seat adjustment AUDI A8 2011 User Guide

Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restrain ts are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations.
Fig. 137 Head rest raint: viewed from t he front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection.
,.. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible.
Qfig. 137.
Adjusting head rest raints Q page 61.
Crash - active head restraints
In the event of a rear-end collision, it is possi­
ble that the crash-active head restraints on
the driver's seat and front passenger's seatU
are triggered. On head restraints that have been triggered, the padding protrudes for­
wards by several centimeters. Drive the vehi­
cle to your authorized Audi dealer without de­
lay and have the function of the active head
restraints restored .
A WARNING
-
Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad­
justed increases the risk of serious or fatal neck injury dramatically. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
l ) Ve hicl es w ith recl inin g rear seat: T his function is not
ava ilable for the front passe nger 's seat .
Driving Safely 131
-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve­
hicle properly adjusts their head re­
straint. Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint.
- Children must always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and size
Q page 169.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and will even in­
crease the r isk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to critica l areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air­
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children. Therefore:
,.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
Q ,& . .,.
•
•

To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positio ned cor rectly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjus t the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 54, General recommenda­
tions .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even ­
ly across the chest and pelvis
c::> &,. .
""Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely
c::> fig. 144 .
""Pull on the belt to make su re that it is se-
c u rely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractor s
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is fea ­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may also lo ck when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve .
During normal driving the belt le ts you
move
freely.
Safety belt pretensione rs
The safety belts are equipped with a belt p re­
tensioner that helps to t igh ten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensione r is ac­
tivated
c::> page 143. The function of the pre ­
tensioner is monitored by a warning light
c::> page 18 .
Switchable locking f eature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchable locking fea­
ture that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
c:;,page 178.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
c::> page 141, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
-
Safety belts 141
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it
moves from the stron­
ge r parts of the body into critical ar eas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tracto r when you are secu ring a child
se at in the veh icle
c::>page 180.
@ Tips
For informat ion on safety belt pretension­
e rs, refer to
c::> page 143 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 14 S Head restra int and safety belt positio n as
see n from the side
Use the height adjustment to change the posi­
t ion of the shoulder belt of the front safety
belts.
A WARNING
-Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious perso na l inju ry in an a cc i­
dent.
- The s hou lde r belt port io n of the safety
be lt must be posi tioned over the midd le
of the occupant's shoulder and never
across the neck or throat.
-

Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 128,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 55,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 140,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren
r::::> page 169.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 128,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 55.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r::::> page 169.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 145
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer
CARE at 1-800-822-2834 for possible modifi­
cations to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys , a gas gener ­
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the driver and between the instru­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter­ ruption.
A ll of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc­
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash. In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags will not inf late in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the collision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a result of the collision . Vehicle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inf late or not . •
•

152 Airbag sys te m
- Always make su re the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front a nd side airbag .
- Never put the forward- facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­ ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lli ng
the fo rward-facing chi ld restraint. The
b ackres t must be adjusted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light co m es on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets , and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control unit mo nitors the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a ma lfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
ai rbag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged . Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a cra sh .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle ac celera tion/de ce le ra ti on
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System abo ut the severity of the crash . -
An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to fi re
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt prete nsioners shou ld be act ivated .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
th e front passenger .
- A we ight-sensing mat under the upho lstery
padding of the fro nt passenge r seat cushion
that measures the total weight o n the seat.
The info rma tion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elec troni c con trol un it to regu­
la te deployment o f the front Advanced Air ­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitor ing sys tem and indic ator
light in t he instr ument cluster ¢
page 15 6.
- A sensor in each front se at regis ters the dis ­
t ance between the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l o r instrument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent continuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adv a need A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel¢
page 156, fig. 151 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passe nger to measure the tension
on the safety be lt . The tension o n the safety
be lt and the we ight registered by t he
weigh t-sens ing ma t he lp the cont rol unit
" de cide " whe ther the fro nt airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not ~
page 147, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this information to the
electronic control un it .

170 Child Safety
-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 in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a re ar seating posit ion and have the air­
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in­
struct ions 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 a irbag as poss ible before installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight 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.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad ­
vanced A irbag System" in compliance wit h
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as app licab le at the
time your veh icle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the " low-risk" re­
qu irements for 3- and 6-year old ch ildren on
the passenger s ide and small adults on the
driver side . The low risk deployment criter ia are intended
to red uce the risk of in jury
thro ugh interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for examp le, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup ­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front a irbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenge r seat in child restra ints that are list­
ed in the Standard .
Even though your veh icle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, a ll children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly res trained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a child in a for­
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-fac ing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in you r vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us ­
ing the weight-sens ing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tens ion on the safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat and a ch ild blanket on the front passenger
seat. The we ight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the ch ild restraint
and its "footp rint", the s ize and shape of the
bottom of the child res traint as it sit s on the
seat. The weight of a ch ild restra int and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re­
straints and for the different mode ls of the
same kind of chi ld restraint offered by ch ild
restraint manufacturers.
T he weight ranges fo r the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the .,._

-An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats are required to comply with U .S . Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­ men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat .
- Never let babies or older children ride in a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
Child Safety 173
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced 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.
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position .
-Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
~
•
•

