center console AUDI A3 2012 Owner´s Manual

100 Transmi ssion
& WARNING
Hill Descent Assist cannot overcome phys i­
cal lim itations, so it may not be possible to
ma intain a constant vehicle speed under
all circumstances. Always be ready to ap­
ply the b rakes.
tiptronic operation
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
Tiptronic allows the driver to shift gears man­
ually .
Fig. 112 Center console: Manua l shift ing (tiptronic)
Fig. 113 Disp lay: Manual shifting (t iptro nic)
Switching to manual
~
"' d. .. m
• Push the selector leve r to the right from D .
As the transm ission has switched,
6 5 4 3 2
1 appea rs in the display, with t he gear that
is engaged highlighted.
Upshifting
• Tap the selector lever forwa rd (in the t ip­
t ron ic sett ing)
Q fig. 112 G).
Down shifting
• Tap the selector lever backward (in the t ip­
tronic sett ing)
0 -
Switching to manual can be carried out with
the vehicle stationary as we ll as moving.
When accelera ting, the transmission sh ifts in­
to the next gear shortly before the maximum
permissible engine speed is reached .
If you have selected a lower gear than the cur­
ren t one, the t ransmission w ill on ly shift down
when the eng ine ca nnot be overspeeded.
If kick-down is actuated, the transmission
shifts into a lower gear independently of
speed and eng ine rpm.
Steering wheel with Tiptronic ® controls
Applies to vehicles: with 5 tronic® and with T iptronic con­
trols on the steering wheel
The selector paddles allow the driver to keep
both hands on the steering wheel when shift­
ing gears .
Fig . 1 14 Sport steering whee l w ith selector paddles
Shifting up
• Pull the right paddle, marked 0 ¢ fig. 114
briefly towards you.
Shifting down
• Pull the left padd le, marked 0 ¢ fig. 114
briefly towards you .
The selector paddles on the steering wheel
are activated when the selector lever on the
center console is in
D , S , or in the manual po­
s ition (Tiptronic mode).
You can also shift gears in the Tiptronic mode
us ing the selector lever on the center console . ..,.

Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
I Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PAS SEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
e lectronic control unit, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on . Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the airbag monitor ing in­
d icator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
t!i The syste m mus t be insp ected when the
indicato r light:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after yo u
have switched on the ignition, o r
- comes on while d riving .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the
I indicator light will first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a irbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BA G OFF
light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supp lemen tal p ro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator l igh t comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong wit h the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed to, or wi ll not in­
flate when it should.
-
Airba g sy stem 133
-Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diate ly by you r authorized Aud i dea ler.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
F ig . 1 34 Sect ion from th e ce nter console: PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF light
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center console
c::> fig. 134.
The PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic control unit. Each
time you turn on the ignit ion, the
PAS SEN­
GER A IR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seco nds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensi ng mat.
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and st ay on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward -facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward -facing chi ld restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- t he weight reg iste red on the fron t passen-
ger seat is equal to or less than the com -
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restrain­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward -fac-
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the ..,_

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, us ing
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
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 a irbag
se nsors and sent to the electron ic control
u ni t. Some suspens ion changes c an, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hic h it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made. Other k inds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it shou ld .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­
e r rate of vehicl e deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular co llision, it is poss ible th at an a irbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the
safety be lt is bei ng used but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not being
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so t hat the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electron ic cont rol unit.
A WARNING
Cha nging the vehicle's s uspension inclu d­
ing use of u napproved t ire-rim comb ina­
ti ons can change Advan ced A irb ag pe r­
formance and incre ase the risk of ser io us
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never ins tall suspe nsion compone nts
t h at d o not h ave the same per forman ce
characteristics as the components origi ­
nally installed on you r vehicle .
- Never use t ire-r im combinat ions that
have not bee n approved by A udi.
A irba g sy stem 13 7
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety be lt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the b uckle to send the
wrong informa tion to the e lectronic con­
trol module a nd prevent t he A dvan ced Air­
bag System from wo rking properly.
- Always ma ke sure t ha t nothing can inter­
fe re wi th the safety belt buckles and that
t hey are not obs truc te d .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 135 Side a irbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 135 and the rear
back rest* facing the doors . Th ey are id entified
by the wo rd "AIRBAG".
The side airbag sy stem basically consi st s of :
-the electron ic control modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the s ides of
the front backrests
- two rear side airbags (as an ordered
option)
- t he airbag warn ing light in the ins trument
cl uste r.
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
t o m ake ce rtain tha t it is fu nction ing p ro perl y
at all times . Each time you turn on the ig ni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) . ..,.