2012 AUDI A3 warning light

Ignition lock and ignition switch
Ignition lock
The engine can be started or turned off with
the ignition key.
Fig. 102 I gni tion lock positio ns
Ignition off@
In position ¢ fig. 102@both the ignition and
engine are off, and the steering is locked.
To
lock the steering after you have removed
the ignition key, turn the steering wheel in ei­
ther direction until you hear it lock into place.
You shou ld always lock the steering whenever
you leave your vehicle. This makes a vehicle
theft even more difficul t
q ,&.
Ignition on CD
If it is difficult to turn the key after you have
inserted it into the ignition lock, turn the
steering wheel back and forth. This will take
the load off the steering lock mechan ism and
you will be able to turn the key freely and
start the engine. On vehicles with a diesel en­
g ine*, the system can preheat in this pos ition .
Starting the engine @
In this position the engine starts. While the
engine is starting, the power supply to the
headlights and other electrical consumers is
temporarily interrupted to conserve battery power. After the engine has started, release
the key and it will return to position @.
Before the starter can be operated again the
key must be turned back to position @. The
non-repeat lock prevents you from damag ing
the starter when the engine is running.
On the road 89
A WARNING
-Never remove the key from the ignition
lock wh ile the vehicle is moving. The
steering wheel will lock caus ing loss of
control.
- If you have to leave your vehicle - even
for just a minute -always remove the ig­
nition key and take it with you. This is es­
pecia lly important if you are going to
leave children behind in the vehicle. The
children could start the engine or use
other vehicle controls. Unsupervised use
of vehicle controls (for example, power
windows) can cause serious personal in­
juries.
(D Tips
If the vehicle battery has been disconnect­
ed and then reconnected, then you must leave the key in position @for about 5
seconds before you can start the engine.
Ignition key safety lock
Applies to vehicles: wit h automatic transmission
The ignition key can only be removed when
the selector lever is in the "P" (Park) position.
Place the selector lever in the "P" position be­
fore switching off the engine .
After switching off the ign ition, the ignition
key can on ly be removed from the ignition
lock when the selector lever is in the "P"
(Park) position. After you have removed the
key, the se lector lever is locked and cannot be
moved.

90 On the road
Starting and stopping
the engine
Starting the engine
The engine can only be started with your orig­
inal Audi key.
Fig. 10 3 Igni tio n key pos itio ns
Vehicles with a gasoline eng ine:
.. Move the selector lever to the neut ral posi ­
t ion (a utomatic transmission): se lector lever
in Por
N) c> .&_ .
.. On vehicles with manual transmission, fully
depress t he clu tch pedal.
.,. Turn the ig nition key to position @
¢ page 89, fig. 102 -do not d epress th e gas
peda l when start ing the e ngine!
.. Let go of the key as soon as the eng ine
s tar ts.
Vehicles with a diesel engine:
.. Set the parking bra ke .
.. Move t he sele cto r lever to the neut ral posi­
t ion (a utomat ic tr ansm iss ion): se lecto r lever
i n
P or N) c> .&_ .
.. On vehicles wi th m anu al transm is s ion, fully
depress the clutch pedal.
.. Turn the ignition key to position
(D
¢ fig . 103 . The glow plug warning light II
lights up while the glow plugs are warming
up .
.. When the warning light goes out, tur n the
i gnition key to posi tion @to s tart the en­
gine
c> page 89, fig . 102 . Do no t depress t he
gas pedal when s tart ing the engine!
.. Let go of the key as soon as t he eng ine
sta rts . A cold engine may sound lo
ud after it has
been started . This is due to the hydraulic
valves b uilding up o il pressure. This is normal
and is not a need for co ncern .
If the engine does not start immediate ly, stop
t rying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
t h e engine about
30 seconds later.
Glow plug system*
Diesel engines are e quipped w ith a glow pl ug
system whose prehe ating time is co ntrolled
by the coo la nt an d ou tside temperature . Sta rt
the engine
immediately after the g low plug
i ndicator light
II switches off.
T he glow plug indica to r ligh t will only illumi­
nate fo r approximate ly 1 second w hen t he en ­
gine is warm or the outside temperature is
higher than
46 °F (8 °(). That means yo u can
start the eng ine
immedia tely .
To start the diesel eng ine after the fuel
tank has been run dry
If the fuel tank was r un comp lete ly dry, the
starting process after refue ling with diesel
fuel can take longer than usua l - up to one mi­
nute . This is because the fue l system first has
to be vented of a ir wh ile s tarting .
A WARNING
-Neve r sta rt or l et the eng in e r un in a con-
fi ned o r encl ose d area. Exhaus t fumes
fr om the e ngine co ntain ca rbo n m onoxide ,
a colorless and odorless g as. Ca rbon mo n­
oxi de can be fatal if inhaled .
- N ever le ave the engi ne id ling una tten d­
ed . An unat tende d veh icle w ith a run ning
e ng ine poses a dan ger of personal injury
or theft .
(D Note
-Av oid high engine spee ds, fast a cceler a­
t ion or heavy engine loa ds w hile the en ­
gine is st ill co ld. This could damage the
eng ine .
- The e ngine cannot be starte d by pushing
or towing t he vehicle . .,.

