2013 AUDI A4 automatic transmission

Starting and autom ati call y relea sing the
pa rking b rake
~ When you start to drive as usua l, the park­
ing brake is automatically re leased and your
vehicle begins to move.
When stopping at a traffic signa l or stopp ing
in city traffic on vehicles with an automatic
transmission, the parking brake can be ap­ plied. The vehicle does not have to be held
w ith the footbrake . The park ing brake elimi­
nates the tendency to creep with a drive range
engaged. As soon as you dr ive off as usual,
the park ing brake is released automatically
and the vehicle sta rts to move .
Starting on slop es
When starting on inclines, the start ing ass ist
prevents the vehicle from unintentionally roll­
ing back. The braking force of the parking
brake is not released until sufficient dr iving
force has been b uilt up at the whee ls.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake is re­
leased automatically only when the dr iv­
er 's safety belt is engaged in the bu ckle.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
~ Keep the switch@¢ page 85, fig . 98
pulled and depress the accelerator . The
park ing b rake stays app lied and p revents
the vehi cle from rolling backward.
~ You can release the switch @once you are
s u re that yo u are developing enough driving
force at the wheels by depressing the accel­ erator.
D epending on the weight of the rig (vehicle
and trai ler) and the severity of the incline, you
may roll backwards as you start. Yo u can pre­
vent roll ing backwards by holding the parking
brake switch @pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill wit h
a conventional hand brake .
On the ro ad 87
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­
tem fails or locks .
~ In an emergency, pull the sw itch @
¢
page 85, fig. 98 and continue to pull it to
slow your vehicle down with the parking
brake .
~ As soon as you release the switch @ or ac-
celerate, the b ra ki ng process s tops.
If you pull the switch @and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the eme rgen­
cy bra king funct ion is initia ted . T he ve hicle is
braked at all four whee ls by activating the hy­
draulic brake system. The brake performa nce
is similar to making an emergency stop¢&..
In order not to act ivate the eme rgency brak­
ing by mis take, an audib le warning tone (buz ­
zer) so unds when the switch @is pulled. As
soon as the switch @ is re leased, or the acce l­
erato r peda l is depressed, emergency braking
stops.
A WARNING
...--
Emergency braking should only be used in
an emergency, when the normal foot brake has fa iled or the brake pedal is obstructed .
Using the par king b rake to pe rform eme r­
gency brak ing will slow your vehicle down
as if you had made a full bra ke application.
The laws of physics cannot be suspended
even with ESC and its associated compo ­
nents (ABS, ASR, EDS) . In corners and
when road or weather conditions are bad,
a full brake application can ca use the vehi­
cle to sk id or the rear end to break away -
risking an accident.
Speed warning system
Overview
The speed warning system helps you to keep
your driving speed below a set speed limit.
The speed warn ing system warns if the driver
exceeds a p reviously sto red max imum speed .
A warn ing tone w ill sound as soon as the
Ill>

Transmission Manual transmission
Gearshift lever
App lies to vehicles: with manual transmission
The clutch pedal must be depressed all the
way before you can start the engine.
T he 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
into Reverse w ith the ignition on.
Gearshift pattern (6-speed manual
transmission)
Applies to vehicles: with manual transmission
Fig. 102 Gearshift pattern : 6-speed manual transmis­
sio n
Engaging reverse gear (R)
~ Move the shift lever all the way to the left,
press it down, then push it forward .
Transmission 91
Especially after driving forward, stop the vehi­
cle completely, shift into
Neutral and rest the
shift lever br iefly in Neutral before shift ing in­
to
Reverse.
multitronic ®, S tronic ®,
tiptronic
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with mult itronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
The automatic transmission is controlled elec ­
tronically. The transmission upshifts or down­
shifts automatically depending on which drive
program is selected .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most economical
driving mode. It will then change up early and
delay the downshifts to give better fuel econ ­
omy .
The transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac ­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
t ion, frequent changes in speed and trave ling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ~ page 91.
Various automatic transmissions may be in­
stalled, depending on the model:
multitronic ® transmission
The multitronic ® transmission is a continuous ­
ly variable transmission. Power is transferred
using a multidisk clutch. In contrast to con­
ventional automatic transmissions using shift­ ing operations, the transmission ratio in the
continuously variable transmiss ion is changed
continuously . This optimizes the comfort level
and conserves fuel.
S tronic® transmission
The S tronic ® is a dual-clutch transmission .
Power is transferred using two clutches that
work independently from one another_ They
replace the torque converter used in conven­
tiona l automatic transmissions and allow the ..,_

