AUDI TT ROADSTER 2015 Owners Manual

and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Always be especially caref ul 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
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on . If the PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
c ome on and stay on have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immediately by your Audi
dealer .
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
A lways heed the child sa fety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a chi ld re­
straint in your vehicle . To activate the conver­
tible locking ret ractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat.
.,. Slow ly pull the be lt
all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the chi ld re­
stra int be lt path
c:> &_ .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Gu ide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the chi ld
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
vertib le locking retractor is now act ivated.
Child Sa fet y 139
.,. Make sure that the red release button is fac ­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled qui ck ly.
.,. 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 . S cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child res traint o r an im­
properly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during norma l driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a chi ld 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 pos ition. Otherw ise, the seat­
back with the ch ild safety seat attached
to it could fly forward in the event of an accident or other emergency situation .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­ hicle is being used
c:> page 129. Special
precautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:> page 109, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
, retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back in to
the retractor.
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt buck ­
le . The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le .
.,. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position . •
•

140 Child Saf ety
Always let the safety belt retract complete ly
into its stowed pos ition . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convert ible lock ing retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
If the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently , the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea­
ture .
If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter a nd u ncomfortab le to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly insta lled child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfaste n the sa fe ty belt to deac ti­
va te the convert ible lo ck ing retractor fo r
child restraints while the veh icle is mov ­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave ­
hicle is being used ¢page 129. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 109, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
.
There are a number of sources of additional
information abou t ch ild restrai nt select ion, in­
stallat io n and use:
NH TSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits i n your
ve hicle, and that you w ill use correctly and
consistently .
Try before you buy!
U.S Nation al Highway Traffic Safet y Admin­
i s trat ion
Te l.: 1-888-327 -4236 ( TTY : 1-800-424-9 153)
www .nhtsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
T el.: (202) 662-0600
www.safek ids.o rg
Safet y BeltSafe U .S.A
T el.: (800) 745 -SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanis h)
www.ca rseat.org
Transport Can ada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 (800) 333 -037 1 or call
1 (613) 998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa
area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict 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.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair 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 over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 141
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
B.J in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficu lt driving situations as at lower
speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic §&and weather conditions. ESC
cannot override the vehicle's physical limits,
increase the available traction, or keep a vehi­
cle on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu­
vers by usin g the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti- lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys -
tem and anti-slip regu lation (ASR). ESC is
Ill>
•
•

142 Intelligent technology
switched on all the time. In certain situations
when you need less traction, you can switch
off ESC by pressing the button
l!l . Be sure to
switch ESC on again when you no longer need
less traction.
Anti -toc k brak ing system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from lock ing up
when braking . The vehicle can still be steered
even during hard brak ing . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal ind icates that
the system is he lp ing you to brake the vehicle .
Brake assist sy stem
The brake assist system can decrease braking
d istance. It increases braking power when the
driver presse s the brake pedal quickly in emer­
gency si tuations. You must press and hold the
brake peda l until the situation is over .
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to the road conditions . This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
E lectronic differential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-wheel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h) .
In extreme cases, EDL a utomatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL will switch on aga in au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR and ED L can not ove rcome
t h e laws of phy sics. This is espe cial ly im ­
por tant on slip pery or wet ro ads .
If th e
sys tems begin a ct in g to stab ilize your ve­
hicle, you shou ld imme diately change
yo ur speed to match the road and traffic
condit ions. Do not let the inc reased safe­
ty provided by these systems tempt you to take risks. Do
ing so w ill increase the
risk of a loss of veh icle control, co llision
and serious pe rsonal injuries .
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los­
ing control of t he vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
wh en dr iv ing too clos e to vehicl es u p
ahead. ESC, A BS, the brake ass ist sys­
tem, ED L and ASR cannot p reven t coll i­
si ons .
- Always acceler ate wi th sp ecial c are on
even, smoo th s urfaces such as those th at
are wet or covered with ice and snow .
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­ ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve­
h icle co ntrol.
(D Tips
- ABS an d ASR only wo rk correct ly when
all four whee ls are equipped with identi­
cal tires . D ifferent tire si zes can lead to a
reduction in engine powe r.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator light Ii) or II (USA
mode ls)/ Ei] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
¢ page 18,
¢ page 17.
Switching on and off
£SC turns on automatically when you start
the engine.
Fig . 12 1 Ce nte r conso le: ESC OFF b utto n

