weight AUDI A4 2015 Owner's Guide

"' N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air­
bag System. The heavier weight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­ ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- 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 rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible lock ing
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¢.&,_.
.. 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 .
Child Safety 177
.. 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
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-
•
•

182 Child Safet y
& WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand on ly those loads im­
posed by correctly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two ch ild restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchor po int.
- Never attach two child rest ra int systems
to one tethe r strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use ch ild restra int te ther ancho­
rages to secure safety belts o r other
kinds of oc cupant rest ra ints.
- Never secure o r attach any luggage or
other items to the LATC H lowe r ancho­
rages o r to the tethe r ancho rs.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at­
tac h a child res traint to the front passen­
ger seat, make su re that it is not so
t igh t, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure more weight than is ac­
t u ally on the seat.
- T he heav ier weight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
s afety seat in a rear seating posi tion a nd
have the a irbag sys tem inspec ted by yo ur
authorized Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 172 Sedan Tether strap: prope r ro ut ing and
mount ing
F ig . 1 73 allroad Tether strap: proper routing and
mount ing
Installing the tether st rap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int
~fig.172 or¢fig .173 (raise
the head restraint if necessary).
.,. Seda n: Tilt the re cess fl ap up to expose the
a nchor b rac ket.
.,. Sedan: Attach the tethe r strap anchorage
hook into the opening of the tether anchor­
age .
.,. allroad : Slide the tether strap hook over the
anchor bracket.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spr ing catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child res traint manufacture r's ins tructions.
Releasing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension follow ing the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Dep ress the spring catch on the hook and re-
lease it from the anchorage. ..,.

,...,
N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for severa l
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
s t alled. The upho lstery would a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tethe r
s tr ap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come with a tether. Please read and h eed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determ ine how to
p roperly install the tethe r.
A WARNING
-
A ch ild i n a rearward-facing child safety
s ea t insta lled on the front passenger sea t
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the chi ld
sa fety seat or infa nt carrier w it h great
force and wi ll smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-fac ing c hild restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
sea t and regis ter a heavier we igh t in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ie r
we ight registe red ca n make the system
wor k as th ough an adul t were on t he seat
and dep loy the A dvanced Airbag when i t
must be supp ressed ca using serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward facing
child safety seat o n the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im-
Child Sa fet y 183
mediately insta ll th e rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your authorized Audi dealer .
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about child restraint se lection, in­
stallation and use:
NH TSA advises that the best chi ld safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that you w ill use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U .S National Highway Traffi c Safety Admin ­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -3 27- 42 36 (TIY: 1-800 -42 4-9153)
www.n htsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (2 02) 662- 0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSafe U .S .A
T el.: (8 00) 7 45-SAF E (English)
T el.: (8 00) 747 -SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat.org
Transport Canada Information C entr e
Tel.: 1 -800 -333-0371 or c all
1-6 13-99 8-8616 if yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsa fety/
menu .htm
Audi Cu stomer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
•
•

M N
~ co ,..,
I.O
"' ,..,
"' ,..,
Intelligent technology 187
Switching on/off
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 174 Version A: lower ce nter console,~ OFF but·
to n
The ESC is designed to function in levels. De·
pending on the level that is selected, the sta­
b ili zat ion function of the ESC is limited or
switched off . The amount of stab ilizat ion con ­
trol will differ depend ing on the level.
The following situations are exceptions where
it may be useful to switch on sport mode (Se·
dan) or offroad mode (allroad) to allow the
wheels to sp in:
Sedan: ESC levels
Fig. 175 Vers ion B: upper cente r console,~ OFF bu t·
ton
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow o r on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
- allroad : Driving on rough terrain when much
of the car's weight is lifted off the wheels
(axle articulation)
- allroad : Driving downhill while braking on
loose ground
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC/ASR on
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stab iliza- The stabilization funct io n The full stab ilization func·
tion funct ions are lim ited is not available
c::> /1.. ESC tion of the ESC and ASR is
c:::> &. . and ASR are switched off. available again.
Operation Press the I~ OF FI button Press and hold the I~ OF FI Press the I~ OF FI button
briefly. button longer than 3 sec-
again.
onds .
Indicator fl turns on. II and lfilf•)H turn on . JI turns off or II and
lights If ilft)H turn off.
Driver mes- Stabilization control Stabilization control Stabilization control
sages (ESC): Sport. Warning! (ESC): off. Warning! Re- (
ESC) : On
Restricted stability stricted stability

'"" N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns .
Trailer towin g 199
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trai ler has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the lo ad in the tra iler is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 200.
Engine cooling system
T owing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard ­
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•

200 Trailer towing
Tire pressure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the tir es of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver 's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac ­
turers' specifications.
Lights
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safe ty cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave eno ugh slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded .
.,. Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles .
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early.
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control. A "ba
lanced" rig is easier to operate and con­
tro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rving
tongue load requi rements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rticularly
whe n going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing tra ilers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefully . If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
i n the i nstrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut two minutes to prevent heat build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not p roper ly wea ring the restraints
provided by Audi.
-

Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when tow ing
a trailer because o f the addit ional weight and
d iffe ren t weight distribution . Safety, pe rform ­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
caref ully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
B efore you actua lly tow your trailer, pr actice
turning, stopp ing and bac king up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become comp lete ly fam iliar with the way
your veh icle-trailer comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is d ifficu lt a nd requires practice .
Backing up with a tra iler genera lly requires
steer ing action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
M aintain a g reater distance betwee n your ve­
h icle and the one in front o f you . You will need
mo re room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
W hen pass ing, remember that yo u cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as yo u normally wo uld be­
cause of the added load. Ma ke s ure you have
e nough room to pass . After passing , allow
p lenty o f room fo r your tra iler before chang­
in g la nes aga in .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rap id lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler during the break-in
period of you r vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your A udi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
o page 283.
Trailer towin g 201
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­ lowing:
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone p lace chocks under both the
veh icle and the tra iler wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release t he
bra kes unt il t he whee l choc ks absorb the
load .
.. Tu rn the whee ls towards the curb.
.,. App ly the par king b rake .
.. Place an a utomatic transm ission* in P, re ­
spectively a manual transmission in first or
reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.,. App ly th e foot br ake .
.. Start t he en gine.
.. Move the selector lever to D/S , respect ively
a man ual transmiss ion in first gea r.
.. Release the parking bra ke and s low ly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks.
@ Tips
If you move the selector leve r of the auto­
matic transmissio n* to P before applying
the pa rking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may hav e to use mor e forc e
l ater to m ove the le ver out of the P posi­
tion.
•
•

Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle. Tires are, how­
ever, one of the most important
parts of a vehicle, particularly
considering the comparatively
small patch of rubber on each
tire that assures that all-impor­
tant contact between you, your
vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire
pressure, making sure that your
vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry more weight than they can safely handle, avoiding
damage from road hazards and
regularly inspecting tires for
damage including cuts, slashes
irregular wear and overall con­
dition are the most important
things that you can do to help avoid sudden tire failure includ­
ing tread separation and blow-
~ outs.
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Tires and wheels 22 7
Avoiding damage
If you have to drive over a curb
or similar obstacle , drive very
slowly and as close as possible
at a right angle to the curb.
Always keep chemicals includ­ ing grease, oil, gasoline and
brake fluid off the tires.
Inspect the t ires regularly for
damage (cuts, cracks or blis­
ters, etc.). Remove any foreign bodies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires
Mark tires when you remove
them to indicate the direction
of rotation. This ensures you to be able to mount them correct­
ly when you reinstall them.
When removed, the wheels or
tires should be stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark place.
Store tires in a vertical position if they are not mounted on
rims, in a horizontal position if
they are mounted on rims.
New tires
New tires have to be broken in
¢ _&..
The tread depth of new tires
may vary , according to the type .,.
•
•
'

-If you notice unusual vibra­tion or if the vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
wheels and tires for dam­ age.
(D Note
-Please note that summer and winter tires are de­
signed for the conditions
that are typical in those sea­
sons. Audi recommends us­ing winter tires during the
winter months. Low tem­ peratures significantly de­
crease the elasticity of
summer tires, which affects
traction and braking ability.
Tires and wheels 229
If summer tires are used in
very cold temperatures, cracks can form on the tread bars, resulting in perma­
nent tire damage that can
cause loud driving noise and unbalanced tires. Audi is not
responsible for this type of
damage.
-Burnished, polished or chromed rims must not be used in winter road condi­
tions. The surface of the
rims does not have suffi­
cient corrosion protection
for this and could be perma­
nently damaged by road salt
or similar substances.
•
•
'
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­ matic transmission, power
steering, power brakes, power
windows, power seats, radio, and heater, to the extent that
these items are available as fac­
tory-installed equipment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower indi­
cate a low sidewall for im­ proved steering response and
better overall handling on dry
pavement.

230 Tires a nd whee ls
Bead Extra load tire
means the part of the tire that means a tire design to operate
is made of steel wires, wrapped at higher loads and at higher
or reinforced by p ly cords and inflation pressures than the
that is shaped to fit the rim . corresponding standard tire .
Bead separation Extra load tires may be identi-
fied as "XL", "xl", " EXTRA
means a breakdown of the bond LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
between components in the
bead .
Gross A xle Weight Rating
(" GAWR ")
Cord
means the load-carrying capaci-
means the strands forming the ty of a single axle system,
p lies in the tire .
measured at the tire-ground in-
Cold tire inflation pressure terfaces.
means the tire pressure recom-
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
mended by the vehicle manu-( "GVWR ")
facturer for a t ire of a designat-
means the maximum total
ed size that has not been driven loaded weight of the vehicle.
for more than a couple of miles
Groove
(kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before means the space between two
the tire pressure is measured or adjacent tread ribs.
adjusted.
Load rating (code )
Curb weight
means the max imum load that
means the weight of a motor a tire
is rated to carry for a giv-
vehicle with standard equip -en inflation pressure
. You may
ment including the maximum not find th
is information on all
capacity of fuel, oil, and cool- tires because it is not required
ant, air condit ioning and addi- by law.
...
tional weight of optional equip-
ment.