2011 AUDI A3 four wheel drive

Intelligent technologyL ______________________________________ _
the drive wheels on one axle is detected (e.g . on slippery ground on
one side),
the spinning wheel is braked, thereby transferring power to
the other drive wheel or wheels (all -wheel drive) . This is done up to a
speed of about 60 mph (100 km/h). Noises from the brake system
signal that wheel sp in is being controlled .
Driving off
When driving off, always be sure to keep road conditions in mind as
you accelerate . If one drive wheel spins because it is on a surface with
less grip, gradually increase the pressure on the accelerator pedal
until the car starts to move. The wheel less ab le to transfer power
spms .
Overheating of brakes
To prevent the disc brake of the braked wheel from overheating if
subjected to excessive loads, the EDL cuts out temporarily. The
vehicle remains operat ional and behaves in the same way as a vehicle
without EDL .
As soon as the brake has cooled down, EDL switch es on again auto­
matically.
Electronic limited slip differential*
In vehicles w ith front wheel drive*, an electronic lim ited slip differen­
tial engages when driving on curves. The brakes are applied spec ifi­
cally to the front wheel that is on the inside of the curve. This mini­
m izes sliding on the front wheels and enables precise and neutral
driving through curves. The electronic limited slip differential does
not engage when d riving in wet conditions or snow.
& WARNING
• When accelerating on slippery surfaces, such as on ice or snow,
always be careful when depressing the accelerator pedal. Even
with the EDL and the ele ctronic limited slip differential working,
the drive wheels can spin and reduce your ability to control your
ca r. -Risk of crash!
& WARNING (continued)
• The increased safety afforded by EDL and the electronic limited
slip differential does not mean that you can take safety risks .
Always adapt your driving style to the road conditions and traffic
situation.
[I) Tips
If a fau lt occurs in the ABS, the EDL is also not f unct ioni ng. This is
indicated by the ABS warning light=>
page 16.
Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR)
The Anti-Slip Regulation System prevents the driven
wheels from spinning when the car is accelerating.
General notes
The Anti-Sl ip Regu lation System (ASR) is integrated in the electronic
stabili zation program (ESP) . When the vehicle starts up and acceler­
ates, the wheels are prevented from sp inning by adjust ing the engine
power to match the amount of grip available from the road surface.
How the system works
ASR performs automatica lly, i.e. without the driver's intervention.
With the aid of the ABS sensors=>
page 192, ASR monitors the speed
of the driven wheels. If the wheels start to spin, the engine torque is
reduced automatically until the tires find enough grip to lock onto
the road surface. The system is active across the entire speed range.
The ASR works in conjunction with the ABS. If a malfunction shou ld
occur in the ABS, the ASR w ill also be out of action .
[I) Tips
To ensure that the ASR works properly, all four wheels must be fitted
with identical tires. Any differences in rolling radius of the tires can .,

Intelligent technologyL _______________________________________ _
• If the power steering system is not funct ioning properly, contact
your au thori zed A ud i dea le r i mmediately. •
Applies to ve hicl es: wit h A ll Whe el D rive
Driving with your quattro®
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels are driven.
General information
With All Wheel Drive, power is distributed to all fo ur whee ls. This
happens automatically depending on you r driving s tyle a nd the road
conditions at the time. See also =>
page 189, "Electronic differential
lo ck (E DL)".
W inter tires
W hen d riving in the winter, your vehicle with A ll Whee l Drive has an
advantage, even with reg ular t ires . In winter road cond it ions it may
be advisab le to mou nt w inte r ti res (or all-se aso n t ires) for imp roved
dr iveability and braking: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheel s.
See also => page 261, "Win ter tires".
Snow chains
W he re snow c ha ins are mand atory on certain roads, this norm ally
also app lies to veh icles with all-wheel drive=>
page 262, "Snow
c hains".
Replacing wheels/tires
Veh icles with All Wheel Drive m ust always have t ires of the same s ize.
Also avoid tires with different tread depths. For details see page
=>
page 257, " N ew tires and replac ing ti res and wheels".
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clearance to be used as a n
off-road vehicle. It is therefore best to avoid rough tracks and uneven
te rrain as much as poss ib le. Also refe r to=>
page 199.
& WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traffic conditions . Do not
let the extra safety afforded by the all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risk s.
• Although the quattro ®all -wheel drive is very effective, always
remember that braking capacity is limited by t ire traction. You
should therefore not drive at exce ssive speed s on icy or slippery
road surfaces .
• On wet road surfa ces, be careful not to drive too fast becau se
the front wheels could begin to slide on top of the water (hydro­
planing ). If this should occur, you will have no warning from a
sudden increase in engine speed as with a front -wheel drive
vehicle. Always dr ive at speed s which are adjusted to the road
conditions -risk of crash! •
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy managemen t controls the distribution of elec ­
trical energy and thus optimizes the availability of elec­
t r ical ene rgy for s tarting the en gin e.
If a vehicle w ith a convent ional energy sys tem is not d riven fo r a long
period of time, t he battery is discha rged by idling cur rent consumers
(e .g. immob ilizer). In ce rtain c ircumstances it can result i n there
being insufficient energy availab le to start the engine .
Inte lligent ene rgy m anageme nt in yo ur vehicle h andles the dis tribu­
tion of electrical energy. Starting ability is markedly improved and
t he life of the bat tery is ex tende d.
Bas ically, energy management consis ts of
battery d iagnosis, idling
current management
and dynamic energy management . ~