Switching ESC off (sport mod e)
I n ce rtain sit uat ions, it m ight make sense to
allow some slip. For example :
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Press the[!] button . The ESC ind icator light
II turns on and Stab iliz ation p rogr am off
appears in the display. ASR deactivates com­
p letely and the stabilizat ion effects from the
ESC system are lim ited .
Sw itchin g on
Press the[!] button again. The message
Sta b i­
liz ation p rog ram on
appears briefly in the dis ­
p lay.
A WARNING
Only switch ESC sport mode on when your
driving abilities and the traffic s ituation
permit . Please note that the dr iv ing
w heels can spin and the vehicle can break
away in ESC sport mode, especia lly when
t he road is slippery.
(D Tips
If the re a re faults in the rear spo iler sys­
tem or in Audi magnet ic r ide, it may not be
possible to act ivate ESC sport mode o r
normal mode may act ivate aga in a utoma t­
ically.
Rear spoiler
Appl ies to vehicles: with retractable rear spoiler
The rear spoiler improves vehicle handling
and enhances driver control.
Fig. 122 Switch for rear spo ile r
Intelligen t technolog y 143
The rear spoi ler deploys and retracts . Spoiler
operation can be set for automatic or man ual
operation.
Aut omatic mode (normal ope ration )
- Automatic deployment : At a speed of about
75 mph (120 km/h), the rea r spo ile r deploys
automatically .
- Au tomatic retraction: When speed drops be­
low about SO mph (80 km/h), the rear spoil­
er retracts a utomatica lly.
Manual mode
- Man ual deployment : T app ing br iefly on the
sw itch
¢ fig . 122 deploys the rear spoiler.
- Manual retraction : At speeds up to about
10 mph (20 km/h), retract the rear spoiler
by pressing and holding the sw itch
¢ fig. 122. At speeds between 10 mph (20
km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h), retract the
rear spoi ler by tapping on the switch
¢ fig. 122 .
A WARNING
-
Driving at higher speeds without the rear
spoiler deployed can impair handling char­
acter istics, making the vehicle harder to
control.
- Always make su re that the spo ile r is de­
ployed when driving at speeds over
85 mph (140 km/h) . If th e rear spoil er
warn ing/ indicator light in the inst ru­
men t cluster comes on, the rear spoiler
may not have deployed.
- Never d rive a t speeds higher than
85 mph (140 km/h) i f th e spoiler is not
deployed . Have the spoiler inspected as
soon as possible by an authorized Audi
dea ler or qualified workshop.
- A lways obey speed limits and other traf­
fic laws .
A WARNING
Improper operation of the rear spoi ler can
cause crushing injuries .
- Always make sure that nobody, especially
children, is in the way when the rear
spoiler is dep loyed or retracted.

144 Intelligent technology
-Never push the ve hicle or app ly force to
the rea r spo ile r - i t co uld be damaged .
- To prevent damage to the rear spoiler do
not lean o r place a nyth ing o n it.
- Only ope rate the rear spoi ler manually
when the rear lid is closed and t he rear
spo ile r moving parts are not blocked.
Otherwise, damage could occur.
C lean the spoi le r compartment every 2 to
3 months . The spoiler compartment must
always be free of ice, snow, leaves or other
debris.
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Operating conditions and d riving habit s
The brakes on today's automob iles are st ill
subject to wea r, depend ing largely on operat­
i ng cond itions and dr iv ing habits
c:> & . On
ve hicles that a re e ithe r dr iven mostly in stop­
and-go city traffic o r a re driven ha rd , the
b rake pads should be checked by yo ur auth or­
iz ed A udi dealer more often th an specifie d in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet . Fail ure
to have your b ra ke pads inspected can res ult
in red uced b rake performance.
O n steep slopes, yo u sh ou ld use t he b ra ki ng
effect of the engine . This way, yo u preven t un­
necessa ry wear on the brake system . If you
must use yo ur brakes, do not ho ld the bra kes
down continuously . P u mp the brakes at inter­
va ls.
N oises may occur w hen braking depending on
the speed, bra king force and outside condi ­
tions s uch as temperature and h umidity.
Moisture or road salt
Unde r cert a in co ndi tions, for examp le, w hen
d riving through wate r or ve ry heavy rain , or
even after washing yo ur vehicle , the braking effect can be
reduced due to mois ture (or in
freez ing cond itions ice) on the brake pads. A
f ew cautio us brake applications s hou ld dry off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings.
T he effec tiveness of the brakes can be red uce d
whe n the vehicle is d riven on a sa lt -covered
road and the b rakes are not used . Likewise,
yo u clean off acc umulated salt coat ing from
brake d iscs and pads with a few cautio us ap­
plicat ions o f th e b rake
c:> & .
Corrosion
The re may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corros ion to form on
t h e d iscs if the car is not driven regu larly or
o n ly for short trips w ith litt le use of the
brakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor­
ros ion has formed on the discs, it is adv isable
to clean off t he pads a nd d iscs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately h igh
s p eed
c:> & .
Faults in the brake system
If you shou ld notice a sudden increase i n
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
c ircuits may have fa iled
c:> & .
Low brake fluid level
Malfunctions ca n occ ur in the bra ke system if
t h e b rake fluid level is too low. The brake flu id
level is monitored electronica lly.
Brake booster
T he br ake boos ter inc reases the pressure tha t
yo u genera te with the b ra ke peda l. It works
o nl y when t he engine is runnin g
.c:> .&
Brake lining wear status
Br ake lining wear may be che cked by visual in­
spe ct io n of th e condition o f the br ake pa ds
t h ro ugh the open ing s in the wheel. If neces ­
sa ry, the w heel may be removed fo r thi s i n­
spect ion
c:> page 208, What should I be
aware of when changing a tire?.

