AUDI A3 SEDAN 2018 Manual Online

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
Starting the engine
when there is a
malfunction
Applies to: vehicles with conven ience key
It may not be possible to start the engine under
certain circumstances, for example, if the bat ­
tery in the vehicle key is drained, if interference is
affecting the key or if there is o system mo/func­
tion.
Fig. 86 Steering col umn/remote co ntro l key: starting the
eng ine if there is
a malfunction
As long as the message II Key not recognized.
See owner's manual or
II Remote control key:
hold back of key against the designated area.
See owner's manual
appears, you can start the
vehicle with the emergency starting function .
.. Press the brake pedal.
.. Hold the master key in the location indicated in
the illustration
y>l) c> fig. 86.
.. Press the I START ENGINE STOPI button c> .& in
Starting the engine on page
77 . The engine will
start.
.,. Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or author­
ized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
@ Tips
You can display the message that appears
during an emergency by pressing the
!START ENGINE STOPI button.
l) Market -spe cific
Driving
Start/Stop system
Description
Applies to: vehicles wit h Start/Stop system
The Start/Stop system can help increase fuel
economy and reduce CO2 emissions.
In Start/Stop mode, the engine shuts off auto ­
matically when the vehicle is stopped, such as at
a traffic light. The ignition remains switched on
during this stop phase. The engine w ill restart
automat ically when needed.
The Start/Stop system is automatically activated
as soon as the ignition is switched on.
Basic requirements for Start/Stop mode
-The driver's door must be closed .
- The driver's seat belt much be fastened.
- The hood must be closed.
- The vehicle must have driven faster than
2 mph
(3 km/h) since the last time it stopped.
(D Note
Always switch the Start/Stop system off when
driving through water
c> page 81.
(D Tips
The engine stops shortly before the vehicle
comes to a stop
ll. The full function of the
brake booster and the power steering is still
available.
Stopping/starting the engine
Applies to: vehicles with Start/Stop system
Fig. 87 Instrument cluster: eng ine switched off (stop
phase)
79

Drivin g
~ Brake the vehicle to a stop . The engine stops
shortly before the vehicle comes to a stop or if
the ve hicle is stationary
1>. Keep your foot on
the brake pedal. The
D] ; D] ind icator light ap ­
pears in the display. The need le in the tachome­
ter also moves into the
READ Y position .
~ The engine starts again when you take your
foot off the brake pedal. The ind icator light
tu rns off.
Add ition al informa tion
The engine stops in the "P", "N" and "D" selector
lever positions .
If you select the "R" selector lever position during
a Stop phase, the engine will start again.
Shift to "P" quickly to prevent the engine from
starting unintentiona lly when shifting t hrough
IIRII.
You can determ ine for you rself if the engine will
stop or not by reducing or increasing the amount
of force you use to press the brake pedal. For ex­
ample, if you only light ly press on the brake ped­
al in stop-and-go traff ic or when turning, the en­
g ine will not switch off when the vehicle is sta­
tionary . As soon as you press the brake down
harder, the eng ine will switch off .
(D Tips
-Press the brake pedal during a Stop phase
to keep the veh icle from roll ing.
- The ignition will turn off if you press the
I STAR T ENGINE ST OP ! button* during a
stop phase . The needle in the tachometer
moves into the
OFF pos it ion .
General information
App lies to: ve hicles w ith Sta rt/Stop system
Engine does not switch off
Before and during each stop phase, the system
checks if certa in cond itions have been met. If the
fjj i ndicato r light appears in the instr ument clus­
t er d isp lay, the engine w ill no t be s topped, for
examp le in the fo llowing situations:
1) Ma rket -spe cific
80
- T he engine has not reached the minim um re­
quired temperature for Start/Stop mode.
- The interior temperature selected by the cli-
mate control system* has not been reached.
- The ou tside tempe rat ure is extremely high/low.
- The windsh ield is being
defrosted® .
-The parking system* is switched on .
- The vehicle battery charge level is too low .
- The steering wheel is turned at a sharp angle or
is moving.
- After engaging the reverse gear.
