trailer AUDI A5 CABRIOLET 2013 Owners Manual

Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Why safety be lts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Safety belt pretens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 138
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 140
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Mon itor ing the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Knee ai rbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 55
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1
I mpor tant th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 16 1
C hi ld safety sea ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 7
I ns tall ing a chi ld safety seat . . . . . . . . 171
L A T CH Lower anchorages and tether
for children ... .... .... ... .. .. .. .. 175
Addit ional Information
178
Vehicle operat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 179
Not ice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules.......... .... .. .. 179
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) . 179
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
E lect ro-mechanical power assist ,
dynamic stee ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Driving w ith your qu attro ® . . . . . . . . . 184
E nergy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving and environment . . . . . 18 7
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 187
Driving through water on roads . . . . . 187
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Operate your vehicle econom ically and
minim ize pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Driving w ith a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Trailer towing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Table of contents 3
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
194
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 194
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
207
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Engine compartment .............. 214
E ngine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
En gine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Br ake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Windshie ld/headlight* washer
container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Tire pressure monitoring system 245
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 248
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 8
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Space-saving spare tire (compact
spare tir e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Changi ng a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2SS
Fuses ... .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ...... . 255
Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 259
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Starting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . 259
Star ting with jumpe r cables . . . . . . . . 259
U se of jumpe r cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
E mergency towing with commercia l
tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Lifting vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
•
•

82 On the road
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline , do the following:
.,. Keep the switch@¢ fig. 92 pulled and de­
press the accelerator . The parking brake
stays applied and prevents the vehicle from rolling backward .
.,. You can release the switch @once you are
sure that you a re develop ing enough dr iv ing
f orce at the wheels by dep ress ing the accel­
erator.
Depending on the weight of the r ig (veh icle
and tra iler) and the seve rity of the in cli ne , you
may roll backwards as you start . You can pre ­
vent rolling backwards by holding the parking brake switch @ pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill with
a conventional hand brake.
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­tem
foils or locks.
... In an emergency, pull the switch @
¢
fig. 92 and continue to pu ll it to slow your
vehicle down with the parking brake.
.,. As soon as you release the sw itch @ or ac-
celerate, the braking process stops.
If you pu ll the switch @and ho ld it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the emergen­
cy braking function is in iti ated. The vehicle is
braked at al l four wheels by activating the hy­
d raul ic brake system . T he brake performance
is simi lar to making an eme rgency stop¢.&. .
In order not to activate the emergency brak­ ing by mistake, an audible warning tone (buz­
zer) sounds when the switc h@ is pulled . As
soon as the switch @is released, or the accel­
e rator pedal is dep ressed , emergency b ra ki ng
stops.
.&_ WARNING
Emergency braking sho uld only be used in
an emergency, when the normal foot brake
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed . Using the par
king brake to pe rform emer­
gency braking will s low your veh icle down
as if you had made a full brake application.
The laws of p hysics cannot be suspended
even with ESC and i ts associated compo­
nents (ABS, ASR, EDS). In corners and
when road o r weathe r cond itions are bad,
a full brake appl ication can ca use the vehi­
cle to s kid or the rear end to break away -
risking an acciden t.
Speed warning system
Overview
The speed warning system helps you to keep
your driving speed below a set speed limit.
T he speed warning system warns if the driver
e xc eeds a previously stored max imum speed .
A warning tone w ill sound as soon as the vehi ­
cle speed exceeds the set speed by abou t
3 mph (3 km/h) . At the same t ime, a warning
symbol appears in the display . T he symbol's
appea rance might be different in some mod­
els .
The speed warn ing system has two warning
t hr esholds that funct io n in dependent ly of
each other and that have somewhat diffe rent
purposes:
Speed wa rning 1
You can use speed warning 1 to se t the maxi­
mum speed while you are driving . T his setting
will remai n in effect unt il you turn off the ig ni­
t io n, assuming that you have not changed or
r ese t the sett ing.
The . (USA mode ls)
I. (Canada mode ls)
speed warning symbol in the warning 1 dis­
play appears when you exceed the maximum
speed .
It goes ou t when the speed falls be low
the stored maximum speed .
T he speed warn ing symbol will also go out if
the speed
exceeds the stored maximum speed
by more than about 25 mph (40 km/h) for at
least 10 seconds. The sto red max imum speed
is de leted . .,..

