AUDI A3 2015 Owners Manual

General information
Applies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
®
®
©
Fig . 87 Driving situations
I AUDI
Fi g. 88 Rear of the vehicle: sensor posit ions
Side assist functions at speeds above approx i­
mately 19 mph (30 km/h).
@ Vehicl es th at ar e approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
cr itical for a lane change even if it is still
somewhat far away. The fas ter a vehicle ap­
p roaches, t he sooner the display in the exteri­
or m irror will t urn on.
@ V ehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling w ith you are indicated in the
exterior m irror if they are classified as cr itical
for a lane change. All vehicles detec ted by
side assist are indicated by the time they en­
t er your "blind spot", at the latest.
Audi side assist 99
© Veh icles left behind
If you s low ly pass a vehi cle that s ide assist has
detected (the difference in speed between the
vehicle and you r vehicle is less than 9 mph or
15 km/h), the display in the exterio r mir ro r
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your blind spot.
T he disp lay will not t urn on if you quickly pass
a vehicle that side assist has detected (the dif­
ference in speed between the veh icle and your
vehicle is greater than 9 mph or 15 km/h).
Functional limitations
The radar sensors are designed to detect the
left and right adjacent lanes when the road
lanes are the normal width. In some sit ua­
tions, the d isp lay in the exterior mirror may
turn on even though there is no ve hicle locat­
ed in the area that is cr itical for a lane cha nge.
For example:
- If the lanes are narrow or if your are driving
on the edge of your lane.
If this is the case,
the system may have detected the vehicle in
another lane that is
not adjacent to you r
current lane .
-If you are dr iving through a curve . S ide as­
sis t may react to a vehicle that is one lane
over from the adjacent lane.
- If side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or d isp laced guard rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side assist
functions are limited .
Do not cover the radar sensors
c> fig. 88 with
stickers, depos its, bicycle wheels or other ob­
jects, because this will affect the funct ion. For
information on cleaning, see
c> page 201 .
A WARNING
-Always pay attention to traffic and to the
a rea a round your ve hicl e. Side assi st can­
not repla ce a d river's attention. The driv ­
er a lone is always responsible for la ne
cha nges and s imilar dr iv ing ma ne uvers.
- In some si tua tions, the system may not
function or its function may be limited.
F or examp le:

100 Audi side assist
-If vehicles are approaching or being
left behind very quickly. The display
may not turn on in time.
- In poor weather conditions such as
heavy rain, snow or heavy mist.
- On very wide lanes, in tight curves, or if
there is a rise in the road surface.
Vehicles in the adjacent lane may not
be detected because they are outside
of the sensor range.
- Side assist cannot detect all vehicles un­
der all conditions- danger of accident!
- Please note that side assist indicates
there are approaching vehicles, or
vehicles in your blind spot, only after
your vehicle has reached a driving speed
of at least 19 mph (30 km/h).
- In certain situations, the system may not
function or its function may be limited.
For example:
- if vehicles are approaching or being left
behind very quickly. The display may
not turn on in time.
- in poor weather conditions such as heavy rain, snow or heavy mist.
- on very wide lanes, in tight curves or if
there is a rise in the road surface.
Vehicles in the adjacent lane may not
be detected because they are outside
of the sensor range.
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the system. Have your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied repair facility check their function.
(D Tips
-If the window glass in the driver's door
or front passenger's door has been tint­
ed, the display in the exterior mirror may
be misinterpreted.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions, see
9 page 271.
Switching on and off
Applies to vehicles : wi th Audi side ass ist
The system and be switched on and off in the
MMI.
"'Select: !MENUI button> Systems control
button or
Car systems > Driver assistance >
Audi side assist. With off, the system is
switched off.
An activated system will signal every time the ignition is switched on by turning the displays
in the exterior mirrors on briefly.
Adjusting the display brightness
App lies to vehicles: wi th Audi s ide ass ist
The brightness can be adjusted in the MMI.
"'Selec t: !ME NUI button> Systems control
button or
Car systems > Driver assistance >
Audi side assist .
The display brightness adjusts automatically
to the brightness of the surroundings, both in
the information and in the warning stage . In
very dark or very bright surroundings, the dis­
play is already set to the minimum or maxi­
mum level by the automatic adjustment. In
such cases, you may notice no change when
adjusting the brightness, or the change may
only be noticeable once the surroundings
change.
Adjust the brightness to a level where the dis­
play in the information stage will not disrupt
your view forward. If you change the bright­
ness, the display in the exterior mirror will
briefly show the brightness level in the infor­
mation stage. The brightness of the warning
stage is linked to the brightness in the infor ­
mation stage and is adjusted along with the
information stage adjustment.
(D Tips
- Side assist is not active while you are
making the adjustment.
- Your settings are automatically stored
and assigned to the remote control key
being used.