- On sharp inclines .
- At high altitudes .
Engine automaticall y restarts
The standard Start/Stop mode w ill be canceled
d u ring a stop p hase in the following situat ions.
The eng ine res tarts witho ut any act ion by the
drive r.
- The vehicle ro lls, for example while on a slope .
- The interior temperature differs from the tem -
peratu re selected in the A/C system .
- The windsh ield is being
defrosted® .
-The brake pedal is pressed several times in a
row.
- The vehicle battery charge level is too low.
- Power consumption is hig h.
The eng ine ca n tur n off aga in when the cond i­
t ions for Sta rt/S top mode a re met
l ).
Ignition is switched off automaticall y
To prevent the vehicle battery from dra ining, the
i gnition will sw itch off
a ut omaticall y under the
fo llow ing cond it ions:
- The Start/Stop system has stopped the engine .
- The vehicle is stationary.
- You exited the vehicle .
In this case, the activated low beam is rep laced
by the pa rking light . The parking lights wi ll
switch off after approximately 30 minutes or
when you lock the veh icle.
.,.

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
If the Start/Stop system has not turned off the
engine or if you have switched the Start/Stop sys­
tem off manually, the ignition will not be auto­ mat ically switched off and the engine w ill contin­
ue to run
c:> ,1. .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never allow
the engine to run in confined spaces.
(D Tips
If you select the "D" or "N" selector lever pos i­
tion in a veh icle with an automatic transmis­
sion after shifting into reverse, the vehicle
must be dr iven faster than 6 mph (10 km/h)
in order for the engine to sw itch off again.
Manually switching the Start /Stop system
on /off
Appl ies to: ve hicles with Sta rt/Stop system
If you do not wish to use the system, you can
switch it off manually.
F ig. 88 Center co nsole: Start/Stop system button
-
.. To switch the Start/Stop system off/on man­
ually, press the
l(A) ~I button. The LED in the but­
ton turns on when the system is sw itched off .
(D Tips
If
you switch the system off during a stop
phase, the engine will start again automati­
cally.
Messages in the instrument cluster display
App lies to: ve hicles with Start/Stop system
ma Sta rt /s top sy ste m: dea ctivated. Plea se sta rt
e ngine manually D
rivi ng
This message appears when spec ific conditions
are not met du ring a stop phase . The Start/Stop
system will
not be ab le to restart the engine. The
engine must be started manua lly.
ma Sta rt/stop sy stem : ma lfunction! Function
una vailable
T he re is a m alfu nction in the Start/Stop system.
Drive the vehicle to an authorized Aud i dea ler or
authorized Service Facility as soon as possible to
have the malfunction corrected.
Electromechanical
parking brake
F ig . 8 9 Cen ter console : park ing brake
ra 0 > (IO m
Your vehicle is equipped with an electromechani ­
ca l parking brake
(D c:> fig. 89 . The parking brake
is des igned to prevent the veh icle from rolling
unintentionally and replaces the hand brake.
Sett ing /manuall y releasing the parking
brake
.. Pull the(®) switch to set the parking brake. The
LED in the switch turns on. The
-(USA mod­
els)/ . (Canada models) ind icator light also
turns on in the instrument cluster disp lay .
.. To release the park ing brake man ually, press
the bra ke or accelerator peda l wh ile the ign i­
tion is sw itched on and press the
(®) switc h at
the same time. The LED i n the bu tton and the
ind icator light in the d isplay turn off.
Releas ing the parking brake automatically
Requireme nt: the driver's door must be closed
and the parking brake must be se t.
81

Drivin g
~ To start driving and re lease the parking brake
automatica lly, press the acce lerator pedal as
usua l.
I n addition to re leasing the par king brake auto ­
matica lly, other convenience and sa fety functions
are available when you start driving
r=;, poge 83,
Starting from a stop.
Pre venting th e automatic parking bra ke
r el eas e
The vehicle could begin ro lling unintentiona lly,
dep ending on the hill or if towing a trailer .