Audi side assist Lane change assistant
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
Fig . 114 Sensor dete ction ra n ge
Fig . 115 Disp la y on th e e xterio r mirro r
Side assist he lps you mon itor your blind spot
and traffic behind you r veh icle. W ith in the
limits of the system, it warns you about
vehicles that are coming closer or tha t are
traveling w ith you within sensor ra nge
(D
c::, fig . 114 : if a lane change is class ified as crit­
ical, the display @ in the exterior mirror
c::> fig. 115 turns on.
The display in the left exterior mirror provides
assistance when making a lane change to t he
l eft, while the display in the right exter ior mir­
r or p rov ides assistance when making a lane
change to t he right .
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you about vehicles that are
detected and class ified as crit ical. The display
i n the respec tive mirro r turns o n, but is d im .
Aud i side assist 103
The display remains d im intentionally in the
information stage so that your view toward
the front is not disturbed .
Warning st age
If you activate the turn signal, s ide assist
warns you about veh icles that are detected
and classified as critical. The display in the re ­
spective mirror blinks brightly . If this hap­
pens, check traff ic by glanc ing in the rearview
mirror and over your shoulder¢
A in General
information on page 104 .
@ Tips
-You can adjust the brightness of the dis­
play @¢
page 105 .
-Please refer to the instructions fo r tow­
ing a trailer located in¢
page 104.

104 Audi side assist
General information
App lies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
®
©
Fig. 116 Driving sit u at ions
F ig . 11 7 Rea r of th e ve hicle: positio n of t he se nso rs
Side assis t fu nctions at speeds above app rox i­
ma tely 19 mph (30 km/h).
(D V ehicles that are approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
cr itical for a lane change
even if it is still
somewhat far away. The fas ter a vehicle ap­
p ro aches, the sooner the disp lay in the exteri­
or m irror will t urn on.
@ Vehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling w ith you are indicated in the
exterior m irror if they are classified as cr it ical
for a lane change. All vehicles detec ted by
side assis t are in dicated by the time they en­
ter your "blind spot", at the latest.
@ Vehicles left behind
If you s low ly pass a ve hicl e tha t sid e ass ist has
dete cted (t he difference in s peed between the
vehicle and you r vehicle is less than 9 mph
(15 km/h), the display in the exter ior mirror
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your
blind spot.
The display wi ll not t urn on if you quickly pass
a vehicle that s ide assist has detected (the dif ­
ference in speed between the ve hicle and your
vehicle is greater than 9 mph (15 km/h).
Functional lim itations
T he radar senso rs are designed to detect the
left and right adjacent lanes whe n the road
l anes a re the normal width. In certain situa­
t ions, the d isp lay in the exterior mirror may
turn on
even though there is no ve hicle locat­
ed in the area that is cr itical for a la ne cha nge.
Fo r example:
- if the lanes are narrow or if your are driving
on th e edge of your lane. If this is the case,
the system may have detected the vehicle in
another la ne that is
not adjacent to you r
cur rent lane .
- if you a re driving throug h a c urve . Side assist
may react to a vehicle that is one lane ove r
from the ad jacent lane .
- if side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or d isp laced gua rd rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side assist
fu nctions are limited .
Do not
cover the radar sensors c::> fig. 117 with
stickers, depos its, bicycle wheels or other ob­
jects, because this will affect the funct ion. Do
not use s ide ass ist when towing a trailer . For
i nforma tion on cleaning, refe r to
c::> page 198 .
&_ WARNING
-Always pay a ttention t o traffic and to th e
ar ea arou nd your vehi cle. Side a ssist c an­
no t repl ace a driver 's atte ntion. The driv ­
er a lone is always res ponsible fo r lane
cha nges a nd similar driving maneuvers.

