tow AUDI Q3 2015 Owners Manual

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
5
About this Owner's Manual . . . 6
Controls and equipment .. ... .
Ins truments and controls .. . .
General illus tration .... ... .. .. ... .
Instruments and warning /
indicator lights ........ .. .. .. . .
Ins truments . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
War ning/ indi cator lights ... .. ... .. .
Driver information d isplay .. . .
Overview ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Operation . .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Trip computer . ........... .... ... .
Time and date display ..... .. .. .. . .
Odometer .. ........ ..... .. ..... .
Open doo r/hood/ rear lid warning .. . .
E fficiency p rogram ......... ... .. . .
S ervice in terval d isp lay .... .. .. ... .
On -Board D ia gnostic system ( OBD) . . . 8
8
8
1 0
1 0
11
2 0
20
2 1
22
23
23
23
24
2 5
26
Ele ctr onic spee d lim iter . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7
Opening and closing .. .. .. .. . .
Powe r locking sy stem ..... .. .. .. . .
Rear lid ..... .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
C hil d safety locks . ..... ... .. .. ... .
Power win dows .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Panorama s unroof ........ .. .. ... .
Clear vision .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Lights . .. .. .. . .......... .. .. ... .
Inter ior lights ............. ... ... .
V 1s 1on . ...... ........... .... ... .
W iper and washer system . ... .. .. . .
Di gita l compass ........... ... .. . .
Seats and storage ...... ..... . .
Ge neral recomme ndat ions ..... .. . .
F ront sea ts .... .... ...... .. .. .. . .
H ead re straints .......... .. .. .. . .
Ashtr ay .. .. ............. ....... .
C igare tte lig hte r . ...... ... .. .. ... .
1 2- vo lt sockets . .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Sto rage ..... .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... . 28
2
8
3 4
3 6
37
38
4 0
40
43
44
46
4 8
so
so
51
5 2
53
53
5 4
54
Descr ipt ion and mo unt ing locations . . 57 L
oad ing the roof rack . .. ..... .... . .
Luggage compartment . ..... ... .. .
Warm and cold .. ... ..... ... .. .
Climate control . .... .. ..... .... . .
On the road ... .. ... ..... ... .. .
Stee ring . ..... .. .. .... .... ... .. .
Ig nit ion lock ..... ... .. ..... .... . .
Convenience key .. ... .......... .. .
D river messages .. ............... .
E lectromechanical parking brake . .. .
Speed warning system . .......... . .
Cru ise cont ro l .. .. ............... .
Audi side assist .............. .
Lane change ass istant . .......... . .
Audi dr ive select ... ... ..... .. .
Driving set tings .. ..... ......... . .
Automatic transmission ... .. .
tiptron ic .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... ..... .
Parking systems
58
59
63
63
66
66
66
68
70
70
73
73
75
75
79
79
81
81
87
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Rea r parking syste m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
P a rking system plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Rea r view came ra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Adjus ting the display and the w arning
tones ... .. .... .. .. ... ..... ... .. . 93
E rror messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
T ra ile r hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Safety fir st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Genera l notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Proper occ upant seating positions . . . 95
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Stow ing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Reporting Sa fety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Why safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Safe ty be lts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Sa fe ty be lt pretensioners . . . . . . . . . . 110

