brake AUDI A6 2014 Owner's Guide

Automatic Transmission
multitronic, S tronic,
tiptronic
Introduction
App lies to vehicles: with multit ro nic/S tronic/t ipt ronic
The automat ic transm iss ion is controlled elec­
tronically . The transmiss ion ups hifts or down­
shifts automatically depend ing o n which drive
p rog ram is se lect ed.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
tra nsmission selects the most econom ica l
d riving mode .
It will then change up early and
de lay the downshifts to g ive bette r fu el econ­
omy.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode after a k ick- down or when the drive r uses a
sporty driving style ch aracte rized by quick ac­
celerator peda l movements, heavy ac celera­
tion, frequent ch anges in speed and traveling
at the maximum spee d.
I f desired, the drive r can a lso se lect the gears
manually ( tiptronic mode ) ¢ page 111.
Various automat ic transm issions may be in ­
stalled, depend ing o n the mode l:
multitronic transmi ssion
The mult itron ic transm ission is a continuously
variable transmission. Power is transferred us­ i n g a mu ltidisk clutch . In contrast to conven­
tional automat ic transm iss ions using shift ing
ope rations, the transmiss ion ratio in the con­
tinuously va riab le transm iss io n is changed
con tinuously. Th is op timi zes the com fort level
a nd co nserves fuel.
S tronic transmission
The S tronic is a dual -clutch transmission .
P owe r is transfe rred using two clutches that
wo rk ind ependen tly from one a nother. They
r e pl ace the tor qu e conve rter u sed in co nven­
tional a utoma tic transm iss io ns an d allow t he
ve hicl e to accelerate without a no ticeable in ­
ter ruption in traction.
Automatic Transmission 107
tiptronic transmission
In the tipt ronic t ra nsm issio n, p ower is trans ­
f erred by a to rque converter .
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: wit h mult itronic/5 tro nic/tiptro nic
Fig . 1 12 Disp lay in th e inst rume nt cluster: selector
l ever pos itio n
The selector leve r pos ition engaged appears
next to the se lector lever as well as in the in­
strument cluster d isp lay.
P -Park
In this se lector lever posi tion the transm is­
s io n is mechanica lly locked. Engage P on ly
whe n the vehicle is
completely stopped¢&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 110.
T o sh ift i n or out of posit io n P, you must first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease b utton in the selector lever hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from P .
You can shift out of th is position only with the
ignition o n.
R -Reverse
Se lect R on ly when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed¢ A in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 110 .
Before you move the se lector lever to R, press
both the button in the hand le o f the selecto r
lever
and the brake pedal at the same t ime .
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illu­
m inate when the selecto r lever is moved into
R. .,.

108 Automatic Transmission
N - N eutr al
The transmission is in neutral in this position.
Shift to this position for stand ing with the
brakes applied
q .&. in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 11 O.
When the ve hicle is stationary o r at speeds
be low 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply
the footbrake befo re and while moving the
l ever out of N .
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S position, the transmiss io n can be
operated e ither in the normal mode Dor i n
the sport mode S. To select the sport mode S,
pu ll the se lector lever back briefly . Pulling the
lever back aga in will select the normal mode
D. The instrument cluster display shows the
selected driving mode.
In the normal mode D, the transmission a uto ­
mat ica lly selects the suitab le gea r ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load, veh icle speed and driv­
ing style.
Select the sport mode S for sporty driving .
The vehicle makes fu ll u se of the engine's
power. Shifting may become noticeable when
accelerating.
When the ve hicle is stationary o r at speeds
be low 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply
the foot brake before and while moving the lever to D/S out of N .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS q .&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 110.
(D Note
-
Coast ing downh ill with the transmission in
N and the e ngine not r unning w ill result in
damage to the automatic transm iss io n
and possib ly the catalyt ic converter.
@ Tips
- Audi drive select : you ca n adj ust the
sporty s hift c haracte ristics in th e
Dy-
namic driving mode.Swi ll appea r in the
instrument cluster display instead of D.
-If you a cc iden tally selec t N whi le driving,
take your foot off the accelerato r pedal
immediately and wa it for the engine to
slow down to idle before select ing D/S.
- If there is a power fai lure, the selector
lever w ill not move out of the P position.
The emergency release can be used if
this happens
c::>page 113.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptron ic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
' ) ( )
Fig . 113 Shi ft gate: selector leve r lock pos it ions a nd
re lease button high lig h ted
The selector lever lock is re leased as follows:
.,. Tur n the ignition on .
.,. Step on the brake pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the re lease button on the
side of the gear selector knob
c:> fig . 113
with your thumb until you have moved the
selector lever to the desired posit ion.
Automatic selector leve r lo ck
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po­
s itions when the ignit ion is turned on . Yo u
must press the brake pedal and the re lease
button to select another position . As a re­
minder to the driver, the following warni ng
appea rs in the instrument clus ter display
whe n the selector is in P and N:
When stationary apply brake peda l while se-
lecting gear ..,_