~ To preve nt the parking b rake from releasing au­
tomatica lly, pull and hold the
®l switch and
press the acce lerator pedal. The parking brake
remains set and pr events the vehicle from ro ll­
ing backward.
~ You can re lease the(®) switch again once you
are sure that you are g iv ing enough dr iv ing
force to the wheels by pressing the accelerator pedal.
Emergenc y bra king function
You can use the emergency brak ing funct ion in an
emergency situation, or if the standard brake op­
eration malfunctions or is disabled .
~ Pull and hold the(®) switch.
~ As soon as you release the (®) switch or acceler-
ate, the brak ing stops .
Pu lling and holding
the(®) switch while driving
the vehicle activates the emergency braking f unc ­
tion . The vehicle is braked at all four wheels by
activating the hydraulic brake system. The brak­
ing effect is s imilar to heavy braking
r=;, .,&. .
To reduce the risk of activating the emergency
braking by mistake, a warn ing tone (bu zzer)
sounds when the
®l swi tch is pulled. Emergency
braking stops as soon as the
®l switch is released
or the accelerato r pedal is pressed .
Parking
~ Press the brake peda l to stop the vehicle.
~ Pull the C® switch to set the parking brake.
~ Place the selector lever in the P pos ition.
~ T urn the eng ine off r=;, .,&. .
82
~ Turn the steering w hee l when parking on in­
clines so that the w heels wi ll roll into the curb
if the vehicle starts moving .
A WARNING
- Do not press the acce lerator pedal inadver­
tently if a gear is selected when the vehicle
is stationary and the eng ine is running . Oth­
erwise, the vehicle will start to move imme­
d iate ly and this could resul t in an accident.
- Emerge ncy brak ing should only be used in
a n emergency, when the norma l bra ke pedal
has fa iled or the bra ke peda l is obstr ucted.
D ur ing eme rgency bra king, you r vehicle w ill
brake s imilar to he avy braking. ESC and the
associated components (ABS, AS R, EDL)
cannot overcome the laws of physics.
Around curves and when road or weather
conditions a re bad, a full brake applicat ion
can cause the veh icle to skid or the rear end
to swerve, wh ich increases the risk of an ac­
cide nt.
- If the power supply fails, you cannot set the
parking brake if it is released. In this case,
pa rk the veh icle on leve l ground and secure
it by p lac ing the sele cto r leve r in the P pos i­
tion. See an au thor ized A udi dealer or au ­
thor ized A udi Se rvi ce Fa cility for assis tan ce.
- I f you leave the vehi cle, sw itch the ignition
off and take the veh icle key wi th yo u. Thi s
app lies pa rticular ly when children remain in
the vehicle. Otherwise, chi ld ren co uld start
the engine, release the parking brake or op ­
erate e lectr ica l equipment s uch as power
w indows, wh ich increases the r isk of an acci­
dent.
- No one, especially c hildren, should rema in
in the vehicle when it is locked. Locked
doors make it more difficu lt for emergency
workers to get into the vehicle, which puts
lives at ris k.
(D Tips
When stopp ing at a traff ic signa l or stopp ing
i n city traffic, you can set the park ing brake
manually . The veh icle does not have to be
h eld with the brake pedal. The par king b rake
e liminates t he tendency to creep when a

selector lever position is engaged. As soon as
you press the accelerator pedal, the parking brake releases automatically and your vehicle
starts to move
¢ page 83.
(D Tips
- Occasional noises when the parking brake is
set and re leased are normal and are not a
cause for concern.
- The parking brake goes through a self-test
cycle at regular intervals when the vehicle is
stopped. Any noises associated with this are normal.
- If there is a power failure, the parking brake will not set if it is released, and it will not
release if it is
set¢&. See an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fa­
cility for assistance .
Starting from a stop
Various convenience and safety functions may be
available when the vehicle begins driving, de­
pending on vehicle equipment.
Starting on hills with the parking brake set
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed.
~ To start driving comfortably when on a hill, set
the parking brake and begin driving as usual.
The braking force of the parking brake does not release automatically until the wheels build up
enough driving force .
