2011 AUDI A3 towing

Table of contents
Table of contents
Vehicle literature ..... .
About this Owner's Manual ............. ...... .
Controls and
equipment .............. .
Instruments and controls ... .
General illustration ........... .
Instruments and
warning/indicator Lights ..... .
Instruments ................ .
Warning/indicator ligh ts ...... .
Driver information display ... .
Introduction ............ ... . .
On-Board Diagno stic system
(OBD) ....................... .
T rip com puter .............. . .
Menu display ................ .
Eff iciency program ........ ... .
Service interval display ....... .
Speed warn ing system ........ .
Warning s and symbol s ... .... .
Opening and closing ......... .
Keys ........................ .
Power locking system ........ .
Doo rs, power locks ......... .. .
Power windows .............. .
Panoram ic sliding sunroof ..... .
Emergency mechanical closing for
th e panoramic sliding su nroof .. 4
s
6
7
7
8
8
11
18
18
20
21
22
2S
27
28
30
38
38
40
4 3
49
Sl
S3
Clear vision .................. .
Lights ...................... .
Interior lights ............... .
V is ion ...................... .
M irrors ... ............ ...... .
Wiper and washer sys tem .... .
D igita l compass ............. .
Seats and storage ........... .
General recommendat ions .... .
Adjust ing front seats manually .
Adjusting the power seat ..... .
Adjus ting the lumbar support ..
Head restrain ts .............. .
C ent er armrest ........... ... .
Rear seats ............. ..... .
Lug gage compartment ....... .
Roof rack• inst alla tion ....... . .
Cup holde rs ........... ...... .
Socket .................. ... .
Storage ............. ....... .
Warm and cold .............. .
Climate contro ls ...... ... .. .. .
E lectrica lly heated front seats ..
Engine preheater ............ .
On the road ............ ..... .
Steering .................... .
Ign ition lock and ign ition switch
Start in g and stopping the engine
Parking brake ............... .
Starting on hills .......... ... .
C ru ise con trol ............... .
Audi magnetic r ide ........... .
Transmission ................ .
Manual transm ission
S6
S6
60
63
63
65
71
73
73
74
75
77
77
79
80
81
86
89
90
91
95
95
103
1 03
lOS
105
106
10 7
108
110
110
112
114
114
S tronic transmission . . . . . . . . . . 115
Safety first ............... 124
Driving Safely ................. 124
Gen eral notes ................. 124
Prop er occupant seating
posit ions ...... ............ ...
126
Pedal area ............ ........ 130
Stowingluggage .............. 131
Reporting Safety Defects ..... .. 133
Safety belts .................. . 135
General notes .............. ... 135
Why safety belts? ............. 136
Safety belts ... ............... . 139
Safety belt pretensioners . . . . . . . 143
Airbag system .......... ...... 145
I mportant things to know . . . . . . 145
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Mon itoring the Advanced A irbag
System ......................
156
Side airbags .............. .... 161
Side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Child Safety ................... 167
Important things to know ...... 167
Child safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Installing a chi ld safety seat . . . . 177
LA TCH Lower anchorages and
t ethers for child ren . . . . . . . . . . . .
180
Add itiona l Information . . . . . . . . . 186

