Adva nced A irbag Sys tem in you r vehicle has
been certified to comply wi th the Requiremen ts
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 as applicable at the time your ve hi-
cle was manufactured. ..,.
103

Airb ag syst em
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants .
Fig. 115 Location of driver airbag : in steering whee l
Fig. 116 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru­
ment panel
Your vehicle is equ ipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in comp liance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicab le at the time your veh i­
cle was manufactured. The safety belts for the
front seats have "pretensioners" that he lp to take
slack out of the belt system. The pretensioners
are also activated by the electronic control unit
for the airbag system.
The front safety belts a lso have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing wheel
hub
¢ fig . 115 and the airbag for the front pas ­
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig. 116. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
106
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children .
,&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental p rotection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety be lts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
prope rly restrained.
,&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ild ren, will rece ive
serious i njur ies and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a sma ll child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that dep loyment un­
der these special condit ions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U .S. Federal Standard if a chi ld that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- For its own safety, a child shou ld always r ide
prope rly rest rained for i ts age a nd si ze.
Advanced front airbag system -
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System
in compliance with United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 asap­
plicable at the time your vehicle was manufac­
tured.

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The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additiona l protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The a irbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is h igh enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is pa rt of the overall occupant re­
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitt ing upright, wearing your safe­
ty belt and weari ng it properly. This is why you
and your passengers m ust always be properly re­
strained, no t just because the law req uires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low risk " requi re­
men ts fo r 3 and 6 yea r-old ch ildren on the pas­
senger side and very small ad ults on the driver
side . The low risk deployment criteria are intend­
ed to he lp reduce the r isk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inf lates.
In addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requ irements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are restra ined o n the front passenger seat in c hild re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
~ page 124, Child restraints and Advan ced Air­
bags.
"S uppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing o r forward-fac ing in fant rest raints listed
in Federa l Moto r Ve hicle Safety Standard
208
with wh ic h t he Advanced Ai rbag System in your
vehicle was cer tified. For a list ing of the ch ild
r es traints that were used to cert ify you r vehi­
cle's compliance with t he US Safety Standard
~ page 124, Airbag
syste m
- weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the
cont ro l unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detecte d on the front passen­
ger seat, weigh ing more than the tota l we ight of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forwa rd-fac ing infant re ­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard
208 with wh ich the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not de­
ploy .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the elect ro nic cont ro l unit detects a total
we ight on the fro nt passenger sea t that requires
the front airbag to be tu rned off . If the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
fron t airbag on t he passenger side h as not bee n
tu rned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
t h e con trol unit senses an impact that meets t he
conditions stored in its memo ry .
If the tot al weight on the fr ont p assenge r seat is
more than that o f a typical 1 year-o ld, b ut less
t h an the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenge r side may deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For example , the airbag ma y deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
yea r-old ch ild is on the front passenge r seat ( re­
ga rdless o f whether the chi ld is in one of the
child sa fe ty seats listed~
page 124),
-a child who has outgrown ch ild res traint s is on
t he fron t passenger seat.
If th e front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
t h e instr ume nt pane l w ill come on and s tay on.
The front airbag o n the passenge r side may
not
deploy ( the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill umi nate and s tay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not s itting upright with
their back aga inst a non-reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of th e
seat is on t he front passenger sea t.
IJl,
107

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- An electronic control uni t, with integrated
crash sensors for front an d side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based o n the information received from
the cras h sensors . The control un it also "de­
c ides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger .
- A weight-sens ing mat under the upholstery
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush ion
that measures the total we ight on the seat . The
information registered is se nt cont inuously to
the e lectronic control unit to regulate dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
se nger side.
- An a irbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the inst rumen t cluster
¢page 112.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the cen ter of t he instrument
pane l
¢page 112, fig . 118 and te lls you when
the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off .
-A sensor be low the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on
the safety be lt . The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens­
ing mat help the control unit "dec ide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
shou ld be turned
off or not ¢ page 103, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
t ransmits th is info rmation to the electronic
control unit.
~ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre ­
vent the front airbag from work ing proper ly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
Airbag syste m
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
pe rformed by qualified and properly t rained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble o r remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur pockets or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the we ight registered by the
weight-sens ing mat and send the w rong in­
formation to the a irbag con trol unit .
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up­
hols tery that have not been specifically ap­
p rove d by Aud i on t he front se ats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem from recogni zing child re­
s traints or oc cupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent t he side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, b lan kets or
similar items on the front passenger seat .
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from accu­
rately register ing the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion o r some thing else to
p roperly pos ition the c hild restra int , ma ke
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on an d stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas ­
senger seat .
109