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Airbag system ............ ... .. 112
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 112
Front airbags .................... 116
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Side curtain a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 133
Child safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Installing a child safety seat . . . . . . . . 143
LATCH Lower anchorages and tethers
for child ren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Additional Information
lSl
Vehicle operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1S2
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 152
Notice about data recorded by the
Event Data Recorder and vehicle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Electronic Stabili zation Control (ESC) . 153
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Electromechanical steering . . . . . . . . . 158
Driving with your quattro . . . . . . . . . . 158
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Driving and environment . . . . . 161
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Avoid damaging the vehicle. . . . . . . . . 161
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Shutting down vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Operate your vehicle economically and minimize pollution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Driving offroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Trailer towing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Vehicle care and cleaning . . . . . 170
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Cleaning and care information . . . . . . 171
Table of contents 3
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank ..... .... ..............
175
Gasoline .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 175
Fuel tank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Engine compartment ............. .
Engine oil . .. .. .... ... .. ..... ... .
Engine cooling system .......... .. .
Brake fluid ....... .............. .
Battery ........................ .
Windshield washer container
Tires and wheels ... ..... ... .. .
181
181
186
189
190
193
195
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Tire pressure monitoring system 213
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 216
What do I do now? ............ 216
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Vehicle tool kit with lifting jack . . . . . . 216
Folding chocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Removing bass box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Space-saving spare tire (compact
spare tire) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Fuses. ....... ... .. .............. 224
Bulbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 228
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Starting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . 228
Starting with jumper cables . . . . . . . . 228
Use of jumper cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Emergency towing with commercial
tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Lifting vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Vehicle identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
•
•

16 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
~ Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The. warning/indicator light illuminates
when the ignition is sw itched on to remind
the dr iver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Additionally, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) will also sound.
(D Tips
For more Information c> page 104, Safety
belt warning light.
~- Steering column lock
• Steering fault! Do not drive vehicle!
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is an electronic steering
column lock malfunction. You cannot switch
the ign ition on.
Do
not tow your vehicle because it cannot be
steered . Seek professional assistance.
Ill Steering lock: System fault! Please con­
tact dealer.
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is an electronic steer ing
column lock malfunction.
Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler immedi­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-
Your vehicle must not be towed in the
event of a malfunct ion in the electron ic
steering column lock because it cannot be
steered due to the locked steering. If it is
towed with the steering locked, there is
the risk of an accident .
!;.IC; Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC)
If the J;J indicator light blink s whi le driving,
the ESC or ASR (Anti-S lip Regulation) is active­
ly regulating .
If the: JjJ indicator light turns on, the system
has switched the ESC
off. In this case, you can
switch the ign ition
off and then on to switch
the ESC on aga in. The indicator light turns
off
when the system is functioning fully.
If the II indicator light turns on, ESC was re­
stricted or sw itched
off using the I~ OFFI but­
ton
i=> page 153.
Stabilization control (ESC/ABS): Fault! See
owner's manual
If the indicator l ight GJ and the ABS indicator
light
t1l1 (USA mode ls) ;tiJ (Canada models)
tu rn on and the message appears, the ABS o r
electronic differentia l lock is malfunctioning.
This also causes the ESC to malfunction. The
brakes still function with their normal power,
but ABS is not active.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ate ly to have the ma lfunction corrected.
A WARNING "--
If the . (USA mode ls)/ . (Canada mod-
e ls) brake system indicator light turns on
together with the ABS and ESC indicator
lights, the ABS/ESC regulating function
may have failed. Functions that stabilize
the vehicle are no longer ava ilable. This
could cause the vehicle to swerve and in­
crease the risk of slid ing. Drive carefully to
the nearest authorized A udi dealer and
have the ma lfunction corrected.
(D Tips
For additional informat ion on ESC and
ABS, refer to
c> page 153.
!t Safety systems
The fll indicator light monitors the safety
systems (e .g. airbags, pretensioners) and illu­
minates for a few seconds each time you
switch the ign ition on .
If the
fll indicator light does not go out, or if
it illuminates while you are driving, or if it
starts to b link, then there is a malfunct ion
somewhere in the system. If the light does

