2008 AUDI S6 manual transmission

Automatic transmi ssio n -
------------------'
Automatic transmission
tiptronic® (6-speed automatic
transmission)
Applies to vehicle s: wit h 6 -s p ee d a uto mati c tra nsm ission
General information
Your vehicle is equipped with an electron ically controlled 6 -speed
automatic transmission . Upshifting and downshifting takes place
automatically.
The transmission is also equipped with tiptronic ®. It allows the
driver to shif t gears
manually if desired=> page 157 . •
A pplies to vehi cle s: with 6-s p eed autom atic tra nsm iss ion
Driving the automatic transmission
St arting th e engin e
- The selector lever must be in Nor P.
Startin g off
- Press and hold the brake pedal.
Con tro ls and eq uip­
ment
F ig . 150 Sh ift gate on
t h e ce nter co nso le:
selecto r lever with
re lease b utto n
- Press and hold the release button in the selector lever
hand le and move the selector lever from
P or N to D and
release the butto n
=> &.
- Wait briefly until the transmission has s hifted (you w ill
feel a sligh t movement).
- Remove your foot f rom the brake pedal and acce lerate .
Rocking ba ck and forth to b ecome unstu ck
- Shift only between D and R when the vehicle is at a full
stop and the eng ine is running at idle speed.
Stopp in g
- Press and hold the brake pedal un til t he ve hicle has come
to a complete stop.
- Keep the brake pedal depressed so that the vehicle cannot roll forward or backward whi le it is idling =>& .
- Once stopped, do not depress the accelerator pedal to
rev up t he engine =>& .
Parkin g
- Press and hold the brake pedal until the ve hicle has come
to a complete stop.
- Set t he parking brake firmly =>
page 130, "Parking".
- Press and hold the release button in the selector lever
handle, move the selector lever into
P and then let go of
the release button => & . .,,_
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

Automatic transmission -
------------------'
R -Reverse
The transmission will automatically select the lowest gear ratio
when you shift into reverse .
Select
R only when the vehicle is at a full stop and the engine is
running at idle speed::::;,
& in "Driving the automat ic transmission"
on
page 153 .
Before you move the se lector lever to R , press both the button in the
handle of the selector leve r
and the brake pedal at the same time .
When the ignition is on , the backup lights i lluminate when the
selector lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transmission is in neutral in this position . Shift to this position
for standing with the brakes applied=>
page 155.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h),
you must always apply the footbrake befor e and while moving the
lever out of
N.
D -Normal position for driving forward
Position Dis for norma l city and highway driving. It ranges from zero
to top speed and all six gears shift au tomatically, depending on
engine load, driving speed and automatica lly selected shift
programs. The gear engaged is shown in the right of the display
::::;, page 154, fig. 151.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h),
you must always apply the foot brake before and while moving the
lever to
D out of N .
In certain circumstances i t may be advantageous to temporarily
switch to the manual shift program to manua lly se lect gear ratios to
match specific driving conditions::::;,
page 157.
S -Sport position
Se lect this position for spor tier performance . In this position, the
transmission will not upshift as soon, allowing the vehicle to use the
Con tro ls and eq uip­
ment
increased power available at higher engine speeds to achieve live­
lier acceleration.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h),
you must always apply the foot brake before and while moving the lever to
S out of N.
& WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS ::::;, & in "Driving the automatic
transmission" on
page 153 .
0 Note
Coasting downhill with the transmission in N and the engine not
running will result in damage to the automatic transmission and
possibly the catalytic converter. •
Applies to ve hic les: with 6-spee d autom atic trans mission
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you against acciden­
tally shifting into a forward or the reverse gear and
causing the vehicle to move unintentionally.
Fig. 152 Shift gate:
selec tor leve r loc k
positions and interlock
button highlight ed
The selector lever lock is released as follows:
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