A WARNING
-You should perform brak ing maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road cond it ions permit .
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
yo u may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transm iss ion into a lowe r
gear or lowe r driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often . This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake . Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing throug h wa­
ter, driving in heavy rai n or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, lini ngs,
discs and d rums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test . B rakes wi ll dry and ice coat­
ings wi ll be cleaned
off after a few ca re ­
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing for an ex tended pe riod of time on
salt -covered roa ds without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean
off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few cautious
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed . Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the eff ectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one bra ke c ircuit will impair
the brak ing capability resulting in an in­
cr eased stopp ing distan ce. Avoid dr iv ing
the ve hicle and have it towed to the near­
est Aud i dea le r or q ualified workshop .
- Never le t the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shu t off.
Int ellig ent technolog y 145
-If the brake booster is not working, the
brake peda l must be pressed considera­
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The ele ctro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
The degree of power assist is electronically
matched to veh icle speed.
The powe r steering system assists the driver
so that he can steer the vehicle with reduced
physical effort.
Power steer ing will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
A WARNING
If the system develops a problem, you
must seek qualified professiona l assis­
tance.
(D Note
-
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser­
votronic
will still function like a conven­
tiona l powe r steering system, providing a
constant steering support force tha t is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed.
This is most noticeable when t urning the
steering wheel at low speeds (for example
when parking), - more effort w ill be re­
quired than usual.
- Be aware of the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer­
ing force accordingly.
- Have the problem checked and set right
by an authori zed Aud i dea ler as soon as
possible.
- If a steering malfunction occurs, th is is
signa led w ith the
ls4 or .• indicator
lights and a warn ing tone, see. •
•

146 Intellig ent technolog y
-If the power steering system should fail,
or if the eng ine is not running (for exam­
ple, while being towed), yo u wi ll st ill be
able to steer the veh icle. However, more
effort will be requ ired to do so .
- If the power steering system is not func­
tioning properly, contact your authorized
Audi dealer immediately .
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to vehicles: with all-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
General information
W ith all-whee l drive , power is distributed to
a ll four wheels . This happens automa tica lly
depending on your dr iv ing sty le and the road
conditions at the time. See also ~
page 141.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed for
high engine powe r. You r vehicle is exception­
ally powerful and has ex ce ll ent dr iving charac ­
teristics bot h under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and fo llow
safety precautions ¢
.&..
Winter ti re s
When dr iving in the w inte r, your ve hicle w ith
a ll-wheel d rive has an advantage, even with
regular tires . In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tir es) for improv ed driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
a ll fo ur
wheels . See also ¢ page 195, Win ter tires.
Snow cha in s
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain roads, this normally a lso applies to vehicles
with a ll-wheel drive¢
page 196, Snow
chains.
Replacing whe els /t ires
Vehicles wit h all-wheel drive mus t always
have tires of the same size . Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see page
q page 191, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving ?
Your Aud i does no t have enough g round clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle. It is
therefore bes t to avoid rough tracks and un­
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
¢ page 150 .
A WARNING
-Always ad just your dr iv ing to road and traf-
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking capacity is lim ited by tire t raction . You
should therefore not d rive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
d rive too fast because the front whee ls
could begin to slide o n top of the water
(aquaplan ing). If th is should occur, yo u
will have no warning from a s udden in ­
crease in eng ine speed as wit h a front ­
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
d itions. -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long per iod of t ime, the bat­
te ry is discharged by idling cur rent consume rs
(e .g. immobili zer) . In cert ain circumstances it
can resu lt in the re being insufficient energy
available to start the eng ine.
Intelligent energy management in you r vehi­
cle h andles the dis trib ution of e lectr ica l ene r­
gy. Start ing ability is ma rkedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended . .,._