M N
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,...., ..,., ,....,
Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 19
Go to an authorized dea lership to have the
headlights or the contro l unit for the adaptive
light repa ired.
fi. D Light/rain sensor
Applies to vehicles: with light/rain sensor
t!;I Autom atic he adlight s/wi pers : Sys tem
f ault !
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, the light/rain sensor is not
functioning correctly.
For safety reasons the low beams are turned
on permanent ly with the switch in
AUTO .
However, you can continue to turn the lights
on and
off using the light switc h. You can still
control all funct ions that are independent of
the rai n sensor through the windsh ield wiper
lever.
Contact your authorized Audi dealer as soon
as possible to have the prob lem corrected.
¢¢ Turn signals
Whenever you use the left R or the right II
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flashers, both indica­ tor lights flash.
If one of the turn signal light bulbs burn out,
the turn signa l will blink tw ice as fast as nor­
mal. Carefully drive to your author ized A udi
dealer immediately to have the malfunct io n
corrected .
@ Tips
For more information on the turn signals,
see
¢ page 41.
¢1<~ Trailer turn signal assembly
The indicator light also blinks if the turn sig­
nal is operated when towing a trailer.
The indicator light. blinks when the turn
signal is used, if a trailer has been properly
connected to the vehicle. If one of the turn signa
l bulbs on the trailer is
burned out or defective, the indicator light
will not blink when you use the turn s ignals.
(D Tips
For vehicles with a trailer hitch that was
insta lled later according to factory specifi­
cations, the trailer turn signa l assembly is
actuated.

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light switch is in the AUTO position
¢ page 40, fig. 34.
Daytime running lights
USA models : You can switch the dayt ime run­
ni ng lights
on an d off .
Canada models:
The function cannot be
turned off .
It is ac tiva ted automat ica lly each
time the ignition is switc hed o n.
Emergency flashers
Fig . 3 7 Cente r conso le : emerge ncy flashe r sw itch
The emergency flashers makes other moto­
rists aware that you or your vehicle are in an
emergency situation .
.,. Press the sw itch
Gil ¢ fig. 3 7 to turn the
emergency flashers on or off.
When the emergency flashers are on, all four turn signals blink at the same time. The turn
signa l ind icator lig hts
II 18 in the instru­
ment cluster, as well as the light in t he emer ­
gency flashe r switch
[Ai bli nk likewise .
You can indicate a lane change or a turn when
the emergency flashers are switched on by us­
ing the tu rn signa l lever . The emergency flash ­
e rs stop temporar ily.
The emergency f lashers also work when the
ignit io n is turned off.
The emergency flashers will turn o n automati­
cally if you are in an accident where the airbag
h as dep loyed.
@ Tips
You shou ld t urn on t he emergency flashers
when:
Clear vi sion 43
- yo u are the la st veh icle standing in a t ra f­
fic jam so that any other ve hicles coming
can see you, o r whe n
- yo ur vehicle has bro ken dow n or you are
in an emergency s ituation, o r when
- yo ur vehicle is be ing towed by a tow
truck or if you are towing another vehicle
beh ind you.
Interior Lights
Front/rear interior lights
Fig . 38 Fro nt headl iner: int eri or lig h ting co ntro ls
Fi g. 39 Rear headli ner: rea r read ing lig hts
Press the corresponding switch:
~ -In ter ior lig hts on/off .
[ii-Courtesy light pos it io n. The inter ior lig ht­
ing auto mati ca lly comes o n when t he ve hicl e
i s un lo cke d, a door i s ope ned or the ig nitio n is
switched off. The interior lighting goes o ut a
few seconds after the doors a re closed, or
whe n the vehicle is locked or the ignition is
switched on. The lighting goes out automati ­
ca lly after a few minutes if a door is left open .
~ -Read ing lights * on/o ff ..,.

