2012 AUDI A3 Engine

96 Transmis sion
Transmission
Manual transmission
Gearshift lever
Applies to vehicles: with manual transmission
The clutch pedal must be depressed all the
way before you can start the engine .
The manual transmission in your Audi is
equipped with an
interlock-feature.
• Depress the clutch pedal all the way.
• Start the engine with the gearshift lever in
Neutral and the clutch pedal depressed.
(D Note
Always depress the clutch pedal fully when
changing gears. Do not hold the vehicle on
a hill with the clutch pedal partially de­
pressed. This may cause premature clutch
wear or damage .
@ Tips
-Resting your hand on the gearshift lever
knob while driving will cause premature
wear in the transmission.
- The back-up lights go on when you shift
i nto Reverse with the ignition on.
Gearshift pattern (6-speed manual
transmission)
Applies to vehicles: with 6-speed manual transmission
Fig. 108 Gearshift pattern: 6 -speed manual t ransmis­
sion
Drive in 6th gear for optimum fuel economy
when cruising . However, if more acceleration
is required (when passing, for example), shift
down.
Engaging reverse gear (R)
• Move the shift lever all the way to the left,
press it down, then push it forward.
Especially after driving forward, stop the vehi­
cle completely, shift into
Neutral and rest the
shift lever briefly in Neutral before shift ing in­
to
Reverse.
S tronic transmission
· Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
Your vehicle is equipped with a S tronic trans­
mission, also called a double-clutch system/
transmission .
Power is transferred between the engine and
the transmission by means of two independ­ ent clutches. They replace the torque convert­
er of conventiona l automatic transmissions
and allow the vehicle to accelerate without a
not iceable break in the power flow.
With the aid of
tiptronic, the gears can op­
t ionally be shifted
manually ~ page 100.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
All the selector lever positions are explained
in this section.
~-. -·~•-~ _ .. _....,-l
•+55 °F '
i} 340 mi
D
Fig. 109 Disp lay: Se lector lever posi tions
The instrument cluster display shows these­
lector lever position.
P -Park lock
In this position the gears are mechanically
locked.

The park lock must only be engaged with the
vehicle
stationary c::> &.
To engage P and to remove the lever from th is
position, you must depress the release b utton
(button in the selector lever handle)
and si­
multaneously you must step on the brake
pedal.
R · re vers e
I n th is position, reverse is engaged.
Reverse gear must only be engaged with the
veh icle
stationary and the eng ine runn ing at
id le speed
c::> ,&. .
To engage R, you have to depress the release
button
and s imultaneously step on the brake
pedal. In the R position, the back-up lights il­
lum inate with the ign ition on.
N • N eutra l
The transmission is in neutral in this position .
D -Norm al po sition f or d riving forwa rd
In this position, the forward gears are auto­ matica lly shifted up and down, depending on
engine load and vehicle speed.
To engage S from N, the brake pedal must be
depressed at speeds be low S km/h or when
the vehicle is stationary
c::> & .
In certain circumstances (driving in the moun­
tains for examp le) it can be beneficial to
switch temporarily to the manua l shift pro­
gram
c::> page 100 in order to adjust the gear
ratios to driving cond itions
manually.
S -Sport setting
The S se tt ing shou ld be selected for sporting
d riving . The power reserves of the engine can
be fu lly exp loited through later upshifts.
To engage S from N, the brake pedal must be depressed at speeds be low S km/h or when
the vehicle is stationary
c::> & .
Tra n sm iss io n 9 7
A WARNING
- Never p lace the selector lever in the R or
P posit ion while the veh icle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- With the engine running, it is necessary
to hold the vehicle with the foot brake in all se lector lever positions (except P and
N), because even at idle speed the trans­
fe r of power is never completely inter­
rupted -the vehicle "creeps". If the vehi­
cle is stationary and the transm ission is
engaged, the engine should never be
speeded up unintentionally (e .g. manual­
ly from under the hood). Otherwise the
veh icle w ill immediately start to move -
sometimes even if the park ing brake is
firmly applied -risk of an accident!
- Before you or other persons open the
hood and work on a running engine, the
selecto r lever must be moved to P and
the park ing brake applied f irmly - risk of
an accident! Follow the warning sticke rs
c::> page 187, Engine compartment.
(D Tips
If you have inadvertently shift ing into N
while the vehicle is moving, you shou ld re­
move you r foot from the accelerator and
wait unt il the engine speed has dropped to
idle before shifting back to Dor S .
Selector lever lock
Applies to vehicl es: with S tronic®
The selector lever lock prevents a gear from
being engaged accidentally and unintention­
ally setting the vehicle in motion.
F ig. 110 Selector lever locks