92 Transmission
vehicle to accelerate without a noticeable in­
terruption in traction.
tiptronic transmission
I n the tiptronic transmission, power is trans­
ferred by a torque converter.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
Fig. 103 Display in the in stru me nt duste r: selecto r
lever in position P
The selector lever position engaged appears
next to the selector lever as well as in the in­
strument cluster display.
P - Park
In this selector lever position the transmis­
sion is mechanically locked. Engage P only
when the vehicle is
completely stopped ¢ &
in Driving the automatic transmission on
pag e 94 .
To shift in or out of pos ition P, you must first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
the release button in the selector lever handle
wh ile mov ing the se lector lever to or from P.
You can shift out of this position only with the
ignition on .
R-Reverse
Select R only when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed ¢ & in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 94 .
Before you move the selector lever to R, press
both the release button in the handle of the
selector lever
and the brake pedal at the same
time. When the
ignition is on, the backup lights illu­
minate when the selector lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transmission is in neutral in this position .
Shift to this position for standing with the
brakes applied ¢
& in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 94.
When the vehicle is stat ionary or at speeds
below 1 mph (2 km/h), yo u must always apply
the footbrake before and whi le moving the
lever out of N.
D/S - Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S position, the transmission can be
operated either in the normal mode D or in
the sport mode S . To select the sport mode S,
pull the selector lever back briefly. Pulling the
lever back again will se lect the normal mode
D. The instrument cluster disp lay shows the
selected driving mode.
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style .
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving .
T he vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeable when
accelerating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds
below 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always app ly
the foot brake before and while moving the lever to D/S out of N.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS ¢ & in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 94 .
(D Note
Coasting downhill with the transm ission in
N and the engine not running will result in
damage to the automatic transmission
and possibly the catalytic conve rter. .,..

@ Tips
-On vehicles with drive select*, you can
adjust the sporty shift characteristics in
the
Dynamic driving mode.Swill appear
in the instrument cluster display instead
ofD.
- If you accidentally select N while driving,
take your foot off the accelerator pedal
immediately and wait for the engine to
slow down to idle before selecting D/S.
- If there is a power failure, the selector
lever will not move out of the P position .
The emergency release can be used if
th is happens ~
page 98.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptron ic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or
the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
Fig. 104 Shift gate: selector lever lock positions and
release button highlighted
The selector lever lock is released as follows:
... Turn the ignition on .
... Step on the brake pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the release button on the
side of the gear se lector knob ¢
fig. 104
with your thumb until you have moved the
selector lever to the desired position.
Automatic selector lever lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po·
sitions when the ignition is turned on . You
must press the brake pedal and the release
button to select another position. As a re·
m inder to the driver, the following warning
Transmission 93
appears in the instrument cluster display
when the selector is in P and N:
When stationary apply brake pedal while se­
lecting gear
The Automatic Shift Lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 1 mph (2 km/h).
At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the
Automatic Shift Lock is automatically deacti­
vated in the N position .
A time delay element prevents the selector lever from locking when it is moved through
the N position (going from R to D/S). The lock­
ing element will lock the selector lever if the
lever is left in N (Neutral) for more than ap­
proximately 2 seconds, without the brake ped­
al being pressed.
Release button
The release button on the selector lever pre­
vents the lever from be ing accidentally shifted
into certain positions. Depending on the direc­
tion of the shift, the selector lever locks at dif­
ferent positions. The positions are highlighted
in the illustration¢
fig. 104 .
Ignition key safety interlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition
unless the selector lever is in the P park posi­
tion. When the ignition key is removed, the
selector lever will be locked in the P position.
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles; with mult itronic/S tronic/tiptronic
Fig. 105 Sh ift gate on the center console: selector lev-
er w it h re lease button ..,_