Starting on hills with hill hold assist
Hill hold assist makes it easier to start on hills.
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed
and the engine must be running.
~ To activate hill hold assist, press and hold the
brake pedal for several seconds. The vehicle
must be in an uphill direction of travel.
After releasing the brake pedal, the braking pow­
er is maintained for a brief
moment ¢.&. to pre­
vent the vehicle from rolling back when starting.
::li During this time, you can eas ily beg in to move .-<
~ your vehicle.
N .-< 0 N > 00
Driving
A WARNING ,-
Applies to: ve hicles with h ill ho ld assist
- If you do not begin driving immediately or
the engine stalls after releasing the brake
pedal, your veh icle may begin to roll back ­
ward. Press the brake pedal or set the park­
ing brake immediately.
- The intelligent technology of hill hold assist
cannot overcome the limitations imposed by
natural physical laws. The increased comfort
offered by hill hold assist should not cause
you to take safety risks.
- Hill hold assist cannot hold the vehicle in
place on all hills (for example, if the ground
is slippery or icy).
- To reduce the risk of an accident, always
make sure the vehicle is situated safely
while stationary.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmiss ions
T he automatic transmission is controlled elec­
tronically . Upshifting and downshifting occur au­
tomatically.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transm ission selects the most economica l dr iv ing
mode. The transmission upshifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a higher RPM to improve fuel
efficiency.
In the "S" selector lever position, the transm is­
sion switches to a sporty mode after a kick-down
or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style
characterized by quick accelerator pedal move­
ments, heavy acce leration, frequent changes in
speed and traveling at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 88, Manual
shifting (tiptronic mode).
The S tronic is a dual-clutch transmission. Power
is transferred using two clutches that work inde­
pendently from one another. They replace the
torque converter used in conventional automatic
.,.
83

Driving
transmissions and a llow th e vehicle to a ccelerate
without a noticeab le interruption in traction .
Selector lever positions
Applies to: vehicles w ith automatic t ransmissions
F ig. 9 0 Instru ment cl uster : selector leve r po sit ions
•
F ig. 91 Selec tor lever lock
~ 0
0
> a, Ul
The se lected selector leve r pos ition is shown hear
the selector lever ¢
fig. 91 and in the instrument
cluster display ¢
fig. 90.
.,. Swi tch the ign ition on.
.,. In the "P/N " pos itio n, you mus t release t hese­
lector lever lock ¢
page 84 .
.,. Move the selecto r lever into the desired posi­
tion. The engaged selector lever pos ition is
shown in the shift gate .
Selector lever lock
The selector lever loc k prevents you from se lect­
ing a gea r accidenta lly, causing the vehicle to
ro ll.
The se lector lever is locked in the "P" and " N"
po­
sitions when the ignition is sw itched on. Yo u
must press the bra ke pedal to select another
po ­
sition. You must also press the interlock button if
you are moving from the "P" and "N" position.
84
The selector leve r lock on ly functions when the
vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low approxi­
mately 1 mph (2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the
l ock is automatically deactivated in the "N" posi­
tion.
The selector leve r is not locked when shiftin g
quick ly throug h "N ", for example from "R" to
"DI
S" . This makes it possible to free the veh icle
whe n it is stuck by "rock ing" it. The selector lever
l ock engages if the lever stays in the "N" position
l onger than approximately two seconds when the
brake peda l is not pressed .
Ignition key safety interlock*
Applies to: vehicles with ignition lock
You can only remove the key from t he ignit ion af­
ter switching the ignition off if the selector lever
i s in the "P" pos it ion . T he selector lever will be
locked in t he "P" position as long as the key is not
i n the ig nitio n.
P - Park
This selector lever position prevents the vehicle
from ro lling. You ca n only shift into Park when
the veh icle is
stationary ¢,&. .
To sh ift in and out of the "P" se lector lever posi­
tion, press the selector lever lock (button in the
selector lever handle)
and press t he brake pedal
at the same t ime .
The selector lever will be locked in the "P" posi­
tion if there is a power fa i Lu re
¢ page 90, Se­
lector lever emergency release.
