wheel AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET 2015 Owner's Manual

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Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restrain ts . For
airbags to do their job , occupants m ust al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the dr iver's sea t and steeri ng wheel
p roperly
¢ page 113,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 61,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 126,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect ch ildren
r::::> page 152.
In a collision airbags must inflat e within th e
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemen tal protec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r::::> page 113,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For deta ils
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols
¢ page 61.
It's espe cially important that children a re
p roperly restrained
r::::> page 15 2.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen­
gers ca n and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A ud i work to­
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the dr iver s ide ca n do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 13 1
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, spec ial
modifications to yo ur vehicle may be necessa­
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1-800 -822-2834 .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gene r­
ator will fi ll the ai rbags, break open the pad ­
ded covers, and inf late between t he steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru ­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupa nts can see
t hr ough the w indshield aga in witho ut inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate wi th a g reat dea l of force and noth ing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Fron t airbags in combin ation wi th properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupan t's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve­ hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash. In this way they
help to reduce t he risk of injury to the head
and upper body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms o r the lower parts of the
body .
Both front a irbags w ill not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece le rat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
ele ctron ic co ntro l unit. If thi s rate is below
t he 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 resu lt of the co llision . Veh icle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag s hou ld inflate o r not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and ..,.
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132 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or s oft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or re ar collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed; for example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
you r safety belts ¢
page 123 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from t he steer ing wheel, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestr ained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air ­
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 126, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inflates .
- Never let c hildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 113.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move i nto the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag d uring br akin g or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air ­
bags can become projec tiles and cause
inj ury when an airbag inflates.
.&, WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap ­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness i n a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the importa nt information
and head the WAR NINGS for important de­
t ails about children and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 152. ..,.

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-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.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
o ccupan ts.
F ig . 149 Location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 150 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped w ith an "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicle w as manufac tured. The safety be lts
for the seats have "pretensione rs" that help
to take slack out of the belt system . The pre­
tensioners are a lso activated by the electronic
contro l unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts a lso have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag fo r the driver is in the s teer ing
wheel hub
~ fig. 149 and the airbag for the
A irba g sy stem 135
front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 150 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T he re is a lot you need to know about t he a ir­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety o f your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children .
.&_ WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotec tion.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only suppleme nta l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively w hen used
with p roperly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that eve rybody in your ve­
hicle is p rope rly r est rained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pe cially infants and sma ll children, w ill re­
ceive ser io us i njuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advan ced A irbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
fro nt passenge r airbag if a n infant or a
sma ll child is on the front passenger
seat , nobody can absolutely gua rantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible i n all conceiva­
ble sit uat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicl e.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with the "low risk" option
un der the U.S . Fede ral S tanda rd if a child
that is heavie r th an the typical one-yea r
old child is on the front passenge r seat
a nd the ot her condit ions for a irbag de ­
ployment are met .
-

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-Occ upants who are unbelted, out of posi­
t ion or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye
¢ page 132.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled 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 Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child
sa fety sea t or infant carrier w ith g reat
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest , cente r
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you mus t 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 a nd
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Au di dealer .
A WARNING
Objects betwee n you and t he a irbag will
increase the risk of in jury in a crash by in­
t erfering wi th the way the air bag un folds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport i tems on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat . Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec­
t il es that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate .
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, te le­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob -
-
Airbag system 141
jects) on the doors, ove r o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause in ju ry in a c rash , es ­
pecia lly when the airbags infla te .
- Never recline the front passenger 's sea t
to transport objects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. O bje cts ne ar the air­
bags can become projec tiles and cause
in jur y, partic ula rly when the seat is re ­
clined .
A WARNING
The fine dust create d when air bags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing cond itions .
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory conditions shou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your hands and face with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
T wo separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System ( incl uding the
electron ic co ntro l unit , se nsor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is mo nitore d continuously to
m ake su re that it i s fu nc tioni ng properly •
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-Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment , cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body .
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­ backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace-
Airbag system 145
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- In accidents when an airbag is deployed,
the vehicle battery separates the alterna­
tor and the starter from the vehicle elec­
trical system for safety reasons with a pyrotechnic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer -risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten ­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi ,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control unit. Some suspension changes can, for
•
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146 Airbag system
example, increase the force levels measured
by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in which it would not deploy if the changes had not been made. Other
kinds of changes may reduce the force levels
measured by the sensors and prevent the air ­
bag from deploying when it should.
A WARNING ,.
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance
characteristics as the components origi­
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have not been approved by Audi.
~ WARNING
-
Items stored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the electronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air ­
bag System from working properly .
- Always make sure that nothing can inter-
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee a irbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig. 153 Driver 's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
¢ fig. 153, the knee airbag for the passenger
is at about the same height in the instrument
panel underneath the glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met
¢ page 140, More important things to
know abou t front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in position in a frontal collision so that
the airbags can provide supplemental protec­
tion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc ­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly . This
is why you should always wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requires you to
do so
r::!;> page 123, General notes. ..,.

