
84 Transmi ssion
Driving the automatic transmission
App lies to vehicles: with multitron ic or tiptro nic
Fig. 82 Sh ift gate on the center co nso le : selector lever
with release button
Starting the engine
• The selector lever must be in N or P.
St arting off
• Press and hold the brake pedal.
• Press and hold the release button in these
lector lever handle and move the selector
lever from P or
N to D/S and release the but
ton¢ ,&..
> Wait briefly until the transmission has shift
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
> Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
acce lerate .
Rocking back and forth to become
un stuc k
• Sh ift on ly between D/S and R when the ve
hicle is at a full stop and the engine is run
ning at idle speed .
Stopp ing
> Press and ho ld the brake pedal unt il the ve
hicle has come to a complete stop.
• Keep the brake pedal depressed so that the
vehicle cannot roll forward or backward
whi le it is idling ¢,&. .
• Once stopped,
do not depress the accelera-
tor pedal to rev up the engine¢,&..
Parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the vehicle
could ro ll. The message
Tra nsmi ssio n: C ar
m ay roll! Shift to p ark!
appears. •
Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve
hicle has come to a comp lete stop.
• Set the park ing brake firm ly ¢
page 78,
Parking.
• Press and hold the release button in these
lector lever handle, move the se lector lever
into P and then let go of the release button
¢ ,&. .
The eng ine can only be
s ta rt e d when these
lector lever is in the P or N positions .
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 equ ipped with
hill hold as sist allow
ing you to start while on an incline . The sys
tem is activated when the brake pedal is
pressed down and held
f or a few s econd s. The
brake p ressu re will hold for
a moment after
the b rake peda l loosens to p reven t the veh icle
from roll ing bac kwards wh ile s tarting up .
_& WARNING
-= -
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serio us injury .
- When the se lector lever is in a driving
pos ition, the vehicle may creep, even at
idle speed. Therefore do not release
the pa rking bra ke o r foot brake u ntil
you are ready to move, beca use power
is transmitted to the wheels as soon as
a driving position is engaged.
- Do no t accelerate wh ile selecting a
driv ing position. At this time the en
gine must be at idle speed so that un
due stress is not placed on the clutches
in the transmiss ion.
- Remember: Even when stopped briefly
with the automatic transmission in 0/5
or R, engine power is being transmit
ted to the wheels. Your veh icle cou ld
"creep" forward or backward . Whe n
stopped, keep the brake pedal fu lly de
pressed and use the parking brake if

necessary to keep the vehicle from
rolling.
- If the selector lever is unintentionally
moved into N while you are driving, take
your foot
off the accelerator pedal and
wait for the engine to return to idle
speed before selecting a driving position .
- Never shift into R or P when the vehicle is
in motion .
- Never get out of the driver's seat when
the engine is running.
- If you must get out of the vehicle, move
the selector lever securely into the P po
sit ion and apply the parking brake firmly.
- 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
firmly set ¢
page 208, Engine compart
ment.
Otherwise, any increase in engine
speed may set the vehicle in motion,
even with the parking brake applied.
(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.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with multit ronic or tiptronic
This section describes the selector lever posi
tions and driving ranges .
2
Radio WXRK
9:30-
12/5/2 011
121 19 .0mpg
1992 mi 40 .4
~= ~p +7 2~
Fig. 83 Display in the in str um ent cluste r: selecto r leve r
i n positi on P
Transmission 85
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
s ion is mechanically locked. Engage P only
when the vehicle is
completely stopped ¢ &
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 84.
T o shift in or out of position P, you must first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
the re lease button in the selector lever handle
while moving the selecto r lever to or from P.
You can shift out of this position only with the
ignition on.
R- Reverse
The transmission will automatically select the
lowest gear ratio when you shift into 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 84.
Before you move the selector lever to R, press
both the 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 th is position for standing with the
brakes applied ¢
page 86.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds
below 3 mph (S km/h), you must always apply
the footbrake before and while mov ing the
lever out of N.
D /S -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S pos ition, the transmission can be
operated either in the normal D mode or in
the S sport mode . To select the S sport mode,
pull the selector lever back briefly . Pulling the
lever back again will se lect the normal D ...,