The Automatic Shift Lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below
1 mph (2 km/h).
At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the
Automatic Shift Lock is automatically deacti­
vated in the N position.
A time delay element prevents the se lector
l eve r from locking when it is moved thro ugh
the N position (going from R to 0/5). The lock­
ing e lement will lock the selector lever if the
lever is left in N (Neutral) for more than ap­
prox imately 2 second, without the brake ped­
al being pressed.
R elease button
The release button on the selector lever pre ­
vents the lever from being accidenta lly shifted
into certain positions. Depending on the direc­
tion of the shift, the selector lever locks at d if­
ferent positions. The positions are h ighlighted
in the illustration
¢ fig . 113 .
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/t iptronic
Fig . 114 Sh ift gate on the center conso le: selector lev ­
er w ith release button
Starting the engine
.., The selector lever must be in P or N .
Starting off
.., Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
.., Press and hold the release button in these ­
lector lever handle, se lect the desired selec­
tor lever pos ition such as D/S and release
the button .
.., Wa it br iefly until the transmission has sh ift­
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 109
.., Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
accelerate.
Stopping t emporarily
.., Keep the veh icle stationa ry using the brak ­
ing pedal , for example at traffic lights.
.., Do not press the accelerator peda l w hen do­
ing this .
.., To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when you
start dr iving, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines¢.&_ .
.., The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start mov ing once you
press the accelerator pedal.
Stopping /parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the vehicle
could roll. The message
Transm ission: Car
may roll! Shift to park !
appears.
.., Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve-
hicle has come to a complete stop .
.., Apply the parking brake¢
page 78, Parking.
.., Select the P selector lever posit ion c::> ,&. .
Stopping on a n incline
.., Always press the brake pedal to ho ld the ve­
hicle in place and prevent it from "rolling
back"
c::> .&_ . Do not try to prevent the veh i­
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en­
gaged by increas ing the engine speed
c:::, (D ,
Sta rting on an incline
.., Activate the parking brake .
.., With the driving gear selected, press the ac­
celerator peda l carefully. The parking brake
w ill release automatically if your seat belt is
fastened .
Under certain circumstances, such as driving
in the mounta ins, it may be useful to switch
temporarily to the manual shift program in or ­
der to ad just the gears to the driv ing cond i­
tions by han d
¢page 111.
On s lopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P position .
This prevents too much stress from being placed on the locking mechanism. .,.

110 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
multitronic transmission : Your vehicle is
equipped with
hill hold assist allowing you to
start while on an incline. The system is acti­
vated when the brake pedal is pressed down
and held
f o r a few s econds . The brake pres­
sure will hold for
a moment after the brake
pedal loosens to prevent the veh icle from roll­
ing backwards whi le starting up .
A WARNING
- The veh icle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended veh icle movement can cause
serious injury .
- Never leave your vehicle with the eng ine
running wh ile in gea r. If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
act ivate the park ing brake and move the
selector lever to P .
- Power is st ill transmitted to the whee ls
when the engine is running at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition
wh ile the vehicle is stat io nary and the
engine is running .
- Never shift into R or P wh ile driving .
- Before driv ing down a steep slope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic" .
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re­
duces b raking performance, inc reases
braking distance or causes comp lete fail­
ure of the brake system.
- T o prevent the veh icle from rolling back
when stoppi ng on incl ines, always hold it
in place with the brake peda l or parking
brake.
- Never hold the veh icle on an incl ine with
a slipping clutch. The clutch opens auto ­
matically when it becomes too hot from the overload. An indicato
r lamp
[O] illu­
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 112 when the clutch is overload­
ed.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving posit io n engaged when
checking under the hood . Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and is locked in P with the park ing brake set
¢ page 224. O therwise, any increase in
engine speed m ay se t the vehicle in mo­
tion, even with the parking brake ap­ plied .
(D Note
-S tronic- and tiptronic transmission :
When stopping on an incl ine , do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the acce lerator pedal while a driving gear
is se lected. This can cause the transmis­
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti­
vate the parking brake or press the brake
peda l to prevent the vehicle from roll ing.
- S tronic- and tiptronic transmission : A l­
lowing the vehicle to ro ll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
in N will damage the transmission be­
cause it is not l ubricated unde r those cir­
cumstances.
{!) Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
l eased automatically only when the d riv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
Applies to vehicles: with multitro nic/5 tronic/t iptronic
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines .
Hill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is sui table fo r the incline. H ill de­
scent contro l tries to ma inta in the speed ach-
ieved at the time of b raking, with in physica l .,.