148 Airbag system
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a ir bags to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
justing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- T he risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy.
-Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
o r anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air­ bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~page 152, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 155 Sid e airbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢
fig. 155. They are iden­
tified by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic contro l module and external
side impact sensors ..,.

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dealer.
,& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions 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 airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
@ Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
M N United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety er
~ Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the ,....,
~ time your vehicle was manufactured .
,....,
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Child Safety 153
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas ­
senger 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 for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the ..,. •
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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom­
municat ions provider. For details regard­
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom ­
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI*:
!MENU ! button> Audi connect > About
Audi con nect .
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 veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and he lps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively b rak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine power and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in­
dicator light
DJ 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
phys ics. It will not a lways 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 situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 171
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations 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 conditions . ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di­
rect ion. 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.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certain sit­
uat ions when you need less traction, you can
switch off ASR by pressing the butto n
[ill
~ page 173, fig. 166 or~ page 173,
fig. 167. Be sure to sw itch ASR on aga in when
you no lo nger need less traction.
The following systems are integrated in the
ESC:
Anti-lock bra king sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
when brak ing. T he vehicle can st ill be steered
even dur ing hard braking. App ly steady pres­
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal ind icates that
the system is helping you to brake the veh icle .
Brake assi st system
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases brak ing power when the
drive r presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the s ituation is over. In
vehicles with adaptive c ruise control*, the
brake assis t system is more sensitive if the
•
•

172 Intelligent technology
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
smal l.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces eng ine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the d rive powe r to the other wheels.
This f unct ion is available up to abo ut 60 mph
(100 km/h) .
In extreme cases, ED L automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from ove rheating. EDL wi ll switch on aga in a u­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
norma l.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the ve hicle by
changing the steering to rque.
In vehicles with dynam ic steeri ng*, ESC also
helps to stabilize the stee ring in critical s itua­
tions.
Select ive wheel torque control
Selective whee l torque control is used when
driving on curves . The front wheel on the in­
side of the curve or both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selective ly as needed.
This a llows mo re prec ise d riving in curves. The
appl icable system may no t activate when d riv­
i ng in wet or snowy condi tions.
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems can ­
not overcome the laws of physics. This is especia
lly important on slippery o r wet
roads. If the systems begin acting to sta­
bilize your veh icle, you should immedi­
ately change your 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 in crease the r is k of a loss of vehi­
cle control, collision and serious person al
in juries.
- Always adap t your speed to road, traffi c
and weather conditions . The risk of los ­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, especially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. The ESC and its integrated sys­
tems cannot a lways p revent collisions -
there is still a risk of acc idents!
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth s urfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
T he drive w heels can spin even w ith
these assistance sys tems that cannot al­
ways he lp to re duce the risk of loss of ve ­
h icle control.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR o nly wo rk correctly when
a ll four wheels are equipped wi th iden ti­
c al tires. D ifferen t tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine powe r.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are workin g.
-If the ind icator light DJ or Ea (USA
mode ls)/ lCOj t here may be a malfunction
~ page 18,
<=>page 19.