Vehicle operation ...... 188
Inte lligent tec hno logy ....... . 188
Notice abou t da ta recorded by
vehicle control modules . . . . . . . . 188
Electronic Stab ili z ati on Program
(ESP) ................ ........ 188
Braking ...................... 191
E lec tro-mec hanic al power assist 193
Dr iving with your qua ttro ® ...... 194
Energy management ........ ... 194
D rivi ng a nd env iro nm ent ...... 197
T he firs t 1,000 miles (1,500 km)
and af terwa rds ............... 197
Catalytic converter ...... ... ... 1 98
Diesel part iculate filter ......... 199
Avoid damaging the veh ic le ..... 199
Opera te your veh ic le econom ically
and m inimize pollution . . . . . . . . . 200
Trailer towing ................. 202
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Trailer towing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Vehicle care .......... .... 206
Cleaning and protect ion .. ..... 206
G eneral informat ion . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Care of interior ........... ..... 213
F uel sup ply and filling y our fuel
tank ....... .............. ..... 219
Gasoline ..... ......... ....... 219
Diesel fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
F u el tank . ... ......... ........ 221
Checking and filling ........... 225
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
E ngine compartment .......... 227
E ngi ne oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first
Engine
cooling sys tem . . . . . . . . . 234
Brake fl uid ................... 237
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Windshield washer container . . . 243
T ires and whee ls .............. 245
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Tire pressure monitoring system 264
Do-it-yourself service . 270
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Jack, tools and spa re whee l . . . . . 270
Compac t spare wheel .......... 271
Wheel change ................ 272
Fuses a nd bul bs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
E lec trica l fuses ............... 281
Bulbs ........................ 285
E merg ency si tuati ons . . . . . . . . . 286
G eneral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Starting by pushing or towing
Starting with jumper cables ....
General info rma tion of starting
assistance .................. .
Us e of j umper cab les ......... .
Emergency tow ing w ith
comme rcial tow truck ........ .
Lif ting the vehic le ............ .
Technical data
General in formatn on
Explanation of technical data .. .
Vehicle identification ......... .
Weights .................... .
Dimensions 286
286
287
288
289
292
294
294
294
294
295
295
Table of contents
Data .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
200 hp , 2.0 liter 4-cyl. turbo
gasoline engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
140 hp, 2.0 TOI l iter 4-cyl. turbo
clean diesel engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
C o nsumer Inform ati on . . . . . . . 299
Warranty coverages . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Operating your vehicle outside the
U.S.A. or Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Aud i Service Repair Manuals and
Li tera ture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Add itional accessories,
modif ications and parts
replacemen t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Alphabetical index . . . . 304
Vehicle operation Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Luggage compartment
Increasing the size of the luggage
compartment
To increase the size of the luggage compartment, both
parts of the seatback can be folded forward, individually
or together.
Folding the seatback forward
U')
"'
"' 0 a. ., CD
Fig. 79 Release lever
for the seatback (left
side)
Fig. 80 Rear seatback
folded forward (with
pass-through*)
- Let the backrest latch into the lowest position.
- Swing the outer rear head restraints forward=:>
page 78,
fig. 75.
Con tro ls a nd e quip ­
m en t Vehicle
OP-eration
Seats and storage
-Push the release lever=:> fig. 79 @in the direction of the
arrow.
- Tilt the seatback forward.
Raising the seatback
- Raise the seatback until it is securely latched=:>& . When
you can no longer see the red mark on the pin@, the seat
is latched.
Stowing luggage
- For safe loading and securing of items read and follow the
guidelines on=:>
page 131, "Loading the luggage
compartment" .
The rear seatback is divided into two segments-one third/two thirds.
You can fold down either or both parts of the seatback.
& WARNING
• The backrest must always be securely latched so that the safety
belt of the center seating position can work properly to help
protect the occupant.
• The backrest must be securely latched in position so that no
items contained in the luggage compartment can slide forward
upon sudden braking.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught
in door or seat hardware.
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and damaged belt hardware
can break in a crash. Inspect the belts periodically. Belts showing
damage to webbing, bindings, buckles, or retractors must be
replaced.
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

Seats and storage
& WARNING
Always read and heed WARNINGS=> & in "Loading the luggage
compartment " on
page 131.
0 Note
• If you move the front seat back when the rea r seat backrest is
folded forward, you co uld damage the head restraints o n the rear
seat.
• When fo ld in g th e backrest back into place, make s ure the safety
belt does not get c aug ht, because it can be dama ged . A damaged belt
can fail to provide safe restraint. •
Fastening eyes
The lugga ge compa rtme nt is eq uipped with four tie- down
eyele ts to secu re l ug gage and o ther it em s.
Fig. 81 L uggage
compartm ent:
fastening eyes
- Use the fas ten ing eye s to se cu re your ca rgo pro pe rly
=:> fig . 81 -arrows- .
- Adhere to a ll safety instru ctions =:>
page 131, "Stowing
lugg age".
In a co llision, the laws of phys ics mean that even sma ller items that
a re loose in the vehicle will be come he avy missile s th at ca n caus e
ser ious injury. It ems in th e vehicle possess energy which va ry with
vehicle and t he weight of the item. The veh icle s peed i s the most
significant factor .
For example, in a frontal col lision at a speed of 30 mp h (4 8 km/h),
t he forc es a ct in g on a 10 lb s (4,5 kg) obje ct are about 20 time s th e
normal weight of t he item. This means that the weig ht of t he item
wou ld su dde nly be about 200 l bs (90 kg). Yo u can ima gine the inju­
r ies that a 200 lbs (90 kg) item flying freely through the passenger
compar tment cou ld ca use in a colli sion like this .
& WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to secure items to
fastening eyes can fail during hard braking or in a collision and
cause serious personal injury.
• Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items
to the fastening eyes in the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shift ing or flying forward .
• When the rear seat backrest is folded down, always use suit­
able mounting straps and properly secure items to the fastening
eyes in the luggage compartment to help prevent items from
flying forward into the passenger compartment .
• Never atta ch a child safety seat tether strap to a fa stening
eye. •