and technical limitations. If may still be necessary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
H ill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles w ith the c ruise control system*
c::> page 82, hill descent con trol is also activat­
ed when the speed is set.
A WARNING
-
Hil l descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to app ly the
brakes.
Manual shift program
App lies to vehicles: with multitron ic/S tronic/t iptronic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
Fig . 115 Center co nsole: sh ift ing the gears manually
Fig . 116 Steering wheel: S hift b uttons*
Gear selection with selector lever
The tiptron ic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stationary or on the move .
.,. Push the selector lever to the right from D/
5. An M appears in the instrument cluster
Automatic Transmission 111
display as soon as the transmission has
shifted.
.,. To upshift, push the selector lever forward
to the plus position
0 c::> fig. 115 .
.,. To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 .
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when the se­
lector lever is in D/S or the tiptronic manual
shift program.
.,. To upshift, touch the button on the right
0
c::>fig. 116.
.,. To downshift, touch the button on the left
0 .
.,. If you do not press a shift button within a
short time while in the D/S posit ion, the
transmission will return to automatic mode.
To keep shifting using the shift buttons,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
the D/S position.
The transm iss ion automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached.
The transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is with in the permit­
ted range .
(D Tips
-When you shift into the next lower gear,
the transmission will downshift only
when the re is no possibility of over-rev­
ving the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the
transmission will shift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- T iptron ic is inoperative when the trans­
mission is in the fail-safe mode.

112 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
Kick-down
Applies to vehicles: with multitron ic/S tronic/t iptronic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
Applies to ve hicle s w ith a multit ro nic
t ransmi ssion
When you depress the accelerator pedal be­
yond the resistance po int, the transmission
downshifts into a lower gear ratio depend ing
on the vehicle speed and engine speed. As
l ong as the accelerator peda l is depressed, the
engine speed is automat ica lly regulated for
maximum accelera tion.
Appli es to veh icl es with a S tronic -/,
tiptronic tran smi ssion
When you depress the accelerato r pedal be­
yond the resistance po int, the a utomat ic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle speed and engine speed.
T he upshift into the next higher gear takes
p lace once the maximum specified engine
speed is reached.
A WARNING
,-
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road - there is a risk of skidding .
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop .
Requirement : The engine must be at operat­
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
.. Press the
I~ O FFI button c> page 196 while
the engine is running. The
1B indica tor light
illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Sta bilization contr ol (ESC ): Off Warn ing!
R educed stabi lit y
appears in the dr iver in­
fo rmat io n system disp lay .
.. Move the selecto r lever to position D/S to
select sport mode (5) or select
D ynam ic
mode in Audi dr ive select <=> page 101 . ..
Press the brake pedal strongly with your left
foot and hold it down for at least 1 second .
.. At the same time, press the acce lerator ped ­
al down completely with your right foot un­
til the eng ine reaches and maintains a high
RPM .
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal
w ith in 5 seconds <=>,&. .
_&. WARNING
-Always adapt your dr iving to the traff ic
f low.
- On ly use the Launch Contro l Program
when road and t raff ic condi tions a llow it
and other d rivers w ill not be endangered
or annoyed by your driving and the vehi ­
cle's acceleration.
- Please note that the driving wheels can spin and the vehicle can b reak away
when sport mode is switched on, espe­
cially when the road is slippery.
- Once you have accelerated, you shou ld
sw itch sport mode off by pressing the
I~ OFF I button.
(D Tips
- The transmission temperature may in ­
crease signif icantly after using the
Launch Control Program. If that hap­
pens, the program may not be availab le
for a few minutes. It will be ava ilable
again after a cool-down period.
- When accelerating using the Launch
Contro l Program, all vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads . Th is can result in
increased wear .
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
[O] Tran smi ssio n: Pr ess brake pedal and se­
lect ge ar again
Press the brake peda l and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can the n
continue d riving .
[O] Tran smi ssion overheating: Plea se drive
con servatively

