Audi A4: Side assist

Description

Applies to: vehicles with side assist

Fig. 121 Driving situations and displays in the exterior mirror

General information

Side assist monitors the blind spot and traffic behind your vehicle and provides assistance when you are changing lanes. If the system detects an object approaching and classifies it as critical, the display (1) in the exterior mirror on that side of the vehicle will turn on.

Driving situations

The side assist warning is active at speeds above approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) and can help in situations such as the following:

• Your vehicle is being passed. The faster another vehicle approaches from behind, the sooner the display in the exterior mirror will turn on.
• There are vehicles traveling in the same direction as you in a lane adjacent to yours. The display in the exterior mirror will turn on when the detected object is in the "blind spot", at the latest.
• You are slowly passing another vehicle. If the difference in speed between the two vehicles is less than 9 mph (15 km/h), the display in the exterior mirror will turn on.

Information stage

As long as you do not activate a turn signal, the system will inform you about objects classified as critical by turning on the display in the respective exterior mirror (1).

The display remains dim in the information stage so that you are not distracted while looking forward.

Warning stage

Once you activate a turn signal, the system will inform you about objects classified as critical by turning on the display in the respective exterior mirror.

If other driver assistance systems (depending on vehicle equipment) detect that your vehicle is about to leave the lane, the display will blink even if the turn signal lever is not activated to warn you about objects that are classified as critical.

You can also be warned with corrective steering, Audi active lane assist/lane departure warning.

System limitations

The system uses the data from the radar sensors at the rear corners of the vehicle, fig. 103. They are designed to detect the left and right adjacent lanes when the road lanes are the normal width. In some situations, the system may react to vehicles in your own lane or lanes that are not directly adjacent to yours, or to objects on the side of the road. In this case, the display will turn on even though there is no vehicle in the critical area. These situations may include:

• Driving on the edge of your own lane
• Narrow lanes
• Curves
• High barriers on the side of the road

WARNING

• Observe the safety precautions and note the limits of the assist systems, sensors, and cameras.
• The display may not appear on time when vehicles are approaching or being passed very quickly.

Tips

• If the window glass in the driver's door or front passenger's door has been tinted, the display in the exterior mirror may be incorrect.
• The coverage areas of the sensors > fig. 127 are diagrams and do not represent a true-to- scale image of the sensor ranges.
• The system complies with United States FCC regulations and ISED regulations.

Adjusting side assist

You can turn the side assist on or off, or adjust it to your preference. The settings depend on the vehicle equipment.

• Applies to: MMI: Select on the home screen: VEHICLE > Driver assistance > Side assist.

Possible settings:

Brightness

Change the brightness only when side assist is switched on, so that the selected setting can be checked in the exterior mirror displays. Adjust the brightness to a level where the display in the information stage will not disrupt your view ahead. Because the display brightness automatically adapts to the ambient light, it may have already been adjusted to the highest or Lowest setting during the automatic adaptation.

Tips

• If the system is switched on, the displays on the exterior mirrors will turn on briefly each time the ignition is switched on.
• If you switch side assist on or off, the exit warning will also switch on or off.
• Certain settings are automatically stored and assigned to the remote control key being used.

Messages

Applies to: vehicles with side assist

If or is displayed when there is a malfunction, the side assist and exit warning system functions may be unavailable or may be limited.

A message that indicates the cause and possible solution may appear with some displays. The weather conditions may be too poor or a sensor may be covered. Clean the sensor area at the rear corners of the vehicle, fig. 103 and try to turn the systems on again later.

If the malfunction remains, drive to an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility immediately to have the malfunction corrected.

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