R- Rever se
Only s hift into reverse gear when the ve hicle is
stationary and the engine is runn ing at id le
speed ¢.&. .
To se lect the "R" selec to r l ever positio n, press the
selector lever loc k
while pressing the brake ped­
a l.
N - Neutral
The tran smission is in idle in th is posi tion .
D /S - Normal position for driving forward
In the "D/S " selector lever position, the transmis-
s ion can be operated e ithe r in the normal "D "
llll>

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
mode or in the "S" sport mode . To select the "S"
sport mode, pu ll the selector lever back briefly.
Pu lling the lever back again will se lect the nor­
mal "D" mode. The instrument cl uster display
shows the selected driving mode.
In the
no rmal mode "D", the transmission auto­
mat ica lly selects the su itab le gear ratio . It de ­
pends on eng ine load, vehicle speed and driving
s tyle.
The engine's power reserves are used fully in the
Sport mode "S ". Shifting may become noticeab le
when accelerating.
To move from selector lever position "N" to "D",
you must press the brake pedal and the vehicle must be traveling less t han 1 mp h (2 km/ h) or be
stationary ¢.&, .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS.
-The veh icle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off .
- Never select "R" or "P" w hile driving, be ­
cause this increases the risk of an accident.
-Power is sti ll transmitted to the w heels
when the eng ine is r unning at idle. To pre­
vent the ve hicle from "creeping", you must
keep your foot on the brake i n all selector
lever posit ions (except "P") when t he engine
is runn ing. Othe rw ise, this inc reases the risk
of an accident.
- Do not inadvertent ly press the accelerator
peda l w hen the veh icle is stopped if a gear is
engaged. Ot herw ise the r is k of an accident
in creases because the vehicle will s tart to
move immediately, even if th e p arking bra ke
is set.
- T o red uce the risk of an acci dent, do no t
press the acce le ra to r pedal when cha nging
the se lecto r lever position while the vehicle
is stationary and the engine is ru nning.
- Never leave yo ur vehicle wi th t he engine
running whi le in gear. If yo u m ust leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running, set
the parking brake and move the se lecto r lev­
er to the "P" pos ition.
Driving
- To reduce the r is k of an accident, the se lec ­
to r lever m ust be in the "P" position and the
parking brake must be set before opening
the hood and working on a runni ng engine .
A lways read and follow the app licab le warn­
in gs ¢ page 318, Working in the engine
c ompartment.
- Read and fo llow ing a ll WARNINGS ¢&. in
Driving tips on page 86 .
@ Note
Never let the vehicle roll dow nhill w it h eng ine
off a nd the selector leve r in the
"N" posit io n,
because th is co uld damage the a utoma tic
transm ission and catalyt ic co nverter.
(D Tips
- Audi dr ive se lect: sporty shifti ng character­
ist ics can be selected using the
Dynamic
dr iv ing mode ¢ page 140 "S" w ill appea r in
the inst rument cl uste r display instead of
"D ...
- If you a ccidentally select " N" whil e d riving,
take your foo t off the acce lerator peda l im­
me diately a nd wai t fo r the eng ine to s low
down to id le befo re selectin g "D" or "S".
- If the re is a powe r fail ure, the se lector lever
w ill not move ou t of the " P" position. The
emergency re lease can be used if t his hap­
pens
¢ page 90.
(D Tips
If the se lector lever does not engage, there is
a malfunction . T he engine is disabled to pre­
vent the vehicle from driving off unintention ­
a lly. To allow the selector leve r to engage
again, proceed as fo llows:
- Briefly press the b ra ke peda l.
- If the vehicle does not move forward or in
reverse even tho ugh a d rive positio n is se ­
lected, p roceed as follows :
- If the vehicle does not move in the desired
direction, the system may not have engaged
the drive position cor rect ly. Press the brake
peda l and select the dr ive position again.
IJ>
85

Driving
- If the vehicle sti ll does not move in the de ­
sired direction, there is a system malfunc­
tion. See an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thori zed Audi Service Facility for assistance
to have the system checked.
