steering wheel AUDI A5 2015 Owner´s Manual

Safety belts
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 123 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle heading for a wall
Fig. 124 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies w ith vehicle speed and body weight . Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/
h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts
c::> fig. 123, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wa ll
c::> fig. 124.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even
at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
122
(2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of phys ics don't just apply to
frontal collis ions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 125 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is violently
t hrown forward
Fig. 126 A rear passeng er not wearing a safety be lt will fly
forward and strike the d river
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in­
strument panel, windshie ld, or whateve r else is
in the way
c::> fig . 125 . This impact with the vehi ­
cle interior has all the energy they had just before
the crash. .,.

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in roll ­
overs.
Al wa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy on ly once,
and only in certain kinds of collis ions . Your safety
be lts are a lways there to offer p rotection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle s trikes or is struck by
ano ther a fter the firs t collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restra int and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works mos t
e ff ectively when used w it h the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r=;, page 121 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in­
strument panel wil l decrease the effect ive ­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f personal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase yo ur seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leani ng forward, s it­
ting sideways o r out of position in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serio us injuries and
could 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
c> page 124, Safety belts .
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younger always r ide in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may
be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im ­
properly restrained in the vehicle. Adjust the
front seats properly.
130
-
- Never ride with the backrest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer -
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c> page 113.
-Always sit upright with yo ur back against
the backrest of yo ur seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrumen t
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies 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 o r the front air­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu ­
ver . Objects n ear the airbags can become
projectiles and cause in ju ry when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed i n a crash mus t be
replaced.
- Use o nly orig inal equ ipmen t airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure 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 importa nt information and
head the WARNINGS for importa nt details
about ch ild ren and Advanced Airbags
r=;, page 151 .
Even thoug h your veh icle is equipped w ith an Ad ­
vanced Airbag Sys tem, make ce rtain tha t all chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younge r, a l­
ways ride in the ba ck seat p roperly res trained fo r
their age and size. The a irbag on the passenger
s ide makes the front seat a potent ially dangero us
place for a child to r id e. T he front seat is not the
safest p lace for a chi ld in a forward-fac ing chi ld ..,.

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Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig . 132 Location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig . 133 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru­
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your veh i­
cle was manufactured. The safety belts for the
seats have "pretensioners" that help 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 also have load limiters to he lp reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing wheel
hub
c::> fig . 132 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
~fig. 133. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
Ai rb ag system
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information 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
Neve r rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly rest rained.
_&. WARNING
--A pe rson on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ildren, will rece ive
se rious inj uries and can even be k illed by be­
i ng too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the "low r isk" option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a ch ild 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.
-Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the fron t seating position.
- For their own safety, all ch ildren, especially
12 years and yo unger, should a lways ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size .
133

Airbag syste m
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
A irbag System in compl iance with Un ited States
F ederal Motor Vehicle Sa fety Standard 208 asap­
plicab le at the time your vehicle was manu fac­
tured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide add itiona l protect ion
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
flate only in fronta l impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re ­
straint system in your veh icle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe ­
ty belt and weari ng it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be p roper ly re­
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-old ch ild ren o n the pas ­
senger side and very small ad ults on the drive r
side . The low risk deployment c riteria a re intend­
ed to he lp red uce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag t hat can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and yo unger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 153, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off if:
- a chi ld up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restraints listed
i n Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
134 with which the Advanced Airbag System in you
r
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle 's compliance with the US Safety Standard
c::> page 153,
- weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the
control unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat, weighing more than the tota l we ight of
a child that is about
1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System i n your vehicle was certified), the front
a irbag on the passenger s ide may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the elect ron ic cont ro l unit detects a total
weight on the fro nt passenger seat that requires
the front airbag to be tu rned off. If the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the cond it ions stored in its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
on the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For ex ample , the air b ag ma y deplo y if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re ­
gardless of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c::, page 153),
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the fron t passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the i nstr ument pane l will come on and stay on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) if: .,..