lffll __ T_ i_ r _e _s_ a_n_ d_ w_ h_ e_e_ l_ s _______________________________________________ _
Tire service Life
The servi ce life of tires depends on a lot of different
things including proper installation and balancing,
correct tir e pressure and driving style.
(r
l \._ _____ ;)
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
Fig. 173 Tire tread:
t rea d w ear in di cato rs
(TW I)
Fig . 174 Rotati ng
tires f or m ore e ven
w ea r
The original t ires o n your veh icle have 1/16 inch ( 1.6 mm) h igh "wear
ind icators"~ fig. 173 running across the tread . Depending on the
ma ke, there w ill be six to eight of them even Ly placed around the ti re.
Marks on the t ire sidewall (for examp le "TWI " or other symbols) indi­
cate the positions of the tread wea r indicators . Worn t ires must be
replaced. Differe nt figu res may apply in other countries ~ & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wea r and can cause sudden
tire blow-o ut. Fo r th is reason, tire pressu re must be checked at least
once a month~
page 252.
Driv ing style
Driving fast aro und curves, heavy accele ration and hard b raking
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires o n your ve hicle to have the same se rvice life, we
recommend that the fron t and rear t ires are rot ated according to the
tire manufact urer's suggested tire rotat ion intervals . Please
remember the fo llow ing :
• Tir e ro tat ion inte rvals may d iffe r from the vehicle serv ice intervals
out lined in your Warranty
& Maintenance Booklet.
• The longer one tire is used in one locat ion on the vehicle, the more
it wears at certain points; therefore, we recommend that you follow
the t ire manufacture r's sugges ted tire rotation interva ls .
• Vehicles with front-whee l drive experience more tread wea r on the
front wheels compa red to a ll-wheel dr ive (quattro ®).
• Please ro ta te tires as shown~
page 256, fig. 174.
• Extra care must be taken when rotating direction -specific t ires
~ page 279 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, var ious si tuatio ns
dur ing everyday driving can cause them to become unbalanced,
resu lting in v ibr ations yo u can us ua lly fee l throug h the stee rin g
w heel.
Unbalanced whee ls mus t be rebalanced to avoid excessive wea r on
steeri ng, suspension and tires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
~

-~_T_ i_ re _ s_ a_n _ d_ w_ h _e_ e_ ls _________________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nu ed )
ev en though the damage cannot be seen that can lead to sudden
tire failure and lo ss of vehicl e control.
• All four wheels must be fitted with radial tires of the same
type, size (rolling circumference ) and the same tread patte rn .
Driving with different tires reduces vehicle handling and can lead
to a los s of control.
• If the spare t ire is not the same as the tires that are mounted
on the vehicle -for example with winter tires -only use the spare
tire for a short period of time and drive with e xtra care. Refit the
normal road wheel as soon a s safely possible.
• Never drive faster than the maximum speed for which the ti res
on your vehicle are rated because tires that are driven faster than
their rated speed can fail suddenly .
• Overloading tire s cau se heat build-up, sudden tire failure,
including a blowout and sudden deflation and loss of control.
• Temperature grades apply to tires that are properly inflated
and not o ver or underinflated.
• For technical reasons it is not always possible to use wheels
from other vehicle s- in some cases not even wheels from the same
vehicle model.
• If you install wheel trim discs on the vehicle wheels, make sure
that the air flow to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced airflow to
the brakes can them to overheat , increa sing stopping distance s
and causing a collision.
• Run flat tires may only be used on vehicles that were equipped
with them at the factory. The vehicle must have a chassis designed
for run flat tires and a factory-in stalled tire pres sure monitoring
sy stem* that indicates a loss of tire pressure . Incorrect use of run
flat tires can lead to vehicle damage or accidents. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire speciali st to see if your vehicle can
be equipped with run flat tires .
If run flat tires are used, they must
be installed on all four wheels. Mixing tire types is not permitted .
0 Note
• For tech nica l reasons, it is no t gene rally poss ible to use the wheel
r ims from other vehicles. This ca n hold t rue for w heels of the same
vehicle type .
• If the spa re tire is different from the tires t hat you have mounte d
on you r vehi cle (fo r exa mple w inte r tir es or wide profi le tires), then
use the spa re t ire for a short perio d of time on ly and d rive with e xtra
c are. Replace t he f lat tire w it h t he ti re m atch ing t he ot hers on yo ur
vehicle as soon as possible.
• If you put diffe rent whee ls and t ires o n your ve hicle (e.g . winter
w heels and tires), yo u must be certain t hat the whee ls and tires are
c omp atib le w ith the tire press ure mon ito ring system* . O th erwise the
system will register a malfunction and a fault message w ill be
displayed. For m ore infor mati on, con ta ct y our au thor ized Aud i
dea ler.
• N ever dr ive witho ut the valve stem c ap. The valves could get
damaged.
For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old t ires in accordance with the loca l requ irements. •
Uniform tire quality grading
• Tread wear
• Tr act io n AA A B C
• T emperat ure A B C
Q uali ty g rades can be fo und where applicab le on the tir e s ide wall
between tread sho ulder and max imum sect ion width ~
page 257,
fig. 175.
For example: Tread wear 200, Tract ion
AA , Temperat ure A.
All passenger ca r tires must confo rm to Federa l Safety Requirements
i n addition to these grades. .,_