(D Tips
Plug -in hybrid drive* : the transmission
switches automatically to the normal mode
" D" if the
l.,,f' I button ¢ page 98 is pressed
while i n sport mode "S" .
Driving tips
Applies to: ve hicles with a utomat ic transmissions
F ig . 9 2 Sect io n of the cente r co nso le: se le cto r lever w it h
i nte rlock butto n
Starting the engine
• Select the "P" or "N" selector lever position . At
low temperatu res (be low 14 °F ( -10 °C)), the
engine can only be started when t he se lec to r
l ever is in the "P " posit io n.
Starting from a stop
• Press and hold the brake pedal.
• Press and hold the interlock button in these­
lector lever handle, se lect the des ired sele ctor
lever posit io n such as "D" ¢
page 84 and re­
lease the loc k bu tton.
• Wait a moment unti l the transmission shifts.
Yo u w ill not ice a slight movement when the
gear engages.
• Release the brake pedal and press the accelera­
tor
pedal ¢,&. .
Various convenience functions are avai lab le for
starting on hills ¢
page 83.
86
Stopping temporarily
• Keep the vehicle st ationary using the bra kin g
peda l, for examp le a t traffic ligh ts.
• Do not press the acce le rato r pedal when doing
this.
• To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you start driving, set the pa rking brake when stop­
ping on steep
hills ¢.&. and ¢(Q).
• The parking brake will release a utomat ica lly
and the vehicle will start moving once yo u press
the acce le rato r pedal. Requirement: the d riv­
er's doo r mus t be closed.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the "P" pos ition
whe n you open the d river's door, the vehicle
could roll. In vehicles with a conven ience key *,
the message :
Shift to P, otherwise vehicle can
roll away. Door s do not lock if lever is not in P
appe ars . A wa rning tone wi ll also sound.
• Press and hold the brake peda l¢ ,&. .
• Set t he par king brake.
• Select the "P" se lector lever posi tion .
Un der certai n circumstances, (such as dr iving in
the mo unta ins or towi ng a trailer), it may be use­
ful to switch temporar ily to the m an ual shift pro­
gr am in or der to ad ju st t he gears to the driv ing
cond it ions by hand ¢
page 88.
When parking on a level surface, s imp ly place the
se le ct or lever i n the "P" pos ition. On inclines, a c­
tivate the par king b rake first and then move the
se lector lever to the "P " posit ion ¢
page 81. Thi s
prevents the locking mechanism from being
l oaded too heavily and will make it easier to
move the selector lever out of the "P" position.
A WARNING
- The vehicle can roll even whe n the engi ne is
sw itched off .
- Unintended vehicle movement can lead to
serio us injuries.
- Never leave your veh icle with the engine
r u nning while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the eng ine is r unning, set
t he par king brake and move the se lecto r lev ­
er to the "P " posi tion .

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
-Power is still transferred to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To pre­
vent the vehicle from "creeping", you must keep your foot on the brake when the en­
gine is running and the selector lever is in
the "D", "S" or "R" position or "tiptronic"
mode is selected.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
peda l when the vehicle is stopped if a gear is
engaged. Otherwise the risk of an accident
increases because the vehicle will start to
move immediately, even if the parking brake
is set.
- To reduce the risk of an accident, do not
press the acce lerator pedal when changing
the selector lever position while the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running.
- Never engage the "R" or "P" selector leve l
positions while driving. It could cause a
crash.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce
your speed and shift into a lower gear with
"ti ptron i c".
- 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 performance, increases brak­
ing distance or causes complete failure of
the brake system.
- If you must stop on an incline, always hold
the vehicle in p lace with the foot brake or
park ing brake to prevent it from rolling
back.
- Never hold the veh icle on an incline with a
sl ip ping clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload. The
ml indicator light turns on
and a message appears
¢ page 89 when
the clutch is over loaded .
{LlJ) Note
- When stopping on an incline, do not try to
ho ld the vehicle in place by pressing the ac­
ce lerator pedal while a driving gear is se ­
l ected. This can cause the automatic trans ­
mission to overheat and can damage it. Set
Driving
the parking brake or press the brake pedal
to prevent the vehicle from rolling.