98 Transmission
The selector lever lock is released as fo llows:
,. Switch the ign ition on.
,. Step on the brake peda l
and simult aneously
ho ld down the re le ase but ton .
(~ Automatic selector lev er lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po­
sitions when the ignition is on . To move the
l eve r from these positions the d river must de­
p ress the brake pedal. As a reminde r to the
d river, the fo llow ing warning appea rs in t he
instr ument cluster d isp lay when the selecto r
is in P and N :
APPLY BRAKE WHEN ENGAGING GEAR WITH
VEHICLE STATIONARY
I n addition, the symbo l
< se lecto r lever lock illuminates in t he sh ift
gate.
The selector lever lock is effective only whe n
the vehicl e is stationary and at speeds be low
S km/ h. At higher speeds, the lock i n the N
position is automatic ally swi tched off .
The selector lever is no t locked when rapid
shifts a re made thro ugh the N pos ition (e .g .
from R to D). Thi s allows yo u to "rock " the ve­
h icle if i t becomes s tuc k.
If the lever is in the
N pos it ion for mo re tha n 1 second w ith the
b rake peda l not depressed, the se lector lock
e ngages automatica lly.
Release button
The release button in the se lector lever ha n­
d le preven ts accident al sh ifts in to cer tain se­
lector lever posit ions. When you press the re­
lease butto n, the selector lever lock is cancel­
led . In the illustration, the pos itions in which
the release button has to be pressed are high ­
lighted in
color c:>fig.110.
Ignition key removal lock
The ignition key can on ly be remove after the
ignitio n is switched off if the selector lever is
in P. As long as the ignit ion key is removed,
the selecto r lever is locked in P.
(D Tips
If the se lector lever does not engage,
the re is a ma lfunction . The engine is disa-
b led to prevent the vehicle from driving off
u nintentionally. To allow t he se lector lever
to engage aga in, p roceed as follows: P ress
and release the b rake pedal.
Driving Notes
Applies to vehicles: wit h S tronic®
The forward gears are shifted up or down au­
tomatically .
Fig. 11 1 Sect io n from center co nso le: Se lecto r lever
w it h re lease butto n
Starting from stop
.. Step on and hold the brake peda l.
,. Hold the release button (button in selector
lever) down, move the selector lever to the
desired position , for example D
c:> page 96,
and release the button .
,. Release the brake p eda l and accelera te
c:> &_ .
Stopping temporarily
.,. Bring the veh icle to a full stop with the
brake, e .g. at traff ic signals .
,. Do not acce le rate.
Parking
,. Step on and hold the brake peda l c:> &_.
,. App ly the par king brake firmly .
,. Hold the release button down , move these-
lector leve r to P and release the button . .,.