94 Transmission Starting the engine
.. The selec to r l eve r must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.. Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle, select t he des ired selec­
tor lever position such as D/S and release
the b utton .
.. Wait briefly until the transmission has shift ­
ed (you will feel a slight movement) .
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
acce lerate.
Stopping temporarily
.. Keep the vehicle stationary using the b rak­
ing peda l, for examp le at traffic lights .
.. Do not press the accelerator pedal when do ­
ing this.
.. To prevent the vehicle from rolling when
you start dr iving, set the parking brake
when stopping on steep inclines ¢&_ .
.. The parking brake will release automatically
and the vehicle w ill start moving once you
press the accelerator peda l.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the dr iver's door, the vehicle
could roll. The message
Transmission: Car
may roll! Shift to park!
appears.
.. Press and hold the brake pedal unt il the ve­
hicle has come to a complete stop .
.. Apply the parking brake¢
page 86, Park-
ing .
.. Se lect the P selector lever position ¢ &.-
Stopping on an incline
.. Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve­
hicle in place and prevent it from "rolling
back"
¢ &_ . Do not try to prevent the vehi­
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en­
gaged by increasing the engine speed ¢Q).
Starting on an incline
.. Activate the parking brake.
.. With the driving gear selected, press the ac­
celerator pedal carefully . The parking brake will release automatically if your seat
belt is
fastened .
Under certain circumstances, such as driving
in the mountains, it may be usefu l to switch
temporarily to the manual shift program in or­
der to adjust the gears to the driving condi­
tions by hand ¢
page 96.
On s lopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P position .
This prevents too much stress from being
placed on the locking mechanism .
Vehicles with multitronic transmission: Your
vehicle is equipped with
hill hold assist allow­
ing yo u to start while on an incline. The sys ­
tem is activated when the brake pedal is
pressed down and he ld
for a few seconds . The
brake pressure will hold for
a moment after
the brake pedal loosens to prevent the vehicle
from roll ing backwards w hile starting up .
A WARNING
-The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
-Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
r un ning while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the engine is running,
activate the parking brake and move the
selector lever to P.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in 0/5 or R or "t iptronic" mode is
selected .
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when changing the selector lever position
while the veh icle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never shift into R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep s lope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic" .

-Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes complete fail­
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it
in place with the brake pedal or parking
brake.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch. The clutch opens auto­
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload. An indicator lamp
[O] illu­
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 9 7 when the clutch is overload­
ed .
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving position engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and
is locked in P with the parking brake set
¢ page 213, Engine compartment . Oth­
erwise, any increase in engine speed may
set the vehicle in motion, even with the
parking brake applied .
0 Note
-S tronic ®- and tiptronic transmission:
When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator pedal while a driving gear
is selected. This can cause the transmis­
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti­
vate the parking brake or press the brake
pedal to prevent the vehicle from rolling.
- S tronic ®- and tiptronic transmission: Al­
lowing the vehicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selector lever is in N will damage the transmission be­
cause it is not lubricated under those cir­
cumstances .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driv ­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Transmission 95
Hill descent control
App lies to veh icles: w it h m ult itro nic/S tro nic/t iptro nic
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines .
Hill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is suitable for the incline. Hill de­ scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieved at the time of braking, within physical
and technical limitations. It may still be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Hill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
¢ page 89 , hill descent control is also activat­
ed when the speed is set.
.&_ WARNING
-
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to apply the brakes.

96 Transmission
Manual shift program
Appl ies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/t iptronic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears .
Fig . 10 6 Center co nsole: s hifting the gears manu ally
Fig . 10 7 Steer ing w heel: Shift buttons•
Gear selection with selector lever
"' N
N
~
" a> CD
The tiptron ic mode can be selected e ither with
the vehicle stationa ry or on the move.
• Push the selector lever to the right from 0/
S. An M appears in the instrument cl uster
display as soon as the transmission has
shifted.
• To upsh ift, p ush the sele ctor leve r fo rw ard
to the pl us posi tion
0 r:::,fig . 106.
• To downshift , push the lever to the minus
position
0 -
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The s hift bu ttons are act ivated when the se­
l ec to r lever is in D/S or the t ip tr on ic manu al
shift program .
• To upsh ift, touch the button on th e right
0
C:, fig . 107.
• To downshift, touch the bu tton on the left
0 -
• If you do not press a shift button wi thin a
s h ort time whi le in the D/S position, t he transmission will return to a
utomatic mode .
To keep shifting using t he sh ift bu ttons,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
the 0/S pos ition.
T he t ransm iss io n automatically sh ifts up or
down before critical engine speed is reached .
T he transm iss io n only a llows manual sh ifting
when the engine speed is w it hi n the pe rmit ­
ted range .
@ Tips
-Whe n you s hift into the ne xt l ower ge ar,
the transmission will downshift only
w hen the re is no poss ib ility of ove r-rev­
ving the engine .
- W hen the kic k-down comes on, the
transm ission w ill shift d ow n to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- Tiptro nic is inoperative when the trans ­
m ission is in the fai l-safe mode.
Kick-down
Applies to vehicles : wit h mult itronic/S t ro ni c/tip tro nic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
Applies to vehicles with a multitronic ®
transmission
W hen you depress the accelerator peda l be ­
yond the res istance point, the transm ission
downsh ifts into a lower gear ratio depend ing
on the vehicle speed and engine speed. As
lo ng as the acce lerator pedal is depressed, the
engine speed is automatically regu lated for
maximum acceleration .
Applies to vehicles with a S tronic ®-/,
tiptronic transmission
When you depress the accelerator peda l be­
yond the resistance point, the automatic t ra nsmission downsh ifts into a lowe r gear, de­
pend ing on veh icle s peed an d eng ine speed .
T he upsh ift int o th e nex t higher gea r takes
place once the max imum speci fied engine
s p eed is reached .