46 Clear vis ion
Sun visors
Fig. 43 Drive r's side : sun visor
The sun v isors for the driver and passenger
can be pulled out of the ir brackets in the cen­
ter of the vehicle and turned towards the
doors @.
The mirror light switches on when the cover over the vanity mirror @opens .
Wiper and washer
system
Switching the windshield wipers on
Fig. 44 Wind sh ie ld wipe r lever
Fi g. 4 5 O pera ting rear window w ipe r
" -0
='> a, a,
Move the windshield wiper lever to the cor re­
spond ing pos ition:
@ -Windsh ie ld wiper off
(D -Interval mode. To extend/shorten the
wipe r intervals, move the switch @to the
l eft/r ight . In vehicles with a ra in sensor* the
wipers turn on in the rain once the vehicle
speed exceeds approximately 2 mph (4 km/h).
The higher the sensit iv ity of the ra in sensor* is
set (switch @to the right), t he earlier the
windshield wipers react to moisture on the
windshield .
@ -Slow w iping
@ -Fast wip ing
@ -Sing le wipe . If you ho ld the lever in this
position, the wipe rs will switch from slow con­
tin uous wiping to fast cont inuous wiping after
a while.
® -C lean the w indshie ld. To elim ina te water
droplets, the windshield wiper performs one
afterwipe operation after severa l seconds
whi le driving. You can sw itch this function
off
by moving the lever to posit ion ® within 10
seconds of the afterwipe operat ion. The after­
wipe function is reactivated the next t ime the
ignition is sw itched on.
® -Rear wipe. The rear w indow is wiped ap­
proximately every 6 seconds.
(j) -Rear wash/wipe . The n umber of wiper cy­
cles depends on how long you hold the lever
in position
(J) .
A WARNING
-The rain sensor is only intended to assist
the dr iver. T he d river is st ill responsib le
for manually switching the wipers on ac­
cording to the visibility cond itio ns.
- The windsh ield may not be treated with
wate r-repell ing windsh ield coating
agen ts. Un favo rable cond it ions, such as
wetnes s, dark ness, low su n, c an result in
i n creased glare. Wipe r blade cha tter is
also possib le .
- Prope rly fun ct ion ing wi ndsh iel d wiper
b la d es are req uired for a clea r view and
safe driving
c:> page 47, Replacing
windshield wiper blades .

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-Never exceed the maximum permissible
load carry ing capacity of the roof of your
vehicle, the perm issible axle weights and
the permiss ible total weight of your veh i­
cle ¢
page 234 , Weights .
(D Note
- Make sure the rear lid does not hit the
cargo on the roof rack when you open it.
On vehicles with automatic rear lid/trunk
lid operation* you may have to adjust the
open position of the rear lid
¢ page 35.
- Remove the roof rack and attachment
before taking your vehicle through an au­
tomatic car wash to avoid damage .
@l For the sake of the environment
As a result of the increased w ind resist ­
ance created by a roof rack, your veh icle is
using fue l unnecessarily . So remove the
roof rack after using it.
Luggage compartment
General information
,& WARNING
Read and heed the importan t safety pre­
cautions on ¢
page 100, Stowing lug­
gage .
Luggage compartment cover
Fig. 65 Inside of re ar lid: Cove r hooked in to pl ace
-
S ea ts a nd s to rage 59
Fig. 66 Lug gage compa rtm en t: Co ver
If any items of luggage do not fit under the
luggage compartment covers when loading
the car, take out the covers @ and @¢,&. .
Remo ving
.,. To remove the cover from the rear lid@,
pull the fasteners
CD off the studs c:> fig. 65 .
You can now pull the cover ou t of the retain­
ers @in the d irection of the arrows .
.,. To remove the cove r in the luggage com­
p a rtment @, pu ll it towards the rear
¢ fig. 66.
Installing
.,. To secure the cover @ on the inside of the
rea r lid, slide it into the reta iners @.
.,. Press the fasteners
CD onto the studs¢,&. .
.,. To sec ure the cover @ in the luggage com­
partment, engage it in the side trim on both
sides. You can now push the cover forwards
until it engages.
,& WARNING
- Make sure that both luggage compart­
ment covers are securely engaged after
loading or unloading the vehicle .
- The luggage compartment cover must
always be fixed properly -risk of acci­
dent!
- The luggage compartment cover shou ld
not be used as a storage shelf. Items
placed on th is cover could cause injury in
an accident o r if the bra kes are applied
suddenly.
-

62 Seats and storage
@ Tips
- Never stow the ski sack away when it is
still wet or damp (for example, snow
melt ing from skis). Allow it to dry com­
pletely before stowing it away.
- When transporting skis or snowboards, tighten the securing strap between the
bindings.
- Position skis in the ski sack w ith the
po inted ends facing the front and ski
po les with the pointed ends facing the
rear.
Reversible cargo area floor
The reversible cargo area floor can be used
with the dirt-resistant side or the decorative
side .
Fig. 71 Luggage compartment: cargo area floor
Reversing the cargo area floor
.,. To turn the dir t-resistant side upwards, lift
the cargo area floor by t he handle ~
fig. 71
or
.. To turn the decorative side upwards, lift the
cargo area floor by the handles on bothes
sides .
.. Flip the floor over and install it .