106 Audi side assist
- Side assist is not active wh ile you are
making the adjus tment.
- Your settings are automatica lly sto red
and ass igned to the remote control key
being used.
Driver messages
App lies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
If s ide ass ist switches off by itse lf, t he LED in
the butto n tur ns off a nd a message will ap­
pear in t he instr ume nt cl uster d is p lay:
Audi side assist unavailable : Sensors blocked
T he radar sensors' vision is a ffected. Do not
cover the area in front of the senso rs with bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects . Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
¢fig. 117.
Audi side assist : Currently unavailable
Side assist can not be swi tched on tempora ril y
bec ause there is a mal func tio n (for ex am ple,
the ba ttery cha rge leve l may be too low) .
Audi side assist : System fault!
The system ca nnot guara ntee that it w ill de­
tec t ve hicles co rrec tly and it is sw itched off .
Th e senso rs have been displaced o r are faulty .
H ave the sys tem che cked by an au thor ized
Au di d eale r or auth oriz e d Au di S ervice Fa cility
soon .
Audi side assist : Unavailable when towing
Side assist sw itches off automatically when a
factory- insta lled trailer hitch is connected to
the elec trical connector on the trailer . There is
no guarantee the system will switc h off when
usi ng a retrofitted t railer hi tch . Do not use
si de assis t when towing a tra iler .

_& WARNING
-Sensors have dead spaces in which ob­
jects cannot be detected. Be especially
alert for small children and animals,
since they are not always detected by the
sensors.
- The acoustic park ing system is not a sub­
st itute for the driver 's own caution and
alertness. Ultimate responsibi lity always
remains with the driver during parking
and simi lar maneuvers . Always watch
where you are driving.
- You should always adjust the volume and
frequency of the warning tones so that
yo u can easily hear the acoustic distance
warning even if the radio is p laying, the
air-cond itioner blower is on High or there
is a high level of outside noise .
- Check the settings whenever anyone
else has driven the vehicle before you.
(D Note
-Remember that low obstacles for which
a warn ing has already been issued may
"dive" below the system's sensing zone if
the vehicle is being backed up closer. In
this case, the warning sound shutting off
does
not in dicate that you have cleared
the obstacle . Instead, impact is immi­
nent.
- Objects such as trailer hitches, chains,
narrow posts or fences covered by a th in
l ayer of paint may not always be detect­
ed by the system. They can still damage
your vehicle without warning .
@ Tips
Keep the sensors in the rear bumper clean
and free of snow and ice so that the acous­
tic parking assist system can function
properly.
Park assist 111
Adjusting the warning tones
Applies to vehicles: with parking system (rear)
The warning tones can be adjusted in the
MM!*.
.. Select: I CAR ! function button > Parking sys­
tem .
Or
.. Select:
I CAR I function button > Car sys ­
tems *
control button > Driver assist > Park­
ing aid .
- Rear volume -
rear sensor volume
-Rear frequency -rear sensor frequency
-Music volume while parking -when the
parking system is switched on, the volume
of the active audio source is lowered.
The newly ad justed value is briefly heard from
the signal generator. The settings are auto­
matically stored and assigned to the master
key with remote control.
Parking system (rear,
with rear view camera)
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with parking system (rear, with rear
v iew camera}
Fig. 121 Parking mode 1: reve rse park ing
Fig. 122 Park ing mode 2: parallel parking