_______________________________________________ A_ u_t _o _m_ a_ t_ i_ c _ t_r _ a _n _s_ m_ i_ s _ s_ i_ o _ n _ ___._
The selection of the most suitable shift program is a continuous,
automatic process. The driver can also make the transmission
switch to a sporty program by
quickly pressing down the gas pedal.
This causes the transmission to shift down to a lower gear to
achieve rapid acceleration, e.g. for quickly passing another vehicle.
You do not need to press the gas pedal into the kick -down range.
After the transmission has upshifted, the original program is
selected according to your driving style.
An additional shift program allows the automatic transmission to
select the proper gear for uphill and downhill gradients .
This keeps the transmission from shifting up and down unneces ­
sarily on hills. The transmission will shift down to a lower gear when
the driver presses the brake pedal on a downhill gradient. This
makes use of the braking effect of the engine without the need to
shift down manually .•
Ap plies to ve hic les: w ith 6- spee d automat ic t ransm is sion
Manual shift program
Using the manual shift program you can manually select
gears.
Con tro ls and eq uip­
ment
Fig . 15 3 Ce nter
co nsole : shifting the
tiptronic® manually
~-1l I _, ,.
i ~YJ. 41 Of . .,,..,.
il 300mi Fig. 154 Display:
manual shift program,
selected gear high­
lighted
Switching to manual shift program
With the selector lever in D, push the lever to the right .
The display will show
6 5 4 3 2 1 as soon as the selector
lever is moved. The gear you select will also be high­
lighted
=> fig. 154.
To upshift
Push the selector lever forward to the plus posit ion 0
=> fig. 153.
To downshift
-Push the lever to the min us position Q .
When accelerating, the transmission will automatica lly shift into
gears 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 before the engine reaches its maximum RPM.
If you apply a light throttle when accelerating, tiptronic® will auto ­
matically shift from 1st to 2nd gear to save fuel. If you app ly a heavy
throttle, the transmission will stay in 1st gear until near maximum
RPM is reached, or until the driver shifts into 2nd gear .
If you take your foot off the a ccelerator peda l when driving down a
steep incline, tiptronic® wi ll downshift from the selected gear into
the next lower gear until it reaches 1st gear , based on road speed
and engine RPM. Automatic downshifting is interrupted as soon as
you apply the throttle again . .,_
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

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[ i J Tip s
• When you shift into the next lower gear, the tran smission will
downshift only when there is no possibi lity of over -revv ing the
engin e.
• When the kickdown comes on, th e transmission wil l shift down
to a lower gear, depending on vehicle and engine speeds.
• tiptronic® is inoperative when the transmission is in the fail -safe
mode .•
A pplies to vehi cles : w it h 6- speed automatic trans mission
St ee ring wh eel with tiptroni c®
The shift buttons on the steering wheel allow the driver to
shift gears manually.
Fig . 155 Stee ring
whe el: Shift button s
To downshift, touch the button on the left Q.
To upshift, touc h the button on the r ight G) .
The shift buttons are act ivated when the selector lever is in D, Sor
in the manual shift program (tiptronic) .
Of course, you can continue to use the manual shift program with
the selec tor lever on the center console. •
App lies to veh ic les : w it h 6-speed au tomat ic tra n smission
Fail-saf e mode
If tiptronic® suffers a malfunction, the fail-safe mode
maintains minimum driveability.
In the event of particular system malfunctions, the au tomatic trans­
mission switches to th e fail -safe mode. This is signalled by al l the
segments in the display illuminating or going out.
You can continue to move the selec to r lever to all positions . The
manual shift program (tiptronic l is switched off in the fai l- safe
mode .
In selector lever positions D and Sand in the manual shift program,
the transmission remains in 3rd gear if 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear was e ngag ed pr evious ly. The transmission remains in 5th gear, if 4 th , 5th
or 6th gear was engaged previous ly .
T he next time you drive off or sta rt the engine , 3rd gear is engaged .
You can continue to use reverse gear. But the electronic lockout for
reverse gea r is turned off.
(D Note
If the transmission switches to fail -safe mode , you should take the
v ehicle to an au thori zed Audi dealership as soon as possible to have
the condition corrected .•