176 Child Safety
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be properly restrai ned in a chi ld safety
seat certified for the ir s ize and wei ght
¢
fig. 159 and ¢ fig. 160.
The airba g on the passen ger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
chi ld to r ide. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat. It is a very dan gerous plac e for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong ch ild safety seat or improperly in­
stall ing a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
co llision or other eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly inju red or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat w ill be seriously injured
and can be k illed if the front a irbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant car rier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
arm rest, door o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear sea t.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
sea t because of excep tional circ ums tan­
c es and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rea r-facin g child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 137, Safety
belts,¢ page 145, Airbag system
and
¢ page 169, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a fo rward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require t hat the follow­
i ng spe cial preca utions be ta ken:
- Make sure t he forward-facing seat has
been designed and cert ified by its man u­
facturer fo r use on a front seat with a
p assenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer' s in­
s truc tions prov ided with t he ch ild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmos t position of the passen­
ge r seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
b le before installing the ch ild restraint.
- Always ma ke sure that no thing prevents
the front passenger 's seat from being
moved to the rea rmost pos ition in its
fore and aft ad justment range.
- Always make sure the bac krest is in an
upright pos ition.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignit ion is switched
on.
- I f the light does not stay on, perform the
checks¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the chi ld 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
l ight does not stay on
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
-

-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 collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates .
- 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.
- 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 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Child Safety 1 79
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 156, 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 .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
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 •
•

196 Intelligent technology
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electr ical energy is re­
qu ired, but only a little is generated. It is also
cr itical if the e ngine is not run ning and elect ri­
cal components a re turned on. In th is in­
stance energy is being consumed but none is be ing generated .
I t is in precisely these situations that you w ill
notice energy managemen t actively regulat ­
ing the distrib ution of energy.
Vehicle stands for an ext ended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elect rical compo­
nents are grad ually cu t back o r switched off .
This reduces energy co nsu mption and main­
tains starting cap abili ty
over a longer period.
Be aware that when you unlock you r vehicle,
some of the conve nience funct ions may not
ope rate, such as the Convenience key , the re­
mote cont ro l or the power seat adjustment .
The convenience functions will be availab le
aga in when you switch on the ignition and
start the engine .
With the engine turned off
If yo u lis ten to the radio, for example, with
the eng ine turned off or use othe r MM I fu nc­
tions, the battery is being discharged .
I f sta rting capability is jeopa rdized due to e n­
e rgy consumpt ion, the fo llow ing warning ap­
pears in the MMI disp lay :
Please start th e engine soon or th e syst em
will be turned off .
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 m inu tes .
If
you wish to cont inu e us ing the functions , you
have to start the engine.
With the engine running
Although e lec trical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be ­
come discharged. This happens mostly when
li ttle energy is being generated and a g reat
deal consumed and the battery's state of
charge is not optimal.
To b ring the energy ba lance back into equili­
brium, consumers which req uire especially
l arge amounts of energy are temporar ily cut
back or sw itched off. Heat ing systems i n par­
ticular require a great deal of energy. If you
notice , for example, that the heated seats* o r
the heated rear window are not heating, they have been temporarily cut back or sw itched
off . These systems w ill be available again as
soon as the ene rgy balance has been restored.
You w ill also notice that engi ne idle speed has
been increased slightly . Thi s is normal and not
a cause for con ce rn. By inc reas ing eng ine id le
speed the addi tional energy requ ired is gener­
ated and the battery is charged.

@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposa l
of brake fl uid as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have t he brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte ­
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ive s we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by a service fa­
cility . The electrolyte level shou ld a lso be
checked each time the battery is charged
¢ page 235.
Have the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . Yo u are well adv ised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
b attery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system for safety reasons¢.&.
in Re ­
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 159.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu­
lators , for example) are lost if the battery ter­
m inals a re d isconnected. These func tions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry term inals a re
connected agai n. T o prevent this , the bat tery
should only be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec tric al system when absolu tely necessa ry
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive you r vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical compo­
nen ts are gr adually cut b ack o r swi tched off .
This redu ces energy cons umption and main­
tains starting capab ility over a longer per io d
¢ page 195.
Be aw are tha t when you unlock yo ur vehicle ,
some of the conven ien ce f unct ions may no t
Checkin g and fillin g 233
opera te , such as the Conven ience key*, the re­
mote control or the power seat adjustment .
T he convenience functions will be ava ilab le
again when you switch on the ign ition and
start the eng ine.
Winter operat ion
D uring the w inte r mon ths, bat tery capacity
tends to dec rease as temperatures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed wh ile
starting, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary powe r consum ptio n, pa r­
ticu lar ly in city traffic or when traveling only
short distances. Let your autho riz ed Audi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat­
te ry before w inter sets in¢
page 235 . A well
c h arged battery will not on ly prevent s tarti ng
problems w hen the weather is cold, but wi ll
also last longer.
(D Tips
If you r vehicle is left s tandi ng for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle ba ttery s hould be removed an d
s to red w here i t w ill not fr eeze . T his w ill
p revent it from be in g damaged and having
to be replaced.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the bat tery.
T he battery is lo cated in the l uggage compa rt­
ment unde r the floo r. B efo re you che ck a ny­
thi ng in the luggage com partmen t,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ .&, .
Alw ays heed t he safety warning s, when work­
ing on the vehicle b atte ry or the vehicle e lec -
t rical system to prevent i njury. .,..
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