90 Transmi ssion
You can a lso shift the gears manually using
tiptron ic, if you like ¢page 93.
Selector lever positions
Appl ies to vehicles: with S tro nic t ransmission
F ig . 89 Display : Selector lever posit io ns
The inst rument cluster display shows the cur
rent selector lever position and current gear .
P-Park
The wheels are mechanically locked in this po
sition . You can only sh ift into Park when the
vehicle is
stationary ¢,&. .
To shift in and out of P, press the inter lock
button in the selector lever
while pressing the
brake pedal.
R - Re verse
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed ¢.&. .
To select R, press the interlock button
while
pressing the brake pedal. The back-up lights
switch on in the R posit ion if the ignition is
switched on.
N -N eutral
The transmission is in id le in this position.
0 /5 -Normal position for driving forward
In t he D/S position, the transmiss io n can be
ope rated e ither in the normal D mode or i n
the S sport mode . To select the S sport mode,
pu ll the se lector lever back brief ly . Pulling the
l ever back again will select the normal D
mode. The instrument cluster disp lay shows
the selected driving mode. In the
n
o rmal mode D, the transmission auto
matically selects the best gear ratio.
It de
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and the
dynamic contro l program (DRP).
Se lect the
s port m ode S for sporty driving.
T he vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power . Shift ing is more noticeable when accel
erating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h), you must always app ly
the foot brake before and while moving the l ever to D/S out of N.
In certain circumstances it may be advanta
geous to temporari ly switch to the manua l
shift program to manua lly select gear ratios
to match specific driving conditions
¢ page 93.
A WARNING
-- Never select R or P whi le driving .
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
m ust keep your foot on the brake in a ll
selecto r lever posit ions (except P) whe n
the eng ine is ru nning. Do not inadver
t en tly press the a ccelera tor pedal when
the vehicle is s topped if a gear is engag
ed . Otherwise the vehicle will start to
move immediate ly . This could happen
even if the park ing brake is act ivated.
- Before opening the hood and working on
a running engine, select P w ith the selec
tor lever and activate the parking brake. Always read and follow the applicable
war nings
c>page 208, Engine compart
ment.
@ Tips
- On vehicles with Audi dr ive select* , yo u
can adjust the sporty shift character istics
in the
Dynami c driving mode.Swill ap-
pear in the ins trument cluster display in-
stead of D. ..,.

92 Transmi ssion
• Wait a moment until the transm ission
shifts . You wi ll notice a slight movement
when the gear engages.
• Re lease the brake pedal and press the accel
erator pedal
c::> .&, .
Stopping t empora ril y
• Press the brake peda l to prevent the vehicle
from moving, for example at traffic lights .
• Do not press the accelerator pedal when do -
ing this.
P a rk ing
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the vehicle
could ro ll. The message
T ran smi ssio n: Car
m ay roll! Shift to p ark!
appears.
• Press and ho ld the brake pedal
c::> .&, .
• Activate the parking brake .
• Hold t he interlock button down, place the
selector lever in the
P position and release
the interlock button.
Stopping on an inclin e
• Always press the b rake peda l to hold the ve
hicle in p lace and prevent it from "rolling
back" c::>
.&,. Do not try to prevent the ve hicle
from "ro lling back" when a gear is engaged
by increasing the engine speed
c::> (D.
Starting on an incline
• Activate the parking brake .
• With the driving gear se lected, press the ac
celerator pedal carefully. The parking brake
will release automat ically if your seat be lt is
fastened.
Dr ivin g on an incline: Under certain circum
stances, such as driving in the mountains, it may be useful to sw itch temporarily to the
manual shift program in order to adjust the
gears to the driving conditions by hand
c::> & .
On slopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P posit ion.
This prevents the lock ing mechanism from be
ing loaded too heav ily and w ill make it easier
to move the selector leve r out of P .
A WARNING
-Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the engine is running,
activate the pa rking brake and move the
selecto r lever to P .
- Powe r is still transmitted to the w heels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To
p revent the vehicle from "c reeping", you
m ust keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "t iptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when changing the se lector lever position
while the veh icle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never sh ift 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 o r press the bra ke
pedal too often or too long. Constant
brak ing ca uses the brakes to overheat
and substantially reduces braking per
formance, increases braking d istance or
causes complete failure of the brake sys
tem.
- To preve nt the vehicle from ro lling back
when stopp ing on inclines, always hold it
in place with the b rake pedal or parking
b rake.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutc h. T he clutch opens auto
mat ica lly when it becomes too hot from
the overload. An indica tor l amp
mJ ill u
minates and a driver message appears
c::>
page 95 when the clutc h is overload
ed .
(D Note
-When s topping on an incl ine, do no t try
to hold t he vehicle in place by pressing
the acce lerator pedal while a driving gear
is se lected. This can cause the S t ron ic
transm ission to overheat and can dam
age it. Activate t he parking brake or

