light AUDI A7 2014 Owners Manual

~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety s eat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::;,page 186 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢page 186.
~ If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c::;, page 192.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 181.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must alw ays be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
c:::;, fig. 173 and c:::;, fig . 174 .
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 safe­
ty seat .
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in-
-
Child Safety 183
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
c::;, page 57. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop­
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::;, page 140, Safety
belts, c::;, page 149, Airbag system
and
c::;, page 175, Important things to know.
A WARNING
-= -
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
•
•

184 Child Safety -Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­ ble before installing the child restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
-Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer. -
Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
"' ....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 175 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos­
te r seat
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft . 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly. ..,.

186 Child Saf ety
- Childre n on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury o r dea th .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep ­
t io nal circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the igni tion is sw itch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
doe s not come on and stay on, perform
the chec ks described ¢
page 161, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off th e fron t pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 140 , Safety
belts,¢ page 149, Airbag system
and
¢ page 175, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety bel ts for the rear sea ts and the front
passenger can be locked with the conver tible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenge r's seat safety belt have a co n­
ve rtible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints . T
he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the sa fety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
duri ng norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o n ly be prope rly insta lled when t he safety belt
i s loc ked so that the ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system , all
c h ildren, especially thos e 12 years and young­
er, sho uld alw ays r ide in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
_& WARNING
Im prop erly ins talled ch ild safety sea ts in­
crease the risk o f serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the sa fe ty bel t re­
trac to r i s loc ked w hen insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locke d safety belt re­
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ic h the center rear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fety belt is
be ing used to secu re a child rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child res traint will be
throw n forward togethe r with t he back ­
rest and will strike part s of t he vehi cle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never insta ll re ar-f acing child s afety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas ­
sen ger seat . A child will be serious ly in ­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ge r airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the c hild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat ..,.

and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
-Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described ¢
page 161, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
Child Safety 187
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the
child restraint is properly installed, make
certain that the child restraint is correct­ ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal airbag status.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
.8. WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward -facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
•
•

188 Child Safety
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi ­
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
"" Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
""Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
""Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path¢,&. .
"" Push the child safety se at down with you r
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
"" Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
""Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
""You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retracto r. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
"" Make sure that the red release button is fac ­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
""Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING .,__
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 175. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 151, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
"" Press the red button on the safety belt buck­
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le.
""Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
IJll-

192 Child Safe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 180 Tether ancho rs: attachment hook locations
behind the rear seatbacks
The tether anchors for the two/three* rear
seating positions are located o n the backside
of the rear seatbacks ¢
fig. 180. Vehicles with
two rear seating positions are equipped with
two tether anchors.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that attaches the top part o f a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of t he tether is to reduce the for­
ward movemen t of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve ­
hicle interior.
F orward facing child rest ra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
st rain t you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de­
signed to w ithstand on ly those loads im ­
posed by corre ctly fitted ch ild restraints. -
Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment .
- Never use child restraint tether ancho ­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds o f occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and t he
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system i nspe cted by your
Aud i deale r.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 181 Tether strap: proper routing and mou nting
Installing the tether st rap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
s traint manufacture r's instructions.
• Guide the upper te ther s trap
und er the rear
head restraint¢
fig. 181 (raise the head re ­
straint if necessary) .
• Attach the tether strap ancho rage hook into
the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
• Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions. ..,

Relea sin g the teth er str ap
"' Loosen the tens ion following the child re ­
stra int manufac turer's instructions .
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
I f you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled . The upholstery would a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leat her
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint sys ­
tems come with a tether. P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determ ine how to
p roperly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenge r seat
w ill be se riously injured and can be killed if
t he fron t air bag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inf lat ing airb ag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w it h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have t he a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi de aler.
Child Sa fet y 193
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number o f sources of additiona l
information abo ut child restraint se lection, in ­
stallation and use :
N HT SA advises t hat the bes t ch ild safety seat
is the one that fits your chi ld and fits in your
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888 -3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www. n hts a .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 66 2-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety Belt Safe U .S .A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
Te l.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat .org
Transpo rt Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 o r ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa a rea
http://www .t c .gc. ca/eng/ roadsafety/
men u.h tm
Audi Cu stomer R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834 •
•

194 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to veh icles: with Audi pre se nse
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help pro­
tect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The functions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli­
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*: the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap.
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig­
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the deploy­
ment time is adapted in
Dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the
limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli ­
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al­
so calculated . If the system senses an immi­
nent collision the following functions can be
tr iggered :
- Braking guard
c::> page 92
- Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav -
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli­
hood of a rear-end collision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated.
If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered:
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail­
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
_& WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks. This will increase
the r isk of a collis ion and serious personal
in juries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­
jects. This increases the risk of a colli­
s10n.
-Aud i pre sense does not detect people or
an im als or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path
c::> page 86.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray
and reflections from guard rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi­
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac ­
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au­
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.

196 Intelligent technology
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 fo r the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "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.
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 normal 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 pe riod 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
skidd ing and loss of vehicle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, 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 assistance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
G) 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 wi ll 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 wou ld 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.
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 traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during ex treme 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.

198 Intelligent technology
@ Tips
-ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped w ith identi­
ca l tires. Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduct ion in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems described are working.
Switching on and off
- If the indicator light DJ or til] (USA
mode ls)/ [I] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
¢ page 20 ,
¢page 19.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig. 18 2 Cent er co nsole, f). O FF bu tton
ESC levels
Sport mode on
The following situations are exceptions where
it may be usefu l to switch on sport mode to
allow the wheels to sp in:
- Rocking the vehicle to free i t when i t is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose g round
- Driving with snow chains
Sport mode off
Beha vio r
The ESC a nd ASR stabilization fun ct ions The fu ll stabilization function o f the ESC
are limited¢ .&,.
Op eration Pr ess the 1.$ O FFI button .
Indicato r I) turns o n.
lights
Driv er mes- Stabiliza tion control (ESC ): Sport.
sage s Warning! R educed stability
,8. WARNING
You should only switch sport mode on if
your driving abilities and road cond itions
permit.
- The stabilization function is limited
when sport mode is sw itched on. The
dr iv ing whee ls could spin and the vehicle
cou ld swe rve, especially on slick or slip­
pery road surfaces .
{D) Tips
-Sport mode cannot be switched on when
adaptive cruise control* is switched on.
-
and ASR is availab le again .
Press the
1 .$ O FF I button again.
fl tu rns off.
Stabilization c ontrol (ESC ): On
- If the rear spo iler system malf unct ions,
s port mode may no t switch on o r it may
sw it c h off ag ain autom atically.