The accuracy of the orientation lines and blue
surfaces diminis hes if:
- the rear view camera does not prov ide a re li­
able image, for examp le, in poor vis ibility
conditions or if the lens is dirty,
- the image on the screen is not visible due to
sun g lare and reflection .
Caring for th e rear view came ra lens
The rear view camera is located above the rear
license plate b racket . Fo r the pa rking assist to
ope rate, the lens,=:,
fig. 124 must be kept
clean:
- Dampen the lens with a househo ld alcohol­
based glass cleane r, and clean the lens with
a dry cloth
,=:, CD.
- Remove s now with a hand brush and ice
prefe rably with a de-icing spray
,=:, (D .
A WARNING
- T he pa rking aid cannot repla ce the dr iv­
er's attention. The driver a lone is respon­
sible for parking and similar driving ma­
neuvers .
- Always keep your eyes on the vehicle's
su rroundings, using the rear view mirror
as well.
- Do not a llow yourse lf to be d istracted
from traffic by the rear view camera pic­
tures.
- If the position and the installation ang le
of the camera has changed, fo r example,
after a rear end collision, do not continue
to use the system for safety reasons. Have it checked by a qua lified dealership.
(D Note
- Low obstacles already signaled by a
warning can disappear from the system's
detection range as they are approached
and will not continue to be signaled . Ob­
jects such as barrier cha ins, trailer draw
bars, thin pa inted ve rtical po les o r fe n­
ces may not be detected by t he system,
pos ing risk of damage.
- Never use warm or hot water to remove
s n ow or ice from the rear view camera
.
P ark a ssis t 113
lens -dange r of crack format ion on the
lens !
- When cleani ng the lens, never use prod­
ucts that a re ab rasive.
Switching on/off
Applies to vehicles: with parking system (rear, with rear
view camera)
The rear view camera switches on automati­
cally together with the acoustic park assist
when you put the vehicle in reverse.
Switching on
"' Put the veh icle in reverse gear, the acoust ic
parking system with rear view camera is ac ­
tivated automat ica lly. Act ivat ion of the
acoust ic par king system is confirmed by a
brief ac knowledgement sou nd.
Switching off
"' Drive faster than 9 mph (15 km/h) , or
"' take the vehicle out of reverse gear . The
acoust ic park ing system is immediate ly de­
activated, and the rea r view came ra p icture
is deact ivated a utomat ically afte r a pe riod
o f abo ut 1 5 seconds , or
"' switch off the ignition.
T he de lay in deact ivat ing the came ra prov ides
an unin terrup ted view beh ind the ve hicle es­
pe cially when mane uver ing in tig ht park ing
spaces and prevents the picture from t urning
off the every time you shift out of reverse .
If the wa rning mess age ap pears in the dis play
but not the rea r view came ra p icture, read and
confirm the warni ng message. The acoustic
distance signal is always active .
If you press a fu nction button on the M MI
control console, the rea r view came ra p icture
disappears . The rear view camera picture reap­
pears the next time yo u pa rk.
Fur the r in forma tion on the warning mess age
and the MMI con tro l conso le can be found in
the MMI instruction book let.
Ill-