106 Audi adaptive cruise control and bra king guard
95 mph ( 150 km/h) w hen the driver takes his
foot off of the gas peda l.
Parking brake!
The dr ive r message appears when the park ing
b rake is activated . Ada ptive cr uise con trol is
turned off . A ch ime sou nds as a re m in der .

Homelink®
Universal remote
control
Description
Appl ies to vehicles: with Horne Link
The Homelink universal remote control can
be programmed with the remo te control for
devices that are already present.
With Home Link, you can control devices such
as the garage door, security systems, house
l ights , etc. comfortab ly from the inside of you
veh icle .
H ome Link ma kes it possible for you to rep lace
three differen t remote controls from dev ices
in your home with one universal remote. This
feature works for most garage door and exte
rior door motor signals. Programming the in
dividual remote control for your remote con
trol takes p lace near the center of the radiator
grille. There is a control module attached at
this location .
A one-t ime programming of the sensor must
be perfo rmed before you are able to use sys
t ems w ith Homelink. If the system does not
activate after performing the one-t ime pro
gramming, check whether the system uses a rolling codec:>
page 124 for veh icles without
the M MI*.
_& WARNING
- Never use the Homelink ® transmi tte r
with any garage door opener that does have not the sa fety stop and reverse fea
tu re as req uired by federa l safety stand
ards. Th is includes any garage door open
er mode l manufact ured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder
al safety standards . Us ing a ga rage door
opener without these features increases
risk of serious in ju ry or death.
Homelink ® 121
-For safety reasons never re lease the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle.
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in mot ion when the
Homelink ® remote control is being pro
grammed . If the device is repeatedly ac
tivated, th is can overstrain motor and
damage its e lectrical components -an
overhea ted mo to r i s a fire hazard !
- To avo id possib le injuries or p roperty
damage, please always make abso lutely
certain that no persons o r ob je cts are lo
ca ted in the range of mo tion of any
equi pment being ope rated .
(D Tips
- If you would li ke more information on
H ome link ®, where to purchase the
Home link ® compa tib le produc ts, or
would like to purchase the Homelink ®
Home Lighting Package, please call to ll
free: 1-800-355-3515.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula
tions c:>
page 275.

198 Trailer towing
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when tow ing
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
different weight distribution . Safety, perform
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become completely familiar with the way
your veh icle-trailer combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler generally requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
When passing, remember that you cannot ac
celerate as fast as you normally would be
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your tra iler before chang
in g lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler dur ing the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
q page 2 72.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol lowing :
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load.
.. Tur n the wheels towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking b rake.
.. Place an automatic transmission* in P, re
spectively a manual transmission in first or reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake .
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the se lector lever to D/S, respectively
a manual transmission in first gear.
.. Release the parking brake and slow ly pu ll
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto
matic transmission* to P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
lat er to move the lever out of the P posi
tion.

216 Checking and filling
-Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever of automatic trans- mission to "P" (Park); put manual trans
mission in Neutral.
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fully opening the hood .
- Keep children away from the engine com
partment .
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap when the engine is still warm. The cool
ant system is pressurized and hot cool
ant could spray out .
-Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the coolant reservoir .
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This increases the
risk of burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery .
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in
jury while the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair with the engine running: -
First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever of automatic trans
mission to "P" (Park); put manual
transmission in Neutral.
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact ing hot parts. Tie back hair before
starting, and do not wear clothing that
will hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&, .
.&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de
fects and reproductive harm. In addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container
or filler opening, otherwise serious dam
age to vehicle systems will occur.
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly . If
you see spots from oil or other vehicle flu ids, have your vehicle inspected by an au
thorized Audi dealer.