Applies to veh icles : w ith ski sac k
Ski sack
The ski sack allows a maximum of 4 pairs of skis or 2
snowboards to be carried inside the vehicle.
L oading
Open the rear hatch.
Fig. 86 Sect ion of the
rear sea t from the rear:
ski sack hatch cove r
Fig. 87 Sec uring th e
ski sack at the center
r ear seat belt buc kle
- Slide the releas e button for the pass-through down (with
the center armrest)=> fig . 86 -Arrow -and tilt the pass ­
through forward .
- Remove the sack from the luggage compartment and
unfold it.
Con tro ls a nd e quip ­
m en t Vehicle
OP-eration
Seats and storage
-Place the empty sack in the hatch so that the end with the
zip fastener is in the luggage compartment.
- Load objects from the luggage compartment into the ski
sack.
Securing
- Insert the ski sack strap=> fig. 87 © into the center seat
belt buckle ®·
- With ski ing items, place the strap in the middle between
the bindings =>
&-
- Pull the loose end of the strap tight in the direction of the
arrow .
Opening the safety strap buckle
-Take the long sides of safety strap buckle between thumb
and forefinger => fig . 87
@ .
- Squeeze the buckle and pull it away from the cargo.
Stowing
- Raise the pass-through until it is securely latched. It is
secure when you can no longer see the red mark on the
latch in the luggage compartment.
- Carefully fold up the empty (dry) ski sack .
- Stow the ski sack in the luggage compartment so that it
cannot slide around .
& WARNING
• Aft er loa din g, th e sk i sac k m ust be se cu red wit h th e strap .
• The saf ety s trap must fi t tig htly a rou nd the c argo .
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service Technical data

& WARNING (continued)
under the brake pedal and accelerator pedal causing a loss of
vehicle control. •
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly stowed
and secured in the luggage compartment.
~ ... a'. ., m
Fig . 124 Safe load
positioning: heavy
cargo positioned as far
forward as possible.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can shift suddenly,
changing vehicle handling characteristics. Loose items can
also increase the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision.
- Distribute the load evenly in the luggage compartment.
- Always place and properly secure heavy items in the luggage compartment as far forward as possible
~ fig . 124.
- Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided~ page 82.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration Driving
Safely
-
Make sure that the rear seatback is securely latched in
place.
& WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can fly through the
vehicle causing serious personal injury in the event of hard braking or an accident. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
• Always put objects, for example, luggage or other heavy items
in the luggage compartment.
• Always secure objects in the luggage compartment using the
tie-down eyelets and suitable straps.
& WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehicle handles. To help
reduce the risk of a loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
• Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects, that a
change in the center of gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
-Always distribute the load as evenly as possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the luggage compart-
ment as possible.
• Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating or the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating specified on the safety compliance sticker on the
left door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight standards can cause
the vehicle to slide and handle differently.
• Please observe information on safe driving=>
page 124.
& WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from being drawn into the
vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving . .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