@ For the sake of the environment
To avoid unnecessary engine wear and to reduce exhaust emissions, do not let your
vehicle stand and warm up. Be ready to
drive off immediately after start ing your
veh icle. Mainta in moderate speed until the
engine is completely warm . Remember,
the engine performs best at operating
temperature .
Stopping the engine
.. Turn the ignition key to position@
¢page 89, fig. 102.
_& WARNING
-Never turn off the engine unti l the vehi­
cle has come to a complete stop.
- The brake booster and servotronic on ly
work when the engine is running . With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply
more force when steering or braking.
Since you cannot steer and stop normal­ ly, this can lead to accidents and serious
injuries.
- The rad iator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 minutes even after you have
tu rned off the eng ine and removed the
ignition key. The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build-up in the engine compartment.
(D Note
Do not stop the engine immediate ly after
hard or extended dr iving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up .
On the road 91
Parking brake
Parking brake
When the parking brake is set, it prevents the
vehicle from rolling away unintentionally .
Fig. 104 Cente r co nso le: Park ing b rake set
Setting the parking brake
.. Pull the park ing brake lever all the way up.
Releasing the parking brake
.. Pull the parking brake lever up slightly and
press the release button at the same time
¢fig. 104-arrow-.
.,. Keep the release button pressed and lower
the parking brake¢&_ .
If you should drive off with the parking brake
still set, a warning tone will sound and the
follow ing will appear in the instrument clus­
ter to remind you to release the parking
brake:
Parking brake set
The parking brake warning comes on only af­
ter you have driven for longer than 3 seconds
and faster than 5 mph (5 km/h) .
The parking brake warning light_
(USA)/ . (CON) illuminates when the park­
ing brake is set and you switch on the ignition .
A WARNING
Always release the parking brake com -
pletely. A partially engaged brake will
overheat the rear brakes, reduce their ef­
fectiveness and cause excessive wear. This
could lead to brake failure and an accident. .,.