Basically, energy management consists of
batter y di agno sis, idling cur rent man age­
ment
and d yn ami c en ergy m anagement.
Battery diagnosis
Battery d iagnosis continuously dete rmines
the state of the battery. Senso rs determ ine
battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling curre nt management
Idling c urrent management red uces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
With the ignition switched off, it contro ls the
energy supply to the various electrica l compo­
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
individua l consumers are grad ually turned off
to prevent excess ive d ischarge of the battery
and thus mainta in start ing capability.
Dynam ic energ y manag em ent
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en ­
ergy management distributes the energy gen­
erated according to the needs of the individu­
a l components. It regu lates consumption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti­
mal state of charge for the battery .
(D Tips
-But even energy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
that the power and life of a battery are l imited.
- If starting ab ility is threatened, you are
i nformed by a warn ing
c!;> page 148,
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display.
Int ellig ent technolog y 147
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driv ing, in city traff ic and during the cold time
of year . Abundant electrical energy is re ­
quired, but only a l ittle is generated .
It is also
c ritical if the engi ne is not running and electri­
ca l components are turned on . In this in­
stance ene rgy is be ing consumed but none is
being generated.
It i s in precise ly these situations that you will
notice ene rgy management act ive ly regu lat­
ing the d istribu tion of ene rgy.
V ehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks , e lectr ica l compo­
nents a re g radually cut back or switched off.
T his reduces energy consumption and ma in­
ta ins s tart ing capability over a longer pe riod .
Take into considerat ion that when you unlock
you r vehicle, some convenience functions,
s u ch as the remo te key o r power seat adjust­
ment, may not be available. The convenience
f unct ions wi ll be available again when you
turn on the ignition and start the engine.
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for examp le, w ith
the engine tu rned o ff, the battery is being dis ­
charged .
If starting capabi lity is jeopardized due to en­
ergy consumption , a message appears in the
driver in formation d isplay.
You have to start t he engine to charge the
battery.
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be­ come discharged . This happens mostly when
little energy is being gene rated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state of
c h arge is not opt imal.
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148 Intelligent technology
To bring the energy balance back into equili­brium, consumers which require especia lly
l arge amo unts of energy are temporari ly c ut
back or switched off. Heating systems in par­
ticular requ ire a great dea l of energy. If you
n otice, for example, that the heated seats * or
the heated rea r window a re not heating, they
have been temporar ily cut back o r switched
off. These sys tems will be ava ilable again as
soon as the energy ba lance has bee n restored.
You will also not ice that engine idle speed has
been inc reased slightly. This is no rma l and not
a cause fo r concern . By increas ing engine idle
spee d the add itiona l ene rgy required is gener ­
ated and the ba ttery is charged .
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If battery power drops into the range where it
can limit the ability of the engine to start, th is
i s shown in the instrument cluster display
with the following driver message:
(•) Low battery charge : battery will be
cha rged while dri ving
This notification reminds you that the starti ng
capability of the engine may be limited. As
soon as you start driving aga in, the battery
will be recharged and the notification will go
out .
Driv er notificat ion appears and goes out
again
If t his driver notification appears after the ig­
ni tion is turned on or while driv ing and it goes
out again after a while, the battery has been
adequately rec harged.
Driver notification appears and does not
go out again
If t his driver notification appears after the ig­
n ition is turn ed on or while driv ing and does
n ot go ou t aga in, t he battery's s tate of charge
is not i n the opt imal range. St arting ability is
restricte d. Have the bat tery checked as soon
as possible by a n authorized Audi dealer or
q ua lified workshop.