Driving
Ceramic brakes
Applies to: vehicles with ceramic brakes
conditions (such as temperature and relative hu-
midity).
Ceramic brakes provide excellent braking per-
formance.
Braking effect
To ensure an optimum braking effect, the brake
pads are applied to the brake discs briefly at high
speeds when the windscreen wipers are on.
When new, ceramic brake discs can take much
longer to bed in than normal brake discs. In addi-
tion, noises may occur, particularly at low speeds,
due to the properties of the material. Ceramic
brake discs absorb more moisture in extremely
wet weather. This can cause a temporary reduc-
tion in braking performance in comparison to dry
brakes. You can compensate for this by applying
greater pressure to the brake.
If the brake system is wet, e.g. after driving in
heavy rain, the braking effect may be delayed.
Further causes of a temporary increase in brake
response time include:
– Wet conditions
– Low temperatures, ice and snow
– Salted roads
Multicollision brake assist system
– Dirty brake pads
The multicollision brake assist system can help to
reduce the risk of skidding and further collisions
during an accident. If the airbag control unit de-
tects that a collision has taken place, the ESC sys-
tem applies the brakes.
Corrosion
Corrosion can form on the brake discs if the car is
used infrequently, or if you only drive low mile-
ages. In this case, you can clean the brake discs
by braking firmly a few times from a moderately
The vehicle will not be braked automatically if:
high speed ð
.
– you apply the accelerator, or
Applies to vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive: Use
transmission position N to do so, to prevent the
recuperation function from being used for brak-
ing.
– the brake pressure applied by pressing the
brake pedal is higher than the brake pressure
initiated by the system, or
– the ESC, the brake system or the vehicle's elec-
trical system are not fully functional.
Brake pads
New brake pads do not give full braking effect for
the first 400 km, they must first be “bedded in”.
However, you can compensate for the slightly re-
duced braking effect by applying more pressure
on the brake pedal. Avoid placing a heavy load on
the brakes during the running-in period.
WARNING
– When applying the brakes to clean off de-
posits on the pads and discs, select a clear,
dry road. Be sure not to endanger other road
users; do not risk an accident.
– All brake repairs must be carried out by a
qualified workshop working to the specifica-
tions of the Audi factory – risk of injury! Im-
proper repairs can also impair the function
of the system.
Applies to vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive: Be-
cause recuperation is also used for braking, new
brake pads take 800 km to bed in.
The rate of wear on the brake pads depends a
great deal on how you drive and the conditions in
which the vehicle is operated. For example, the
rate of wear will increase if the vehicle is used
frequently in city traffic, for short distances, or
for hard driving with abrupt starts and stops.
– Never let the car coast with the engine
switched off (this can cause accidents).
– If a braking manoeuvre is initiated by the ve-
hicle, the brake pedal may move automati-
cally towards the floor. Do not rest your foot
underneath the brake pedal – risk of injury!
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