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vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by prevent ing an a irbag from de­
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, o r change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or a irbag cover or the in­
strument panel or mod ify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup holders
or te lephone moun tings to the su rfaces cov­
er ing the airbag units.
- F or cleaning the ho rn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, d ry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners
cou ld damage the a irbag cover or change
the stiffness o r strength of the mater ial so
that the airbag cannot dep loy and protect
properly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All wo rk on the stee ring wheel, inst rument
pane l, front seats or elect rical system (in­
cluding the installation of aud io equipment,
cellu lar telep hones and CB radios, etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the train ing and special eq uipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see you r au­
tho rized Aud i dea le r o r qualified workshop.
- Never mod ify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body .
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without inte rfe rence:
- N ever install seat covers or replacement
up ho lstery over the front seatbacks that
Airbag syste m
have not been specif ically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an authorized Aud i dealer .
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must
be rep laced by an authorized A udi dealer or
qualified technic ian who has the technical
info rmation, t raining and specia l equipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed, it m ust be replaced w ith new repla cemen t
p ar ts des igned and app roved especially for
your Aud i model version . Replacement of
comp lete airbag systems or airbag compo­
nents must be perfo rmed by qualified wor k­
shops only. Make sure that any airbag serv­
ice action is entered in your Audi Warranty
&
Maintenance book let under AIRBAG RE­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starte r are separated from
the vehicle batte ry w ith a pyrotechnic circuit
interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit interrupt­
er must on ly be performed by a qua lified
dealer - risk of an acc ident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter is
scrapped, all applicable safety precautions
must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Material
-specia l hand ling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
stra int system including airbag modules and
safety belts with pretensioners are scrapped,
a ll applicable laws and regulations must be ..,_
115

Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passenger must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
to provide supplemental protection.
,8. WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious in­
jury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and im­ proper seating positions increase the risk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you
properly if you are seated too close to any of
the airbag locations. When adjusting their
seat positions, it is important that both the
driver and the front passenger keep their
upper bodies and knees at the following
minimum safe distances :
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if you
lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is
improperly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt . The risk increases even
more should the airbag deploy .
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference . Objects be­
tween you and the airbag can increase the
risk of injury in an accident by interfering
with the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into you as the airbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children or
animals in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat .
If the airbag deploys , this can
result in serious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shopping
118
bags, for example) can hamper or prevent
proper deployment of the airbag. Small
objects can be thrown through the vehicle
if the airbag deploys and injure you or your
passengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratch­
es or other damage in the area of the instru ­
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo­
cated .
- If children are incorrectly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a collision
r::-, page 122, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig . 121 Sid e airb ag locatio n in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 121 facing the doors .
They are identified by the word "AIRBAG" .
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the ele ctronic control module and external sid e
i mpact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
t e r.
The airbag system is monitored electronically to
make certain that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air ­
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
II>

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- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
t ions provided with the child safety seat or
carrier.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le befo re installing the child
restraint. The backrest must be ad justed to
an upr ight position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
lig ht comes on and stays on all the
t ime whe never the ignition is switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child rest rain t that is not v is ible could cause
it to fail in another collision situ ation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air ­
bag System" in compliance with U nited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the " low-risk" requ ire­
ments for 3 -and 6-year-o ld children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the r isk of injury throug h interaction with
the airbag t hat can occur, for examp le, by being
too close to the s teer ing wheel and instrumen t
p a nel when the a irbag inflates. In ad di tion, the
sys tem has been cert ified to comply with the
"s uppression" requirements of the Safety Stand ­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infa nts up to
12 months who are restra ined on the front pas­
se nger seat in chi ld restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equi pped with an Ad­
vanced A irbag system, a ch ild should always ride
Child Sa fet y
in the seat properly restrained fo r its age and
size. The airbag on the passenger side makes the
f ront seat a potent ia lly dange ro us place for a
c h ild to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
la rger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
T he Advance d Airbag System in you r vehicle de­
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
rest raint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat c ushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch o n the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt.
The we ight-sensing mat measures total weight of
the child and the child safety seat and a ch ild
blanket on the front passenger seat. The we ight
o n the front passenger seat is related to the de­
s ign of the child rest raint a nd its "footpr int", t he
s iz e and s hape of the bottom of the c hild re­
str aint as i t si ts on the seat. The weight of a ch ild
restrain t and its "foo tpr in t" vary fo r different
ki nds of child res traints and fo r th e d iffe rent
models of the same kind of chi ld restraint offered
by chi ld restraint man ufact urers.
T he we igh t ranges for the individu al types, ma kes
and mode ls of chi ld res traints t hat the NHT SA
has spec ified in the Safety Standard toget her
with t he weig ht ranges of typica l infants and typ ­
ica l 1 year-old child have been stored in the con­
trol unit of the Advanced Airbag System. When a
c h ild restra int is being used on the front passen­
ger seat with a typical 1 year-old ch ild , the Ad­
vanced Airbag Syste m compa res the we ight
measu red by the we ight sens ing mat with the in­
f o rmat io n sto red in the e lec tronic con trol un it.
T he elec tronic cont ro l unit also reg iste rs the ten­
s io n on the front passenger safety belt. The ten­
s io n on the safety be lt fo r th e front passe nger
sea t w ill be di fferent for an adul t who is properly
u sing the safety be lt as compare d to the tension
o n the bel t when it is used to attach a child re ­
stra int to the seat . The sensor be low the latch for
1iJ11-
123

Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Data
Reco rder (EDR) , insta lled by some manufactu rers
for the express pu rpose of captur ing data fo r re­
trieval after an accident or crash event. ED R 's are
sometimes called "crash recorders" .
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of da ta stored by EDR's that were instal ­
led in a vehicle for the express p urpose of retriev­
ing data after an accident or crash event without
the owner's consent.
Al though you r vehicle is not eq uipped w ith an
E DR, it is equipped with a number of electronic
control modu les for vario us vehicle systems such
as, for example, engine function, emission con­
trol, as we ll as for the airbags and safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record ve­
hicle-related data during norma l vehicle opera­
tion for diagnostic and repair purposes . The re­
cording capacity of the electronic contro l mod­
ules is lim ited to data (no sound is recorded) and
only a small amount of data is actually recorded
over a very l imited per iod of t ime and stored
when a system fault or other condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of the data then stored
may re late to veh icle speed, direction, braking as
well as restraint system use and performance in
the event of a crash o r other cond ition . Stored
data can only be read and downloaded with spe­
cial equipment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of sk id­
d ing and loss of veh icle contro l.
It works only
when the engine is runn ing. ESC detects certain
d ifficult driving situations, including when the ve ­
h icle is beginn ing to spin (yaw) out of control and
he lps you to get the veh icle back under control by
134
selective ly braking the wheels, and/or reducing
engine power and providing steering assistance
to help ho ld the veh icle on the driver's intended
course. The ind icator light
GJ in the instrument
cluster blinks when ESC is taking act ion to help
you contro l the vehicle .
ESC has limitations. It is important to remember
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not always be able to help out under all con­
dit ions you may come up against. For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
s ituations where there is a sudden change in the
coefficient of fric tion of the road surface. When
there is a sect ion of dry road that is suddenly cov­
ered with water, slush or snow, ESC cannot per­
f orm the same way it would on the dry surface . If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa­
ter instead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because contact
with the pavement has been interrupted and the
vehicle cannot be braked or steered . During fast
corner ing, particularly on wind ing roads, ESC
cannot always dea l as effectively with difficult
driv ing situations as at lower speeds .
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather condit ions . ESC cannot
overr ide the veh icle's phys ica l limits, increase the
available traction, or keep a vehicle on the road if
road departure is a result of driver inattention.
Instead, ESC improves the possibility of keeping
the vehicle under control and on the road during
extreme maneuvers by using the driver's steering
inputs to help keep the vehicle going in the in­
tended direction. If you are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC
can prov ide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the an­
ti-lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys tem
and anti -slip regulation (ASR) . ESC is sw itched on
all the t ime . In certai n situations when you need
less tract ion, you ca n sw itch off ESC by p ress ing
the button
l!l . Be sure to sw itch ESC on again
when you no longe r need less traction. .,..