Stopp ing on an incline
"' Always hold the vehicle with the footbrake
or parking b rake in order to p revent "roll ­
back"
¢ A . Do not try to prevent the vehi­
cle from rolling back by revving the engine
while it is in gear.
St artin g on a h ill
"' Apply the hand brake fi rm ly.
"' With the engine in gear, gradua lly acce ler-
ate and release the hand brake.
The engine can only be
s tar te d with the selec ­
tor lever in P o r N
c::> page 90 . At low ambient
temperatures
(14 °F /-10 °C), it is only possi­
b le to start the engine with the selector lever
in
P.
When parking on level ground , it is sufficient
to p lace the se lector lever in
P. On a steeply
sloping road, you should first apply the park­
ing brake firmly and then place the selector
lever in
P. This way, you do not overload the
pawl mechanism and it is eas ier to move the
selector lever out of P .
A WARNING
-Never leave your vehicle with the eng ine
running wh ile in gear. If you must leave
yo ur vehicle wi th the engine running, set
the parking bra ke and engage the pa rk
lock.
- When the engine is running and the
transmission is in gear (D, Sor
R) or in
"tiptronic" mode, it is essentia l that you
stop the vehicle with the footbrake .
When idling, the transmission of power
does not stop completely -the vehicle
"creeps".
- Do not accelerate when you change the selector lever position with the vehicle
stationary and the engine running - risk
of an accident!
- Never place the selector lever in the R or
N position while the vehicle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- If you have to bring your vehicle to a stop
wh ile on an incl ine, keep the foot brake
Tran sm iss ion 99
depressed all the way down so that the
veh icle does not sta rt to roll backward.
You should never ho ld the vehicle us ing
the clutch if you are going to be stopped
on an incl ine.
If you do, the clutch w ill
start to slip when it ove rheats caused by
the constan t overload. This is dangerous
bec ause if the vehicle starts to roll bac k­
ward, yo u co uld cause an acc iden t.
If the
clutch should start to slip, you wi ll feel
the vehicle "jerk" and the se lector lever
disp lay w ill start blink ing.
- Before driving down a steep slope , re­
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
- Do not ri de the brakes or apply the brake
pedal too often or too long. Constant
brak ing causes the brakes to overheat
and substantially reduces braking per­
formance, increases braking d istance or
causes complete fa ilu re of the brake sys­
t e m .
, Hill Descent Assist
App lies to vehicles : wi th S tronic t ra nsmi ssio n and H ill
D escent Ass ist
Hill Descent Assist helps the driver when driv ­
ing down inclines.
Hill Descent Assist is activated by pressing the
brake while descending when the se lector lev­
er is in
0 /5 . The S tronic transmission auto­
matically shifts down to a gear suitable for
the incline. H ill Descent Assist attempts to
maintai n the current veh icle speed w hen the
braking occu rs, as far as physical and techn i­
ca l lim its allow .
It may be necessa ry to adjust
the speed using the bra kes.
Hill Descent Assist sw itches off when the in­
cli ne leve ls out o r when the gas peda l is p ress ­
ed.
On vehicles with cruise control*
c::> page 94,
Hill Descent Assist is also activated when the
speed is set .
I),

100 Transmi ssion
& WARNING
Hill Descent Assist cannot overcome phys i­
cal lim itations, so it may not be possible to
ma intain a constant vehicle speed under
all circumstances. Always be ready to ap­
ply the b rakes.
tiptronic operation
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
Tiptronic allows the driver to shift gears man­
ually .
Fig. 112 Center console: Manua l shift ing (tiptronic)
Fig. 113 Disp lay: Manual shifting (t iptro nic)
Switching to manual
~
"' d. .. m
• Push the selector leve r to the right from D .
As the transm ission has switched,
6 5 4 3 2
1 appea rs in the display, with t he gear that
is engaged highlighted.
Upshifting
• Tap the selector lever forwa rd (in the t ip­
t ron ic sett ing)
Q fig. 112 G).
Down shifting
• Tap the selector lever backward (in the t ip­
tronic sett ing)
0 -
Switching to manual can be carried out with
the vehicle stationary as we ll as moving.
When accelera ting, the transmission sh ifts in­
to the next gear shortly before the maximum
permissible engine speed is reached .
If you have selected a lower gear than the cur­
ren t one, the t ransmission w ill on ly shift down
when the eng ine ca nnot be overspeeded.
If kick-down is actuated, the transmission
shifts into a lower gear independently of
speed and eng ine rpm.
Steering wheel with Tiptronic ® controls
Applies to vehicles: with 5 tronic® and with T iptronic con­
trols on the steering wheel
The selector paddles allow the driver to keep
both hands on the steering wheel when shift­
ing gears .
Fig . 1 14 Sport steering whee l w ith selector paddles
Shifting up
• Pull the right paddle, marked 0 ¢ fig. 114
briefly towards you.
Shifting down
• Pull the left padd le, marked 0 ¢ fig. 114
briefly towards you .
The selector paddles on the steering wheel
are activated when the selector lever on the
center console is in
D , S , or in the manual po­
s ition (Tiptronic mode).
You can also shift gears in the Tiptronic mode
us ing the selector lever on the center console . ..,.