_________________________________________________ A_ u_t_ o_ m_ a_t _i _ c _ t _ra_ n_s_ m __ is_ s_ io_ n _ __.1!111
Ap plies to vehicle s: with 6-speed automat ic transmission
Emergency release for selector lever
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selector lever can
be released in an emergency.
Fig . 156 Remove the
as htray i nsert
Fig . 157 Eme rge ncy
r elease fo r se lecto r
l ever
The emergency release is located under the insert for the
ashtray.
- Slide open the cover for the ashtray .
- Grasp the ashtray insert~ fig. 156 by the recesses on
both sides and pull it upward and out.
- Now you can see a sma ll cover in t he as htray holder.
- Release and remove this cover from the ashtray holder.
Con tro ls and eq uip­
ment
Using a screwdriver or a similar tool, press down on the
screw in the m iddle of the ashtray holder, which is now
accessib le, and hold it down
~ fig. 157 .
Now press the interlock and move the selector lever to
the
N position.
The selector lever can only be moved from the P position if the igni ­
tion key is in the lock and the ignition is turned on. If the vehicle has
to be pushed or towed if the power supply fails (e.g. battery is discharged), the selector lever must be moved to the N position
using the emergency locking device .•
multitronic ®
Applies to veh icles: with multitronic® Continuously Variable Transm ission (CVT l
General information
Your vehicle is equipped with a electronically controlled continu­
ously variable transmission (multitronic ®l. Inside the multitronic ®
system, the gear ratios are not shi fted in finite steps as in a conven ­
tional automatic transmission, but rather
co ntin uously. As a result,
engine power is applied smoothly and comfortably, and better fuel
economy is achieved.
The transmission selects the appropriate gear ratio (upshifts and
downshifts) automatically based on set driving programs
=> page 163, "Dynamic shift program (DSP)".
You can also manually select a shift program (tiptronic®)
=> page 164.
You should note, that the multitronic transmission differs from a conventiona l Automatic Transmission . In the multitronic transmis­
sion the engine power is transferred via a link -plate chain, rather
than by a conventional torque converter. The multitronic transmis­
sion greatly reduces vehicle "creep'"' when at a standsti ll and the
transmission is in
D Sor R. •
Vehicle care I I Technical data

• ..__A_ u_ t _o_ m_ a_ t_ i_ c _ t_r _a _n_ s_ m_ is_ s_i o _ n ________________________________________________ _
Before you move the selector lever to R, press both, the button in the
handle of the selector lever
and the brake pedal at the same time .
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illuminate when the
selector lever is moved into R.
N -N eutr al
Sh ift to this position for standing with brakes applied=> page 762.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h),
you must always apply the footbrake before and while moving the
lever out of
N .
Do not use N for coasting downhill.
D -Normal dr iving po sition f or forward
Depending on the load on the engine, vehicle speed and the
dynamic control program, the transm ission will select the
optimal
gear ratio.
In certain circumstances it may be advantageous to temporarily
switch to the manua l shift program to manually select gear ratios to
match specific driving conditions=>
page 164.
When the vehicle is s tationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h),
you must always apply the footbrake before and while moving the
lever to
D ou t of N.
S -Spor t p osition
Select this position for sportier performance. In this position, the
transmission wil l not upshift as soon, allowing the vehicle to use the
increased power avai lable at higher engine speeds to achieve live ­
lier acceleration.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h),
you must always apply the foot brake before and whi le moving the
lever to
S out of N .
& WARNING
Re ad a nd follo w all WARNIN GS=> & in "Dr iv ing th e multitr oni c®"
on
page 160 .
0 Note
Coasting downhill with the transm ission in N and the engine not
operating will result in damage to the automatic transmission and
possibly the catalytic converter. •
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic® Continuous ly Variable Transmission (CVT)
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you against acciden­
tally shifting in to a forward or the reverse gear and
causing the vehicle to move unintentionally.
F ig . 160 Shift gate:
se lect or l ever loc k
pos it ions a nd int erl ock
butt on high lighted
The selector lever l ock is rel eased as f ollows :
T u rn the ignition on .
Step on the brake peda l.
At the same time press and hold
the interlock button on the side of the gear selector knob
=> fig. 160 with your thumb until you have moved the
selector lever to t he desired position.
~