Airbag syste m
detail below . Because the front passenger seat
contains important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, you must take care to prevent it from be­ ing damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat
from doing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag System con sis ts
of the follow ing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control un it "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the informa tion rece ived from
the crash sensors. The con trol un it also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control va lve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under the upholste ry
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat. The information registered is sent continuously to
the electronic control un it to regu late dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
r=> page 139.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
electron ic co ntro l unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- T he
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l
c>page 139, fig . 135 and tells you when
the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenge r to measure the tension on
136 the safety belt
. The tension on the safety be lt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens ­
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front a irbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned
off or not c> page 130, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ro ni c
cont ro l unit .
_&. WARNING
Damage to the fron t passenger seat can pre­
vent the front a irbag from working properly.
- I mproper repa ir or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger o r driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp obje cts in yo ur pocke ts or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is p unctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the weight registe red by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­ formation to the airbag contro l unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­ bag System from recogniz ing ch ild

Airbag syste m
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front passen­
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air­
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
PASS ENGE R AIR BAG OFF will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent places on your Audi . Install ing , remov­
ing, servicing or repa iring a part in an area of the
veh icle can damage a part of a n airbag system
and p revent that system from working properly
in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of the
sys tem w ill not be impaired and that d iscarded
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 preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly :
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or a irbag cover or the in ­
strument panel or modify them in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. So lvents or cleaners
could 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 work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or electrical system (in­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
142 who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference :
- Never install seat covers or rep lacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi .
- Never use additional seat cushions 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 are a of the side ai rbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an authorized Aud i dealer.
- The a irb ag sys tem can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it mus t
be rep laced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualif ied technic ian who has the technical
information, training and specia l equipment
necessary.
- The a irbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new replacement parts des igned and approved espec ially for
your Aud i model version. Replacement of
comp lete airbag systems or airbag compo­
nents must be perfo rmed by qualified work­
shops only. Ma ke s ure tha t any airbag serv­
ice action is entered in yo ur Audi Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- In accidents when an airbag is deployed, the
vehicle battery separates the alternator and
the starter from the vehicle electrical sys­
tem for safety reasons with a pyrotechn ic
circuit interrupter .
- Work on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inte rrupt­
er must on ly be performed by a qua lified
dealer -risk of an acc iden t!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter is
scrapped, all app licable safety precautions
must be followed .
~

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All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and it is important for
occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy .
Fu lly inflated airbags in comb ination with proper­
l y worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc­
cupant 's forward movement and help to reduce
the r isk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
A pp lies to vehicles: with k nee a irbags
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 passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
to provide supplementa l protection.
& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in­
jury. Wear ing safety belts incorrect ly and im­
proper seati ng 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 locat ions. When adjusting the ir
seat positions, it is important that both the
driver and the front passenger keep their
upper bod ies and knees at the followi ng
min imum safe distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instr ument
panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if you
lean forward or to the s ide, or if the seat is
improperly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt . The risk increases even
more should the airbag dep loy.
-
Ai rb ag system
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate w ithout interference. Objects be­
tween you and the airbag can increase the
risk of injury in an accident by interfer ing
with the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into yo u as the a irbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children or
animals ride in the footwell in front of the passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can resu lt in serious or fatal injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­
senger's seat. Bulky objects (shoppi ng
bags, for example) can i nterfere with or
preve nt proper deployment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag dep loys and injure yo u
or you r passengers.
- Ma ke sure there are no cracks, deep scratch­
es or othe r damage in the area of the instr u­
men t pa nel where the knee a irb ags are lo­
ca ted.
- If ch ildren are inco rrectly se ated, their r isk
of injury in creases in a coll is io n
~ page 151, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 138 Side a irbag location in the drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
fron t seat backres ts
q fig. 138 . They are iden ti­
fied by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag sy stem basi cally con sis t s of : ..,.
145

Child safety
exceptional circumstances and the PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
ward-facing child safety seat in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system in­
spected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions 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 possible before installing the child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to
an upright position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
152
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand ­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size. The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
· Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de­
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight of
the child and the child safety seat and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de­
sign of the child restraint and its "footprint", the
size and shape of the bottom of the child re ­
straint as it sits on the seat . The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for different
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint offered
by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes
and models of child restraints that the NHTSA
has specified in the Safety Standard together
with the weight ranges of typical infants and typ-
ical 1 year-old child have been stored in the .,..