7 4 On the road
-The brake lights turn on when the brakes
are activated .
Switching on
0
f
®t
0
Fig. 78 Opera ting lever: crui se co ntro l system
0 O>
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.,. To sw itch the cruise control on, pull the lev­
er into position
CD c::> fig. 78 .
.,. Drive at the speed to be maintained .
.,. To store the speed, press the button @. The
II (USA models) Iii (Canada models)
turns on in the instrument cluster.
Changing speed
.,. To increase or decrease the speed in incre­
ments,
tap the lever in the 010 direction
c::> page 74, fig. 78 .
.,. To increase or decrease the speed quickly,
hold the lever in the 0 10 direction until
the desired speed is reached.
You can press the acce lerator pedal down to
increase your speed, for example if you want
to pass someone. The speed you saved earlier
will resume as soon as you release the acceler­
ator pedal.
I f, however, you exceed your saved speed by 5
mph (10 km/h) for longer than 6 minutes, the
cr uise contro l turns off temporarily. The
Ill
(USA models) ill (Canada mode ls) indicator
light in the instrument cluster turns off and
the stored speed is retained.
Preselecting the speed
You con preselect your desired speed when
the vehicle is stationary.
.,. Swi tch the ign ition on. .,.
Move the lever into position
CD c::> page 74,
fig. 78.
.,. To increase or decrease the speed, tap the
lever in the
0 10 direction.
T his function makes it possible, for examp le,
to save the speed you want before driving on
the highway. Once on the highway, activate
the cruise control by pulling the lever toward
CD-
Switching off
Temporary deactivation
.,. Press the brake pedal, or
.,. Press the lever into position @ (not cl icked
into p lace)
c::> page 74, fig. 78, or
Switching off completely
.,. Press the lever into position @(clicked into
place), or
.,. Switch the ignition off.
The speed you stored wi ll be retained if the
cruise control has been switched off tempora­
rily . To resume the stored speed, release the
brake pedal and pull the lever into position
CD-
The stored speed is erased when the cruise
control is sw itched off complete ly or the igni­
t ion is switched off .
A WARNING
-You should only resume the stored speed if
i t is not too high for existing traffic condi­
tions. Otherwise you risk an accident.
(D Tips
-If the brakes become too heated while
dr iving, the cruise control switches off.
If
this happens while driving downhill, you
can relieve the brakes by shifting into a
lower gear.

Audi side assist Lane change assistant
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
Fig . 79 Se nsor detec tion ra nge
Fig. 80 Display o n the exter io r mirro r
Side assist he lps you mon itor your blind spot
and traffic behind you r veh icle. W ith in the
limits of the system, it warn s you about
vehicles that are coming closer or that are
traveling w ith you within sensor ra nge
(D
c::, fig . 79: if a la n e change is classified as c riti­
cal, the display @in the exterior m irror
c::> fig. 80 tu rns on.
The display in the left exterio r mirror provides
assistance when making a lane cha nge to t he
l eft, while the display in the right exter ior mir­
r or p rov ides assistance when making a lane
change to t he righ t.
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you about vehicles that are
~ detected and class ified as crit ica l. The display M
N in t he respec tive mirro r turns o n, but is d im . 0 ::i co
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Aud i side assist 7 5
The display remains d im intentionally in the
information stage so that your view toward
the front is not disturbed .
Warning st age
If you activate the turn signal, s ide assist
warns you about veh icles tha t are detected
and classified as critical. The display in the re ­
spective mirror blinks brightly . If this hap­
pens, check traff ic by glanc ing in the rearview
mirror and over your shoulder¢
A in General
information on page 76.
@ Tips
- Yo u can adjust the brightness of the dis­
play @¢
page 77.
- Please refer to the instructions fo r tow­
ing a trailer located in
¢ page 76.