Page 1 of 324
OIDD
Audi
2009 Audi A3
Owner's Manual
Page 2 of 324
Page 3 of 324
Introduction
Thank you for choosing an Audi A3 -we value your trust in us.
Your new Audi A3 incorporates the newest technology as well as numerous features designed for
your comfort, convenience and safety. We recommend you read your Owner 's Manual thoroughly
so that you can quickly become acquainted with your Audi.
In addition to explaining how the different features work, we also give you many useful tips and
information concerning your safety and that of your passengers, how to care for your vehicle and
maintain your vehicle's value.
We hope you enjoy driving your Audi A3 and we wish you safe and pleasant motoring .
AUDI AG
Page 4 of 324

Table of contents
Table of contents
Vehicle literature ........ .
About this Owner's Manual ..... ... ...... ....... .
Controls and
equipment ................. .
Instrumen ts and con trols ..... .
Genera l ill ustration ............. .
Ins trumen ts and
warning/indicat or lig hts ....... .
Instruments ... .... ........... . .
Warning /indica tor lights ........ .
Driver in fo rma tion disp lay ..... .
Introduction ... .......... ... ... .
On -Board Diagnos tic system (OBD)
Trip compute r ................. .
Menu di splay ............ ...... .
Sp eed warn ing system ...... ... .
Warnings and symbo ls ......... .
Opening and c losi ng .......... .
Keys .............. ... ... ... ... .
Power locking system .......... .
Doors, power locks ............ .
Powe r w indows ... ... .. .... ... .
Panoramic s liding sunroof ...... .
Emergency mechanical c losing for
t he panoram ic slid ing sunroof .. .
Clear v ision ................ .... .
Lig hts . ..... ... ... .. .. ... ... .. .
Interior lights .................. .
Vision ........ ...... ......... . .
4
5
6
7
7
8
8
1 1
1 8
1 8
21
22
23
26
28
35
35
37
40
46
48
49
52
52
60
62
Wiper and washer system ...... .
Mirrors ....................... .
Digital compass ............ ... .
Seats and storage ............ .
General recommendat ions ..... .
Adjust ing front seats manua lly ..
Ad just ing th e power seat ...... .
Adjusting the lumbar support .. .
Head restraints ............... .
Cen ter armrest ... ... ... .. .. .. . .
Rear s eats .................... .
Luggage compartment . ...... . .
Roof rack* installation ......... .
Cup ho lders .......... ........ .
As htray ................ ...... .
Cigar ette light er/soc ket . .• .. .. ..
S torage ... ... ......... ... ... . .
War m and cold ........... ... . .
Clima te controls ....... ... .... .
Elect rically heated front seats . . .
On the road . .............. ... . .
S tee ring ...................... .
Ignition lock and ignition switch .
Sta rting and stopping the engine
Par king bra ke ................. .
Starting on hills ........ .• ... .. .
Audi parking system ... ... ..... .
Cr uise control ............ ..... .
Audi magne tic ride .. ... .. .. ... .
Transmission
Manual t ransm ission
S tronic transmiss ion . ... ...... .
63
69
72
7 4
7 4
7 5
76
78
7 9
81
82
83
88
91
93
93
94
98
98
105
107
107
108
109
1 10
1 11
1 12
1 13
1 15
1 16
1 16
1 17
Safety first ...... ...... .... .
Driving Safe ly ...... .... ... .... .
Genera l notes ...... ........... .
Proper occupant seating pos it ions
Peda l a rea .................... .
S tow ing luggage .......... .... .
R eporting Saf ety D efects ...•....
Safety belts ................... .
General notes ....... •..........
Why safety be lts? ..... ..... •....
Sa fety belts ........... ... .. ... .
Safety belt pretensioners ....... .
Airbag system ................. .
Important things to know ...... .
Front
airbags .. .... ... ...... .. .
Monito ring the Advanced Airbag
System ... ..... ... .. ..... ... .. .
Side a irbags .............. •....
Side curtain airbags ....... •....
C hild Safe ty ................... .
Important thi ngs to know ...... .
Child safety seats ............. .
Insta lling a ch ild safety seat .... .
Add itional Information .... ... .. .
Lower anchorages and tether for
child ren (LA TCH) ............... .
Vehicle operation ... ... . .
Intel ligent technology . ... .. .. . .
No tice abo ut da ta recorded by
ve hicle control modules .. ...... .
E lect ronic Stabili zation Program
(ESP) ......................... .
126
126
126
128
132
133
135
137
137
138
141
145
147
147
151
158
163
166
169
169
174
179
182
184
190
190
190
190
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Braking .... ....... ... ..... ... .
E lectro -mechanical power assist .
Driving with your quattro® ..... .
Driving and enviro nment ..... .
The first 1,000 mi les (1,500 km) and
afterwards ................... .
Cata lytic converter .......... .. .
Avoid damaging the vehicle .... .
Ope rate your vehicle economically
and minimize pollution ........ .
Trailer towing ........... ...... .
Driv ing with a trailer ..... ...... .
Trailer tow ing tips ....... ... ... .
Vehicle care ... .......... . .
193
195
196
197
197
198
199
199
202
202
204
206 Tire pressure monitor ing
system* ....................... .
Genera l notes (l) ........ .• .. ... .
Introduct ion .................. .
Sign ifican t loss of air pressure
(l) .
Storing tire pressures .. ... ... .. .
Whee l cha nge .......... ....... .
Malfu nct io ns TP MS* ........... .
Cert ificat ion
Do-it-yourself service
W hat do I do now? ... ......... .
Jack, too ls and spare wheel .... .
Compact spare wheel .......... .
W hee l cha nge ... ... ... .. .. .. .. . 264
264
264
265
266
267
267
268
270
270
270
271
2
7 2
Table of contents
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Data ............................ 300
200 hp, 2.0 liter 4-cyl. tu rbo eng ine 300
250 hp, 3.2 liter 6 -cyl. engine . . . . . 302
Co nsumer Info rma tio n ......... 303
Wa rranty cove rages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Operating your vehicle outside the
U.S.A. or Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Audi Service Repair Manuals and
Li terature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Additional accessories,
mod ifications and parts
rep lacemen t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . . 206 Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 Alphabetical index ...... 308
Genera l info rmation ........... .
Care of exterior . ... ... .. .. ... . .
Care of interior ................ .
Fuel supply and fil ling your fue l
ta nk ........................... .
Gasoline ......... .. .... ...... .
Fuel tank ..... .......... ...... .
Checki ng and filling .. ........ . .
Engine hood .................. .
Engine compartment .......... .
Engine oil ............... ..... .
E ngine cooling system ......... .
Brake fluid ............... ..... .
Battery ....................... . 206
2
06
213
2 19
2 19
220
224
224
226
227
2 32
235
236
W indshield washer container . . . . 241
Tires and wheels
Tires ... ...... ..... ... ·. · · · · · · ·
Controls and equip
ment Safety first
243
243 Fuses . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
B ul bs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 5
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . . 287
Genera l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Sta rting by pushing or towing . . . 287
Start ing with jumper cables . . . . . 287
Genera l information of sta rting
ass istance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Use of jumper cab les (4 cylinder
eng ine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Use of jumper cables (6 cylinder
engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Emergency towing with commercia l
tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Lifting the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Technical data
General information
298
298
Explanation of technical data . . . . 298
Vehic le ide ntif ication . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Vehicle operation Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Page 6 of 324