-L~A~u~t~o~m~a~t ::,:i c~t::!r.!:a~n~ s~m!.!!:i s~ s ~ io~n :..._ ____________________________________________ _
An additional shift program allows the automat ic t ransmission to
select the p roper gear for uphill and downhill gradients.
This prevents the transmission from shifting up and down unneces­ sari ly on hills. The transmission will shift down to a lower gear ratio
when the driver presses the brake pedal on a downhill gradient . This
makes use of the braking effect of the engine without the need to
shift down manually.
If you are driving in hills and mountains, the transmission will
continuously adjust the gear ratio to the road grade. If you press the
brake pedal when driving downhi ll, the transmission will down shift
automatically . This increases the braking effect of the engine .
If the cru ise control is on when you are traveling downh ill, the trans ­
mission will automatically select a lower gear ratio in order to main ­
tain the set vehic le speed . This wil l cause the engine speed to
increase. •
Applies to v ehicles: wit h mult it ro n ic® Co ntin uous ly V ariab le Tra nsm iss io n (CVT )
tiptronic ® manual shift program
Using the manual shif t program ( tiptronic® J you can
manually shift between seven pre-programmed gear
r at io s ( tra nsmission p ositi ons).
Fig . 16 1 Center
c onsole : shifting
m anu ally
(0
Fig . 16 2 Disp lay:
m anu al s hift pro gra m ,
se lecte d gear h igh ­
li gh ted
Switching to manual shift program
With the se lector lever in
D, push lever to the right. The
display will show 7
6 5 4 3 21 as soon as the selector lever
is switched over. The gear yo u select w ill also be high­
ligh ted in the displ ay => fig. 162.
To upshift Push the se lector lever forward to the p lus position
=> fig. 161 0-
To downshift
- Pu sh th e lever t o the m inus posi tion
Q .
When accelerating, the transm ission will automa tically shif t into the
next higher gear before the engine reaches the maximum RPM .
When accelerating, if you apply a light throttle, the tiptronic® will
automatically shift into the next higher gear to save fuel. If you apply
a heavy thrott le, the transmission wi ll stay in gear engaged until
n ear maximum RP M are reached, or until the driver manually shifts
into a higher gear.
If you take your foot of f the accelerator peda l when driving down a
steep inc line, the tiptronic ® will downshift from the selected gear
into the next lower gear based on road speed a nd eng ine RPM . The _,,

_________________________________________________ A_ u_t_ o_ m_ a_t _i _ c _ t _ra_ n_s_ m __ is_ s_ io_ n _ __.1111
automatic downshifting is interrupted as soon as you apply throttle
again .
[ i J Ti ps
• When you shift into the next lower gear, the engine will down ­
shift only when there is no possibility of over-revving .
• When the kick-down comes on, the transmission will sh ift down
to a lower gear depending on vehicle and engine speeds.
• The tiptronic® is inoperative when the transmission is in the fail­
safe mode .•
Ap plies to vehic les: with multit ron ic® Continuous ly Variable Transm ission (CVT)
Steering wheel with tiptronic ®
The shift buttons on the steering wheel allow the driver to
shift gears manually.
Fig . 163 S teering
w heel : S hift butt ons
- To downshift, touch the button on the left Q.
- To upshift, touch the button on t he right G) .
The shift buttons are activated when the selector lever is in D, Sor
in the manual shift program (tiptronic).
Contro ls and eq uip­
ment
Of course, you can continue to use the manual shift program with
the selector lever on the center console. •
Applies to vehicles : with multitronic® Continuously Var iable Transm ission (CVT )
Fail -safe mode
If the multitronic® suffers a malfunction the fail-safe
mode maintains minimum driveability.
In the event of particular system malfunctions, the automatic trans­
mission switches to the fail-safe mode . This is signal led by all the
segments in the display illuminating or going out.
You can continue to move the selector lever to all positions. The
manual shift program (tiptronic) is switched off in the fail-safe
mode.
You can continue to use reverse gear. But the electronic lockout for
reverse gear is turned off .
0 Note
If the transmission switches to fail-safe mode, you should take the
vehicle to an authorized Audi dea lership as soon as poss ib le to have
the condition corrected. •
Vehicle care I I irechnical data