brakes AUDI A3 2015 Owner's Guide

The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
l ocated on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because tec hnical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model yea r, a l­
ways compa re the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle wit h the
tires on your vehicle . Make s ure that the tire
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the s ize of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be ­
longs to someone else or you bought the veh i­
cle with different rims/tires or you boug ht the
ve hicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on mak ing su re that
l oad limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
veh icle. These load limits are technically refer­
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle We ight
Rating ("GVWR") . The Gross Ax le Weight Rat ­
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be app lied at each of the veh icle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance st icker label located on the
driver's side B-p illa r. The t ire pressure label o n
your Aud i lists the maximum combined
weight of a ll of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
l ocation of the tire pressure labe l~
fig. 156.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than yo ur vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­ crease the risk of a loss of veh icle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a veh icle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance .
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con­
t rol and a crash.
Tire s an d wheel s 231
-Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported - includ ing the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue we ight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi­
cle heavier than the vehicles Gross Veh i­
cle Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can lead to a ser ious or fatal acci­
dent.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de­
flation, caus ing loss of veh icle contro l.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressvre label located on driver's side 8-pil ­
lar.
T he recommended tire pressures are on the
ti re pressure label and in the table
~ page 229, Cold tire inflation pressure . This
means that the pressure m ust be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been dr iven for
more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous three hours.
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal frict ion as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is h igher when the tire
has warmed up t han when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" t ire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let a ir out
of a warm tire to match "Cold tire inflat ion
pressure" recommendat io ns ~
page 229 . Th e
ti res wo uld then be unde rinfl ated and co uld
fail suddenly.
T he tire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended co ld tire inflation pressures at
max imum capacity for the new, or ig inal
equipment tires that were on your vehi cle at
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234 Tires and wheels
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
the vehicle can carry. For the location of the label
c::;,page 229, fig. 156.
& WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly , including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi­
cle heavier than the vehicles Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal­
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth­
er things that you plan to trans­
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit
1 . Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF QC- CU PANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX
KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ page 229,
fig. 156.
2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and pas­
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and pas­
sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 229, fig. 156.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­ go and luggage load capaci­
ty. For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150 lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca­ pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-7 50
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely exceed the available cargo

Driving with different tires reduces vehi­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare ti re is not the same as the
tires that are mounted on the vehicle -
for example with winter tires -only use
the spare tire for a short period of time and drive with extra care. Refit the nor­
mal road wheel as soon as safely possi­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un­
derinflated.
- For technical reasons it is not always
possible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing a collision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on
vehicles that were equipped with them at the factory. The vehicle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires. Incor­
rect use of run flat tires can lead to vehi­
cle damage or accidents. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire specialist
to see if your vehicle can be equipped
with run flat tires. If run flat tires are used, they must be installed on all four
wheels. Mixing tire types is not permit­
ted.
(D Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth-
Tires and wheels 239
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve­
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive with
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap .
The valves could get damaged .
(® For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the
local requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Tract ion AA A B C
- Temperature AB C
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
c;, page 236,
fig. 160.
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded ISO would wear
one and one half (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of their use, how­
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, serv­
ice practices and differences in road character-
istics and climate.
ll-
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Index 273
-----------------------------------.......
Audi drive select . ... .... ... .. .. .. .. . 102
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Aud i magnetic ride
refer to Adaptive dampers . .. .. .. .. . 102
Aud i Service Repa ir Manuals and Litera-
ture .. .. .. ... ............. ... ... .. 268
AUTO Automatic climate control system . .. .. 67
Automatic headlights . .... .. .. .. .. .. 42
Auto Lock (centra l locking system) . ... .. 32
Automatic belt retracto r .. .. .. .. .. .. . 134
Automatic climate control system
refer to Climate control system (auto-
mat ic) ... .. ................. .. .... 66
Automatic headlights .... ... .. .. .. .. .. 42
Automatic transmission ............ .. 105
Dr iving t ips . ............. .... .. .. . 107
E mergency mode ......... .... .. .. . 111
H ill descent co ntrol ....... .. .. .. .. . 10 9
I gnition key safety in terlock . . . . . . . . . . 70
K ick -down .. .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... 110
L aunch Contro l-Program ... .. .. .. .. . 1 11
malfunction ............. .... .. .. . 106
Selector lever emergen cy rele ase .. .. . 112
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Selecto r lever pos it io ns ....... .... .. 105
Shift ing ma nua lly ............ .... .. 110
St eer ing whee l w ith shift paddles .. .. . 110
S tron ic .. .. .... ............. .. .. . 105
tiptronic . .. .... ........... .. .. .. . 110
Automatic wipe/wash system .. .. . ... .. 46
Auto Safety Hotline ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 129
Average consumpt ion ....... .. .. .. .. .. 27
Average speed .. ........... .. .. .. .. .. 27
B
Battery ... .. .. .. ........... .. .. ... 220
C harge level ............. .... .. .. . 190
C ha rging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 222
Energy management .......... ... .. 190
Impor tant war nings ....... ... ... .. 22 1
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
J ump starti ng ............ .... .. .. . 259
L ocat ion . .. .. .. ........... .. .. ... 22 1
Replacing the ba ttery .. ... .. .. .. .. . 223
Wo rking on the battery . ... .. .. .. .. . 22 1
B efore dr iving ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 121 B
lended gaso line .... . .. .. ..... ... .. 206
B lowe r
automat ic Climate contro l system .. .. . 67
Manua l cli mate control system ... .. .. . 65
Booster seats . .. .. .. . ... ...... ... .. 175
B rake fluid
Changing the brake fluid ..... ... .. .. 219
Checking the brake fluid level ...... .. 219
Wha t is the correct brake fluid level? .. 219
Wha t should I do if the brake fluid warn-
. l' h ? mg 19 t comes on ................ . 219
Brakes ... .. .. .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. 187
Brake assist system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Brake booster .. .. .... ............. 187
Ind icator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 24
New brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Pa rking brake .. .. .. .......... ...... 76
Brake system Brake fluid .. .. .. ................. 219
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re-
placeme nt ... .... ................ 219
B ra ke pads .. .. .. .. . .. .... .... .. .. 193
Fl uid reservo ir ..... ... .. ..... ..... 219
W orn brake pads symbo l . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Brak ing
Emergency brak ing funct ion ........ .. 78
Starting on inclines .. .. .. .. ... ... .. . 78
Break -in per iod .. ...... ............. 193
Brake pads .. .. .. ............... .. 193
Tires ..... .. .. .. ................. 193
Bulb s .... .. .. .. .... . ... ...... ... .. 258
C
Cali forn ia Pr oposition 65 War ning . .. .. 211
B attery specific .... . .. ... .... ... .. 222
Capacities Fuel tank .. .. .. .... .......... ..... 266
Washe r fl uid reservo ir .......... .... 266
Care ....... .. .. .. ................. 201
also refer to Cleaning ......... .... . 201
Cargo area . ... .. .... . ... ...... ... .. 127
Cargo net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Catalytic converter . ................. 194
CD -RO M playe r (nav igat ion) . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Cent ral indicator light .............. .. 14
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