Vehi cle lite ratur e
Vehicle literature
In addition to this Owner 's Manual, your Audi comes with a
Warranty
& Maintenance booklet .
Moreover, depending on the model and the equipment, there may
be additional instruction booklets de livered with your vehicle (for
example, Operating Instructions for your Sound System, Navigation
System e tc .) .
If you are missing one of these pub lications or if you be lieve that the
information is not comp lete, contact your authorized Audi dealer for
assistance.
The Warranty & Maintenance booklet
exp lains how you can keep your Audi i n top driv ing condition by
having it serviced regu lar ly and contains detai led information about
the warranties cove ring your Audi . A lways have the book let with you
when you take your vehicle to an authorized Audi dealer for service.
Your Audi Service Adviser will record each scheduled service and
can answer any questions you may have regarding how to maintain
your vehic le .
In Canada,
the vehic le literature is also available in French . To obtain a copy,
contact your dealer or write to:
Au Canada , on peut se procurer un exemplaire en frarn;:ais de ce
document aupres du concess ionna ire ou de:
Volkswagen Canada, Inc .
Client Assistance
Assistance a la Clientele
777 Bay ly Street , West,
Ajax, Ontario L 1 S 7G7
If you sell your Audi
a ll l iterature should be left in the vehicle to make the Wa rranty terms
as wel l as all operating, safety, and maintenance information ava il
able to the next owner.
If you change your address or if you bought this
Audi used
be sure to send in a "Notice of Address Change" /"Notice of Used Car
Purchase " post card. This card can be found in the Warranty
& Main
tenance booklet or obtained from your authorized Audi dea ler .
It i s in your own int eres t that we are able t o contac t yo u sh o uld t he
need ari se .•
Page 7 of 324

About this Owner's Manual
This owner's manual contains important information, tips, sugges
tions, and wa rnings for the use of your vehicle.
Make sure that this owner's manual is always located in the vehicle .
This is especial ly important if you a llow other people to drive the
veh icle, or if you sel l it.
T his owner's manual describes the
equ ip me nt r ange specified for
this model at the editoria l deadline date. Some of the equipmen t
described here will only be availab le at a later date, or on ly in
specific markets.
Some sect ions in this owner's manua l do not apply to al l vehicles.
In that case, the
range of a pplica bility is given at the beginning of
the section, e.g. "Applies to vehicles: with Audi Pa rk ing System". In
addition, optional equipment is indicated by an asterisk"*".
T he details in the
illu strations may be different from those in your
vehicle, and are intended to be viewed as a basic guide.
You wil l find a
table of contents at the beginning of this book, which
displays all topics described in this manua l in order of appearance.
You will find an alphabetical
inde x at the end of this book .
A ll
dire ction s, such as "le ft", "right", "front", "back", are re la tive to
the direction of travel.
* optiona l equipment
.,. This section continues on the next page.
• Indicates the
end of a secti on .
® Registered trademarks are identified with a®. If this symbol is
m iss ing, it is no guarantee that t he terms can be used freely.
=> & Cross -reference to a "WARNING!" within a section. For indi
cation with a page nu mber, the corresponding "WARN ING!" can be
found outside of the section .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
About thi
s Own er's Manual
& WARNING
Te xt with th is sy mbol contain s important inf ormation on safet y
and how to redu ce the ri sk of per sonal injury or death .
0 Note
Text with this symbo l d raws your attention to po tential sources of
damage to your vehicle.
Text with this symbo l contains information about the environment
and how you can help protect it.
[ i ] Tips
Text with this symbo l contains special tips and other information
about getting the mos t out of your vehicle and its features. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Page 8 of 324
Instruments and controls
Fig. 1 Some of the equipment or features shown in the general illustration may be standard equipment on your vehicle or may be optional equipment depending on your
model. Always ask your authorized Audi dealer if you have a question about your vehicle.