- Allowing the vehicle to roll when the engine
is stopped while the selector lever is in the
"N" position will damage the automatic
transmission, because it is not lubricated
under those circumstances
¢ page 3 78,
Towing with a tow truck.
- The transmission can overheat and be dam­
aged under certain driving and traffic condi­
tions such as frequent starts, creeping for a
long time, or stop-and-go traffic. When the
ml or. indicator light turns on, stop the
vehicle at the next opportunity and let the
transmission cool¢
page 89.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake only re­
l eases automatically when the driver's door is
closed.
Hill descent control
App lies to : vehicles wi th automatic transmiss ions
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills.
Hill descent control is act ivated when the selec­
tor lever is in the "D" or "S" posit ion and you
press the b rake pedal. The transmission auto ­
matically se lects a gear that is suitab le for the
hill. Hill descent contro l tries to ma inta in the
speed achieved at the time of braking, within
physical and technica l limitations. If may still be
necessary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Because hill descent control cannot shift down
farther than 3rd gear, it may be necessary to
shift into tiptronic mode in very steep areas . In
th is case, shift into 2nd or 1st gear in t iptronic
mode to use the engine's braking force to rel ieve
the brakes.
Hill descent control switches
off once the hill lev­
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with a cruise control system*
¢ page 120, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set .
.,,.
87

Driving
& WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome phys ical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all condit ions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes .
Manual shifting (tiptronic mode)
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
The tiptronic mode allows the driver to shift the
gears manually.
F ig. 9 3 Center conso le : shifting manually w ith the se lector
l ever
F ig . 94 Steering wheel: shifting manual ly w it h the s hift
paddles*
Shifting with the selector lever
You can sh ift into tiptro nic mode while stationary
a nd while driv ing.
• To s hift into tiptronic mode, p ush the selector
lever from the "D/S" position to the right in the
t ip tr onic sh ift gate . Once the transmission has
swi tched modes, t he se lec tor lever posi tion
M
is shown in the instrumen t clus ter display
¢ page 84, fig. 90. For example, M4 means the
fo urth gear is engaged.
• To shift up a gear, tap the se lector lever for­
ward
0 ¢ fig. 93 .
88
• To shift down a gear, tap the selecto r lever
backward
0 -
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the s hift paddles in the "D/S" or
" M " (tiptro nic shift ga te) se lec tor lever posi tions.
• To shift up one gear, tap the shift paddle 0
¢fig . 94.
• To shift down a gear, tap the 0 shift paddle.
• Applies to: RS models: to select the lowest/
highest possi ble gear, press and hold the sh if t
paddle
0 10 .
If the shift paddles a re tapped wh ile in the "D/S"
selector lever position, a utomat ic mode sw itches
off briefly . To swit ch from manually shift ing bac k
to automatic shifting immediate ly, tap t he shift
padd le
0 ¢ fig . 94 for 1 second .
To keep sh ift ing using the shift padd les, move
the selec to r l ever to the right o ut o f th e "D/S" po­
sition into the tiptronic shift gate .
The tra nsmission a utomatically sh ifts up or dow n
before cr itical engine speed is reac hed.
Applies to: RS models: when accelerating, the
transm iss ion does
not au tomatically shift to the
next gear short ly before the maxim um permitted
engine RP M is re ached. Shift to the next highest
gear at the right time.
The tra nsmission on ly allows manual shifting
whe n the engine speed is w ith in the perm itted
r a nge.
Kick-down
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you p ress the accelerator pedal down be­
yo nd the res istance point (called kick-down), the
automat ic transmission downshifts into a lower
gear, depending on vehicle s peed and engine
RPM .
It shifts up into the next higher gear once
t h e maximum specified engine RPM is reached .
Applies to: RS models: in tipt ronic mode, the
transm iss ion does
not automa tic ally shift down
i nto a lower ge ar. If yo u m ust accelera te, for ex ­
ample to pass a vehi cle, you mus t sh ift manually .
..,.