Driver messages
Applies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
If the side assist switches off automatica lly, a
message appea rs in the instrument cluster
disp lay .
@j Audi active lane assist: currently not
available. No camera view
The radar sensors' vision is affected. Do not
cover the area in fron t of the sensors with bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects. Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
r::!) page 99, fig. 88.
@j Audi side assist : currently unavailable
Side assist cannot be switched on temporari ly
because there is a malfunction (for example,
the battery charge leve l may be too low) .
@j Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guarantee that it wi ll de­
tec t ve hicl es correctly and it is switched off.
The sensors have been displaced or are faulty.
H ave the system checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Aud i Service Facility
soon.
Audi side assist 101
•

102 Audi drive select
Audi drive select
Driving settings
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
Aud i d rive select makes it possibl e to expe ri­
e nce diffe ren t types of vehi cle sett ings in o ne
ve hicl e. The dr ive r can se lect from three
c om­
fort , auto and dynamic modes using the t.'i:.:1
button in the center conso le or the MM I to
switch between a sporty an d a comfortable
driving mode, for examp le. In the
individual *
mode, the sett ings can be ad justed to your
pe rsonal preferences. This makes it poss ib le
to comb ine settings such as a sporty eng ine
tuni ng with lig ht steer ing.
A WARNING ,_ -
Im prope r use of the A udi drive select can
ca use colli sion s, oth er a cciden ts an d se ri­
ou s pe rson al injury.
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. However, t he engine
and steering are always affected .
Engine and automatic transmission*
Depe nding on t he mode, the e ng ine and au to­
mat ic tra nsm iss ion * respond more quickly or
in a more b alance d manner to acce lerator
pedal movements.
Adaptive dampers (Audi magnetic ride)*
The adaptive da mpers use senso rs to reco rd
i nfo rmat ion rega rding s teering moveme nts,
b rak ing and a cce le ra ti on operat ions by t he
d river, road s urface, driving speed, an d load.
W ith Aud i drive se lect yo u can adjust the
adaptive dampe rs sporty (dynamic), comfort­
ab le (comfort) or balanced (auto).
Steering
T he stee ring ad apts in te rms o f stee ring assis­
tance . There are different modes
~page 103 .
Indirect stee ring that moves eas ily as in com- f
ort mode is espec ially suited to long drives
o n a hig hway. The dynam ic mode provi des
spo rty, direct steering.
F o r vehicles wi th progressive stee ring * the
stee ring pe rformance is mo re agile.
Cornering light*
T he co rne ring light adjusts when driv ing on
c u rves a t speeds between 6 mph ( 10 km/h)
and 68 mph (1 10 km/h). The pivo ting act io n
and the light ing a re a lso adapted to the
mode.
Adaptive cruise control*
T he be hav ior when accelerating can be adjust­
ed from comfor tab le to spor ty, depend ing on
t h e Au di drive sele ct mo de. Ad aptive cr uise
control also responds to the driv ing behavior
of the vehicle ahead in a more co nservative or
spo rty manne r.
(D Tips
In some mo dels, the maxim um vehicle
speed can on ly be reache d in t he a uto and
d ynam ic modes.

Selecting the driving mode
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
You can choose between comfort, auto, dy­
namic and individual* .
Fig. 89 Center conso le : drive select button
Fig. 90 MMI: dr ive se lect
.. To set the mode, press the ~:/:a button
N
-N 0 ::> a, Q)
Q fig . 89 repeatedly until the desired mode
is d isplayed in the instrument cluster . Or
Adjusting the Individual mode Audi drive
select 103
.. Select in the MMI: I MENU I button > Systems
or Car systems > comfort, auto, dynamic or
individual*.
You can change the driving mode when the ve­
hicle is stationary or while driving. If traffic
permits, after changing modes, briefly take
your foot off the acce lerator pedal so that the
recently selected mode is also activated for
the engine .
comfort -provides a comfort-oriented vehicle
setup and is suited for long drives on high­
ways.
auto -provides an overal l comfortable yet dy­
namic driving feet and is suited for every day
use.
dynamic -gives the driver a sporty driving fee l
and is suited to a sporty driv ing style .
individual * -¢ page 103.
The last chosen mode is retained when the ve­
hicle is started aga in .
.&_ WARNING
Pay attention to traffic when operating the
drive select to prevent potential risk of an
accident.
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences .
.. Select: IM ENU I button > Systems or Car sys­
tems > Set individual
control button. Once
you select the menu, you will automatica lly
drive in the
individual* mode.
After you have closed the settings, yo u are au­
tomatically driving in the
individual* driving
mode .
Systems comfort
Engine
and transmission comfortable
Steering comfortable
Cornering light* comfortable
Audi adaptive cruise control* comfortable The
equipment in your vehicle will determine
which settings you can adjust . The following
table gives an overview of the characteristics .
auto dynamic
balanced sporty
ba lan ced sporty
ba lanced sporty
ba lanc ed sporty