114 Park assist
@ Tips
-The rear view camera picture is available
as soon as the MMI Display or the MMI is
switched on, or the start-up phase is
completed.
- Keep the sensors in the rear bumper and
the rear view camera lens clean and free
of snow and ice, so that the parking sys­
tem can work properly. Please follow the
additional notes on
~page 116.
Reverse Park ing
Appl ies to vehicles: with parking system (rear, wit h rear
view came ra)
Parking mode 1 can be used when parking in
a garage or parking space.
Fig. 125 MMI Display : Aiming at a parking spot
Fig. 126 MMI Display: Alig ning the vehicle
"' Switch the MMI on and select the reverse
gear.
"' Turn the steering wheel until the orange
orientation lines
(D appear in the parking
spot ¢
fig. 125 . Use the markings @to help
you estimate the distance from an obstacle .
Each marking corresponds to 3
ft (1 m) . The
blue area represents an extension of the ve- hicle's outline by approximately
16
ft (5 m)
to the rear.
"' While driving in reverse gear, adjust the
steering wheel angle to fit the parking space
with the aid of the orange orientation lines
¢ 0 . @ marks the rear bumper . You should
stop driving in reverse as soon as and no lat­
er than when the red orientation line©
abuts an object¢_&. !
_& WARNING
-The rear view camera does not show the
entire area behind the vehicle
¢ fig. 123.
Watch out especially for small children
and animals. The rear view camera can­
not always detect them, posing risk of an
accident!
- Please note that objects not touching the
ground can appear to be further away
than they really are (for example, the
bumper of a parked vehicle, a trailer
hitch, or the rear of a truck). In this case,
you should not use the help lines to help
with parking, which poses danger of an
accident!
(D Note
- Low obstacles already signaled by a
warning can disappear from the system's detection range as they are approached
and will not continue to be signaled. Ob­
jects such as barrier chains, trailer draw
bars, thin painted vertical poles or fen­
ces may not be detected by the system,
posing risk of damage.
- In the MMI display, the direction of trav­
el of the vehicle rear is represented de­
pending on the steering wheel angle.
The vehicle front swings out more than
the vehicle rear . Maintain plenty of dis­
tance from an obstacle so that your out­ side mirror or a corner of your vehicle
does not collide with any obstacles -dan­
ger of accident!

Parallel Parking
Applies to vehicles: with parking system (rear, with rear
view ca mera)
Use parking mode 2 to help you pork on the
edge of o street.
F ig. 127 MMI Display : bl ue s urface in the park ing spot
Fig. 128 MMI Display: Blue curve on t he cur b
The following steps app ly only when there is
no obstacle (such as a wall) near the parking
spot. Otherwise, please read the "Tips on
Parking Next to Obstacles".
• Activate the turn signal.
• Switch the MM I on and se lect the reverse
gear. The parking aid turns on and park ing
mode 1 appears on the display.
• Position your vehicle parallel to the edge of
the street, approximately 3 ft (1 m) from a parked vehicle .
• Press the
Mode c::> fig. 12 7 (D control but­
ton on the MMI control console. Parking
mode 2 appears.
• Back up in reverse gear and align your vehi­
cle so that the blue area
@ borders on the
rear end of the vehicle o r on the parking
spot line . The blue area represents an exten­
s ion of the vehicle's outline by approximate­
ly 16 ft (5 m) to the rear . The long s ide of
Park assist 115
the blue area shou ld be on the curb. The en­
tire blue area must fit into the parking spot.
• Wh ile the vehicle is stat ionary, turn the
steer ing whee l to the right as far as it wi ll
go.
• Back into the parking spot . Stop the vehicle
as soon as the blue curve touches the curb
<::> fig . 128 .
• Wh ile the vehicle is stationary, turn the
steering wheel to the left as far as it will go.
• Continue to back up into the parking spot
until the vehicle is parked parallel to the
curb .@ marks the rear bumper. You should
stop driving in reverse as soon as and no lat­
er than when the red orientat ion line @
abuts an object¢_& ! Keep an eye on the
front of your vehicle while doing this
c::> 0 .
Parking next to obstacles
When there is an obstacle (such as a wall)
next to the parking spot, choose a spot with
more space on the sides. Posit ion the long
s ide of the blue area so that there is suff ic ient
space from the curb. The area must not be on
the curb . You will also need to start tu rning
the steer ing wheel much earlier. There should
be a sufficient amount of space between the
c urb and the blue curve, and the blue curve
¢ fig. 128 must not touch the curb.
&_ WARNING
- The rear view camera does not show the
entire area behind the vehicle
c::> fig. 123.
Watch out especia lly for sma ll children
and an imals. The rear v iew camera can­
not always detect them, posing risk of an
accident!
- Please note that objects not touching the
ground can appear to be further away
than they really are (for example, the
bumper of a parked vehicle, a trailer
hitch, or the rear of a truck). In this case,
you should not use the help lines to help
with parking, which poses danger of an
accident!
.__ _____________ _J ...

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 179
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
JjJ 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 difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
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 using 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.
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