.... N
l'­
N "1: .... I.O
"' N
"' ....
Anti-loc k br aking sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up when
brak ing . T he vehicle can st ill be stee red even dur ­
ing hard braking. App ly steady pressure to the
brake peda l. Do not pump the peda l. A pulsing in
the brake pedal indicates that the system is help­
ing you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist sy ste m
The brake assist system can decrease braking dis ­
tance. It increases braking power when the dr iver
presses the brake pedal quick ly in emergency sit­
uations. You must press and ho ld the brake pedal
until the situation is over.
Anti -slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces engine power when the drive whee ls
begin to spin and adapts the force to the road
conditions. This makes it easier to start, acceler ­
ate and dr ive up h ills.
Electronic diff erential lock (EDL )
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive wheel or wheels if the vehicle is equipped w ith all-whee l
drive*. This function is available up to about 60
mph (100 km/h) .
I n extreme cases , EDL automatically switches off
to help keep the brake on the braked wheel from
overheating . EDL wi ll switch on again automati­
cally when conditions have returned to normal.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR and EDL cannot overcome the
laws of phys ics. Th is is especially important
on slippery or wet roads. If the syst ems be­
gin act ing to stab ilize your vehicle, you
sho uld immediately cha nge your speed to
match the roa d and traffic con ditions. Do
not let the increased safety provided by
these systems tempt you to take risks . Do­
ing so wi ll increase the risk of a loss of vehi­
cle contro l, collis ion and serio us personal in­
juries .
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and
weather cond it ions. The risk of losing con­
tro l of the veh icle increases when driving
Int ellig ent t echnolo gy
too fast, especially through curves and on
slippery or wet roads, and when dr iving too
close to vehicles up ahead. ESC, ABS, the
brake assist system, EDL and ASR cannot
prevent coll is ions .
- Always accelerate with special care on even,
smooth surfaces such as those that are wet
or covered with ice and snow. The drive
wheels can spin even with these assistance sys tems that cannot always help to reduce
the risk of loss of veh icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR only wo rk correctly when all
four wheels are eq uipped with ident ical
tire s. Different tire s izes can lead to a reduc­
t ion i n engine power.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems de­
sc ribed a re wo rking.
- If the ind icator light GJ or II (USA mod­
els) ;tiJ (Canada models) appea rs, there
may be a malfunction~
page 15,
~ page 15.
Switching on/off
ESC turns on automatically when you start the
engine.
SPORT •
Fig . 12 6 Cente r co nsole wit h lJ bu tto n
ESC sport mode
In certain situations, it might make sense to a l­
low some slip. For example:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is st uck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose gro und
- Dr iving with snow chains
135

Intelligent technology
Press the I!! button briefly¢ fig. 126 . The II in­
dicator light turns on and Sport control Warn­
ing! Restricted st abilit y appears in the driver in­
formation system d isplay. Driving stability is lim­
ited in sport mode.
Sw itch ing ESC off
Press and hold the
l!I button for three seconds .
The ESC indicator light
fl turns on and Stabil i­
z atio n prog ram off appears in the display. ASR is
also switched off when ESC is sw itched off.
Sw itch ing on
Press the
l!J button again. The message Stabili­
zation progr am on appears briefly in the disp lay .
_& WARNING
You should only sw itch the ESC off if your dr iv­
ing ability and the traffic s ituation allow. This
could increase the risk of slipp ing.
- The stabilizing function is limited in ESC
sport mode. The driving wheels could spin and the vehicle could swerve, especially on
slick or slippery road surfaces.
- There is no vehicle stabilization when ESC is
switched off.
(D Tips
If there is a malfunction in the retractable
rear spo iler* or the A udi magnetic ride*, it
may not be possible to activate ESC sport
mode or normal mode may act ivate aga in au­
tomatically.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pad s
During the f irst 250 miles (400 km), new brake
pads do not possess the ir full braking effect, they
have to be "broken in" first¢.&. . The break- in pe­
riod can be considerab ly longer for vehicles w ith
ceramic b rake roto rs*. You can compensate for
this s light ly reduced b ra ki ng power by push ing
ha rder on the b rake peda l. Avoid heavy braking
loads during the bre ak-in period.
136
Operating conditions and driving habits
The bra kes on today's automobiles a re s till sub­
j ect to wear, depend ing largely on operating con ­
ditions and driving habits ¢& . On vehicles that
a re either driven most ly in stop-and-go city traf­
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be
checked by your authorized Aud i dealer more of­
te n tha n specified in the Warranty
& Maint e­
nance bookl et. Failure to have you r brake pads
i nspected can resu lt in reduced b rake pe rform­
ance.
On steep slopes, you shou ld use the braking ef­
fect of the engine . This way, you prevent un nec­
essary wear on the brake system . If you must use
you r brakes, do not hold the bra kes down cont in­
u o usly. Pump the brakes at in tervals.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braki ng depending on the
speed, braking force and outs ide cond it ions such
as tempera ture and hum idity.
Due to the nature of the materia ls used i n ceram­
i c brake rotors*, noises may become more appa­
r ent at low speeds.
Effect of water and road salt
In certa in situations, for examp le after driv ing
through water , in heavy rain, after overnight con­
densation or after washing your car, the braking
effect can be reduced by moisture or ice on the
brake rotors and brake pads . The brakes must be
dr ied fi rst w ith a few careful b rake app lications.
At higher speeds and with the windsh ield wipers
turned on, the brake pads press against the brake r otors for a short amount of time. This occurs at
r egular intervals without the dr iver not ic ing and
provides fo r be tter brake response time under
wet cond it ions.
The effect iveness of the brakes ca n be red uced
when the v ehicle is d riv en on a salt-cove red road
and the b rakes are no t used. Likewise, you clean
off a ccumula ted salt coating from b rake d iscs
and pads with a few ca utious app lications of the
brake ¢& .
D ue to the ir sur fa ce character istics, cerami c
brake ro tors * absorb moistu re in such co ndi tions . ..,.