Audi adaptive cru ise control and brakin g guar d 107
-Sedan: I f you switch the A SR/ESC off,
braking guard switches off automatically
¢ page 187 .
-allroad : If you switch the offroad mode
on, braking g uard switches off automati­
cally
¢ page 188.
-Switch braking guard off when you are
l oading the veh icle onto a vehicle carr ier,
tra in, sh ip or other type of transporta­
tion. This can prevent undesired warn­ i ngs from the braking guard system .
Messages
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise co ntrol
B rak ing guard: Off
This driver message appears if the system is
turned off via the radio/MM I*. Otherwise, if
the system is turned off, the information ap ­
pears every time shortly after the start of the
tr ip.
B ra king gua rd: Act ivated
This drive r message appe ars if sharp brake
pressu re was applied due to an acute warning.
•••
Three white dots appear if a setting cannot be
selected with the operat ing lever . For exam­
p le, this happens if you want to raise/lowe r
the speed even though there was no p revious­
l y saved speed.
AC C: D eactiv ation
The driver message appears in vehicles with
manual transmission . If the clutch pedal was
pressed down for too long, the adaptive cruise
control turns off. A chime sounds as a rem ind­
er.
ACC : Sensor blocked
This message appears if the sensor view is ob­
structed, for example by leaves, snow, heavy
spray or dirt. C lean the sensor ¢
page 99,
fig. 110.
ACC: not available
The drive r message appears if there is a ma l­
f u nction. The adap tive cruise cont rol tu rns off. A chime sounds as a
reminder. Have the sys­
tem checked by an authorized Audi dea ler or
authorized Aud i Service Fac ility.
ACC: unavailable
The driver message appears if, for example,
t h e b ra ke tempe ratu re is too hig h. T he adap­
tive cru ise con trol is temporarily u nav ail able.
A ch ime sounds as a remin der .
Engine sp eed !
This dr iver message appears in vehicles with
manua l transm ission if the drive r had not up­
shifted or dow nsh ifted in t ime w hile using
adaptive c ruise contro l braking or accelerat­
ing, caus ing the veh icle to exceed or not reach
the pe rm itted lim it speed. The adap tive cruise
control turns off. A chime sounds as a remind­
er.
Shift lev er po sition!
Vehicles with an automat ic t ransm iss ion: the
drive r message appears if the se lecto r lever is
sh ifted to the N position. The adapt ive cruise
c o ntrol is not ava ilable while in th is posit ion.
Vehicles with manua l transm ission: the driver
message appears for vehicles with manua l
transmission if there is no forward gea r en­
gaged, meaning if the reverse gea r or the 1st
ge ar is engaged o r if the sele ctor leve r is i n
the ne utra l posi tion. The ad apt ive cr uise con­
tro l is not available while in th is posi tion.
Stabilization control (ESC )
This message appears if the e lectronic stab ili­
zation control (ESC) is taking action to stab i­
liz e the veh icle. The adaptive c ruise co ntrol
turns off. A chime sounds as a reminder .
Speed too low
This message appears if the current speed is
too low
to set or to maintain the desired
speed.
T he speed being saved must be at least
20 mp h (30 km/h). The cru ise contro l is
turned off for speeds lowe r than 12 mph
(20 km/h). The adaptive cruise control re­
mains turned on for speeds above 95 mph