trailer AUDI S3 2015 Owners Manual

Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . . 126
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 130
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
R eport ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Why safety bel ts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Safety belt p re tens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 1 42
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
I mpor tan t th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 1 44
Fr ont airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
M onitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Side curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 170
C hi ld safety seats ............ .... . 176
Install ing a chi ld safety seat . . . . . . . . 18 1
L A TC H L ower ancho rages and tethe rs
fo r ch ild ren . ............. .... .. . .
A ddit io nal Informa tion 184
188
Driver messages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Smart Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
I nforma tion abo ut data reco rded by
ve hicl e cont ro l mod ules . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Electron ic stabilization control (ESC) 189
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Electromechanical steering . . . . . . . . . 193
All whee l drive (quatt ro) . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Not ice about data recorded by the
E vent Data Reco rder and ve hicle
con tro l mod ules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Table of contents 3
Driving and the environment
197
T he first 1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwa rds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Driving through wate r on roads . . . . . 198
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Diesel particulate filter . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Plac ing you r vehicle ou t of service . . . 199
Operate yo ur v ehicl e economically and
min imi ze poll ution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Dr iving wit h a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
T rai le r tow ing t ips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Operating instructions . . . . . . . . 205
Care and cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Gener al infor mation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Cleaning and care information . . . . . . 206
Checking and Filling . . . . . . . . . . 210
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
F uel tank . ... .. .... . ... ...... ... . 212
Se lective cata lytic reduction . . . . . . . . 215
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Engine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
B rake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
W indsh ie ld washer conta iner 232
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
T ire pressu re mo nitor ing syste m 2 64
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 2 67
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
L uggage compartment lid emergency
r elease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Eq uipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Spare tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Changi ng a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
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118 Parking systems
Parking systems
General information
Appl ies to vehicles: with rea r parking sys te m s/park in g
syste m plus/rearv iew camera
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, vari­
ous parking aids will help you when parking
and maneuvering.
The
rear parking system is an audible parking
aid that warns you of obstacles
behind the ve­
hicle
¢ page 119.
The parking system plus assists you when
parking by audibly and visually indicating ob­
jects detected
in front of and behind the vehi­
cle
¢ page 119.
The rearview camera shows the area behind
the vehicle in the MMI display . This display as­
sists you when you are cross or parallel park­ ing. The parking system plus functions are al­
so available ¢
page 120.
& WARNING
-Always look for traffic and check the area
around your vehicle by looking at it di­
rectly as well. The parking system cannot
replace the driver 's attention. The driver
is always responsible when entering or
leaving a parking space and during simi­
lar maneuvers .
- Please note that some surfaces, such as
clothing, are not detected by the system.
- Sensors and cameras have blind spots in
which people and objects cannot be de­
tected . Be especially cautious of small
children and animals .
- Always pay attention to the area around
the vehicle -using the rearview mirror,
too.
- The sensors can be displaced by impacts
or damage to the radiator grille, bumper,
wheel housing and the underbody. The
parking system may become impaired as
a result . Have your authorized Audi deal­
er or authorized service facility check
their function . -
Make sure the sensors are not obstructed
by stickers, deposits or other materials.
If they are, the sensor function could be impaired. For additional information on
cleaning, refer to¢
page 205.
(D Note
- Some objects are not detected or dis­
played by the system under certain cir­
cumstances:
- Objects such as barrier chains, trailer
draw bars, vertical poles or fences
- Objects above the sensors such as wall
extensions
- Objects with specific surfaces or struc­
tures such as chain link fences or pow­
der snow
- If you continue driving closer to a low-ly­
ing object, it may disappear from the
sensor range. Note that you will no lon­
ger be warned about this obstacle.
- The sensors can be displaced by impacts
or damage to the radiator grille, bumper,
wheel housing and the underbody. The
parking system may become impaired as
a result. Have your authorized Audi deal­
er or authorized service facility check
their function .
(D Tips
- The system may provide a warning even
though there are no obstacles in the cov­
erage area in some situations, such as:
- certain road surfaces or for long grass.
- external ultrasonic sources e.g. from
cleaning vehicles.
- heavy rain, snow, or thick vehicle ex­
haust.
- We recommend that you practice park­
ing in a traffic-free location or parking
lot to become familiar with the system.
When doing this, there should be good
light and weather conditions.
- You can change the volume and pitch of
the signals as well as the disp lay
¢ page 124.