104 Audi dri ve se lect
Sy stem s comfort
S u spensio n*
comfortable
Engine so und* subtle
al Subt le in t he se lector lever pos it io n D and spo rty in 5 .
{i) Tips
Your indi vidual * mode settings are auto­
mat ically stored and assigned to the re­
mote control key being used .
auto dynamic
balanced
sporty
subtle/sportyal sporty

Automatic
transmission S tronic-transmission
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmiss ion
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronical­
l y -controlled DSG transmission called S tronic.
T wo independent clutches transfer the power
between the engine and transmission. It al­
lows the vehicle to accelerate without a no­
ticeable interruption in traction .
T he transmission upshifts or downshifts auto­
matically. The driving style continuously influ­
ences the selection of the driving program .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most econom ica l
driving mode. The transmission upshifts at a
lower RPM and downshifts at a higher RPM to
improve fuel effic iency .
T he transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) r=> page 110,
Shifting manually (tiptronic mode) .
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with S tro nic transmission
Fig. 91 Instrument cluster: selector leve r positions
The instrument cluster display shows the cur­
rent selector lever position and current gear .
Automatic transmission 105
P -Park
The wheels are mechanically locked in this po­
sition. You can only shift into Park when the
vehicle is
stationary r=> &..
To shift in and out of the P selector lever posi­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
lever
while pressing the brake peda l.
R- Reverse
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed
r=> &. .
To select the R selector lever position, press
the interlock button
while press ing the brake
pedal. The back-up lights sw itch on in the R
pos ition if the ignition is switched on .
N -Neutral
The transm iss ion is in idle in this position .
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S selector lever position , the trans ­
mission can be operated either in the normal
D mode or in the S sport mode. To select the S
spor t mode, pull the selector lever back brief­
ly. Pulling the lever back again will select the
normal D mode . The instrument cluster dis­
play shows the selected driving mode.
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio . It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style .
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving .
The vehicle makes full use of the eng ine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeable when
acce lerat ing.
To move from selector lever position N to D,
you must press the brake pedal and the vehi­ cle must be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/
h) or be stationary~ &.-
.&_ WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS.
- The vehicle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off. ...
.__ _____________ __J ....
•

106 Autom atic tr an smi ssion
-Never select R or P while driving, beca use
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is sti ll transmitted to the whee ls
when the eng ine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lever positions (except P) when
the engine is runn ing. Otherwise, th is in­
creases the risk of an accident.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelera­
tor pedal when the vehicle is stopped if a
gea r is engaged. Otherwise the vehicle
will star t to move immediately, even if
the parking bra ke is set . This could result
in a crash .
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
whi le the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running whi le in gear . If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
set the park ing brake and move these ­
lector lever to the P posit ion.
- Before opening the hood and working on
a running engine, select the P position
with the se lector lever and set the park­
ing brake. Always read and follow the ap­
plicable warnings
r::.> page 210, Working
in the engine compartment.
Q) Note
Coast ing downh ill with the transmission in
N and the e ngine not running w ill result in
damage to the automatic transmiss ion
and possibly the catalytic converter.
(D Tips
-Audi drive select: Sporty shift ing charac­
terist ics can be se lected using the
dy­
namic d riving mode.Swill app ear in the
i nstrument cluste r display instead of D.
- If you accidenta lly select N whil e driv ing,
take your foot off the acce le rator pedal
i mmedia tely and wait fo r the engine to
s low down to idle be fore se lecting D or S. -
If there is a power failu re, the selector
lever wi ll not move out of the P position.
The emergency re lease can be used i f
this happens ¢ page 112.
Selector lever lock '
App lies to vehicles: wi th S t ronic tra nsmi ssio n
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­
lecting a gear occidentally, causing the vehi­
cle to roll.
Fig . 92 Selecto r lever lock
To release the selector lever lock:
.. Switch th e ignition on .
8 0 :,l. CX) .,
.. Press the brake pedal while pressing the in-
terlock button .
Automat ic shift loc k (AS L)
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po­
sitions when the ign ition is switched on. You
must press the brake pedal to select another
pos ition. You must a lso press the interlock
button if you a re mov ing from the P position .
T he following message appears in the display
when the selector lever is in the P or N pos i­
t ion to remind the drive r:
When stationar y apply footbrake while se­
l e cting gear
The automatic shift lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low 1
mph (2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the lock is
automat ica lly deactivated in the N pos it ion.
The selector lever is not locked when shifting
quick ly through N, for example from R to D.
T his makes it possible to free the vehicle when
it is stuck by "rocking" it. The se lector lever
Ill>