126 Homelink
Homelink
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Homelink u nive rsal remote con­
tro l
The HomeLink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand-held transmitters
from existing equipment.
With Homelink, you can control devices such
as the garage door, security systems, house
lights, etc. comfortably from the inside of you
vehicle.
Homelink makes it possible for you to replace
three different remote controls from devices in your home with one universal remote . Th is
feature works for most garage door and exte­
rior door motor signals. Programming the in­
d iv idual remo te control fo r your remote con ­
trol takes p lace near the center of the radiator
grille. There is a control module attached at
this location .
A one-t ime programm ing of the sensor mus t
be performed before you are able to use sys­
tems w ith Homelink.
A WARNING
- Never use the Homelink transmitter
with any garage door opener that does
have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as requ ired by federal safety stand­
ards. Th is includes any garage door open­
er model manufactured before April 1, 1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder­
al safety standards . Us ing a garage doo r
opener witho ut these fea tures increases
risk of serious injury or death.
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the Homelink remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac­
tivated, this can overstrain motor and
damage its electrical components -an
overheated motor is a fire hazard!
- To avo id possible injuries or property
damage, please always make absolutely
certa in that no persons or objects are lo­
cated in the range of motion of any
equ ipment being operated.
(0 Tips
- If you would like additional information
on the Homelink Un iversal Transceiver,
Homelink compatible products, or to
purchase other accessories su ch as the
Homelink Lighting Package, please con­
tact Homelink at 1 -800-355-3515 or on
the Internet at www.homelink.com.
- For Declara tion of Comp liance to United
States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula ­
tions¢
page 286 .
-For security reasons, we recommend that
you clear the programmed b uttons be­
fore selling the ve hicle .
Operation
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h Ho melink
Fig . 14 2 Headliner: controls
M 0
9 (!)
~
Requirement: The buttons must be program­
med
¢page 127.
"'To open the garage door , press the program­
med b utton . The LED @ will light up o r
flash.
"' To close the garage door, press the button
again .
Ill>

-never knee l on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument pa nel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet o n the ins trumen t pa nel
- never rest you r feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never r ide in the footwe ll
- never r ide in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r is k of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occu­
pants stay in a p ro per seat ing pos it ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
Appl ies to vehicles: with knee a irbags
A WARNING
Always make s ure that the knee ai rbag can
inf late without interfe rence. Objects be ­
tween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
c an res ult in serious or fata l injuries.
- No objects of any k ind sho uld be car ried
in the footwell area in fron t of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat. Bul ky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham ­
per or prevent p roper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
Dr iving Safel y 133
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and in jure you or your passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
i nterfe rence and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats that leave t he pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that ca nnot move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle control and incr ease the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objec ts in the drive r's
footwell. An ob je ct cou ld get into the
pedal area a nd inte rfe re wi th pedal fun c­
tion. In case of sudde n brak ing o r an a c­
cident, yo u wou ld not be a ble to brake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke su re th at nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fas teners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
.,. Ma ke s ure t hat the floor ma ts are prope rly
secured an d cannot move and interfere wi th
the peda ls ~ _& .
Use only floor mats tha t leave the peda l area
u nobstru cte d a nd th at are firmly secured so
that they cannot slip o ut o f position. You can
II>
•
•

194 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict 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.
A lthough 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, eng ine function, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir 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 ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l unit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. 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
skidd ing and loss of vehicle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing eng ine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle on the dr iver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
G) in the inst rument cluster
blinks when ESC is ta king action to help you
control the veh icle.
ESC has limitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It wi ll not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of
dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
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 in terrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring 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.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather condit ions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattent ion. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehicle under con ­
trol and on the road during ex treme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses 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, anti -slip regulation (ASR) , e lectronic dif­
ferential lock ( EDL) and e lectronic interax le
d ifferential lock* . ESC is swi tched on all the
time. In certain situat ions when you need less
traction , you can switch off ASR by pressing
the button
[ru <::;> page 196, fig . 178 . Be sure
to switch ASR on again when you no longer
n eed less t raction.
Anti-lock br aking s ystem (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking . The veh icle can still be steered
even during hard braking . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped ­
a l. A puls ing in the bra ke peda l indicates that
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing
d istance.
It increases braking power when the
driver p resses the brake pedal quic kly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and ho ld the
b rake peda l until the situation is over . In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control* , the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
d istance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti -slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces engine power when the d rive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ie r to
s tart, accelerate and drive up hills.
El ectronic diffe rential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive powe r to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-whee l drive*. This function is available up
t o about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases , ED L automatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating.
E DL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
Int ellig ent technolog y 195
Electronic intera xle differential l ock */
se le ctive wheel torque cont rol *
The electronic interaxle differential lock (front
whee l drive) or the se lective whee l torque
cont rol (all-wheel dr ive) operates when dr iv­
ing through curves . The front wheel on the in­
s ide of the curve or both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selectively as needed .
T his min imizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more p recise d riving through
curves . T he applicable system may no t acti­
vate when driv ing in wet or snowy conditions.
A WARNING
-- ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL and the electronic in­
teraxle diffe rential lock function* cannot
overcome the laws of physics. This is es­
pecially important on slippery or wet
roads . If the systems begin acting to sta­
bilize your veh icle, you should immedi­
ately change yo ur speed to match the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let
the increased safety provided by these
systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing
so will increase the r isk o f a loss of vehi ­
cle control, collision and serious personal inju ries.
-Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and weather conditions . The risk of los­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys­
tem, EDL, ASR and the e lectronic inte r­
axle d iffe ren tial lock function* cannot
preven t coll is ions.
- Always accelerate with spec ial care on
even, smooth surfaces su ch as those that
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 red uce the risk of loss of ve-
hicle control. .,.
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