Smart Technolog y
shared, ple ase see your contract with the
wireless telecommunications provider and the "About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI*:
I MENU ! button > Audi connect > About
Audi conne ct .
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 control.
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 sp in (yaw) out of control and
he lps you to ge t the vehicle back u nder cont rol by
selectively braking the wheels, and/or reducing
engine power and providing steering assistance
to help hold the vehicle on the driver's intended
course. The indicator light
liJ in the instrument
cluster blinks when ESC is taking action to help
you control the veh icle.
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
d itions 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. Whe n
there is a section of d ry road that is s uddenly cov ­
ered wi th wa ter, s lush or snow, ESC cannot per­
form the same way it wou ld on the d ry surface . If
the vehicle hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of wa ­
ter instead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because contact
with the pavement has been i nterrupted and the
ve hicle cannot be braked or steered. Dur ing fast
cornering, particula rly on w inding roads, ESC
cannot a lways deal as effect ively with d iff icu lt
d riving situat ions than at lower speeds. When
towing a trailer, ESC is not able to he lp yo u regain
con trol as it wou ld if yo u were not towing a trail­
er .
A lways adjust you r speed and dr iving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC cannot
override the vehicle's physical limi ts, increase the
170
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 ve hicle under control and on the road dur ing
extreme maneuvers by using the dr iver's steering
i nputs 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 p rov ide any assistance, you may not expe ri­
ence the benefi ts of ESC.
ESC is switched o n all the time. In ce rtain s itua­
tions when you need less traction, you can switch
off ASR by p ress ing the button [!]¢
page 171,
fig. 153 or ¢page 171, fig. 154. Be s ure to
swi tch ASR on again when you no longe r need
l ess traction .
The following system s are integrated in the ESC:
Anti- lock braking s ystem (ABS )
ABS prevents the wheels from locki ng up when
braking. The vehicle ca n still be steered even dur­
i ng hard braki ng . Apply steady pressure to the
brake pedal. Do not pump t he pedal. A pu lsing in
t h e b ra ke peda l ind icates that the system is he lp­
i ng yo u to b ra ke the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake ass ist system can decrease brak ing dis ­
ta nce. It increases braking power when the d river
presses the bra ke peda l quickly in emergency sit­
u at ions. You must press and hold t he b ra ke peda l
u nt il t he s ituation is ove r. In vehicles with adap­
tive cru ise contro l*, the bra ke assist system is
more sensitive if the distance detected to the ve ­
hicle ahead is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces eng ine power when the d rive wheels
begin to spi n and adap ts the force to the ro ad
cond it ions . This makes it eas ie r to start, acce le r­
ate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL bra kes whee ls that a re spinn ing and
t ransfers the dr ive power to the othe r drive wheel
o r whee ls if the ve hicle is equippe d wi th a ll-wheel
drive*. T his function is not available at higher
speeds .

M N
0 l­oo
rl I.O
"' N
"' rl
In extreme cases, EDL a utomatica lly switches off
to help keep the brake on the braked whee l from
overheating. EDL w ill switch on again automati ­
cally when conditions have returned to normal.
Steering re commendat ion
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by chang ing
the steering torque.
I n vehicles with dynamic steeri ng*, ESC also
h e lps to stabilize the steering in critical s itua­
tions .
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
sel ectiv e wheel torque control*
The electron ic in teraxle d iffe ren tial lock (front
wheel drive) or the selective wheel torq ue contro l
(all wheel drive) operates when driving through
curves. The front whee l on the ins ide of the cu rve
or both whee ls on the inside of the curve are
braked selectively as needed. Thi s allows more
precise driving in curves. The applicable system
may not activate when driving in wet or snowy
conditions .
_&, WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems cannot
overcome the laws of physics. This is espe­
ci al ly impo rtant on slippe ry or wet roads. If
the sys tems begin acting to stabilize your
Switching on/off
Smart Technology
veh icle, you shou ld immediately change
your speed to matc h the road and traffic
conditions. Do not let the increased safety
provided by these systems tempt you to
take risks . Do ing so will increase the risk of a
loss of vehicle control, collision and serious
personal injuries.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions. The risk of losing con­
trol of the vehicle inc reases when dr iving
too fast, espec ially through curves and on
slippery or wet roads, and when dr iving too
close to vehicles up ahead . The ESC and its
integrated systems cannot a lways prevent
coll isions -there is sti ll a risk of accidents!
- Always accelerate with special care on even,
smooth su rfaces such as those that are wet
or covered with ice and snow. The drive
wheels can spin even with these assistance
systems that can not always help to reduce
the risk of loss of vehicle cont rol.
{!) Tips
-ABS and ASR only work correct ly when a ll
four wheels are equipped w ith ident ica l
tires. Different tire sizes can lead to a reduc­
tion in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems de­
scribed are working.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig. 153 Version A: lowe r ce nter console,~ OFF button
The ESC is designed to function in levels. Depend­
i ng on the level that is selected, the stabilization
function o f the ESC is limited or switched off . The
F ig. 154 Versio n B: uppe r ce nter console,~ OFF button
amount of s tabilization control will differ de­
pend ing on the level.
a, N N N ,.: CX) m
171