lock engages if the lever stays in the N posi­
tion longer than approximately 2 seconds
when the brake pedal is not pressed.
Interlock button
The interlock button in the selector lever han­
d le prevents you from moving the selector
l ever inadvertently while in some selector lev­
er positions. The positions that require the in­
ter lock button to be pressed are marked in
color in the illustration
c;, fig. 92.
Ignition key safety interlock*
You can only remove the key from the ignition
after switching the ignition off if the se lector
lever is in the P position. The selector lever
will be locked in the P position as long as the key is not in the ignition .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS c> .&. in Se­
lector lever positions on page 105 .
@ Tips
-If the se lector lever does not engage,
there is a malfunction . The engine is dis­
abled to prevent the vehicle from driving
off unintentionally . To allow the selector
le ver to engage again, proceed as fol­
l ows: Press the brake pedal b riefly.
- If the vehicle does not move forward or
i n reverse even though a drive position is
se lected, proceed as follows:
- >If the veh icle does not move in the de­
s ire d direction, the system may not have
engaged the dr ive position correctly.
Press the brake pedal and select the
drive position again.
- > If the vehicle still does not move in the
desired direction, there is a system mal­
function. See your authorized Aud i dea l­
er or qualified repair facility for assis­
tance to have the system checked.
Autom atic transm ission 107
Driving tips
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission
The transmission shifts up and down auto­
matically when in the driving gears.
Fig. 93 Section of the center co nsole: selector leve r
w ith inte rlock b utto n
The engine will only be able start when these­
lector lever is in the P or N positions. At low
temperatures (below 14 °F (-10 °C)), the en­
gine can only be started when the selector
lever is in the P position.
Starting from a stop
.,. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.,. Press and hold the interlock button in the
selector lever handle, select the desired se ­
lector lever pos ition such as D
c;, page 105
and release the lock button.
.,. Wait a moment until the transmission
shifts . Yo u will notice a slight movement
when the gear engages.
... Release the brake peda l and press the acce l­
erator pedal
c;, .&_ .
Stopping temporarily
.,. Keep the vehicle stationary using the brak­
ing pedal, for example at traffic lights.
.,. Do not press the accelerator peda l when do­
ing this .
.,. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines
c;, .&. -
.,. The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start moving once you
press the acce lerator pedal. Requ irements :
The driver's safety belt must fastened and
the driver's door must be closed.
IJll,-

108 Automatic transmi ssion
Stopp ing /p ar kin g
If the selec tor lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the vehicle
could ro ll. In vehicles with a convenience key*,
the message:
Shift to P , other wise vehi cle
c a n roll away . Doo rs do not lo ck if le ver not
in
P appears. You will also hear a warning
tone .
"' Press and ho ld the brake pedal¢.&_ .
"' Set the parking brake.
"'Se lect the P selector lever pos ition.
St opp ing on an incline
• Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve ­
hicle in p lace and prevent it from "rolling
back" ¢ .&_ . Do
n ot try to prevent the vehi­
cle from "roll ing back" when a gear is en­
gaged by increasing the eng ine speed ¢(D.
Starting on an inclin e in vehicl es wi th out
Hill Hold*
"' Set the parking brake.
"' With the driving gear selected, press the ac­
celerator pedal carefully . The parking brake
will release automat ically if your safety belt
is fastened.
St arting on an incl ine i n vehicle s with Hill
Hold*
"' With the driving gear selected, remove your
foot from the brake pedal and press the ac­ cele rato r pedal ¢
page 78, Hill hold.
Under certain circumstances, (such as driving
in the mountains or towing a tra iler), it may
be usefu l to sw itch temporarily to the manual
shift p rogram in o rder to adjust the gears to
the dr iving condit ions by ha nd
¢ page 110.
When parking on a level surface, simply place
the selector lever in the P pos ition. On in­
clines , activate the parking bra ke first and
then move the selector lever to the P pos it ion
¢ page 76 . This prevents the locking mecha­
nism from being loaded too heavi ly and will
make it easier to move the selector lever out
of the P position.
A WARNING
- The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine running while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the engine is running,
set the parking brake and move these­
lector lever to the P position .
- Power is still transferred to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To
p revent the vehicle from "c reeping", you
must keep you r foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector lever is in the D, So r R position or "tip­
tronic" mode is selected .
- Do not inadvertently press the ac celera­
tor peda l when the vehicle is stationary.
Otherwise the vehicle wi ll start to move
immediate ly, even if the parking brake is
set. Th is could result in a crash.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the se lector lever position
while the veh icle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never engage the se lector level positions
R or P while dr iv ing. It could cause a
crash .
- Before driving down a steep slope, re­
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic" .
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
downhill . Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking pe rformance, increases
b rak ing distan ce or c auses complete fa il­
ure of the brake system.
- I f you must stop on an in cl ine, always
hold the vehicle i n place with the foot
brake or park ing brake to p revent it from
rolling back .
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens auto ­
matica lly when it becomes too hot from