94 On the road
Cruise control
Switching the system on
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed starting at 20 mph (30 km/h) .
Fig. 105 Control lever wi th set button
Fi g. 106 Disp lay: Se lected speed
• Pull t he lever to posi tion (D ¢ fig . 105 to
switch the sys tem on.
• Drive at the speed you wish to set .
• Press b utton @ to set that speed .
The display
¢fig. 106 will show the set s peed .
The display may v ary depending on t he type o f
display in yo ur vehicle. The indicator
light
[ifj11 )~1~ (US mode l) I. (Canadian mode l)
will also light up in the instrument cluster.
A WARNING
- Always pay attention to traffic even when
the cruise control is switched on . You are
always responsible for your speed and
the distance between yo ur vehicle and
othe r vehicles .
- For safety reasons, the c ruise control
sho uld not be used in the city, in stop­
and -go traff ic, on twist ing roads an d
when ro ad conditions are poo r (such as ice,
fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydro­
plan ing) -risk of accident.
- Turn off the cruise contro l temporarily
when enter ing turn lanes, highway exit
lanes or in construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently "resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal causes
the cruise co ntrol not to brake. This is
because the cruise control is over ridden
by the dr ive r's acceleration.
(D Tips
- Veh icles with man ual transmiss ion: You
can attai n the set speed only if the cur­
rently engaged gear allows it and the en­
gine is not stressed . Sh ifting to a highe r
o r low er gea r promptly will a llow the en­
gine to r un smooth ly.
- The cr uise control can not mainta in a
constant speed when driv ing downhi ll.
T he vehi cle w il l accele rate under i ts own
we ight. Dow nshift to a lower ge ar or use
the brakes to slow down .
Changing speed
• Press lever in the 0 or 0 direct io n
¢ page 94, fig. 105 to increase or decrease
your speed.
• Release the lever to save that speed .
Change speed in increments of 1 mph (1 km/
h) by lightly pressing the lever. I f you keep the
lever pressed down, you will alter your speed
in S mph (10 km/h) increments.
You can also press t he accelerator pedal down
to increase your speed, e.g. if you want to
pass someone. The speed you saved earlier
will resume as soon as you release the acceler­
ator pedal.
If, however , you exceed yo ur saved speed by
5 mph (10 km/h) for longer than 5 minutes,
the cru ise control will turn off temporari ly.
T he symbo l will go out but the saved speed
will be reta ined .

Presetting your speed
You can preset your desired speed while the
vehicle is not moving .
.,. Turn on the ignition.
.,. Pull lever into position ©
c:> page 94,
fig . 105 .
"" Press the lever in the 0 or O direction to
increase or decrease yo ur speed .
.,. Re lease the lever to save that speed.
This function makes it possible, for example,
to save the speed you want before driving on
the highway . Once on the highway, activate
the cruise control by pulling the leve r toward
® ·
Switching the system off
Temporary deactivation
.,. Press the brake pedal, or
.,. Keep the clutch pedal pressed down
longer,
or
.,. Press the lever into pos ition @ (not clicked
into place)
c:> page 94, fig. 105, or
.,. Drive for longer than 5 minutes at more
than 5 mph (10 km/h) above the stored
speed.
Switching off completely
.,. Press lever into position@(clicked into
place), or
.,. Switch the ign ition off .
The system retains the saved speed if you de­ activate the cruise control temporarily. To re­
sume the saved speed, release the brake or
clutch pedal and pull the lever to position
(D.
Switching the ignition off erases the saved
speed.
A WARNING
You should only return to the saved speed
if it is not too fast for the current traffic
conditions -risk of an accident!
On the road 95
Audi magnetic ride
Applies to vehicles: with magnetic ride
Damping can be adjusted to the driver's pref­
erence and it adapts automatically to the cur­
rent driving situation .
Fig. 107 Center console: Sw itch for Aud i magnet ic ride
.,. Press the switch c:> fig. 10 7 to turn sport
sett ing on or off.
Audi magnet ic r ide is an electronically con­
trolled damping system . This chassis system
ass ists the driver by adapting to the particular
s ituat ion through imperceptible control proc­
esses. The
damping provides individual modu­
lation of damping forces. For example, with
damping characteristics set to provide greater
comfort, damping is set somewhat harder for
a brief period on ly as required, when rounding
a curve and when braking.
Standard setting
Select the standard setting if you prefer a sus­
pension setting emphasizing comfort.
Sport setting
Select the sport setting if you prefer a sporty
suspension setting. The L ED in the switch
E
comes on to ind icate sport setting .
(D Tips
The warning/indicator light E in the instr u­
ment cluster comes on in the event of a
malfunction. Drive to the closest author­
i zed Audi dealer as soon as possible and
have the ma lfunction repa ired.

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 . .,.

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 . ..,.