@ Tips
With the gear selector lever in either "D"
or "S" the transmiss ion will sw itch back to
the automatic mode if you do not use the paddles within approx. 30 seconds.
Kick-down feature
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
The kick-down feature allows maximum ac­
celeration .
If you depress the accelerator pedal fully be­
yond the full-thrott le position, the transmis­
sion automatically downshifts one gear, de­ pending on vehicle speed and engine rpm. The
upsh ift into the next higher gear takes place
as soon as the max imum specified engine
speed is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if the kick-down is used on a smooth s lip­
pery road -ris k of skid ding!
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: with Launch Control and S tronic® and
Gasoline engine only
The Launch Control Program permits maxi­
mum acceleration .
In order to use launch Control, the ASR (Anti­
Slip Regulation) must be disabled. When ASR is disabled, the ESP warning/ind icator
light
G1 in the instrument cluste r illuminates .
So that la unch Control ca n be used, the en­
g ine must be at ope rating temperature a nd
the steer ing wheel mus t not be tu rned.
... With the eng ine run ning, briefly press the
ES P bu tton. The message "ASR off" appea rs
in the instrument cluster d isp lay.
... Sh ift th e gea r lever to "5" or the tip tronic ®
pos it ion.
... Step on t he b rake peda l w it h your left foot
and keep the brake peda l fully depressed for
at least one second.
... With your right foot, step on the accelera­
tor to the w ide-open throttle position o r
Transm iss ion 10 1
Kickdown. The engine speed sett les at about
3 ,200 rpm.
... Take your left foot
off the b rake .
A WARNING
-Always adapt your dr iving to the traffic
f low.
- On ly use launch Control when road and
traffic cond itions allow it and other dr iv­
ers will not be endangered or annoyed by
your driving and th e acce le rat ion of the
veh icle.
- Ma ke sure that ESP remains enab led.
W ith the ESP disabled, the vehicle could
brake away, part icu la rly on a s lick and
slippe ry r oad - ri sk of s kidding!
- Once acceleration is finished, switch ASR
on again by br iefly pushing t he ESP but­
ton.
Back-up program
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
-
In the event of a system malfunction, there is
an back-up program.
In the event of system malfunction, the auto­
matic transmission switches to the fa il-safe
mode . All of the selecto r lever posi tion d is­
plays for the au toma tic tra nsmission a re high­
li gh ted wi th a ligh t background in t he i nstr u­
ment cluster d isp lay . In some cases yo u can ­
not drive in the reve rse gear any more .
If the t ransmission swit ches to fail-safe
mode, yo u should ta ke the ve hicl e to an a u­
thorized Aud i dea le rship as soon as possib le
to have the condition corrected.
Clutch is overheating
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic®
• Clutch is overheating! Please stop vehi­
cle!
If the symbols are i llum ina ted, the clutch is
ove rheati ng and could be dama ged if you con­
tin ue to drive . Stop the vehicle and a llow the
transmission to cool with the se lector lever in
the
P position w hile the engine runs at idle . If Iii-

114 Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles.
Fig. 121 Unb elted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 122 Th e vehicle c rash es into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
e rgy ."
T he higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts
c::;, fig. 121, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 122 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher .
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travell ing just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 123 A d river not wea ring a safety b elt is viol en tly
thrown fo rwa rd
Fig . 124 A rear passe nge r not wearing a safety belt
w ill fl y forward and strike the dr iver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of i mpac t by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems , the unrestrained
ll-

occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
¢ fig. 123. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed. Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and other passen­
gers
r::;; fig. 124. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas ­
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
Fig. 125 Drive r is correct ly restrained in a sudden brak­
ing maneuver
Safety belts 115
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also su bsta ntia l­
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!