Intelligent technology
'-----------------------------------------------
& WA RNING (conti nu ed )
• Do not "ride the brakes " by re sting your foot on the pedal when
you do not intend to brake . Thi s may cause the brakes to overheat,
premature wear and increased stopping distance.
• Under certain climatic and operating condition s such as
pa ssing through water, dr iving in heavy rain or after washing the
vehicle, the effectiveness of the brake s can be reduced . In winter ,
ice can accumulate on the brake pads , linings , discs and drums .
Carefully apply brakes for a te st. Brakes will dry and ice coatings
will be cleaned off after a few careful brake applications.
• Driving for an extended period of time on salt-covered roads
without using your brakes can al so affect br aking efficiency. Clean
off accumulated salt coating from brake disc s and pads with a few
careful brake applic ations.
• If you damage the front spoiler , or if you in stall a different
spoile r, be sure the air flow to the front brakes is not obstructed.
Otherwi se th e brake system could overheat reducing the effective­
ness of the entire brake system.
• Failure of one brake circuit will impair the braking capability
resulting in an inc reased stopping distance. Avoid driving the
vehicle and have it towed to the nearest authorized Audi dealer or
qualified wo rkshop .
.J
Brake booster
T h e brake booste r adds ext ra braking p ower.
The brake booster works with vacuum pressure which is created on ly
w hen the eng ine is ru nnin g=>&.
& WARNING
• Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with the engine shut off.
• If the brake boo ster i s not working , for example when towing
your veh icle , or because the brake booster has somehow been
& W ARNING (continued )
damaged , the brake pedal must be p ressed considerably harder to
make up for the la ck of booster assi stan ce. •
Functioning of Anti-Lock Brake System
{ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from l ockin g up under br aking.
Th e ABS contr ibutes effectively to vehicle co ntrol s ince it prevents t he
w heels from
locking when the brakes are applied . This means that the
veh icle rema ins steerable and is less likely to skid .
With ABS you do not need to pump the brake. Just hold the brake
pedal down .
However, do no t expect that the ABS shortens bra king d istance under
all circumstances . When dr iv ing on grave l or on newly falle n snow on
top of icy s urfaces, braking d istance may be even longer, therefo re,
under these circumstances, it is especially important that yo u drive
slowly and with g re at c are.
How the ABS system works
An au tomatic c hec k is made when a speed of about 4 mp h (6 km/ h) is
reached. When t his happens, a pump ing noise can be heard.
If an ind ivi dual wheel begi ns to rot ate too s low ly in relat ion to ve hicle
speed and tends to loc k, t he ABS automatically reduces brake pres­
s ur e to p revent t hat wheel from lo cking.
T hi s au tomatic adjustment p rocess w ill cause a
s light vibration of
the bra ke pedal and some noises to a lert you that vehicle speed must
be adapted to ex isting road and traffic co nditions .
& WARNING
Although the ABS is very effective, always remember that braking
capability is limited by tire traction. Always adjust your driving ...

Trailer towing
"---------------------------------------------------
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger transpor ­
tation .
If you p lan to tow a t railer, p lease remember that the additional load
w ill affect durability, economy and performance.
Tr ailer towing not on ly p laces mo re s tress on the vehicle, it also calls
for more concentration from the driver.
For this reasons, a lways fo llow the operating and driv ing instr uctions
prov ided and use common sense .•
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a we ight-carrying hitch conforming to the gross trai ler weight .
Th e h itch mus t be suit able for your veh icle and t railer and mus t be
mounted securely on the vehicle's chassis at a
technically sound l oca­
t ion. Use on ly a tra ile r hi tch w ith removable b all moun t. Alw ays check
w ith the trailer hitch manufacturer to make sure that you are using
t he correc t hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way t hat it does not interfere
w ith the impact -ab sorb ing bumper system. No mod ifi cations s houl d
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake systems . From t ime to
t ime, che ck t hat all hitch mou nting bolts rema in securely faste ned.
W hen you are no t tow ing a trai ler, remove the trailer hitch ball
mount. This prevents the hitch from ca using damage should your
veh icle be s truck from behind=>&.
Tire pressure
When towing a tra iler, inflate the tires of you r vehicle to the cold tire
pressu re listed under "Full lo ad"on t he st ick er o n the r ight doo rjamb.
I n flate trailer t ires to trai ler and tire manufacturers' specifications .
Lights
The headlight settings should be checked with the tra iler attached
befo re d riving o ff. Have the headlights adjusted as necess ary s o that
you can see the road ahead but not b lind oncoming t raffic.
Check to make s ure bo th vehicle and t railer lights a re wor king prop­
er ly.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer ma kes t he engin e work harder. It is important t hat
t he cooling sys tem' s per formance stands up to the add ition al stra in.
M ake sure that the coo ling sys tem has eno ugh fluid .
Trailer brakes
If your trai ler is equipped with a braking system, check to be su re that
it confo rms to all regula tions .
Th e tra ile r hydrau lic brake system must not be directly con nected to
the vehicle's hydraulic b rake system.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety cha ins are p roper ly connected from the t rai ler
to the hitch on the vehicle. Leave enough s lac k in t he chai ns to permit
t u rni ng corners. When you insta ll safety chains, ma ke s ure t hey will
not d rag on t he road when yo u are d riving .
The chai ns should cross under the trailer tongue to prevent it from
drop ping in ca se of separat io n from t he hitch.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulat ions. Be su re to chec k w ith your
author ized A udi dealer for correct wiring, switches and relays. _.