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General information
Applies to vehicles: with park ing system p lus wit h rear­
view ca mera
Fig. 108 Area covered
(D and area not covered @by
the rearv iew camera.
Fig. 109 Rear l id: Location of the rear-v iew camera
The rearview camera is located above the rear
license plate bracket . Make sure that the lens
for the parking system ~
fig. 109 is not cov­
ered by deposits or any other obstructions be­
cause this can affect the function of the park­ ing system. For information on cleaning, refer
to~page205.
The rearview camera coverage area includes
(D ¢ fig. 108. Only this area is displayed in
the MMI. Objects that are outside of this area
@ are not displayed.
The accuracy of the orientation lines and blue
surfaces diminishes if
dynamic mode is acti­
vated
¢page 106.
_& WARNING
-Always read and follow the applicable
warnings¢
& in General information on
page 118.
- If the position and the installation angle
of the rearview camera was changed, for
example, after a collision, do not contin­
ue to use the system for safety reasons .
Parking systems 121
Have it checked by your authorized Audi
dealership.
- Only use the rearview camera to assist
you if it shows a good, clear picture. For
example, the image may be affected by
the sun shining into the lens, dirt on the
lens or if there is a defect.
- Use the rearv iew camera only if the lug­
gage compartment lid is completely
closed.
If the luggage compartment lid
is open the orientation lines and blue
surfaces are hidden. Make sure any ob­
jects you may have mounted on the lug­ gage compartment lid do not block the
rearview camera.
- The camera lens enlarges and distorts
the field of vision. The object appears
both altered and inaccurate on the
screen.
- In certain situations, people or objects in
the display appear closer or farther away:
- For objects that do not touch the
ground, such as the bumper of a
parked vehicle, a trailer hitch or the
rear of a truck. Do not use the help
lines in this case.
-If driven from a level surface onto an
incline , or a downward slope.
- If driven toward protruding objects.
-If the vehicle is carrying too much load
in the rear.
(D Note
-Always read and follow the applicable
warnings
c:>(D in General information on
page 118.
- The orange colored orientation lines in
the MMI display show the direction of
travel of the vehicle rear depending on
the steering wheel angle. The front of
the vehicle front swings out more than
the rear of the vehicle. Maintain plenty
of distance so that your outside mirror or
a corner of your vehicle does not collide
with any obstacles.

202 Trailer towing
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, always fo llow the operating
and drivi ng i nstr uctions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and mu st be
mounted secure ly on the ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trailer
h itch with a removab le ball mount. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch manu fac tur er to
make sure tha t you are using t he cor rect
hitch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way t hat
it does not interfe re with t he impact-absorb­
ing bumper syst em . No mod ifications should
be made to the vehi cle exhaust and brake sys ­
tems . From time to time, check th at a ll hit ch
mo unt ing bo lts remain secure ly fastened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra iler hitch ba ll mount. This prevents the
hi tch from causing d amage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ A .
Trailer brakes
If you r tra ile r is eq uipped w ith a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r egulat ions . T
he trailer hyd raulic brake system mus t not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use s afety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r li ghts must meet all regulations. Be
su re to c hec k w ith your Audi dea le r fo r cor rect
wiring, swi tches and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regular o utside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mirro rs . It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rea r.
,8. WARNING
-
Afte r removing t he trailer hit ch, d o no t
s tore it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
br aking, t he h itch cou ld fly forward an d in­
j ur e you or yo ur passengers .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r weight
A trai le r fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typi cal
class 1 or class 2 trai le r.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the load in the t ra ile r is held secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shift ing forw ard,
backw ard or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ A in Driving instru ctions on page 203.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work hard­
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system 's
performance is up to the additional load .
Make su re that the coo ling system has enough
fl uid .
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to t he cold tire pressure listed under
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"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer t ires to tra iler and t ire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
chains, make su re they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the tra ile r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, p lease note the following:
~ Do not tow a loaded tra iler when your car it­
self is not loaded.
~ Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles.
~ Observe speed limits .
~ Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
~ Always apply brakes early.
~ Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con ­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent poss ible and permiss i­
ble, wh ile keeping the trailer as light as poss i­
ble under the circumstances . Whenever possi-
Trailer towing 203
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
T he higher the speed, the mo re difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
when going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trai lers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhi ll, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to s low the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperatu re gauge <=> page 12
must be observed carefu lly. The coolant tem ­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on.
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to .<=>
page 20.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles d ifferently when towing
a trailer because of the additional weight and ..,.
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204 Trailer towing
different weight distribution. Safety, perform ­
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefu lly you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in a n area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become comp letely fam iliar with the way
your veh icle-trailer comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is d iff icult and requires practice.
Backing up with a tra iler genera lly requires
steering action opposite to that when back ing
up your veh icle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
h icle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that yo u cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow
p lenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
ing lanes aga in.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler dur ing the break-in
period of you r vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the ext ra load
¢ page 289.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­
lowing:
Wh en park ing:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels. ..
With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes unti l the whee l chocks absorb the
load.
.. Turn the whee ls towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking brake.
.. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When re starting afte r park ing :
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Select the D/S se lector lever position.
.. Release the parking brake and s lowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
@ Tips
If you move the selector leve r of the auto­
matic transmission to P befo re applying
the pa rking brake and before bloc king the
whee ls, you may h ave to use more force
la ter to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion .

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-Always make sure that the total load being transported - including the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer - does not make the vehicle heavier than the vehicles
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­
ing.
_& WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures
and/or underinflation can
lead to a serious or fatal ac­
cident.
- Incorrect tire pressures
and/or underinflation cause
increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the
vehicle.
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation can
also lead to sudden tire fail­ure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, caus­ ing loss of vehicle control.
Tires and wheels 245
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the
tires originally installed on
your vehicle is listed on the tire pressure label located on driv­ er's side 8-pillar.
The recommended tire pres­
sures are on the tire pressure label and in the table
¢ page 240~ Cold tire inflation
pressure.
This means that the
pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not
been driven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous
three hours. Air in the tires ex­ pands when the tire heats up as
a result of internal friction as it
flexes in use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire has
warmed up than when it is "cold ."
It is the inflation pressure in a
"cold" tire that counts. There­
fore, you should never let air
out of a warm tire to match
"Cold tire inflation pressure" recommendations ¢
page 240.
The tires would then be under­
inflated and could fail sudden­
ly .
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Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or weight that any vehi­
cle and any tire can carry. Ave­
hicle that is overloaded will not
handle well and is more diffi­
cult to stop. Overloading can
not only lead to loss of vehicle
control, but can also damage
important parts of the vehicle
and can lead to sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowout and
sudden deflation that can cause
the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your
passengers also depends on
making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and every­
thing in and on the vehicle.
These load limits are technical­
ly referred to as the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the
weight of the basic vehicle, all
factory installed accessories, a
full tank of fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum
load. The maximum load in­
cludes the number of passen­
gers that the vehicle is intend-
Tires and wheels 249
ed to carry ("seating capacity")
with an assumed weight of 1
SO lbs (68 kg) for each pas­
senger at a designated seating
position and the total weight of
any luggage in the vehicle. If
you tow a trailer, the weight of
the trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of the loaded trailer must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of
the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­
ing and the Gross Axle Weight
Rating are listed on the safety
compliance sticker label locat­
ed on the driver's side 8-pillar.
Your Audi has 5 seating posi­
tions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for total seating capacity
of 5. Each seating position has
a safety belt¢
page 135, Safe­
ty belts.
The fact that there is an upper
limit to your vehicle's Gross Ve­
hicle Weight Rating means that
the total weight of whatever is
being carried in the vehicle (in­
cluding the weight of a trailer ""
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250 Tires and wheels
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer) is limited.
The more passengers in the ve­ hicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard
weights assumed mean that
less weight can be carried as
luggage .
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
q page 240, fig. 168 .
_& WARNING
~ -
Overloading a vehicle can
cause loss of vehicle 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 increase the risk of the
loss of vehicle control.
-The brakes on a vehicle that
has been overloaded may
not be able to stop the vehi­
cle within a safe distance . -Tires
on a vehicle that has
been overloaded can fail
suddenly, including a blow­
out and sudden deflation,
causing loss of control and a
crash.
-Always make sure that the
total load being transported
- including the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer -
does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicles
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­
ing .
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 OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX .,..

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KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
c:> page 240,
fig. 168.
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
c:> page 240 , fig. 168.
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. (1400-750 (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
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
Tires and wheels 251
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
~check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 254, fig . 172) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
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